TTmex

OK, well I'll keep an eye on it. Would be nice to jump from 2A to 1A, but I won't lose any sleep if I cannot. Just another 4 legs and I'll be gold anyway, so then able to select it.

BOH

Can anyone explain what are the rules (if any) for sitting in a seat after boarding is complete that TS has blocked for a GCH or SCH as the empty adjacent seat? I should add that I personally have no problem whatsoever if someone decides to move seats after the doors have closed, I just think "good for them" if they scored a better seat for themselves.

On my flight last week in CE, 1A was occupied, I was in 1F and both 1C and 1D had showed as "occupied" during OLCI but on boarding they were empty. So presumably either a no-show or blocked due to TS as the CE cabin was only half-full. A chap from a couple of CE rows back tried to move up after the doors closed and sat in 1C, much to the extreme annoyance of Mr 1A who abruptly told him, "you cannot sit here, it is blocked off for MY use". He said it loudly enough for the CC to come over, so 1A asked her for confirmation of this but she seemed to not really want to get involved and just said to the mover, "sir, it is advisable if everyone sits in the allocated seat as per your boarding pass" which is a pretty neutral answer (and quite diplomatic) I thought. I said to him to take the empty 1D if he wanted, it made no difference to me but he didn't, he went back to row 3 or 4 and took his original seat.

So my question is whether the chap in 1A is correct and if TS blocks it then it is not right to sit there and he can request it is kept free? Or is it only blocked as far as someone not able to officially select it at check-in but after doors close, anyone from the same cabin can move to any available seat?

northeastflyer

Will see if there are any more official answers come, but I really don't think there are any rules about this, apart from what the flight crew might request and all have to follow. That aside, I've moved to row 1 many times to ease the lack of knee room. Nobody has ever batted an eyelid. As for the 1A pax response, what an utter banana.

BOH

Mr 1A wasn't particularly arsey or rude to the mover, more just firm and an assertive voice I think I would describe it. He may or may not have been correct in what he was saying but it was said with such confidence and well articulated that it sounded very believable. The sort of voice that even if he was 100% wrong, most people would think he was 100% correct

corporate-wage-slave

TS is not an advertised benefit, and nearly 100% of the online knowledge of BA's use of this module sits in this forum. So I'm a bit worried about Mr. 1A's mindset. The cabin crew tend to know very little about TS, other than over time some crew members have noticed that coincidentally Gold cardholders seems to have an empty space, but as far as I know, their job is to get boarding to happen swiftly and keep everyone safe, not get involved in status trade-offs between seemingly identical seats. Theoretical Seating is just that, a seating module. Along the way it does try to give the best seating options to those with shiny cards, but it also tries to keep couples and families together, avoid empty areas on the aircraft and so on. It is just about possible that 1A had purchased 1C too. I haven't seen this very often, I normally get row 1 and it's unusual for anyone else in CE to move in my experience, accepting that it does sometimes happen. I've also seen - more frequently - people voluntarily leave row 1 when they find out that they can't have their bags near them.

TS is used by a lot of airlines, though the parameters change significantly in terms of outcomes. Only on Lufthansa have I seen cabin crew try to enforce it.

Deltus

I had a similar dilemma on Monday, although exit row ET rather than CE. I was in 12F, and from the EF seatmap just before boarding, 12E was blocked and 12D was taken. When someone came and sat in 12E I thought about asking where he was supposed to be sitting and sending him back, but it was my third flight of the day so I decided zen was the better option.

Turns out nobody came to sit in 12D, so I think the E-man had just got D and E confused!

wilsnunn

I checked ExpertFlyer this morning just after T-72 for my flight on Wednesday. I saw that 1A and 1C had been unblocked there so jumped onto MMB and moved myself into 1A. I had 2A and 2C was blocked thanks to Theoretical Seating. Now 1C is blocked next to me in 1A, I wonder if it will stay that way!

I have never had 1A on a BA flight before and normally am in row 2 when in CE but decided to go for it anyway even though when I had 1D earlier this year I was a bit taken aback by the lack of leg stretch room compared to row 2.

scottishpoet

There are no TS "rules". Its not an official benefit so rules are not needed.

TWCLAM

Just personal pref' of course but I tend to prefer the 2nd row anyway as you don't get a crowd stood right in front of you when everyone decides to head for the bathroom at once, something exasperated if the crew don't send the curtain jumpers back to the back

That said and apologies for it being 1. slightly OT and 2. if it's been mentioned in here but with our 1st F coming up I know it works differently to CE. Am aware of the 72 hour rule which of course i'll be hawkish at but is it a case of once you have 1A / K it's yours or is there still a chance that a Gold/ GGL could usurp you? The cabin is looking pretty full and am happy enough in 2 & 3 K tbh but just for the fun of getting 1A/K I might go for it but wouldn't want to do so losing our window seats and get consigned to the middle because someone higher up the food chain has swooped i at the last second and demanded the front row. ( although travelling as a couple we'd both prefer a window on this occasion).

ISTFlyer

Unless new tickets are sold on that flight or someone decides to upgrade their flight, 1C would stay empty.

footballfanatic

gcuk

Sat in 12A recently, 12C occupied and 12B blocked per EF and as crew announced 'boarding complete' a pax came from a few rows behind and sat in 12B. 12C challenged him and he was quite open about not paying BA's rip off seat fees and always getting an exit row on board. Logical really if you know how the system works!

scottishpoet

Or there are some opups from Y

Or transit customers that miss a connection and get moved

Or there are people who have not selected a seat and will pick one at check in....

ENTP

Functionally, the benefits are that no one can recline into you, you are served first and it could feel less claustrophobic due to more lateral space in front of your face. The functional drawbacks are less leg 'stretch room', potential issues with bumping and lav queuing if in the aisle seats and the issues with bag storage. Everything else is psychological.

ahmetdouas

It wasn't me! Why bother moving to a middle seat!