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Help to check BA seat availability and BA flight loads

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Old Jul 9, 2017, 11:09 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: Tobias-UK
This is community help desk which allows members to assist each other in finding out how many seats are available on any given flight.

If you wish to request availability for a specific flight, please state the date and origin/departure airport codes, not just the flight number.

Please also restrict requests to BA/oneworld flights - flights for other airlines may be removed to avoid cluttering the thread and taking it away from BAEC.


As of 15 Oct 2014 flightstats.com no longer displays flight availability.

Fare class availability can be queried in various ways*:
* Please update wiki if you know of any others.
** Origin of data concealed and probably unauthorised (so buyer beware)


What do the codes mean?
Suppose we have a result as F1 A0 J9 C7 D0 RC IC W9 E9 T4 Y9 BC HC ...

This means:
There is 1 seat in the F bucket for sale
There are 0 seats in the A and D bucket for sale, but you can join the waitlist in case seats get released later.
There are at least 9 seats in the J, W, E and Y buckets.
The R, I, B and H buckets are closed to waitlisting.

There are two important things to note about how to interpret these numbers that many people don't understand as it is very counter intuitive:
1) There is NO direct relation to the actual number of seats available on the specific flight. They only mean that the airline is willing to sell this many seats on that specific flight. The airline may intend to oversell seats or withhold seats from sale for many reasons.

2) In the example above, the results show W9 E9 T4 (which are all WT+ buckets). This does not mean that there are 9+9+4=22 seats for sale. Interpret these numbers as "there are at least 9 seats for sale in WT+". There could really be anywhere between 9 and 22 seats for sale - we just can't tell from the numbers the system gives us. Therefore, the conservative approach of assuming that there are at least 9 seats for sale is usually the best one.


What does the "C" mean?
Closed to waitlisting.
In the example above we have RC, IC, BC and HC. This is different to A0 and D0: The A and D buckets are "full" but you can apply to join their waitlists (if your fare permits waitlisting). With R, I, B and H you cannot even request a seat.

The carrier will determine how to confirm your seat if it wishes. Sometimes this may happen immediately, other times only a few minutes before the flight's departure. The order of the waitlist is determined by the carrier privately, but your Executive Club status will push you towards the front of the queue. Many cheap fares do not allow waitlisting.


Differences for non-BA airlines
  • Some carriers (those using Sabre such as AA) only show a maximum of 7 available seats (not 9). Others only show a maximum of 5.
  • Some carriers use "L" instead of "0" (e.g., CL DL YL) to indicate you may waitlist for the seat. This tends to happen when the entire flight is on a list basis.
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Help to check BA seat availability and BA flight loads

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Old Sep 5, 2017, 12:43 pm
  #301  
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: YVR, HNL
Programs: AS 75k, UA peon, BA Bronze, AC E50k, Marriott Plat, HH Diamond, Fairmont Plat (RIP)
Posts: 7,834
Originally Posted by MarkedMan
..1A is blocked. i'd ask again on or around Sep 21.
Thank you! So 1K is occupied? We are in 2A and 2K now. I will be in the middle of the Masai Mara on Sept. 21 but will make the effort if there is a chance of snagging 1A and 1K.
Finkface is offline  
Old Sep 5, 2017, 12:52 pm
  #302  
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: SFO, LON
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, Bonvoy Tit, Hilton Dia etc etc
Posts: 2,354
Originally Posted by Finkface
Thank you! So 1K is occupied? We are in 2A and 2K now. I will be in the middle of the Masai Mara on Sept. 21 but will make the effort if there is a chance of snagging 1A and 1K.
Yes, 1K is taken. I wouldn't rush, ask on the 22nd and see what folks say, or just try on the 23rd to see if it's still open, assuming you want to do 1A/2A, but no 1a/1K possible right now.
MarkedMan is offline  
Old Sep 5, 2017, 2:58 pm
  #303  
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: YVR, HNL
Programs: AS 75k, UA peon, BA Bronze, AC E50k, Marriott Plat, HH Diamond, Fairmont Plat (RIP)
Posts: 7,834
Originally Posted by MarkedMan
Yes, 1K is taken. I wouldn't rush, ask on the 22nd and see what folks say, or just try on the 23rd to see if it's still open, assuming you want to do 1A/2A, but no 1a/1K possible right now.
Many thanks!
Finkface is offline  
Old Sep 5, 2017, 10:17 pm
  #304  
pks
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Programs: BA
Posts: 2
Can someone please tell me seat availability on:

(1) BA 48 on 3'rd July 2018
(2) BA 48 on 4'th July 2018

thx!
-pks
pks is offline  
Old Sep 6, 2017, 12:31 am
  #305  
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Gloucestershire
Programs: BA Gold (ex-GGL, maybe future Silver), Hilton Diamond
Posts: 6,201
BA 48 SEA-LHR (late flight):

F9 A9
J9 C9 D9 R9 I9
W9 E0 T0
Y9 B3 H0 K0 M0 L0 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G0



On 4 July:

F9 A9
J9 C9 D9 R9 I9
W9 E0 T0
Y9 B3 H0 K0 M0 L0 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G0



Basically, at this stage, I'd suggest that prices are high because they're only interested in attracting those who are desperate to travel. Give it three months or so and, while transatlantic economy non-stops in summer are invariably expensive, availability will be more normal.

While a few seats are assigned, most are blocked due to bassinets or are reserved as exit rows for golds.

During a Christmas sale you are very likely to find good business class prices because of the summer/public holiday drop-off, even if economy and WTP are still relatively expensive.
Cymro is offline  
Old Sep 6, 2017, 2:58 am
  #306  
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Programs: BAEC - Gold
Posts: 47
Could someone please do a seat check for City Airport (London) - John F Kennedy (NY) (New York), BA0001, 09:40 Wed 13 Sep 2017, Club World?

Many thanks
sudge27 is offline  
Old Sep 6, 2017, 3:09 am
  #307  
Hilton Contributor Badge
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Switzerland
Programs: AY+ Platinum, SK Gold, BAEC Silver, airbaltic VIP, Radisson VIP
Posts: 6,532
Originally Posted by sudge27
could someone please do a seat check for city airport (london) - john f kennedy (ny) (new york), ba0001, 09:40 wed 13 sep 2017, club world?

Many thanks
UK POS: j9 c4 d4 r0 i0
florens is offline  
Old Sep 6, 2017, 3:09 am
  #308  
 
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: London
Programs: Many. Too many. I came here to cut them down. I failed.
Posts: 2,999
Originally Posted by sudge27
Could someone please do a seat check for City Airport (London) - John F Kennedy (NY) (New York), BA0001, 09:40 Wed 13 Sep 2017, Club World?

Many thanks
You only get Club World on this flight

WED 13SEP17 LONDON /NEW YORK CIT

LCY1JFK 0940 1405 BA 1
J9 C4 D4 RC I0

There is availability, just not in the cheapest fare buckets (mind you R & I class may have APEX restrictions so you may have availability at the cheapest fares)
Sam Bee is offline  
Old Sep 6, 2017, 4:05 am
  #309  
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Programs: BAEC - Gold
Posts: 47
Originally Posted by Sam Bee
You only get Club World on this flight

WED 13SEP17 LONDON /NEW YORK CIT

LCY1JFK 0940 1405 BA 1
J9 C4 D4 RC I0

There is availability, just not in the cheapest fare buckets (mind you R & I class may have APEX restrictions so you may have availability at the cheapest fares)
thanks both - I am booked on this flight already, but was just going through seat selection and someone had selected 1B. BA had put me on 1A as automatic seat choice, but with 1J and 1K open, I booked in 1K hoping that i may get both seats (if flight not full) - just trying to ascertain if that's realistic, or if the flight is full and will be sat next to somebody regardless, i may as well go 1A just for the "prestige" of the seat number
sudge27 is offline  
Old Sep 6, 2017, 4:46 am
  #310  
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: London, UK
Programs: BAEC - Silver
Posts: 2
Hi All,

Might someone be able to tell me what WT+ on BA269 LHR>LAX looks like on the 19th Sept? I POUG'd from WT, but from the seat map, WT+ is looking depressingly busy.

Thank you!

Last edited by ahibbitt; Sep 6, 2017 at 5:11 am
ahibbitt is offline  
Old Sep 6, 2017, 5:19 am
  #311  
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: SFO, LON
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, Bonvoy Tit, Hilton Dia etc etc
Posts: 2,354
Originally Posted by ahibbitt
Hi All,

Might someone be able to tell me what WT+ on BA269 LHR>LAX looks like on the 19th Sept? I POUG'd from WT, but from the seat map, WT+ is looking depressingly busy.

Thank you!
Welcome to Flyertalk! Hope you find good reason to stick around.

As for your flight, I am seeing

F5 A4 J9 C8 D4 R0 I0 W2 E0 T0 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S8 N7 Q0 O0 G0

Flight's busy-ish out front and WT+ is certainly very busy, tho' 61 A/K and 60 D/F are blocked right now, not assigned. You never know, might get bumped up again
MarkedMan is offline  
Old Sep 6, 2017, 6:54 am
  #312  
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Location: London, UK
Programs: BAEC - Silver
Posts: 2
Originally Posted by MarkedMan
Welcome to Flyertalk! Hope you find good reason to stick around.

As for your flight, I am seeing

F5 A4 J9 C8 D4 R0 I0 W2 E0 T0 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S8 N7 Q0 O0 G0

Flight's busy-ish out front and WT+ is certainly very busy, tho' 61 A/K and 60 D/F are blocked right now, not assigned. You never know, might get bumped up again
Thanks, MarkedMan. I've been lurking for a while, so I'll certainly stick around!

Thank you for the information; I've currently got a VLML booked, but given it's so busy and my CIV should hopefully be top-end for a bronze, I might well cancel it and hope for the OpUp!
ahibbitt is offline  
Old Sep 6, 2017, 8:55 am
  #313  
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: HKG; LHR
Programs: BA GOLD
Posts: 74
How's BA32 / 25SEP / HKG-LHR looking?
Herman Lam is offline  
Old Sep 6, 2017, 9:01 am
  #314  
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Gloucestershire
Programs: BA Gold (ex-GGL, maybe future Silver), Hilton Diamond
Posts: 6,201
Originally Posted by Herman Lam
How's BA32 / 25SEP / HKG-LHR looking?
F6 A5
J9 C9 D9 R9 I9
W9 E9 T5
Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V8 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G0

Take your pick in the front, though T5 and I9 suggests that WTP could be getting full already (but plenty of more tickets to be sold).

Busy-ish down the back but V8 doesn't suggest overbooking yet, or anything like it.

Plenty can change in just over two weeks though.
Cymro is offline  
Old Sep 6, 2017, 9:19 am
  #315  
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 8,774
Could someone check for me BA5 and BA7 (LHR-HND/NRT) on Friday 8 Sep please. If any BA insiders could possibly PM me the standby loads too, that would be especially helpful!

Thanks.
Ldnn1 is offline  


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