sarahuk

Hi,
My daughter paid over £100 for exit seats 28 B and C (just two seats together) as it was a night flight MIA-LHR and she thought she may be able get some sleep. The 747 was old and dirty and a lot people had no IFE.
She said the crew seemed resigned to everyone's complaints and just handed out complaint forms.
To make things worse the seats she paid for did not recline. She said the recline button was there but they just did not work. Is this how these exit seats are or were they broken.
My daughter made the best of a bad job but has a sore back from sitting upright all those hours. She is not looking to complain just wanted to know for future reference if these seats are meant to recline.
Thanks for any advice

lcylocal

I suspect someone with first hand knowlwdge will be along shortly, however in the absence of that, BA Source tends to be the best online information about this: British Airways B747-400 14F/52J/36W/235Y Seat Map

Judging by this it seems the seat may have been faulty. Personally I would ask for customer relations for 5,000 avios and see what happens but that’s obviously up to her.

corporate-wage-slave

I would say they would have been faulty. Did they ask a crew member to help them?

If you paid for something and didn't get it then there are consumer remedies open to the passenger.

sarahuk

[QUOTE=corporate-wage-slave;29796162]I would say they would have been faulty. Did they ask a crew member to help them?

No she said the crew members were too busy dealing with many unhappy customers ( INE problems) and handing out forms. She does not like to make a fuss.

Can I help you

All seats are reclineable so the seats must both been faulty which I have to say is unlikely, did your daughter complete one of the proactive customer service forms handed out by the crew?

corporate-wage-slave

The usual problem on the older 747s WT seats, from what I can gather, is getting the seat to not recline. If it has just come out of CWL then it can be a bit stiff but typically not for long.

anniegray

I thought exit seats didn't recline

FlyerTalker39574

Can I help you

The seats are behind an exit and are fully reclineable.

Stephenk82

I’ve just come back from Miami on what felt like a ridiculously old 747and my problem was the reverse, my seat wouldn’t stop reclining, and the person behind me was blaming me for it - regularly hitting my seat! I reported to the cabin crew, who did explain to the person behind me, but I was treated like that is the norm for the seat - so tough luck.

sarahuk

Funnily enough the reason my daughter paid £136 for two exit seats was because on the way out to Miami she was sat behind a person with a broken seat that kept reclining on her and she felt she would rather pay money for exit seats so this would not happen on the way home.
She told me the tables in the side of the seats would not come out. Her partner and another male passenger tried to help but could not get them out. In the end the crew used a bit of "force" to get them out.
Then her partners table kept swinging about and would not stay out properly. All in all a poor flight both ways.
I also feel sorry for the Cabin Crew who have to bear the brunt of the complaints. One crew apologised to my daughter and said the planes were due to be refurbished.
I cant believe BA has come to this. I do worry that if they are neglecting these old planes interior , are they neglecting to keep the important bits up to standard and putting fliers at risk.

rpjs

I have to say I have often found the recline on the Y 747 seats difficult to engage: it’s not so much the recline mechanism as having to press really hard on the button to get it to release.

sarahuk

FOLLOW UP
CIHY - you asked me if my daughter completed one of the proactive customer service forms handed out by the crew? My daughter said there were no forms left as they had all been handed out to other customers re the IFE.
I filled out a complaint on line on my daughters behalf as she and her partner are busy moving house . I only spoke about the non recline as all the other problems were trivial in comparison.
48 hrs later I received an email saying sorry for the delay in responding!!!!
Anyway they have both had 5000 Avios put in their accounts. They are happy with this.
I am impressed that BA replied so quickly.

Can I help you

That’s good news but it is a shame that this wasn’t sorted out onboard, there would have been plentry of forms onboard by the way.

sarahuk

I think there were so many unhappy people because of the IFE that my daughter did not want to say anything. I think the crew were rushed off their feet.
Anyway she knows in future to speak to crew first if there any problems.
Thanks everyone for advice.