scottishpoet

Nope, blocked seats get automatically freed up by the system as more and more people check in, not just if airport checkin. I understand airport checkin get the same view online checkin has

We do not really know the formula for how they free up seats but .... maybe 12 A and C are both Golds, but you in 27A with a non status person in 27C meant that 27B got unblocked before 12B

Dicksbits

That's very true! Thanks - it's added to my knowledge going forward.

RG1X

I'm not sure why, but it seems BA has the habit of putting my wife and I on either side of the aisle at the moment. Is there a preference somewhere that I've missed, because generally she prefers window, and I prefer aisle... but it has us both in aisle by default.

I'm guessing maybe the other seats are temporarily blocked, though I'm not sure how to check that.

CKBA

To move, or not to move, that is the question:

Upcoming flight in ~27 hours on 787 LH, Mrs CKBA (silver) and myself (gold) in Y bulkhead seats 21H and 21J rspectively, with 21K 'blocked' due to bassinet. Called BA yesterday to see about changing to 21K, but they said they couldn't release it.

So, at OLCI, should I move to 21K and risk an interloper sitting in 21J between Mrs CKBA and myself, or move Mrs CKBA to 21K in the vain notion that 21H will remain blocked since I'm still in 21J. There are >9Y seats still available... .

Previous experience has shown that if I change seats at OLCI it doesn't seem catch up with the blocking, so en empty seat seems to be an empty seat no matter what.

corporate-wage-slave

The question is if you had to have someone in your trio, where would you prefer them to go, window or aisle. If it's window then do nothing, if it's aisle then move Mrs.CKBA to the window, and you may get lucky either way. I take the point that your don't appear to have a lot of other passengers at the moment but if WT is full they will roll forward eventually. Better still, UuA, POUG or AUP out to WTP!

UKTony

Deleted

CKBA

Yeah, my intuition is to take the window seat - it avoids the clash of the legs vs food trolley!

I did look at upgrading to WTP, but at just a tad under $5,000 it seemed a little steep!

CKBA

At OLCI flyerexpert had the window seat blocked, while BA had it taken, so could not move. Sure enough on board, it had been taken (as far as I could tell, by someone with no status), while there were a number of empty seats elsewhere (and I was #7 in the sequence...).

scottishpoet

The seating during the 24 ours of OLCI is dynamic, it may well show as blocked in EF at some points, then later available for selection.

The only time you can check it is still blocked is after OLCI closes.

Depending on the reason for the block, the seat may well show as occupied on the BA App is it has no way to distinguish between blocked seats and occupied seats.

No idea what "number seven in the sequence" means, what your sequence number during OLCI is has no bearing on if the seat next to you will remain clocked or not.

CKBA

re #7 - essentially I had checked in as soon as possible, and if the seat had been blocked due to it being a bassinet it surely should have become unblocked at OLCI if available. I would be surprised if the person sitting in 21K had been #1-6... .

xenole

6 people with connections could have checked in before you.
I quite often grab a better seat when I can check in up to 24hrs earlier due to say an AMS-LHR flight on the same PNR connecting to a LAX flight later in the day.
Sometimes you get 20-40 people ahead of you, or say SEQ042 when you check in at exactly T-24.

Most of the time, should the bassinet seat be available, I'll grab that. If I stick with the aisle, you're pretty much guaranteed that someone with either grab it during OLCI or shift themselves early in the flight, and vice versa.

​​​​​​Very rare that a bassinet with 3 seats in economy doesn't get filled up. Have had the odd middle free, but generally popular.

scottishpoet

Lots of seats are blocked once OLCI opens. Being 7th person checked in does not mean that seat block will remain as more people check in. having status gives a good chance of the block remaining.

What I do not know is what the algorthim is that frees seats up. Does two golds on separate bookings in A and C mean that B is less likely to be freed up that C would if A and B was a couple, both Gold travelling together on one PNR. Does 2 silvers trump 1 gold etc etc....

Watch the seat blocks change on a few flights, especially in the last two hours before check in closes. It is very very dynamic.

At any one time only a small number of seats are shown as available at any one time, so people without status have very little choice when they check in, while status customers have more choice to pick seats before check in opens.

xenole

Sometimes people change seats, get an op-up, don't show / cancel at the last minute or just for operational reasons.

Seen a few occasions where the seat map is showing as full, blocked, or maybe a couple of rubbish seats left, but at check in, I can pick from 30 seats including exit rows.

madmax_uk

I was trying to change my seat today at OLCI to a bulkhead with a baby cot that was showing as available and I received this message and was unable to change:

"This seat is available to [SIC] because they are associated with the infant in your booking." (

Any ideas as I definitely don't have an infant (that I am aware of!)

ReynoldsNumber

Interesting observation on the BRU flight tonight. A passenger was sitting in 1C that had blocked 1A, even for gold card holders. My colleague, who is also gold, made the booking today at the airport and was given 2A. Seat maps was also showing 1A blocked for gold.

So I presume it goes higher? And this gentleman was either a GGL or a Premier?