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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 Nov 12, 2017, 4:56 pm
  #691  
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Sky
Posts: 240
May somebody please share the availability for:
BA 084 YVR-LHR on Sun, Nov 12
BA 103 LHR-YYC on Tue, Nov 21

Thank you!
mrkenneth is offline  
Old Nov 12, 2017, 5:00 pm
  #692  
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Derbyshire, UK
Programs: BA Gold, AVIS Presidents Club
Posts: 165
Ba84 12/11/17 f2 a1 j9 c0 d0 r0 i0 w4 e0 t0 y9 b9 h9 k9 m7 l4 v1 s0 n0 q0 o0 g9
ba 103 21/11/17 j9 c9 d9 r9 i0 w9 e9 t5 y9 b9 h9 k9 m9 l9 v9 s9 n9 q9 o9 g9
Infocustv is offline  
Old Nov 13, 2017, 12:57 am
  #693  
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Programs: emirates british airways priority pass
Posts: 27
Originally Posted by MarkLHR
ba118 j9 c9 d9 r9 i9 w9 e9 t9 y9 b9 h9 k9 m9 l9 v9 s9 n9 q9 o9 g9
ba099 j9 c8 d6 r3 i0 w4 e2 t0 y6 b3 h0 k0 m0 l0 v0 s0 n0 q0 o0 g0
Thanks MarkLHR!
numbiceman is offline  
Old Nov 13, 2017, 3:34 am
  #694  
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Programs: BAEC - Gold
Posts: 47
Could someone please do an availability check for LHR - JFK, BA0117, 08.25 Wed 15 November?

Many thanks in advance
sudge27 is offline  
Old Nov 13, 2017, 4:58 am
  #695  
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Boston, MA
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 208
Hello,
Can I request the load for BA0212 BOS-LHR on Friday, 2017-11-17?

cheers!
sometalkofme is offline  
Old Nov 13, 2017, 5:10 am
  #696  
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: London
Programs: BA GGL / GfL
Posts: 3,254
Originally Posted by sudge27
Could someone please do an availability check for LHR - JFK, BA0117, 08.25 Wed 15 November?

Many thanks in advance
BA 117
LHR 11/15/17 8:25 AM
JFK 11/15/17 11:30 AM
777
Daily
F0 A0 J6 C0 D0 R0 I0 W5 E3 T0 Y9 B5 H3 K3 M3 L3 V2 S1 N1 Q0 O0 G0

Pilot37
Pilot37 is offline  
Old Nov 13, 2017, 5:10 am
  #697  
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Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Switzerland
Programs: AY+ Platinum, SK Gold, BAEC Silver, airbaltic VIP, Radisson VIP
Posts: 6,529
Originally Posted by sudge27
could someone please do an availability check for lhr - jfk, ba0117, 08.25 wed 15 november?

Many thanks in advance
uk pos
f0 a0 j6 c0 d0 r0 i0 w5 e3 t0 y9 b5 h3 k3 m3 l3 v2 s1 n1 q0 o0 g0

Originally Posted by sometalkofme
hello,
can i request the load for ba0212 bos-lhr on friday, 2017-11-17?

Cheers!
us pos
f1 a1 j0 c0 d0 r0 i0 w2 e0 t0 y1 b0 h0 k0 m0 l0 v0 s0 n0 q0 o0 g0
florens is online now  
Old Nov 13, 2017, 5:11 am
  #698  
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: London
Programs: BA GGL / GfL
Posts: 3,254
Originally Posted by sometalkofme
Hello,
Can I request the load for BA0212 BOS-LHR on Friday, 2017-11-17?

cheers!
Busy!

BA 212
BOS 11/17/17 5:40 PM
LHR 11/18/17 5:00 AM
777
Daily
F1 A1 J0 C0 D0 R0 I0 W0 E0 T0 Y0 B0 H0 K0 M0 L0 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G0

Pilot37
Pilot37 is offline  
Old Nov 13, 2017, 5:51 am
  #699  
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Boston, MA
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 208
Originally Posted by Pilot37
Busy!

BA 212
BOS 11/17/17 5:40 PM
LHR 11/18/17 5:00 AM
777
Daily
F1 A1 J0 C0 D0 R0 I0 W0 E0 T0 Y0 B0 H0 K0 M0 L0 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G0

Pilot37
Ooof!

Thank you very much.

cheers!
sometalkofme is offline  
Old Nov 13, 2017, 9:26 pm
  #700  
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: NYC
Programs: BA (Gold), GF (Gold), EY (Silver), EK; Hilton (Diamond)
Posts: 83
Can anyone please help with

BA2272 JFK-LGW Friday November 17th

Flying in WTP and no choice of seats right now. To that point, how open are JFK ground staff to you proactively offering to move to an earlier flight?

Thanks!
GF2B is offline  
Old Nov 14, 2017, 12:26 am
  #701  
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: SFO, BRU, ADB
Programs: UA Gold, BA Silver, Marriott Titanium, IHG Plat, Hilton Gold
Posts: 703
Originally Posted by gf2b
can anyone please help with

ba2272 jfk-lgw friday november 17th

flying in wtp and no choice of seats right now. To that point, how open are jfk ground staff to you proactively offering to move to an earlier flight?

Thanks!
j2 c2 d0 r0 i0 w0 e0 t0 y1 b0 h0 k0 m0 l0 v0 s0 n0 q0 o0 g0
Mict is offline  
Old Nov 14, 2017, 1:52 am
  #702  
 
Join Date: May 2016
Location: LHR
Programs: BA GGL/CCR
Posts: 63
Hi,

Not sure if it's a bit far out, but please could someone post the flight loads on BA226 ATL-LHR 26/01/18.

This is a regular route for me and the price continues to confound me.

Also, as a bit of a noob to this wonderful underworld of golden flying advice, can I get the flight load data from the Basic Expert Flyer subscription or do I need Premium?

Many thanks.
fin_dg is offline  
Old Nov 14, 2017, 2:24 am
  #703  
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Manchester, UK.
Programs: BAEC Silver, then a handful of points on everything else.
Posts: 185
Originally Posted by fin_dg
Hi,

Not sure if it's a bit far out, but please could someone post the flight loads on BA226 ATL-LHR 26/01/18.

This is a regular route for me and the price continues to confound me.

Also, as a bit of a noob to this wonderful underworld of golden flying advice, can I get the flight load data from the Basic Expert Flyer subscription or do I need Premium?

Many thanks.
What you get from ExpertFlyer, AIUI, is *availability* rather than load, which tops out at 9 seats in each booking code (further details in the wiki above), so if the Y cabin is 145 seats and it's showing Y9, then the load in Y could be anything from 0% to 94% (give or take).

You can probably get hints closer to departure date by the availability in reward booking classes, but the load will probably be known only when the doors are closed.

Happy to be corrected if I've got any of this wrong!

BA 226 on 26/1 is currently showing as:

Results from https://www.ExpertFlyer.com
Code:
Flight Availability Search
Departing ATL on 01/26/18 12:00 AM for LHR
Flying BA  


                                                                     Frequency
Flight        Stops  Depart             Arrive             Aircraft  Reliability     Available Classes
0 Connections
BA 226        0      ATL                LHR                789       Daily           F4 A4 J9 C9 D9 R9 I9 W9 E9 T6 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S9 N9 Q9 O9 G9 
                     01/26/18 9:00 PM   01/27/18 10:00 AM            73% / 18m
internetplumber is offline  
Old Nov 14, 2017, 2:48 am
  #704  
 
Join Date: May 2016
Location: LHR
Programs: BA GGL/CCR
Posts: 63
Thank you. That all makes sense and I'm grateful for the education.
Originally Posted by internetplumber
What you get from ExpertFlyer, AIUI, is *availability* rather than load, which tops out at 9 seats in each booking code (further details in the wiki above), so if the Y cabin is 145 seats and it's showing Y9, then the load in Y could be anything from 0% to 94% (give or take).

You can probably get hints closer to departure date by the availability in reward booking classes, but the load will probably be known only when the doors are closed.

Happy to be corrected if I've got any of this wrong!

BA 226 on 26/1 is currently showing as:

Results from https://www.ExpertFlyer.com
Code:
Flight Availability Search
Departing ATL on 01/26/18 12:00 AM for LHR
Flying BA  


                                                                     Frequency
Flight        Stops  Depart             Arrive             Aircraft  Reliability     Available Classes
0 Connections
BA 226        0      ATL                LHR                789       Daily           F4 A4 J9 C9 D9 R9 I9 W9 E9 T6 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S9 N9 Q9 O9 G9 
                     01/26/18 9:00 PM   01/27/18 10:00 AM            73% / 18m
fin_dg is offline  
Old Nov 14, 2017, 5:18 am
  #705  
 
Join Date: Aug 2016
Programs: BAEC - Lowly blue
Posts: 282
Can anyone do me a favour and check BA198 BOM > LHR on Thursday 16th. Showing only 4 seats available in club for selection - all disappeared today suddenly! Bit worried about a potential downgrade. Thanks.
Lewis King is offline  


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