First cabin 'closed off' to MAD but then hen party 'upgraded' into it on board
Apr 16, 2017, 1:52 am
#181
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: HKG / DUB / YYZ
Programs: CX AY DL
Posts: 179
Timely article by the BBC - What happens when travel is disrupted by stag and hen parties?
Apr 16, 2017, 2:04 am
#182
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: London, UK
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 2,286
I'm sure it isn't.
As I said upthread yesterday, I'm shocked so many are bashing the OP about this. This isn't an upgrade issue. It is a seating issue. Think about it this way:
Say you are on a 747 in CW with your family. You've been trying to score some UD seats since booking but the cabin is full so you are in some crappy seats on the main deck. But you can see rows 62 and 64 are blocked off entirely rather than being occupied. You ask by calling up at t-72, and at check in, but are told that those rows aren't being opened up for operational reasons.
Just before take off you see a group of lads on a stag do disappear upstairs to see the cockpit for some photos. They don't come back down before take off so you suspect they've bagged some seats upstairs. You ask the SCCM if there are any seats free upstairs and you are given a load of BS as to why the stag group has been allowed to sit up there but you haven't been.
A perk of being a GCH is getting first dibs on the prime seats. The OP asked to better seats within the same cabin and was denied for no good reason. Others were allowed to move to those seats. I would be pretty f**ked off too.
As I said upthread yesterday, I'm shocked so many are bashing the OP about this. This isn't an upgrade issue. It is a seating issue. Think about it this way:
Say you are on a 747 in CW with your family. You've been trying to score some UD seats since booking but the cabin is full so you are in some crappy seats on the main deck. But you can see rows 62 and 64 are blocked off entirely rather than being occupied. You ask by calling up at t-72, and at check in, but are told that those rows aren't being opened up for operational reasons.
Just before take off you see a group of lads on a stag do disappear upstairs to see the cockpit for some photos. They don't come back down before take off so you suspect they've bagged some seats upstairs. You ask the SCCM if there are any seats free upstairs and you are given a load of BS as to why the stag group has been allowed to sit up there but you haven't been.
A perk of being a GCH is getting first dibs on the prime seats. The OP asked to better seats within the same cabin and was denied for no good reason. Others were allowed to move to those seats. I would be pretty f**ked off too.
Apr 16, 2017, 2:05 am
#183
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: UK
Programs: BA Gold, AA 1MM lifetime gold, Starwood gold, Marriott Gold Elite
Posts: 719
Happy Easter from a sunny Madrid. Good to see that this is currently the number 1 trending thread on Flyertalk and that so many of you who were not there have painted such an evocative picture of the events on board. Posting on the internet is a bit like driving a car- like road rage within one's bubble of anonymity.
Apr 16, 2017, 2:09 am
#184
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: London
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 1,283
I'm sure it isn't.
As I said upthread yesterday, I'm shocked so many are bashing the OP about this. This isn't an upgrade issue. It is a seating issue. Think about it this way:
Say you are on a 747 in CW with your family. You've been trying to score some UD seats since booking but the cabin is full so you are in some crappy seats on the main deck. But you can see rows 62 and 64 are blocked off entirely rather than being occupied. You ask by calling up at t-72, and at check in, but are told that those rows aren't being opened up for operational reasons.
Just before take off you see a group of lads on a stag do disappear upstairs to see the cockpit for some photos. They don't come back down before take off so you suspect they've bagged some seats upstairs. You ask the SCCM if there are any seats free upstairs and you are given a load of BS as to why the stag group has been allowed to sit up there but you haven't been.
A perk of being a GCH is getting first dibs on the prime seats. The OP asked to better seats within the same cabin and was denied for no good reason. Others were allowed to move to those seats. I would be pretty f**ked off too.
As I said upthread yesterday, I'm shocked so many are bashing the OP about this. This isn't an upgrade issue. It is a seating issue. Think about it this way:
Say you are on a 747 in CW with your family. You've been trying to score some UD seats since booking but the cabin is full so you are in some crappy seats on the main deck. But you can see rows 62 and 64 are blocked off entirely rather than being occupied. You ask by calling up at t-72, and at check in, but are told that those rows aren't being opened up for operational reasons.
Just before take off you see a group of lads on a stag do disappear upstairs to see the cockpit for some photos. They don't come back down before take off so you suspect they've bagged some seats upstairs. You ask the SCCM if there are any seats free upstairs and you are given a load of BS as to why the stag group has been allowed to sit up there but you haven't been.
A perk of being a GCH is getting first dibs on the prime seats. The OP asked to better seats within the same cabin and was denied for no good reason. Others were allowed to move to those seats. I would be pretty f**ked off too.
However its only a seat and not worth getting your knickers in a twist.
Apr 16, 2017, 2:11 am
#185
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: UK
Programs: BA Gold, AA 1MM lifetime gold, Starwood gold, Marriott Gold Elite
Posts: 719
I'm sure it isn't.
As I said upthread yesterday, I'm shocked so many are bashing the OP about this. This isn't an upgrade issue. It is a seating issue. Think about it this way:
Say you are on a 747 in CW with your family. You've been trying to score some UD seats since booking but the cabin is full so you are in some crappy seats on the main deck. But you can see rows 62 and 64 are blocked off entirely rather than being occupied. You ask by calling up at t-72, and at check in, but are told that those rows aren't being opened up for operational reasons.
Just before take off you see a group of lads on a stag do disappear upstairs to see the cockpit for some photos. They don't come back down before take off so you suspect they've bagged some seats upstairs. You ask the SCCM if there are any seats free upstairs and you are given a load of BS as to why the stag group has been allowed to sit up there but you haven't been.
A perk of being a GCH is getting first dibs on the prime seats. The OP asked to better seats within the same cabin and was denied for no good reason. Others were allowed to move to those seats. I would be pretty f**ked off too.
As I said upthread yesterday, I'm shocked so many are bashing the OP about this. This isn't an upgrade issue. It is a seating issue. Think about it this way:
Say you are on a 747 in CW with your family. You've been trying to score some UD seats since booking but the cabin is full so you are in some crappy seats on the main deck. But you can see rows 62 and 64 are blocked off entirely rather than being occupied. You ask by calling up at t-72, and at check in, but are told that those rows aren't being opened up for operational reasons.
Just before take off you see a group of lads on a stag do disappear upstairs to see the cockpit for some photos. They don't come back down before take off so you suspect they've bagged some seats upstairs. You ask the SCCM if there are any seats free upstairs and you are given a load of BS as to why the stag group has been allowed to sit up there but you haven't been.
A perk of being a GCH is getting first dibs on the prime seats. The OP asked to better seats within the same cabin and was denied for no good reason. Others were allowed to move to those seats. I would be pretty f**ked off too.
Apr 16, 2017, 2:18 am
#186
Join Date: Feb 2008
Programs: BA (GGL/CCR)
Posts: 1,256
No it isn't, and therein lies part of the problem with OP's complaint and your analogy. Aside from Row 1 seats, BA makes no promise whatsoever to gold cardholders that they will get 'first dibs on the prime seats'. None.
So this thread is essentially:
Step 1 - Use imagination to invent something I must surely be entitled to;
Step 2 - Get denied;
Step 3 - Whine and rant.
Nothing much more than that.
So this thread is essentially:
Step 1 - Use imagination to invent something I must surely be entitled to;
Step 2 - Get denied;
Step 3 - Whine and rant.
Nothing much more than that.
Apr 16, 2017, 2:30 am
#187
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: London, UK
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 2,286
No it isn't, and therein lies part of the problem with OP's complaint and your analogy. Aside from Row 1 seats, BA makes no promise whatsoever to gold cardholders that they will get 'first dibs on the prime seats'. None.
So this thread is essentially:
Step 1 - Use imagination to invent something I must surely be entitled to;
Step 2 - Get denied;
Step 3 - Whine and rant.
Nothing much more than that.
So this thread is essentially:
Step 1 - Use imagination to invent something I must surely be entitled to;
Step 2 - Get denied;
Step 3 - Whine and rant.
Nothing much more than that.
Being equally pedantic, I'm pleased to see that you recognise that they do make that promise. Indeed, they specifically mention row 1. I'm sure the OP would have happily taken row 1.
Apr 16, 2017, 2:35 am
#188
Join Date: May 2010
Location: UK
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 1,144
Yes but the point being the OP after already doing well for himself and getting on an aircraft with CW instead of CE wasn't happy with that as the moment some other people are getting moved in to the First cabin he wants a piece of it and really tries to get his own way and fails! You can put it how you like but the OP clearly thought he was very important and didn't like the fact the Hen party get to sit in First seats and he does not nothing more nothing less! And like I said further up thread why the hell anyone would want to move in to the same space as a hen party is beyond me!
Apr 16, 2017, 2:40 am
#189
Join Date: Feb 2008
Programs: BA (GGL/CCR)
Posts: 1,256
It's not pedantry on my part, merely a comprehensive refutation of your ludicrous analogy. On an aircraft with First Class, the only priority that BA offers to Gold cardholders in respect of seats in Row 1 is for those who hold First Class tickets. OP had a CE ticket and accordingly had zero entitlement to a seat in Row 1 or anywhere else in the F cabin. Zero.
Apr 16, 2017, 2:51 am
#190
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: Meh
Posts: 2,598
Thanks. Generally what tends to happen on these forums is that once a trend of opinion declares itself, people come out of the woodwork and pile in, some of whom will inevitably side with the consensus rather than the minority in order to gain perceived credibility and avoid being castigated themselves.
In this case, you could not for two hours accept the fact BA did a lovely thing for a group of ladies and you still insist you and your infant kids should have been part of probably a raucous party, for the sake of a slightly larger seat. It is pathetic actually in my honest opinion. So much so I still think this may be a wind up and if it is I salute you.
Apr 16, 2017, 2:52 am
#191
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold; FB Silver; SPG; IHG Gold
Posts: 2,985
I'm sure it isn't.
As I said upthread yesterday, I'm shocked so many are bashing the OP about this. This isn't an upgrade issue. It is a seating issue. Think about it this way:
Say you are on a 747 in CW with your family. You've been trying to score some UD seats since booking but the cabin is full so you are in some crappy seats on the main deck. But you can see rows 62 and 64 are blocked off entirely rather than being occupied. You ask by calling up at t-72, and at check in, but are told that those rows aren't being opened up for operational reasons.
Just before take off you see a group of lads on a stag do disappear upstairs to see the cockpit for some photos. They don't come back down before take off so you suspect they've bagged some seats upstairs. You ask the SCCM if there are any seats free upstairs and you are given a load of BS as to why the stag group has been allowed to sit up there but you haven't been.
A perk of being a GCH is getting first dibs on the prime seats. The OP asked to better seats within the same cabin and was denied for no good reason. Others were allowed to move to those seats. I would be pretty f**ked off too.
As I said upthread yesterday, I'm shocked so many are bashing the OP about this. This isn't an upgrade issue. It is a seating issue. Think about it this way:
Say you are on a 747 in CW with your family. You've been trying to score some UD seats since booking but the cabin is full so you are in some crappy seats on the main deck. But you can see rows 62 and 64 are blocked off entirely rather than being occupied. You ask by calling up at t-72, and at check in, but are told that those rows aren't being opened up for operational reasons.
Just before take off you see a group of lads on a stag do disappear upstairs to see the cockpit for some photos. They don't come back down before take off so you suspect they've bagged some seats upstairs. You ask the SCCM if there are any seats free upstairs and you are given a load of BS as to why the stag group has been allowed to sit up there but you haven't been.
A perk of being a GCH is getting first dibs on the prime seats. The OP asked to better seats within the same cabin and was denied for no good reason. Others were allowed to move to those seats. I would be pretty f**ked off too.
I think that having a dispute about what is a pretty marginal thing is what gets me. Then again, I have posted four times on this thread now so maybe I need to have a lie down (CW or First) myself��.
Apr 16, 2017, 2:56 am
#192
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 6,349
I'm not aware the OP had any rights at all in this situation. Sounds more like jealousy to me.
Apr 16, 2017, 2:58 am
#193
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: London, UK
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 2,286
It's not pedantry on my part, merely a comprehensive refutation of your ludicrous analogy. On an aircraft with First Class, the only priority that BA offers to Gold cardholders in respect of seats in Row 1 is for those who hold First Class tickets. OP had a CE ticket and accordingly had zero entitlement to a seat in Row 1 or anywhere else in the F cabin. Zero.
On this aircraft rows 10-15 were originally designed as club Europe. The seats were those that you might recognise from CW. Rows 1-4 were blocked off from the CE cabin to everyone. Those seats are what is usually sold as first. Fair enough.
When the CSM decided to unblock rows 1-4 to some passengers, the GCH should have been allowed to move to a spare seat within the unblocked area. The CSM acted poorly in refusing to allow a GCH to move to an open seat in the same cabin as he had purchased.
Apr 16, 2017, 3:00 am
#194
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: London, UK
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 2,286
At the time of booking and after you have free seat selection of any seats on the aircraft that are not blocked or occupied. The seats the OP wanted to moved to were neither blocked nor occupied. He should have been allowed to move to seats that were within the same cabin as he had purchased.
Apr 16, 2017, 3:01 am
#195
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: UK
Programs: BA Silver, AA Gold, A3 Gold, Honors Diamond, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 1,251
Thanks. Generally what tends to happen on these forums is that once a trend of opinion declares itself, people come out of the woodwork and pile in, some of whom will inevitably side with the consensus rather than the minority in order to gain perceived credibility and avoid being castigated themselves.