Lucy Roy

Hi! My young son (3.5 years) are flying YYZ->LHR. Due to not flying with BA for a while, I went back down to Blue EC member. We are flying Club World and I paid CAD260 to reserve seats in row 3. I did this because it's the smaller of the two business sections and if there was a problem with my son, it would impact fewer people.
Now, due to BA changing the plane, we have been moved right to the back of the back CW section. I called BA and there is no logical reason for how I've gone from being at the front to the very back.
I was told however, that the first two rows of the plane are kept available and to see if I can get them when at the airport
Has anyone heard of this? how likely would it be that I can ask for those seats and get them?
Would I be likely to get a refund since I am not in an equivalent area of the plane?
Thank you!

BertieBadger

If you paid for seats and end up being moved for operational reasons (e.g. aircraft change) you can get a refund.

BA has information here: https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb...es-and-refunds

And they say you can claim a refund if "there is an aircraft change, or your flight has been cancelled and we’re unable to move you to a suitable alternative seat that you’re happy with", which seems to describe your situation exactly.

As to the other parts of your question, can you say what aircraft was originally scheduled and what is now operating? The reason I ask is that as far as I know, YYZ is normally serviced by both variants of the 787, i.e. the 787-8 and the 787-9 and both have a split CW cabin. In the -9 variant the front CW cabin is the smaller (being rows 6/7), and in the -8 variant the rear CW cabin is the smaller (rows 6/7). So if - and this is guesswork - you've gone from a 787-9 to a 787-8, that could explain why you've gone from the front CW to the rear CW cabin?

Or if you've gone the other way, i.e from a 787-8 to a 787-9, then you would have been in row 1/2/3 originally I guess, and since the 787-9 has a First cabin, there is no equivalent 1/2/3 in CW and so they've dumped you anywhere

The reference to the "first two rows" make me wonder if the aircraft has changed to a 787-9, as those rows would now be the First cabin. They will likely not be available unless the flight is oversold (in which case I understand they are opened, but would be run as a CW cabin).

Lucy Roy

Thanks for the info!
So I think the plane was originally a 787 and now it's showing as a 789. Not only have I gone from the front CW cabin to the back, but we're in the last row of the CW cabin. To add insult to injury, to change the seats, I am being charged another CAD$150 per seat!!

Can I help you

If you are in seats 13AB or 13JK these are some of the best seat and are equivalent to row 3 being the back row with nobody to step over.

Lucy Roy

Yes from that perspective they are the equivalent seats. However, I specifically chose Row 3 because it was in the smaller of the 2 CW cabins and if, for whatever reason, there was an issue with my son crying etc etc, I would be minimizing the disturbance to the rest of the plane. I've pretty much given up trying to get BA to help change the seats (particularly as there is now a second fee attached (sigh)) but hoping I can get a refund as this was not the location I had originally booked.

Can I help you

I very much doubt you will be given a refund as you have been given similar seats at the same reservation price.

Nuster

Can I help you

Possibly, I’m not sure but I would then be prepared to lose the new seats and be reseated anywhere in th CW cabin.

BertieBadger

From your description, it sounds like you were originally on a 787-8 (aka 788), where 3J/K (or 3A/B) is often regarded as the best seat. That would also explain why they moved you, as there is no 3J/K on the larger 787-9 (aka 789) variant due to the F cabin.

I was a bit confused because on the 787-8 (788), the front CW cabin is actually the larger of the two. It has 21 seats against 14 in the rear CW cabin. But certainly it is more isolated from the rest of the aircraft, obviously the rear CW cabin abuts onto the WTP one, so I understand your logic - it's thoughtful of you. However, even as a world class grumpy person, I would also hope that most passengers would be understanding of a child being upset due to pressure changes etc, it's not their fault after all. At the end of the day, it's a shared space whatever cabin you are in.

Also, you can't necessarily presume tell there will be less people in the smaller cabin. The front cabin is popular for being further from engine noise. On a recent flight on a 787-9, I had 13K and was chatting to the FA about the flight loads. He told me there was 13 people in the front cabin (out of 14 seats) while there was only 6 people in the rear cabin (out of 28 seats). That's an uncommon scenario I appreciate, but depending on flight loads, it's not impossible you will find something similar.

I personally believe you should be able to get a refund per the earlier links (if as noted, you are not happy with the new seats). But I have to say I don't know if you can apply after you've flown, or what happens to your seat assignments if you apply for it now. Others can likely advise.

Assuming rows 6/7 window options are gone I'd likely be inclined to take 13 if they have given you that, and apply for the original fees to be refunded.

I don't know if there is any implication for meal service order in that seat, someone like CIHY could tell you.

BertieBadger

Actually, just found this in the full T&Cs for seating payments:

Now, I am not a lawyer, and nor do I play one on the internet, but my reading of that is you can ask them to move you to row 6 / 7, and if they can't do that you can fly in 13 or wherever they have put you, and after doing so claim your refund on the basis that they were not able to offer an alternative that satisfied you, per their T&Cs linked upthread?

Hopefully others can comment, but it seems you can get the refund afterwards?

simons1

Bottom line - you booked and paid for row 3. BA changed the plane and BA moved you to other seats in the cabin.

Therefore you have not got what you paid for and are entitled to a refund.

Claim the refund via the website, if the money does not materialise then dispute the charge with your credit card provider.