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
#2521
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: UK
Programs: BA Nada, HH Diamond, IHG Spire AMB, Marriott Plat, Accor Gold
Posts: 510
BA0033 LHR-KUL 20:15 Sat 27 Oct if someone would be so kind? Seat choice has just disappeared from CW.
Thanks in advance.
#2522
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: Somewhere in the Air
Programs: BA GGL, *A Silver, OW Emerald, HH Diamond, Karahi Express
Posts: 554
#2523
Suspended
Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: Somewhere in the Air
Programs: BA GGL, *A Silver, OW Emerald, HH Diamond, Karahi Express
Posts: 554
#2524
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: UK
Programs: BA Nada, HH Diamond, IHG Spire AMB, Marriott Plat, Accor Gold
Posts: 510
#2525
Join Date: Sep 2018
Programs: BA, EI, IB, Hilton Honors
Posts: 550
Request for BA863 PRG-LHR 17th Oct. Also the reg if known. Thank you.
#2526
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: UK
Programs: BA Nada, HH Diamond, IHG Spire AMB, Marriott Plat, Accor Gold
Posts: 510
Out of curiosity, what does the ‘m’ figure mean, I get the rest.
#2527
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: London
Programs: BA GGLfL, WoH Lifetime Globalist, HH Diamond, SPG Gold
Posts: 711
Could someone please check flight loads for the BA250 (SCL-LHR) on 30 November.
Thanks
Doc Copper
Thanks
Doc Copper
#2528
Join Date: May 2016
Location: UK
Posts: 456
Hoping for space available upgrade
Two weeks until our potential upgrade from CW to F on BA0295 LHR-ORD on 31 Oct. Could someone please let me know how F is looking (we will be very happy with either of the "pairs" of seats). Many thanks
Last edited by Definitas; Oct 16, 2018 at 11:02 am Reason: forgot to insert date
#2529
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: TPA/ABZ
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold. GGL/CCR.
Posts: 13,248
F5 A4 J9 C9 D9 R9 I3 W5 E0 T0 Y9 B9H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S9 N9 Q8 O0 G0
#2530
Join Date: May 2016
Location: UK
Posts: 456
This is how it's currently looking. What kind of 'potential' upgrade are you referring to? It doesn't look likely that there will be a need for operational upgrades CW-F at the moment. I'm probably missing some vital piece of information though.
F5 A4 J9 C9 D9 R9 I3 W5 E0 T0 Y9 B9H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S9 N9 Q8 O0 G0
F5 A4 J9 C9 D9 R9 I3 W5 E0 T0 Y9 B9H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S9 N9 Q8 O0 G0
#2531
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: TPA/ABZ
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold. GGL/CCR.
Posts: 13,248
Thanks for the info golfmad. I have a “space available “ upgrade from BA customer services which I have requested be applied to this flight. We are booked in J so, if it is granted we will go up to F. There is no guarantee that it will be granted but a low occupancy in F will help. Am I correct in understanding that F5 means that there are still 5 seats for sale? Thanks
#2533
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: UK
Programs: BA Nada, HH Diamond, IHG Spire AMB, Marriott Plat, Accor Gold
Posts: 510
#2534
Join Date: May 2016
Location: UK
Posts: 456
wow, that's great information. Man thanks. BA did advise when they issued the upgrade voucher that they would not honour it on all flights, even if seats are available for purchase so we will still have to wait and see. This would be our first time in first so we are quite excited to see if we get lucky.
#2535
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: London
Programs: United 1K 2 Million Miles, BA Silver, Marriott Platinum Elite, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 370
Would appreciate fare buckets on this flight please
London to Tokyo BA0005 (Boeing 787 jet) for 23 October
London to Tokyo BA0005 (Boeing 787 jet) for 23 October