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Help to check BA seat availability and BA flight loads

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

Old Feb 18, 2018, 2:52 pm
  #1171  
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 190
Originally Posted by PETER01
USA Point of Sale

BA 218
DEN 02/19/18 5:30 PM
LHR 02/20/18 9:30 AM
744
Daily
79% / 26m

F1 A0 J9 C0 D0 R0 I0 W6 E0 T0 Y9 B9 H7 K5 M4 L3 V3 S2 N1 Q0 O0 G9
Thank you very much.
Hoping they have a offer on check-in or at the desk for upgrades. Looks like there is at least 9 spots in biz open.
bronco122 is offline  
Old Feb 18, 2018, 3:07 pm
  #1172  
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 10,124
Originally Posted by bronco122
Thank you very much.
Hoping they have a offer on check-in or at the desk for upgrades. Looks like there is at least 9 spots in biz open.
Ask at the airport and see if anything is offered.
PETER01 is offline  
Old Feb 18, 2018, 3:18 pm
  #1173  
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: London/Geneva/Budapest
Programs: LH SEN (*G), BA Gold, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Gold
Posts: 163
Any chance someone could check BA870 LHR - BUD on 2 March for me?

Thanks so much!
Christian K is offline  
Old Feb 18, 2018, 3:22 pm
  #1174  
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 10,124
Originally Posted by Christian K
Any chance someone could check BA870 LHR - BUD on 2 March for me?

Thanks so much!
J9 C7 D4 R0 I0 Y9 B9 H0 K0 M0 L0 V0
N0 Q0 O0 S0 G0
Christian K likes this.
PETER01 is offline  
Old Feb 19, 2018, 10:17 am
  #1175  
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: At home
Programs: BA
Posts: 287
I’d be grateful if someone could check the loads on BA2154 BGI-LGW on 6th March.

Thankyou
heronb is offline  
Old Feb 19, 2018, 2:09 pm
  #1176  
Formerly known as linzbh
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: LON
Programs: BAEC GGL, Hilton Diamond, Bonvoy Titanium
Posts: 458
Originally Posted by heronb
i’d be grateful if someone could check the loads on ba2154 bgi-lgw on 6th march.

Thankyou

f1 a1 j0 c0 d0 r0 i0 w0 e0 t0 y9 b9h9 k9 m9 l9 v9 s9 n9 q9 o9 g9
flylikelinz is offline  
Old Feb 19, 2018, 3:06 pm
  #1177  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: UK
Programs: BMI Gold, BA Silver (Gold imminent!)
Posts: 12
Could someone check the loads for me please on BA 0085 on 24/02 and BA 0084 on 05/03.
Many thanks
Fozziman is offline  
Old Feb 19, 2018, 11:41 pm
  #1178  
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Essex, UK
Programs: BA Executive Club, AZ, VS, AA, UA
Posts: 602
Flying today... Would someone be so kind as to check BLQ-LHR today (20FEB), BA545?

TIA
OB
OxfordBlue is offline  
Old Feb 19, 2018, 11:48 pm
  #1179  
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: London
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold & GGL & CCR, HH Diam, Bonvoy Titanium, IHG Spire, Tastecard
Posts: 7,549
Originally Posted by OxfordBlue
TIA
OB
BA 5450BLQ
20/02/18 6:35 PMLHR
20/02/18 7:55 PM319
Daily
77% / 22mJ4 C3 D1 R0 I0 Y9 B6 H3 K0 M0 L0 V0N0 Q0 O0 S0 G7
chris1979 is offline  
Old Feb 19, 2018, 11:50 pm
  #1180  
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: London
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold & GGL & CCR, HH Diam, Bonvoy Titanium, IHG Spire, Tastecard
Posts: 7,549
Originally Posted by Fozziman
Could someone check the loads for me please on BA 0085 on 24/02 and BA 0084 on 05/03.
Many thanks
BA 850LHR
24/02/18 5:30 PMYVR
24/02/18 7:10 PM744
Daily
75% / 24mF6 A5 J9 C9 D9 R8 I0 W7 E0 T0 Y9 B9H9 K6 M3 L1 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G0

BA 840YVR
05/03/18 9:10 PMLHR
06/03/18 2:30 PM744
Daily
79% / 19mF7 A6 J9 C9 D9 R9 I9 W9 E6 T0 Y9 B9H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S9 N9 Q9 O9 G9
chris1979 is offline  
Old Feb 20, 2018, 1:14 am
  #1181  
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Essex, UK
Programs: BA Executive Club, AZ, VS, AA, UA
Posts: 602
Originally Posted by chris1979
BA 5450BLQ
20/02/18 6:35 PMLHR
20/02/18 7:55 PM319
Daily
77% / 22mJ4 C3 D1 R0 I0 Y9 B6 H3 K0 M0 L0 V0N0 Q0 O0 S0 G7
Many thanks, Chris1979, much appreciated. Looks like CE won’t be quite as empty as it appeared at OLCI!
OxfordBlue is offline  
Old Feb 20, 2018, 4:39 am
  #1182  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: UK
Programs: BMI Gold, BA Silver (Gold imminent!)
Posts: 12
Many thanks Chris1979. Very helpful. WT plus cabin looks full.
Fozziman is offline  
Old Feb 20, 2018, 5:24 am
  #1183  
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Ottawa, Canada
Programs: BA Silver - hard drop from GGL :( SPG Gold, Hilton Diamond, AC E50k
Posts: 567
Would really appreciate if someone could check the loads for BA98 (YYz-LHR) on 21 Feb (tomorrow). Trying to figure out if worth an upgrade or AUP :-)

many thanks!
LondonCanuck is offline  
Old Feb 20, 2018, 5:59 am
  #1184  
Ambassador: World of Hyatt
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: UK - the nearest airport is named after a motorway !
Posts: 4,228
Would someone please check loads for SA-LHR flights on Friday 2 March (that's both JNB and CPT, so 54, 56, 58 and 42)? Many thanks indeed.
Stewie Mac is offline  
Old Feb 20, 2018, 6:06 am
  #1185  
 
Join Date: Nov 2017
Programs: BA, Hilton
Posts: 2,090
Originally Posted by LondonCanuck
Would really appreciate if someone could check the loads for BA98 (YYz-LHR) on 21 Feb (tomorrow). Trying to figure out if worth an upgrade or AUP :-)

many thanks!

J9 C0 D0 R0 I0 W7 E4 T0 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M8 L5 V3 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G9 (Canada POS)

J9 C0 D0 R0 I0 W7 E0 T0 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M8 L5 V2 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G9 (UK POS)
BertieBadger is offline  

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