numbiceman

Hi All,

I m due to travel BLR-LHR-YYZ on Dec 21. Given that its a busy period and I do not have elite status. Am I at risk to be bumped off or down graded?

Loads as of yesterday were,
Ba118 blr-lhr dec 21
ba099 lhr-yyz dec 21
ba118 j9 c9 d9 r9 i9 w9 e9 t9 y9 b9 h9 k9 m9 l9 v9 s9 n9 q9 o9 g9
ba099 j9 c8 d6 r3 i0 w4 e2 t0 y6 b3 h0 k0 m0 l0 v0 s0 n0 q0 o0 g0

I am on WT+. Is there anything I could do to ensure i get to fly. Please advise.

Thank you,
Ice

mjuler

Check-in for your flight as early as possible, so as close to T-24 hours as you can. You should at this time be able to check-in for both flights, so you'll be well ahead of those starting in London or connecting from Europe for the second flight.

EsherFlyer

I think your biggest risk is being bumped to J ex-LHR .

There will be plenty of holiday travellers without status at that time so you won't stand out as special (or non-special...) from that perspective. And BA won't want to disrupt too many people at a time when it'll be difficult to reaccomodate them.

Overall I'd stop worrying since it's unlikely to happen and, for better or worse, not much you can do at the moment.

corporate-wage-slave

If I try to put this in perspective, the biggest threat to your trip is the traffic in Bangalore (but you knew that!). Followed by the weather in London, followed by the weather in Bangalore.

On these numbers the BLR isn't anywhere near sold out. G9 is the give-away there. But thanks to the tech industries they book late anyway and it is still some time off. The YYZ flight is impressively full at this stage, in fact it looks overbooked in WT, pretty much sold out in WTP and a bit of space in CW. However with 6 weeks to go then that flight will almost certainly depart totally full, BLR-LHR will probably be OK. In any case for BLR they would be reluctant to downgrade due to the on-carriage flight to Toronto. For the Toronto service, you will be able to check in before most other passengers.

So I agree with EsherFlyer that you stand a better chance of an upgrade, particularly to Toronto, and at the moment no material reason to worry about a downgrade.

If you really want to avoid a downgrade, ensure your BAEC number is on the booking, even a Blue is worth something give a third of passengers won't have a frequent flyer number. You could pay for your seat, and you could order a Special Meal, however the latter will prevent upgrades. Perhaps pay for your seat if you have strong preferences in this area? If not, from what I'm seeing here, you merely need to check-in at the first opportunity.

flatlander

Seats available on the flight will change almost completely between then and now; you can't read much into the day of departure from what you see today.

Your chance of being offloaded is, absolutely, low.
You can confirm you are checked in for all flights before you leave BLR using the BA app. Since you'll be checked in earlier rather than later, your chance of being offloaded is relatively further reduced.

You main chance of not getting on the LHR-YVR flight is if the BLR-LHR is delayed. So if it does look delayed, do some pro-active research on alternative connections to get you there later in the day.

That may involve going via the USA. If you do not have an automatic right to enter the USA and hold an ESTA-eligible passport, I suggest making sure you have a valid ESTA so that you can easily be rebooked via the USA if you miss your LHR connection. It's fairly cheap.

garykung

I would say no.

During peak seasons, airlines will adjust oversales based on the demand and historical load data to avoid an IDB.

It is more practical to worry weather-related IRROPS instead.

henry999

I must say, Ice, your title gave me quite a start. In the wonderful old 1930s American gangster movies (James Cagney, et al.), 'bumped off' meant killed. Thank luck there's no fear of that, here.

PUCCI GALORE

I thought that as well. If his wife (or husband?) has taken a large life assurance policy, I would be concerned as well.

Him Indoors has a huge such policy, but whilst he is no longer terribly functional or decorative, I prefer to have him alive. Well from the neck up anyway.

Sorry OP - very naughty and I hope that no one bumps you off. What conclusions we may draw if you do not respond are a matter of speculation.

numbiceman

LOOOOL Thanks guys!
Thank god for that henry999! :P Pucci Galore
Thanks both! The reason I worry I read that people do get bumped off / downgraded unable to check in online.
@EsherFlyer - true that. nothing much I can do. But I upgraded to WT+ cos i had a pretty uncomfortable flight in WT. Would suck to be downgraded and another tiring flight OR bumped off!
@corporate-wage-slave what a username sir! why didnt i ever think of that. i have my BAEC on the ticket. I dont want to pay for the seats. Cos I didnt buy WT+ originally and had to upgrade the return to WT+. Cost me more than the regular WT+ would have.

Thanks a again everyone.

Frequentflyer99

Took a longhaul flight last week (on a route on which one would not expect much last minute travel) which showed as J9, W9, Y9 on the afternoon of departure. In the event, there was not an empty seat on the plane. What you see on the system is by no means what you get on the plane. This works both ways, so don't worry !

Cymro

Also, while you don't have elite status for this trip, the 90 TP for each leg will give you BA Bronze status afterwards, if you sign up for BA Exec Club.

It's not hugely valuable in its own right but one of the hidden benefits is that you will be looked at more favourably than those who don't bother signing up in the event of a full flight.

I'd say it's more or less normal for WTP to sell out before a flight; BA is generally good at managing loads and will happily sell last minute WTP tickets knowing that they will be both able and required to upgrade people into Club to accommodate those sales.

corporate-wage-slave

And of course you do get free seat selection at 7 days before travel. Hopefully if there is any previous travel it may be useful for the return.

numbiceman

A big thank you to all of you! I just wanted to give you an update - Santa visited me a little early and gave me an upgrade to Club World LHR-YYZ. I could barely experience the hospitality as I was sleeping for the most part the lie flat bed was amazing.

Thanks again!

PETER01

Nice result! ^

Thanks for coming back numbiceman, always good to hear how the story ends. ^

corporate-wage-slave

Yes, Santa Cruz was probably hoping that would be your reaction, and it's certainly a whole lot better than being bumped (or even bumped off, though actually that really is quite rare). But thanks for reporting back, it does show that the system does generally work, and WTP is often a good place for upgrades.