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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 Dec 27, 2018, 4:50 am
  #2926  
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Mexico
Programs: BAEC Gold / Marriott Platinum
Posts: 3,536
Originally Posted by ringingup


f4 a3 j9 c9 d9 r9 i0 w9 e9 t9 y5 b6h4 k1 m0 l0 v0 s0 n0 q0 o0 g5
Thanks. Might have the while wtp cabin to myself at that rate haha ( not literally) .29 seats free between W, E and T. Or will of those be a double code sitting in more than one fare bucket? Seems y has plenty of space, too. Maybe some avios availability will open up
TTmex is online now  
Old Dec 27, 2018, 4:55 am
  #2927  
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 860
Originally Posted by TTmex
Thanks. Might have the while wtp cabin to myself at that rate haha ( not literally) .29 seats free between W, E and T. Or will of those be a double code sitting in more than one fare bucket? Seems y has plenty of space, too. Maybe some avios availability will open up
You should look at the "full fare" buckets to get an indication of true loads (F,J,W,Y). The numbers are usually duplicated - i.e. if they're willing to sell 5 I class (discount business) then they will be more than happy to sell 5 J class (full fare business).

Since it's showing Y5 I wouldn't be surprised if there were some OpUps into WTP on the day (if they oversell WT).

These numbers are only really an indication of loads - it's what the airline is still willing to sell in each fare bucket, but only they know the true loads and other factors will play into what they are willing to sell in each bucket (flight loads in that class, ability to "roll forward" and upgrade people to the next class if they oversell, etc).
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Old Dec 27, 2018, 5:01 am
  #2928  
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 1,008
Check for BA42 31/12

hi all

Please could someone post the loads/avail for BA0042 CPT>LHR on 31/12

many thanks
GavT
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Old Dec 27, 2018, 5:19 am
  #2929  
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 860
Originally Posted by GavT_london
hi all

Please could someone post the loads/avail for BA0042 CPT>LHR on 31/12

many thanks
GavT
F0 A0 J5 C3 D3 R0 I0 W4 E4 T3 Y2 B1
H1 K1 M1 L1 V1 S1 N0 Q0 O0 G0
absoluy is offline  
Old Dec 27, 2018, 5:23 am
  #2930  
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 1,008
Many thanks absoluy
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Old Dec 27, 2018, 5:24 am
  #2931  
 
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Mexico
Programs: BAEC Gold / Marriott Platinum
Posts: 3,536
Originally Posted by absoluy
You should look at the "full fare" buckets to get an indication of true loads (F,J,W,Y). The numbers are usually duplicated - i.e. if they're willing to sell 5 I class (discount business) then they will be more than happy to sell 5 J class (full fare business).

Since it's showing Y5 I wouldn't be surprised if there were some OpUps into WTP on the day (if they oversell WT).

These numbers are only really an indication of loads - it's what the airline is still willing to sell in each fare bucket, but only they know the true loads and other factors will play into what they are willing to sell in each bucket (flight loads in that class, ability to "roll forward" and upgrade people to the next class if they oversell, etc).
Great explanation, thanks. Im in the bulkhead row, 16J, so not the end of the world if it fills up a bit. Strange that the app was showing seat 16J for months, now just shows -- in the space. I look in mmb and all seems fine. Guessing just an App glitch.
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Old Dec 27, 2018, 5:37 am
  #2932  
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Cape Town
Programs: BA Exec Gold , Qatar Priviledge Club Plat
Posts: 1,584
CPT-LHR 27/12

Thank you, much appreciated!
Flame3601 is offline  
Old Dec 27, 2018, 5:39 am
  #2933  
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 860
Originally Posted by Flame3601
CPT-LHR 27/12

Thank you, much appreciated!
Results from https://www.ExpertFlyer.com
Code:
Flight Availability Search
Departing CPT on 12/27/18 12:00 AM for LHR
Flying BA  
Direct/Non-Stop Only
Exclude Codeshares


                                                                     Frequency
Flight        Stops  Depart             Arrive             Aircraft  Reliability     Available Classes
0 Connections
BA 58         0      CPT                LHR                744       Su,M,T,W,Th,F   F3 A2 J9 C8 D8 R0 I0 W4 E3 T3 Y6 B1 H1 K1 M1 L1 V1 S1 N1 Q1 O1 G1 
                     12/27/18 6:45 PM   12/28/18 4:45 AM             95% / 6m

0 Connections
BA 42         0      CPT                LHR                744       Daily           F5 A4 J9 C9 D9 R0 I0 W5 E3 T3 Y3 B0 H0 K0 M0 L0 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G0 
                     12/27/18 9:20 PM   12/28/18 7:20 AM             85% / 26m
absoluy is offline  
Old Dec 27, 2018, 6:52 am
  #2934  
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 5
Flight load BA0194 IAH-LHR 27/12

Could the loads be checked on BA0194 IAH-LHR Thursday 27 December 2018? Many thanks!
flybabcihaveto is offline  
Old Dec 27, 2018, 7:16 am
  #2935  
 
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: London, UK
Programs: BAEC Silver, ITA Club Executive, Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 3,598
Originally Posted by flybabcihaveto
Could the loads be checked on BA0194 IAH-LHR Thursday 27 December 2018? Many thanks!
You must be about to board, but:

F1 A0 J5 C0 D0 R0 I0 W2 E0 T0 Y1 B1H1 K1 M1 L1 V1 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G1
ringingup is online now  
Old Dec 27, 2018, 7:42 am
  #2936  
Ambassador, Emirates
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: LGW / AMS / CPT
Programs: SA KL BA EK
Posts: 4,265
Originally Posted by GavT_london
hi all

Please could someone post the loads/avail for BA0042 CPT>LHR on 31/12

many thanks
GavT
BA42 CPT
31/12/18 21:20LHR
01/01/19 7:20744
Daily
85% / 26mF1 A0 J3 C0 D0 R0 I0 W6 E4 T4 Y2 B1H0 K0 M0 L0 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G0
thijsseh is online now  
Old Dec 27, 2018, 8:01 am
  #2937  
 
Join Date: Feb 2018
Posts: 245
Hello

BA7 LHR - HND
6 JAN

Many thanks in advance and festive greetings!
Voda_boy is offline  
Old Dec 27, 2018, 8:03 am
  #2938  
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 860
Originally Posted by Voda_boy
Hello

BA7 LHR - HND
6 JAN

Many thanks in advance and festive greetings!
Results from https://www.ExpertFlyer.com
Code:
Flight Availability Search
Departing LHR on 01/06/19 12:00 AM for HND
Flying BA  
Direct/Non-Stop Only
Exclude Codeshares


                                                                     Frequency
Flight        Stops  Depart             Arrive             Aircraft  Reliability     Available Classes
0 Connections
BA 7          0      LHR                HND                777       Daily           F5 A4 J1 C1 D0 R0 I0 W3 E0 T0 Y6 B2 H0 K0 M0 L0 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G0 
                     01/06/19 10:50 AM  01/07/19 7:35 AM             76% / 17m

0 Connections
BA 5          0      LHR                NRT                789       Su,T,W,Th,F,Sa  F2 A2 J2 C2 D1 R0 I0 W9 E2 T0 Y5 B1 H1 K1 M1 L0 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G0 
                     01/06/19 1:50 PM   01/07/19 10:40 AM            81% / 27m
Voda_boy likes this.
absoluy is offline  
Old Dec 27, 2018, 8:21 am
  #2939  
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 5
thanks very much! it's actually taking off in about 6-7 hours (have some delays due to bad weather here).
flybabcihaveto is offline  
Old Dec 27, 2018, 8:29 am
  #2940  
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 5
Flight loads for BA0194 and BA0196, IAH - LHR, 29/12

Can someone also please check flight loads/availability on BA0194 and BA0196, IAH - LHR, 29/12?

Thanks very much!
flybabcihaveto is offline  

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