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
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.
Help to check BA seat availability and BA flight loads
#1156
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 10,153
I see your question has been answered but nevertheless welcome to Flyertalk and the BA board Aaron Lee Holdsworth . I hope you enjoy your time here and see the main dashboard for some excellent info including a thread for flight loads.
Last edited by PETER01; Feb 15, 2018 at 11:21 pm
#1157
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: uk
Programs: Accor Silver, HHonours Silver, Carlson Gold, BA Blue
Posts: 290
#1158
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 10,153
And welcome too willb1980. I hope you will find the board useful as well as Flyertalk in general some of which can be colourful!
#1159
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Sapporo, Japan
Programs: Junior Jet Club, Nando's Card 1 Red Chilli, Tesco Clubcard, BAEC Gold, TK M&S Elite
Posts: 520
#1160
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: London / Brighton
Programs: BAEC Gold / M-Life Gold / HH Diamond
Posts: 1,634
#1161
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: London / Brighton
Programs: BAEC Gold / M-Life Gold / HH Diamond
Posts: 1,634
Frequency
Flight Stops Depart Arrive Aircraft Reliability Available Classes
0 Connections
BA 32 0 HKG LHR 388 Daily F3 A2 J9 C9 D9 R9 I9 W9 E8 T0 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S9 N9 Q0 O0 G0
24/02/18 23:30 25/02/18 4:45 94% / 6m
Frequency
Flight Stops Depart Arrive Aircraft Reliability Available Classes
0 Connections
BA 31 0 LHR HKG 388 Daily F1 A0 J9 C9 D9 R9 I0 W9 E8 T4 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M8 L5 V3 S1 N0 Q0 O0 G0
01/03/18 18:25 02/03/18 14:20 46% / 31m
HKG POS:
Frequency
Flight Stops Depart Arrive Aircraft Reliability Available Classes
0 Connections
BA 32 0 HKG LHR 388 Daily F3 A2 J9 C9 D9 R9 I0 W9 E9 T9 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S9 N9 Q9 O0 G0
24/02/18 23:30 25/02/18 4:45 94% / 6m
Frequency
Flight Stops Depart Arrive Aircraft Reliability Available Classes
0 Connections
BA 31 0 LHR HKG 388 Daily F1 A0 J9 C9 D8 R7 I0 W9 E9 T6 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S9 N9 Q3 O1 G0
01/03/18 18:25 02/03/18 14:20 46% / 31m
#1163
Join Date: Dec 2016
Programs: BAEC GGL/CR; Hilton Diamond; Mucci des Puccis
Posts: 5,610
Something of a "test my knowledge" question here. For a flight from PVG in March on which I'm booked WT+, I'm seeing:
F3 A0 J0 C0 D0 R0 I0 W0 E0 T0 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S9 N2 Q0 O0 G0
I'm reading that as WT+ and business class is rammed, so there ought to be a reasonable chance of an op-up? But also that as F is full there could also be some downgrades on the cards?
F3 A0 J0 C0 D0 R0 I0 W0 E0 T0 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S9 N2 Q0 O0 G0
I'm reading that as WT+ and business class is rammed, so there ought to be a reasonable chance of an op-up? But also that as F is full there could also be some downgrades on the cards?
#1164
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Sapporo, Japan
Programs: Junior Jet Club, Nando's Card 1 Red Chilli, Tesco Clubcard, BAEC Gold, TK M&S Elite
Posts: 520
Something of a "test my knowledge" question here. For a flight from PVG in March on which I'm booked WT+, I'm seeing:
F3 A0 J0 C0 D0 R0 I0 W0 E0 T0 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S9 N2 Q0 O0 G0
I'm reading that as WT+ and business class is rammed, so there ought to be a reasonable chance of an op-up? But also that as F is full there could also be some downgrades on the cards?
F3 A0 J0 C0 D0 R0 I0 W0 E0 T0 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S9 N2 Q0 O0 G0
I'm reading that as WT+ and business class is rammed, so there ought to be a reasonable chance of an op-up? But also that as F is full there could also be some downgrades on the cards?
I can't check staff loadings unless I have an open booked staff ticket (which I do not right now) as I do not have access to the BA system directly. Maybe someone from BA on here has, but I'm not sure if they can openly discuss staff loadings. I know I'm not supposed to.
#1165
Join Date: Dec 2016
Programs: BAEC GGL/CR; Hilton Diamond; Mucci des Puccis
Posts: 5,610
It's not really that important, I'm more curious about how to interpret the availability information on a flight I'm on and can observe theoretically and in practice, and certainly I don't need to know about staff loading, except as an explanation of what ultimately happens. And I can live without an upgrade, I've done this route many times in WT+, it's the 2am return flight on the Saturday morning.
The outbound looks pretty full too, but more availability in F.
The outbound looks pretty full too, but more availability in F.
#1166
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 10,153
Something of a "test my knowledge" question here. For a flight from PVG in March on which I'm booked WT+, I'm seeing:
F3 A0 J0 C0 D0 R0 I0 W0 E0 T0 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S9 N2 Q0 O0 G0
I'm reading that as WT+ and business class is rammed, so there ought to be a reasonable chance of an op-up? But also that as F is full there could also be some downgrades on the cards?
F3 A0 J0 C0 D0 R0 I0 W0 E0 T0 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S9 N2 Q0 O0 G0
I'm reading that as WT+ and business class is rammed, so there ought to be a reasonable chance of an op-up? But also that as F is full there could also be some downgrades on the cards?
#1167
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Sapporo, Japan
Programs: Junior Jet Club, Nando's Card 1 Red Chilli, Tesco Clubcard, BAEC Gold, TK M&S Elite
Posts: 520
I find myself getting a bit obsessed with EF when I'm flying standby, but often what I see doesn't even reflect what happens at the gate, especially with connection flights dropping and fully flexible pax changing around at short notice.
Be interesting to see how yours pans out .
Be interesting to see how yours pans out .
#1168
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: Sapporo, Japan
Programs: Junior Jet Club, Nando's Card 1 Red Chilli, Tesco Clubcard, BAEC Gold, TK M&S Elite
Posts: 520
I also check what's still for sale, as if there's a cabin for sale when EF shows it as full, they are overselling and a Op-Up is likely.
#1169
Join Date: Jun 2007
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 190
Would someone be willing to check BA218 for me again? For tomorrows flight from Denver to LHR Feb 19th.
Thank you so much!
Thank you so much!