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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 Apr 3, 2018, 2:15 am
  #1441  
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: NY
Programs: BA Gold, MM Silver, Hilton Gold
Posts: 11
Originally Posted by tamalien

Thank you!
sjb_un is offline  
Old Apr 3, 2018, 5:29 am
  #1442  
Accor Contributor Badge
 
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: London
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 88
7 April LHR-SCL

Id be grateful if someone could check for me the load for BA251 LHR-SCL on Saturday 7 April.

Thanks!
citygourmande is offline  
Old Apr 3, 2018, 5:36 am
  #1443  
 
Join Date: Feb 2016
Location: Lewes, UK
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 231
Originally Posted by citygourmande
id be grateful if someone could check for me the load for ba251 lhr-scl on saturday 7 april.

Thanks!
ba 251
lhr 07/04/18 21:55
scl 08/04/18 8:30
789
f1 a0 j0 c0 d0 r0 i0 w0 e0 t0 y9 b9 h9 k9 m9 l9 v9 s9 n9 q0 o0 g9
peterinlewesuk is offline  
Old Apr 3, 2018, 5:36 am
  #1444  
Suspended
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: UK
Programs: BAEC GGL, HH DIAMOND, AVIS Presidents Club, Karahi Express
Posts: 1,229
Originally Posted by citygourmande
Id be grateful if someone could check for me the load for BA251 LHR-SCL on Saturday 7 April.

Thanks!
Here you go ... BA () 251 0 LHR
07/04/18 9:55 PM SCL
08/04/18 8:30 AM 789
M,T,Th,Sa
91% / 38m F1 A0 J0 C0 D0 R0 I0 W0 E0 T0 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S9 N9 Q0 O0 G9
deboyzoned is offline  
Old Apr 3, 2018, 1:21 pm
  #1445  
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Near LBA
Programs: BAEC, HHonors,
Posts: 47
Hello everyone, could someone check this flight for tomorrow:-

4th April. BA209 London Heathrow to Miami

Thanks
YorkshireJon is offline  
Old Apr 3, 2018, 1:26 pm
  #1446  
 
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: London / Brighton
Programs: BAEC Gold / M-Life Gold / HH Diamond
Posts: 1,625
Originally Posted by YorkshireJon
Hello everyone, could someone check this flight for tomorrow:-

4th April. BA209 London Heathrow to Miami

Thanks
BA 209 LHR
04/04/18 13:55MIA
04/04/18 18:15388
Daily
57% / 37mF2 A1 J9 C0 D0 R0 I0 W6 E0 T0 Y9 B9H9 K9 M6 L3 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G1
Lucanesque is online now  
Old Apr 3, 2018, 1:29 pm
  #1447  
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: Near LBA
Programs: BAEC, HHonors,
Posts: 47
Thanks so much for that super quick reply Lucanesque.

YJ
Lucanesque likes this.
YorkshireJon is offline  
Old Apr 4, 2018, 10:01 am
  #1448  
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Programs: BAEC Gold, IHG Spire Elite
Posts: 1,712
Can someone please check BA887 OTP-LHR on Monday 9th April?

Many thanks in advance.
BerksFlyer is offline  
Old Apr 4, 2018, 10:33 am
  #1449  
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: London
Programs: BA bronze, Hertz pres circle, Marriott Platinum, hilton diamond
Posts: 2,537
Originally Posted by BerksFlyer
Can someone please check BA887 OTP-LHR on Monday 9th April?

Many thanks in advance.
J0 C0 D0 R0 I0 Y2 B0 H0 K0 M0 L0 V0
N0 O0 Q0 S0 G0
aceman is offline  
Old Apr 4, 2018, 12:21 pm
  #1450  
 
Join Date: Aug 2013
Programs: BAEC Gold, IHG Spire Elite
Posts: 1,712
Originally Posted by aceman
Im surprised they have Y2!

Many thanks.
BerksFlyer is offline  
Old Apr 4, 2018, 1:05 pm
  #1451  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: UK
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 12,170
Can someone please check Sat 07/04 LGW-TPA BA2167

Thanks in advance
mikeyfly is offline  
Old Apr 4, 2018, 1:34 pm
  #1452  
 
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Krakow
Programs: BAEC Silver, Miles and More(FTL), IHG(Platinum), Accor, HHonors(Diamond), SPG, Hertz Five Star
Posts: 5,782
Could someone share BA213 LHR-BOS on Saturday April 7th?
scottishpoet is offline  
Old Apr 4, 2018, 2:24 pm
  #1453  
 
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: UK
Programs: BAEC, HH Diamond
Posts: 45
Any chance someone could check:

LHR - LAX BA0281 28 April 11:30am
LAX - LHR BA0280 12 May 16:55pm

Thanks!
superspanielpower is offline  
Old Apr 4, 2018, 4:17 pm
  #1454  
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Glasgow
Programs: BA Silver
Posts: 168
Would be grateful if someone could check the following:

LHR - SFO BA0287 14 April 1415
SFO - LHR BA0286 17 April 1935

Thanks in advance!
Twoflower is offline  
Old Apr 5, 2018, 12:15 am
  #1455  
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: N Ireland
Posts: 62
Originally Posted by mikeyfly
Can someone please check Sat 07/04 LGW-TPA BA2167

Thanks in advance
J1 C1 D0 R0 I0 W4 E3 T2 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S9 N9 Q9 O9 G9
tamalien is offline  

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