Mar 22, 2018, 3:34 am
Last edit by: corporate-wage-slave
This thread examines BA's use of Amadeus' Theoretical Seating module. This kicks in at T-72 hours before departure, so this thread is primarily of interest to those travelling within the next few days.
FAQ : 'Theoretical Seating' : Blocked seats and status
Mar 24, 2018, 3:05 am
#887
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
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I can't see the flight number, date or route here so I can only guess, but I'd sau it is an A321 to somewhere like EDI, AMS, GVA, MAD, where the Silver / Gold block could easily be 5 rows. Row 6 is a Bronze couple, rows 1 to 3 are all Goldies and Silvers behind. 4C is without status but snuck in either on a paid seat or at T-72 hrs, given it's CE seating.
Mar 24, 2018, 7:03 am
#888
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Surrey, UK
Programs: BA Gold, *A Gold, IHG Platinum
Posts: 654
Well, ARN-LHR was pretty full and I had another Gold next to me. There were a few spare seats available according to EF however.
LHR-KWI, the adjacent seat was blocked earlier in the morning then when I checked later in the day, it was taken. When I got to the lounge, I asked to be moved to a completely blocked row a couple ahead (around 2 hours prior to departure) and still ended up with two seat mates, neither of which had any status as the guy next to me had group 4 on his boarding pass and the girl in the aisle arrived with the masses too.
Very cramped at the back of the 747 - more room on the A320 to be honest, but thats for another thread.
Mar 26, 2018, 2:47 am
#889
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: London / Brighton
Programs: BAEC Gold / M-Life Gold / HH Diamond
Posts: 1,635
I can't see the flight number, date or route here so I can only guess, but I'd sau it is an A321 to somewhere like EDI, AMS, GVA, MAD, where the Silver / Gold block could easily be 5 rows. Row 6 is a Bronze couple, rows 1 to 3 are all Goldies and Silvers behind. 4C is without status but snuck in either on a paid seat or at T-72 hrs, given it's CE seating.
Mar 27, 2018, 10:15 am
#890
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: SW London
Programs: BAEC Silver; Hilton Diamond;a miscellany of other hotel non-statuses
Posts: 3,607
Not sure if this has been noted before as common, but when checking my LHR-EDI flight on EF a couple of hours before departure there were a few seat blocks in place, including next to me in the exit row ^. 30 mins later and the blocks are gone - although I still have an empty seat next to me an hour or so before departure 
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Mar 27, 2018, 11:26 am
#891
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: SW London
Programs: BAEC Silver; Hilton Diamond;a miscellany of other hotel non-statuses
Posts: 3,607
Not sure if this has been noted before as common, but when checking my LHR-EDI flight on EF a couple of hours before departure there were a few seat blocks in place, including next to me in the exit row ^. 30 mins later and the blocks are gone - although I still have an empty seat next to me an hour or so before departure .
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Mar 27, 2018, 12:15 pm
#892
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Krakow
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as the seats fill up blocks get removed to make more seats available
in the last couple of hours before the flight departs that will change fairly frequently and there is every chance a seat beside you could become unblocked.
in the last couple of hours before the flight departs that will change fairly frequently and there is every chance a seat beside you could become unblocked.
Apr 2, 2018, 7:17 am
#893
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: US/UK - and elsewhere
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 2,563
You cannot be serious - or you're having a laugh!
New booking (3 sectors) for myself and Mrs CKBA produced the following default seating:
Maybe this is evidence that the theoretical seating algorithm using some AI or AS (artificial stupidity) based upon past bookings (our last flight we had selected an aisle-empty-window seat configuration)....
New booking (3 sectors) for myself and Mrs CKBA produced the following default seating:
Maybe this is evidence that the theoretical seating algorithm using some AI or AS (artificial stupidity) based upon past bookings (our last flight we had selected an aisle-empty-window seat configuration)....
Last edited by CKBA; Apr 7, 2018 at 12:22 am
Apr 6, 2018, 10:56 pm
#894
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: US/UK - and elsewhere
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 2,563
Okay, a bit of a DYKWIA moment, but I now believe that the TS really doesn’t like me… . For an upcoming flight I had myself nicely nestled into 11K (just sufficiently forward to get a decent view ahead of the wing), and kept checking that the seat next to me was free/blocked, as it still was at T-25.
Come OLCI, an aircraft change (788-789), and now reassigned to 17A, definitely overwing, and now with a seating ‘buddy’:
i) why doesn’t the TS just shift the old block of WT+ into the front of the new WT+ (leaving sufficient space behind for any necessary upgrades)?
ii) why isn’t the seat next to me blocked, particularly when the cabin is relatively empty (and 19/20J are blocked)?
iii) why can’t I get the bassinet seat – at < T-24 this should be available to anyone (yet alone GCH) – but the OLCI notes it is a bassinet and won’t allow a seat change to it.
Note that the flight is not particularly full, so it cannot really be a case of the WT being squeezed forward into WT+… (surely?).
T-25 J9 C0 D0 R0 I0 W6 E0 T0 Y9 H6 K4 M4 L2 V2 S2 N2 Q0 O0 G9
T-21 J9 C0 D0 R0 I0 W9 E0 T0 Y9 H6 K3 M3 L2 V2 S2 N2 Q0 O0 G9
Come OLCI, an aircraft change (788-789), and now reassigned to 17A, definitely overwing, and now with a seating ‘buddy’:
i) why doesn’t the TS just shift the old block of WT+ into the front of the new WT+ (leaving sufficient space behind for any necessary upgrades)?
ii) why isn’t the seat next to me blocked, particularly when the cabin is relatively empty (and 19/20J are blocked)?
iii) why can’t I get the bassinet seat – at < T-24 this should be available to anyone (yet alone GCH) – but the OLCI notes it is a bassinet and won’t allow a seat change to it.
Note that the flight is not particularly full, so it cannot really be a case of the WT being squeezed forward into WT+… (surely?).
T-25 J9 C0 D0 R0 I0 W6 E0 T0 Y9 H6 K4 M4 L2 V2 S2 N2 Q0 O0 G9
T-21 J9 C0 D0 R0 I0 W9 E0 T0 Y9 H6 K3 M3 L2 V2 S2 N2 Q0 O0 G9
Last edited by CKBA; Apr 6, 2018 at 11:02 pm
Apr 9, 2018, 4:22 am
#895
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Lisboa
Programs: BAEC Gold, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond, IHG Spire, Easyjet Flight Club
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I can't see the flight number, date or route here so I can only guess, but I'd sau it is an A321 to somewhere like EDI, AMS, GVA, MAD, where the Silver / Gold block could easily be 5 rows. Row 6 is a Bronze couple, rows 1 to 3 are all Goldies and Silvers behind. 4C is without status but snuck in either on a paid seat or at T-72 hrs, given it's CE seating.
Apr 9, 2018, 4:57 am
#896
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
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I'm flying on BA2631 tomorrow, all exit rows have basically been clear, then as soon as online check in opened, all exit rows are full (I am sat on Row 13). I can see other seats are blocked on Expertflyer, but wonder why it didn't stay blocked for me and why the exit rows were filled up very quickly after online check in?
J0 C0 D0 R0 I0 Y4 B4 H3 K3 M1 L0 V0 N0 O0 Q0 S0 G0
The best way to have got an empty seat on this aircraft would be to select a seat towards the back. If you go for 29C I suspect that 29B will stay unfilled.
Apr 9, 2018, 5:51 am
#897
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Lisboa
Programs: BAEC Gold, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond, IHG Spire, Easyjet Flight Club
Posts: 452
Because it looks to me like a very full flight with plenty of cardholders on it and I suspect only half a dozen empty seats.
J0 C0 D0 R0 I0 Y4 B4 H3 K3 M1 L0 V0 N0 O0 Q0 S0 G0
The best way to have got an empty seat on this aircraft would be to select a seat towards the back. If you go for 29C I suspect that 29B will stay unfilled.
J0 C0 D0 R0 I0 Y4 B4 H3 K3 M1 L0 V0 N0 O0 Q0 S0 G0
The best way to have got an empty seat on this aircraft would be to select a seat towards the back. If you go for 29C I suspect that 29B will stay unfilled.
Apr 10, 2018, 2:20 pm
#898
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: All over the place often South Wales and Lake District
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Am on tomorrow's BA 579 from VCE to LHR. The middle seat between myself and my wife was showing as available to pick earlier, but is now showing an X. I originally had the aisle and middle seat chosen for my wife and I with the window seat not chosen. Has TS taken effect (this is an avios booking) or do I need to change seats to another row to ensure my wife and I don't have a stranger between us? We flew out in J but no availability in J on return.
Apr 11, 2018, 12:37 pm
#899
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: All over the place often South Wales and Lake District
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Posts: 4,552
Updated to add that it didn't work. Someone was able to choose the middle seat. They were kind enough to allow my wife and I to swap seats. There were club seats tomorrow, but the difference in cost for the apartment we were saying in for 4 nights was too much - 5 nights was 350 euros more expensive than 4
Apr 12, 2018, 2:31 am
#900
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Krakow
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Am on tomorrow's BA 579 from VCE to LHR. The middle seat between myself and my wife was showing as available to pick earlier, but is now showing an X. I originally had the aisle and middle seat chosen for my wife and I with the window seat not chosen. Has TS taken effect (this is an avios booking) or do I need to change seats to another row to ensure my wife and I don't have a stranger between us? We flew out in J but no availability in J on return.
At T-72 the block would have kicked in, I expect that is when you started to see an X in the middle seat, along with a whole load of other block. However I have noticed that seats get unlocked and then, possibly depending on what other seats get occupied, the block can be reapplied and then possibly removed again
As more and more people check in blocks start to be removed, so if the flight is busy then someone will end likely up in the middle seat