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 27, 2015, 6:40 am
#1188
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,736
However I am pleased to report that this morning I find myself in 2A both ways - happy with that! Thanks CWS - seems BA have figured out a way to implement the change but not disadvantage loyal fliers - it certainly works for Gold, let's see what happens with other cards after a few days!
But more seriously, I am fairly certain I checked MMB - and got the screen shot - a good 20 minutes or so after booking. I know from past and unrelated experiences that BA.com takes a few minutes to get all booking details set up correctly, so I know not to look straight off. So what I'm hoping is that actually we are both seeing the new SOP - which I also agree falls into "not actually sooooo bad" category - but your MMB just took a while to refresh.
Mar 27, 2015, 10:50 pm
#1190
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Scotland & London
Programs: BA GGL, IHG Diamond Ambassador, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, Mucci des Salons Ouvrants
Posts: 3,020
I don't mind the change if this is the norm - I can live with it anyway although I have no idea why they did not put this in their blurb as it would have stopped a lot of gnashing of teeth!
Now all I need is my miles back in order to spend them prior to devaluation and all will be good!
aks120
Mar 27, 2015, 10:52 pm
#1191
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Scotland & London
Programs: BA GGL, IHG Diamond Ambassador, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Globalist, Mucci des Salons Ouvrants
Posts: 3,020
Do you mind if I ask what BAEC card you have - it may be a Gold/CCR perk as that is what our sample consists of! I would be interested to hear from Silver, Bronze or Blue.
aks120
Mar 28, 2015, 2:44 am
#1192
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Cambridge, UK
Programs: BA Gold, VS Gold
Posts: 73
24B - Unlucky me
SCH Booked an HBO - We were allocated 24A&B on an outbound 20E&F on an inbound domestic.
Interestingly, when I saw the seat map, where you could pay £7 to change the seat, nearly all rows were available from row 3 onwards.
Interestingly, when I saw the seat map, where you could pay £7 to change the seat, nearly all rows were available from row 3 onwards.
Mar 28, 2015, 2:53 am
#1193
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,736
As aks120 has mentioned, had this been mentioned in the first BA communication then I doubt I would have complained about it, there again the first communication seems to be simply wrong. Unless, after the fuss made, this was the compromise they internally fixed? My own suggestion, in my complaint to BA, suggested that at OLCI we could select a seat as normal, so in a way this outcome is an improvement on that, but I'm not sure it helps the HBO storage issue.
We could do with some Bronze, Blue and non status experiences.
Mar 28, 2015, 3:08 am
#1194
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Toulouse
Posts: 133
UPDATE: Still nothing allocated 30 hours after booking
Last edited by MSN095; Mar 28, 2015 at 11:30 am Reason: Update
Mar 28, 2015, 4:35 am
#1195
FlyerTalk Evangelist, Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Somewhere between 0 and 13,000 metres high
Programs: AF/KL Life Plat, BA GGL+GfL, ALL Plat, Hilton Diam, Marriott Gold, blablablah, etc
Posts: 30,502
As aks120 has mentioned, had this been mentioned in the first BA communication then I doubt I would have complained about it, there again the first communication seems to be simply wrong. Unless, after the fuss made, this was the compromise they internally fixed? My own suggestion, in my complaint to BA, suggested that at OLCI we could select a seat as normal, so in a way this outcome is an improvement on that, but I'm not sure it helps the HBO storage issue.
If they wanted GCH/GGLs to be "protected" from the change, then why not do it in the first place? It is perfectly possible for an IT system to differentiate between people by status and exempt some from the impossibility to choose seats, even AF, which arguably has the worst IT system of any airline I know, manage it.
Regularly, my SO (GCH) and I end up travelling together on the same flight but booked separately, either because she has a different full itinerary or because we managed to coordinate our itineraries at different points in time.
We both tend to travel HBO and so will be inconvenienced even if the relatively optimistic scenario that you have experienced is kept, but if the intention is not to actually "punish us" for travelling HBO, then I find the result even more absurd.
By the way, I could by the way think of many alternatives to it being a policy, including randomness or even BA trying to be "gentle" with GCH/GGLs/CCRs at first by originally giving them good seats for a few months so as to keep them onboard (quite literally) before letting the situation further deteriorate in line with the original plan. This would be consistent with the "drop by drop" poisoning strategy that BA has adopted in the past few months to date.
Mar 30, 2015, 6:19 am
#1196
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: In the air
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Bonvoy LT Plat, Hilton Gold, GHA Tit, BA Gold, Turkish Elite
Posts: 8,714
I've just booked my first return HBO fare under the new rules. No seating has been assigned just yet.
Clicking on the seating info button, there's this:
Having just booked I'm currently being told that I can buy seating for £10 - will give it a day or two to see what happens.
Clicking on the seating info button, there's this:
Hand baggage only economy fares
If you don't pay to choose your seats in advance, we will allocate your seat at check-in, from 24 hours before your flight departs. You can pay to change your allocated seat.
Executive Club and oneworld equivalent members cannot choose seats for free with this fare.
If you don't pay to choose your seats in advance, we will allocate your seat at check-in, from 24 hours before your flight departs. You can pay to change your allocated seat.
Executive Club and oneworld equivalent members cannot choose seats for free with this fare.
Mar 31, 2015, 2:51 am
#1197
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Glasgow
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 168
Silver card holder here. I've just booked my first HBO after the new rules, GLA-LCY. Booked yesterday for travel tomorrow (the short notice tends to be normal for my travel patterns).
Have been allocated 4B out and 4C return, which is in line with my aisle preference, and is fairly near the front.
However, the seat allocation system seems to just fill the bus up from the front. The rear half, row 13 onwards, is pretty much empty. So in this case I'd much rather grab a seat down the back (given that at LCY I can disembark from the rear).
For this I have to pay an extra £7 on a fare that was already £450??!!
This is just ridiculous. EasyJet, Ryanair and FlyBe (esp with Avios on the latter) are looking much more appealing now...
Have been allocated 4B out and 4C return, which is in line with my aisle preference, and is fairly near the front.
However, the seat allocation system seems to just fill the bus up from the front. The rear half, row 13 onwards, is pretty much empty. So in this case I'd much rather grab a seat down the back (given that at LCY I can disembark from the rear).
For this I have to pay an extra £7 on a fare that was already £450??!!
This is just ridiculous. EasyJet, Ryanair and FlyBe (esp with Avios on the latter) are looking much more appealing now...
Mar 31, 2015, 3:34 am
#1198
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: In the air
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Bonvoy LT Plat, Hilton Gold, GHA Tit, BA Gold, Turkish Elite
Posts: 8,714
24 hours later this message is still shown - it does not look like I'll get a seat before check-in at the moment. Odd how that contrasts with CWS's experience. I'll keep checking...
Mar 31, 2015, 4:06 am
#1199
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: London
Posts: 489
Silver card holder here. I've just booked my first HBO after the new rules, GLA-LCY. Booked yesterday for travel tomorrow (the short notice tends to be normal for my travel patterns).
Have been allocated 4B out and 4C return, which is in line with my aisle preference, and is fairly near the front.
However, the seat allocation system seems to just fill the bus up from the front. The rear half, row 13 onwards, is pretty much empty. So in this case I'd much rather grab a seat down the back (given that at LCY I can disembark from the rear).
For this I have to pay an extra £7 on a fare that was already £450??!!
This is just ridiculous. EasyJet, Ryanair and FlyBe (esp with Avios on the latter) are looking much more appealing now...
Have been allocated 4B out and 4C return, which is in line with my aisle preference, and is fairly near the front.
However, the seat allocation system seems to just fill the bus up from the front. The rear half, row 13 onwards, is pretty much empty. So in this case I'd much rather grab a seat down the back (given that at LCY I can disembark from the rear).
For this I have to pay an extra £7 on a fare that was already £450??!!
This is just ridiculous. EasyJet, Ryanair and FlyBe (esp with Avios on the latter) are looking much more appealing now...
Mar 31, 2015, 4:12 am
#1200
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,736
Well I note that aks120, xvirginx, Twoflower and I all have domestic sectors, funnily enough involving LHR, LGW and LCY, but I wonder if that makes the difference perhaps? Assuming your sector involves the European mainland, given the £10 charge. I must admit I shoved all my upcoming European ET sectors through the system before the changeover rather than risk 25B, just keeping the shortest sectors back by way of an experiment for here.