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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 Nov 13, 2018, 11:54 am
  #2686  
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 10,124
Originally Posted by andrewr1985
Thanks, currently in CW (U) as reward tickets on BA216, hoping that some of those F/A open up at some point
If your not aware you can use this which is quite quick and offers a paid service.

https://baredemptionfinder.com/
PETER01 is offline  
Old Nov 13, 2018, 12:57 pm
  #2687  
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: MME (midway between NCL and LBA)
Programs: BA Gold, AF/KL Gold, Hilton Gold, Nordic Choice Gold
Posts: 742
BA1321 NCL-LHR on 3 Dec 2018

Can't book this on ba.com but I would be surprised if it were sold out nearly 3 weeks before departure. Mind you, after a glut of slot sitters on the NCL route, BA have been slashing the daily frequency over the winter timetable.

Thanks in advance!
tigertanaka is offline  
Old Nov 13, 2018, 3:39 pm
  #2688  
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Programs: BA GOLD
Posts: 603
Originally Posted by tigertanaka
BA1321 NCL-LHR on 3 Dec 2018

Can't book this on ba.com but I would be surprised if it were sold out nearly 3 weeks before departure. Mind you, after a glut of slot sitters on the NCL route, BA have been slashing the daily frequency over the winter timetable.

Thanks in advance!

Zero in CE and ET.
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Brighterside is offline  
Old Nov 15, 2018, 7:59 am
  #2689  
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Programs: BA Executive Club
Posts: 4
BA0280 LAX - LHR 17th Nov 18 17:55

Hi Guys,

We were delayed coming out with weather so our flights have been changed and we are flying back WT on a 789.

Having read earlier recent threads I am now fearful of getting any rest so ever and have to work the next day upon return.

Can an anyone please advise on flightload and most reliable seat map for this flight. Any commentary on seat numbers for 4 adult males flying together?

Thanks in anticipation.

DM
MorrisDavid74 is offline  
Old Nov 15, 2018, 9:27 am
  #2690  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: UK
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 12,233
BA 280 0 LAX
17/11/18 17:55
LHR
18/11/18 12:15
789
Daily
96% / 31m
F5 A4 J7 C0 D0 R0 I0 W9 E0 T0 Y9 B5 H5 K5 M5 L5 V2 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G4
MorrisDavid74 likes this.
mikeyfly is offline  
Old Nov 15, 2018, 1:24 pm
  #2691  
 
Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 123
BA297 on 29th December 2018. Thank you in advance.
Mks6 is offline  
Old Nov 15, 2018, 1:32 pm
  #2692  
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Programs: BA Executive Club
Posts: 4
Thanks.

Originally Posted by mikeyfly
BA 280 0 LAX
17/11/18 17:55
LHR
18/11/18 12:15
789
Daily
96% / 31m
F5 A4 J7 C0 D0 R0 I0 W9 E0 T0 Y9 B5 H5 K5 M5 L5 V2 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G4
MorrisDavid74 is offline  
Old Nov 15, 2018, 1:35 pm
  #2693  
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Plymouth, UK
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 1,159
Originally Posted by Mks6
BA297 on 29th December 2018. Thank you in advance.
Please don't forget to say where From / To in these requests otherwise we have to look them up. ta

29/12/18 BA297 LHR-ORD F9 A9 J9 C9 D9 R9 I9 W9 E5 T0 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S8 N0 Q0 O0 G0
snaxmuppet is offline  
Old Nov 15, 2018, 1:39 pm
  #2694  
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Plymouth, UK
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 1,159
Originally Posted by MorrisDavid74
Hi Guys,

We were delayed coming out with weather so our flights have been changed and we are flying back WT on a 789.

Having read earlier recent threads I am now fearful of getting any rest so ever and have to work the next day upon return.

Can an anyone please advise on flightload and most reliable seat map for this flight. Any commentary on seat numbers for 4 adult males flying together?

Thanks in anticipation.

DM
BA0280 LAX - LHR 17th Nov 18 17:55 F1 A0 J9 C9 D9 R9 I7 W9 E9 T7 Y9 B9 H8 K6 M5 L4 V4 S2 N0 Q0 O0 G0
snaxmuppet is offline  
Old Nov 15, 2018, 1:39 pm
  #2695  
 
Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 123
Originally Posted by snaxmuppet
Please don't forget to say where From / To in these requests otherwise we have to look them up. ta

29/12/18 BA297 LHR-ORD F9 A9 J9 C9 D9 R9 I9 W9 E5 T0 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S8 N0 Q0 O0 G0
Thank you and noted for next time!
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Mks6 is offline  
Old Nov 17, 2018, 11:08 pm
  #2696  
 
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 13
Hi, if someone wouldn’t mind checking BA0211 LHR-MIA on 22nd Nov please? Thank you!
LondonIrish is offline  
Old Nov 18, 2018, 7:46 am
  #2697  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: Mucci, BAEC GGL/CCR, Hilton Diamond, IHG Diamond Ambassador, Stena Gold
Posts: 1,084
Hello

Please could someone check

BA113 LHR-JFK 23/11/18

Thank you
Gastrocnemius is offline  
Old Nov 18, 2018, 12:59 pm
  #2698  
 
Join Date: May 2018
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 219
BA104 DXB to LHR on 14 Feb 2019

We have T class WT+ tickets already, but it now appears that there are no more WT+ tickets available. Anyone have an idea what is at play here?

Last edited by bigwalrus; Nov 18, 2018 at 1:00 pm Reason: Missed date
bigwalrus is offline  
Old Nov 18, 2018, 1:19 pm
  #2699  
 
Join Date: Nov 2018
Posts: 1
Could someone check loads on the following?
11/21 BA 296 ORD-LHR
12/2 BA 297 LHR-ORD
Focusing on economy bookings specifically. Thank you!
Kevin Knase is offline  
Old Nov 18, 2018, 1:27 pm
  #2700  
 
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: BRS
Programs: BA Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 4,982
Originally Posted by londonirish
hi, if someone wouldn’t mind checking ba0211 lhr-mia on 22nd nov please? Thank you!
f - 9 a - 8 j - 9 c - 1 d - 1 w - 9 e - 5 y - 9 b - 9 h - 9 k - 9 m - 6 l - 3 v - 1 s - 1 g - 9
Schwann is offline  

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