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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 Dec 28, 2017, 3:50 am
  #931  
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Lewes, UK
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 231
Originally Posted by hearingdouble
Hi, I wonder if anyone can help me by having a look at the loads on BA177 (LHR-JFK) on Monday 1 January.

I specifically booked BA177 to fly in the UD on a 744. The flight is still showing as a 744, although the vast majority of recent BA177 rotations seem to be on a 772. I’m hoping that the loads on BA177 on 1 January are high enough to avoid a last-minute equipment swap... (but not exactly holding my breath)

Thanks in advance,
Richard
UK POS
BA 177
LHR 01/01/18 13:05
JFK 01/01/18 16:20
744
F6 A5 J9 C0 D0 R0 I0 W9 E5 T0 Y9 B6 H3 K2 M1 L0 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G0

I hope you get to fly on the UD. I loved my flight in 62A earlier this year from PHX
hearingdouble likes this.
peterinlewesuk is offline  
Old Dec 28, 2017, 3:52 am
  #932  
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Northumberland (The big bit between Newcastle & Scotland).
Programs: BAEC & VS.
Posts: 224
BA177 New Years Day for 'hearingdouble'

0 Connections
BA 177 0 LHR JFK 744 Daily F6 A5 J9 C0 D0 R0 I0 W9 E5 T0 Y9 B6 H3 K2 M1 L0 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G0
01/01/18 1:05 PM 01/01/18 4:20 PM 72% / 30m
hearingdouble likes this.
Bat 21 is offline  
Old Dec 28, 2017, 4:58 am
  #933  
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 158
Please could someone check the BA0113 LHR-JFK in F on 13/01/18
Spruce-Moose is offline  
Old Dec 28, 2017, 5:01 am
  #934  
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: London
Programs: BAEC : GGL; HHonors : Diamond
Posts: 181
Originally Posted by Spruce-Moose
Please could someone check the BA0113 LHR-JFK in F on 13/01/18
Here you go:

F9 A9 J9 C9 D9 R9 I9 W9 E7 T3 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S9 N9 Q9 O0 G9

Plenty available still in First.
timcjp is offline  
Old Dec 28, 2017, 6:13 am
  #935  
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 158
Thanks a lot!
Spruce-Moose is offline  
Old Dec 28, 2017, 2:39 pm
  #936  
 
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 305
Originally Posted by peterinlewesuk
UK POS
BA 177
LHR 01/01/18 13:05
JFK 01/01/18 16:20
744
F6 A5 J9 C0 D0 R0 I0 W9 E5 T0 Y9 B6 H3 K2 M1 L0 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G0

I hope you get to fly on the UD. I loved my flight in 62A earlier this year from PHX
Originally Posted by Bat 21
BA177 New Years Day for 'hearingdouble'

0 Connections
BA 177 0 LHR JFK 744 Daily F6 A5 J9 C0 D0 R0 I0 W9 E5 T0 Y9 B6 H3 K2 M1 L0 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G0
01/01/18 1:05 PM 01/01/18 4:20 PM 72% / 30m
Thanks both for the quick response. Any help decoding those numbers? From what I can tell there's plenty of availability in F, J, W and Y which would suggest that a 772 swap is not completely out of the question...

Also, what does the 72% / 30m mean?

Thanks again
hearingdouble is offline  
Old Dec 28, 2017, 4:14 pm
  #937  
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 10,146
Originally Posted by hearingdouble
Thanks both for the quick response. Any help decoding those numbers? From what I can tell there's plenty of availability in F, J, W and Y which would suggest that a 772 swap is not completely out of the question...

Also, what does the 72% / 30m mean?

Thanks again
As I understand it the BA177, which is a daily service, 72% of the time it has been delayed by an average of 30 minutes.

From Expertflyer

The Frequency denotes the days of the week that the particular flight operates. The Reliability is the On Time Percentage and the Average Delay in Minutes of the flight over the last two months. More detailed Flight Reliability Ratings can be found on the Travel Information page.

Edited to add: It's still showing as a 747. As for the numbers think of them as this

F - F, A. It shows F6 so BA are prepared to sell up to 6 First Class seats.

J C,D,R and I- They are prepared to sell 9 (or possibly more) full fare J /CW seats, None left on the other fare buckets at the moment. It only ever goes up to 9 so it could be 9 or more.

W, E, T- World Traveller Plus. As with the above

All the others are economy, Y, B, H right through. Starting from the left in each class they are the more expensive ones is the easiest way to put it and that's the case with the others.

Hope that makes some sense, others are better than me at decoding oversales etc but it can be very dynamic especially on the JFK and other busy corporate routes which also have a high density of visitors too.

Pete

Last edited by PETER01; Dec 28, 2017 at 4:28 pm
PETER01 is offline  
Old Dec 28, 2017, 5:07 pm
  #938  
 
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 305
Originally Posted by PETER01
As I understand it the BA177, which is a daily service, 72% of the time it has been delayed by an average of 30 minutes.

...

Hope that makes some sense, others are better than me at decoding oversales etc but it can be very dynamic especially on the JFK and other busy corporate routes which also have a high density of visitors too.

Pete
Thanks Pete, that’s helpful. As it happens, on this occasion I’m more worried about low sales than oversales — I’m not concerned about a downgrade or hoping for an upgrade. A full plane means that it’s (presumably) less likely to be swapped out for a smaller 772. Looks like there are still plenty of seats left in every cabin...
hearingdouble is offline  
Old Dec 28, 2017, 5:14 pm
  #939  
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 10,146
Originally Posted by hearingdouble


Thanks Pete, that’s helpful. As it happens, on this occasion I’m more worried about low sales than oversales — I’m not concerned about a downgrade or hoping for an upgrade. A full plane means that it’s (presumably) less likely to be swapped out for a smaller 772. Looks like there are still plenty of seats left in every cabin...

Fingers crossed it stays the same, can't beat the Jumbo in my own view and the UD! Enjoy your flight and hope you see this.......



PETER01 is offline  
Old Dec 28, 2017, 6:14 pm
  #940  
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: London
Programs: BAEC Gold, HHonors Diamond, Marriott Gold
Posts: 1,546
Can somebody kindly check the BA268 LAX-LHR on 1st Jan 18? Much appreciated.
Gomac is offline  
Old Dec 28, 2017, 6:16 pm
  #941  
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 10,146
Originally Posted by Gomac
Can somebody kindly check the BA268 LAX-LHR on 1st Jan 18? Much appreciated.

Here you go......

BA 268
LAX 01/01/18 9:05 PM
LHR 01/02/18 3:25 PM
388
Daily
37% / 38m

F2 A1 J9 C3 D0 R0 I0 W9 E0 T0 Y9 B9
H7 K3 M0 L0 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G9
Gomac likes this.
PETER01 is offline  
Old Dec 29, 2017, 5:03 pm
  #942  
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 319
Please can somebody check:

8 JAN BA2063 LGW MRU

Many thanks!
omarr135 is offline  
Old Dec 29, 2017, 5:16 pm
  #943  
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: London
Programs: BAEC : GGL; HHonors : Diamond
Posts: 181
Originally Posted by omarr135
Please can somebody check:

8 JAN BA2063 LGW MRU

Many thanks!
Here you go:

​​​​​​J0 C0 D0 R0 I0 W7 E5 T0 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S9 N9 Q9 O0 G9
timcjp is offline  
Old Dec 29, 2017, 5:25 pm
  #944  
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 319
Thanks!

Originally Posted by timcjp
Here you go:

​​​​​​J0 C0 D0 R0 I0 W7 E5 T0 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S9 N9 Q9 O0 G9
omarr135 is offline  
Old Dec 30, 2017, 2:56 pm
  #945  
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: London
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, HH Diamond, IHG Spire Ambassador
Posts: 77
Hi,

Would someone be able to help me check two flights?

31 DEC BA84 YVR-LHR
4 JAN BA143 LHR-DEL

Thanks!
dycc is offline  


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