Aug 7, 2015, 5:53 am
Last edit by: NWIFlyer
Hand Baggage Only fares (HBO) are available on domestic and EuroTraveller routes. They are offered at a lower price to those able to travel without checked baggage on point to point journeys only - they are not offered with connections, stopovers or with Club Europe. There isn't a special fare bucket for HBO, it's just a discount to all domestic/ET fare buckets, so even expensive flexible tickets offer HBO. The discount varies depending on route. For example, going HBO on LHR-DUB gives a £10 discount; £15 on LHR-PRG; and £20 on LHR-ATH. Online Travel Agents often book into these fares (including building stopovers) and are sometimes less than transparent about the baggage restrictions during the booking process. HBO fares do not earn OnBusiness credits.
BAEC status passengers from Bronze upwards get advance seat choice with these tickets.
How to get seat allocation if HBO and without status:
- Pay up. You can pay up at OLCI if you don't like the seat. Costs vary from £7 to £21 per sector as a minimum, with differential pricing employed for better seats (e.g. an exit row on LHR-DUB was £23 in June 2017). Usually, but not always, this invalidates the cost saving of HBO. You can also pay up in Manage My Booking (MMB) before OLCI.
- Cancel OLCI at the "confirm contact details" stage. Go in again and/or later and you may be offered another seat.
- Corporate travel bookings still offer seating to HBO in some cases. Sometimes this ability is temporary and doesn't stick.
- Ask check-in or the lounge agent for a better seat, so far this seems to be possible. Lounge agents won't be able to assist where they aren't part of the ground handling for BA (e.g. LBA).
- If your airport has a Self Service Check In (SSCI) machine AND you do not print your boarding pass (see below) then you can select another seat there provided check-in is still open, typically up to 46 minutes before take off. So if you are being allocated a rotten seat and you can see better seats available, you can take a risk and complete/commence check-in later.
SSCI machines are available at: LHR, LGW, LCY, MAN, EDI (on the general purpose airport machines, but only those by the BA check-in area), NCE, BRU, OSL, BLL, AAR, MUC, AMS.
They are NOT available at: ABZ, BHD, GLA, LBA, NCL, DUB, CDG, ORY, SVG, DUS, TXL, MAH, CFU, OLB, CTA, CAG, FDH, ANE, UIP, BIO, HER, SVQ, PMI, BRI.
You can also do this operation the night before at LGW and LHR, details here.
By "printing boarding pass" we mean not selecting that option at OLCI, or saving, emailing, faxing and/or downloading the boarding pass on the App.
HBO fares - Have to pay to select seat in advance [free for GCH/SCH/BCHs @ 14 Jun 17]
Mar 12, 2015, 11:42 am
#1127
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Sheffield
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 417
I still maintain, however, that these fares are more targeted towards price conscious/limited budget travellers, who may not have even considered BA before. You'd be surprised at how many flock to the likes of easyJet/Monarch etc because they just assume they are the cheapest, or simply because they enjoy the experience (I've seen this particularly with Monarch, and I can't really see what all the fuss is about from the flights I've had with them, so it goes to show).
A bit of advertising around and about and BA might just have this one in the bag.
Mar 12, 2015, 11:48 am
#1129
Join Date: Nov 2014
Posts: 935
I should have elaborated a bit better, I'm sure there are many outside of these forums that hold said statuses that are probably not fazed or simply don't care for the extra frivolities such as seats etc.
I still maintain, however, that these fares are more targeted towards price conscious/limited budget travellers, who may not have even considered BA before. You'd be surprised at how many flock to the likes of easyJet/Monarch etc because they just assume they are the cheapest, or simply because they enjoy the experience (I've seen this particularly with Monarch, and I can't really see what all the fuss is about from the flights I've had with them, so it goes to show).
A bit of advertising around and about and BA might just have this one in the bag.
I still maintain, however, that these fares are more targeted towards price conscious/limited budget travellers, who may not have even considered BA before. You'd be surprised at how many flock to the likes of easyJet/Monarch etc because they just assume they are the cheapest, or simply because they enjoy the experience (I've seen this particularly with Monarch, and I can't really see what all the fuss is about from the flights I've had with them, so it goes to show).
A bit of advertising around and about and BA might just have this one in the bag.
Aberdeen - London
Depart 13 Mar 2015, 14:55
Arrive 13 Mar 2015, 16:30
Flight BA1309
Operated by British Airways
Cabin Domestic
London - Aberdeen
Depart 16 Mar 2015, 06:55
Arrive 16 Mar 2015, 08:25
Flight BA1304
Operated by British Airways
Cabin Domestic
Flights £413.74
That is an HBO fare.
Mar 12, 2015, 11:56 am
#1130
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 3,851
Wirelessly posted (iPhone 3G: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 8_2 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/600.1.4 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/8.0 Mobile/12D508 Safari/600.1.4)
It's amusing how many people on this thread (who presumably don't fly much or only book far in advance?) keep associating HBO with "cheap". It's not. It has unbundled a part of the service (baggage) passing on part of a saving that BA make to the customer.
It's amusing how many people on this thread (who presumably don't fly much or only book far in advance?) keep associating HBO with "cheap". It's not. It has unbundled a part of the service (baggage) passing on part of a saving that BA make to the customer.
Mar 12, 2015, 12:07 pm
#1131
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: MAN/BHX
Programs: ABBA
Posts: 6,027
Wirelessly posted (iPhone 3G: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 8_2 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/600.1.4 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/8.0 Mobile/12D508 Safari/600.1.4)
It's amusing how many people on this thread (who presumably don't fly much or only book far in advance?) keep associating HBO with "cheap". It's not. It has unbundled a part of the service (baggage) passing on part of a saving that BA make to the customer.
It's amusing how many people on this thread (who presumably don't fly much or only book far in advance?) keep associating HBO with "cheap". It's not. It has unbundled a part of the service (baggage) passing on part of a saving that BA make to the customer.
Mar 12, 2015, 12:17 pm
#1132
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 3,851
Wirelessly posted (iPhone 3G: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 8_2 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/600.1.4 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/8.0 Mobile/12D508 Safari/600.1.4)
Does Ba make a saving on selling a hbo fare rather than a normal fare for someone who doesn't check a bag in?
From a cost perspective, absolutely.
Ask a stupid question, get a stupid response
Originally Posted by paulwuk
Wirelessly posted (iPhone 3G: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 8_2 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/600.1.4 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/8.0 Mobile/12D508 Safari/600.1.4)
It's amusing how many people on this thread (who presumably don't fly much or only book far in advance?) keep associating HBO with "cheap". It's not. It has unbundled a part of the service (baggage) passing on part of a saving that BA make to the customer.
It's amusing how many people on this thread (who presumably don't fly much or only book far in advance?) keep associating HBO with "cheap". It's not. It has unbundled a part of the service (baggage) passing on part of a saving that BA make to the customer.
Ask a stupid question, get a stupid response
Mar 12, 2015, 2:10 pm
#1134
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: UK
Programs: BA, U2+, SK, AF/KL, IHG, Hilton, others gathering dust...
Posts: 2,552
Essentially, yes. The new fares are cheaper (granted not by much in some circumstances) whilst still giving the full BA onboard 'experience'. If you're booking yourself the cheapest possible fare you can find, then chances are you are price conscious and have other browser windows open comparing competitor airlines. If BA were to allow status holders to select these fares whilst getting all their benefits, then they lose that revenue stream that they put into place; sweep up passengers from other airlines.
I take your point about EJ+ holders, but then look at Ryanair & Jet2 who have no such schemes and the picture is the same.
I'm no expert, I'm just a veteran to flying with lots of different airlines and having no real loyalty to any particular one (see my own status - or lack of!), so maybe it's easier for me to see a different perspective and BA's point of view on this, which is that the 'old fashioned' all inclusive fare still exists in the same price bracket that it did before; so if you want the all inclusive fare with lassociated benefits, then that's the one you need to choose.
In a nutshell, I don't think status holders are who BA have in mind for targeting HBO fares towards.
I take your point about EJ+ holders, but then look at Ryanair & Jet2 who have no such schemes and the picture is the same.
I'm no expert, I'm just a veteran to flying with lots of different airlines and having no real loyalty to any particular one (see my own status - or lack of!), so maybe it's easier for me to see a different perspective and BA's point of view on this, which is that the 'old fashioned' all inclusive fare still exists in the same price bracket that it did before; so if you want the all inclusive fare with lassociated benefits, then that's the one you need to choose.
In a nutshell, I don't think status holders are who BA have in mind for targeting HBO fares towards.
If you have evidence this is the case, then there is less reason for anyone to complain. If not, your point is theoretically correct, just a couple of years late. The issue at hand is that BA (possibly erroneously, but they were feeling less bullish then) allowed free seat selection for status pax when launching HBO, so now they find themselves in a position of removing something rather than never giving it in the first place - always a weaker position, and they have other LH business at risk, which U2/FR et al do not.
BA may not have intended to target status pax with these fares, but they were stupid to underestimate the take-up. It was always going to happen, and they should have known better. Presumably they had the data of how often pax checked in a bag pre-HBO. I can't remember the last time I checked in a bag on a SH flight on BA (apart from family holidays), long before HBO fares existed on BA. I'm not bothered by this change, for me it just means BA are less competitive vs others with seat selection included and will lose bookings accordingly, but I don't think you can talk about their target market as if this is a new product.
Mar 15, 2015, 6:49 am
#1135
Suspended
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: London
Programs: BA GGL, AA 1MM LT GLD, SPG PLAT, National Exec Selc, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Plat, Marriott Silver
Posts: 8,278
I'm trying to book a flight to DUB after March 26 but even with my EXP (OWE) FF # in, its asking me to pay for a seat (which is greater than the HBO vs non HBO difference). I thought the policy didn't effect any booking made prior to March 26?
Mar 15, 2015, 6:53 am
#1136
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,753
Ignore the option at this stage, complete the booking and then go back into Manage My Booking. You'll be able to select your seats for free then, according to other posters' experiences.
Mar 15, 2015, 7:02 am
#1137
Join Date: May 2003
Location: DEL
Programs: Mucci du Miel d'Or
Posts: 2,377
I've read through this whole thread over the last week or so, and a recurrent theme is that this has no financial impact to BA at all (if anything, some of the IT people seems to think it may actually cost money as a new variable has to be included in the code somewhere).
I expect BACH business travellers will book HBO fares knowing that with their status, they can have a reasonably comfortable journey. There is little incentive to pay for more expensive fares. BA clearly want to change that.
Mar 15, 2015, 7:52 am
#1138
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2005
Programs: BA Gold, A3 Gold, FB Gold, Bonvoy Titanium / LTP, Accor Plat
Posts: 13,910
), and as a BA Gold could choose my seat. Sounds, as per the other response, like a bug rather than a feature.
Mar 15, 2015, 8:02 am
#1139
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: London
Programs: BA silver, VS, Jet, Carlson gold, Amex Plat
Posts: 615
Just booked a cheap HBO fare for June.
Always before, when checking MMB, I've been preallocated seats near the front of the plane. This time however, it pre-allocated me 25A and 25B right at the back, which are the absolute worst seats on the A319 by the loo, with no window. This was on an otherwise empty plane.
Thank goodness I was able to change them, but I wonder if this is reflecting where they are going to shove all the HBO passengers in the future!
Always before, when checking MMB, I've been preallocated seats near the front of the plane. This time however, it pre-allocated me 25A and 25B right at the back, which are the absolute worst seats on the A319 by the loo, with no window. This was on an otherwise empty plane.
Thank goodness I was able to change them, but I wonder if this is reflecting where they are going to shove all the HBO passengers in the future!
Mar 15, 2015, 8:15 am
#1140
Suspended
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: London
Programs: BA GGL, AA 1MM LT GLD, SPG PLAT, National Exec Selc, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Plat, Marriott Silver
Posts: 8,278
I assume that you're at the pre-confirmation stage, and haven't actually booked. If so, there's a known bug that tries to charge for seats, even when status has been applied.
Ignore the option at this stage, complete the booking and then go back into Manage My Booking. You'll be able to select your seats for free then, according to other posters' experiences.
Ignore the option at this stage, complete the booking and then go back into Manage My Booking. You'll be able to select your seats for free then, according to other posters' experiences.