Moved from pre-paid seat, now blocked by Airport Ops
 

Apologies for the frustrated vent in advance but 2 weeks ago I paid for a seat in Club, selecting 53A on the upper deck on the A380 (unrestricted aisle access) on tomorrow's 297 to ORD. Went to check in and had been moved to 50B, obviously a much worse seat. Called BA and they stated that the seat had been blocked by Airport Operations and there was nothing they could do. Checked expertflyer and it concurs the seat is blocked and not occupied.

Anyone have an idea why this happened? Are they saving it for a Gold or GGL? Any chance it gets unblocked? Pretty infuriating when you pay nearly £100 for a seat.

Thanks!

For what it's worth, this is the current seat map. I'm in 57A now which isn't terrible as long as the seats around remain unoccupied. Strange that the seat I was moved to 50B is now blocked.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9c658e7535.png

Theoretical seating - 50B I imagine is now blocked as there's a status PAX in 50A

Unless 53A is crew rest - I'd ask again at the airport

Blocked by the airport ops could also mean that the seat has developed a fault that will not be fixed before you flight tomorrow.

Either way you'll get your £100 back if you've been moved when you actually fly.

Did you ask for your seat reservation fee to be refunded? That's the least BA can do. Very little point paying for seat reservation and then not getting it.

I guess I was also possibly bumped if there's a Gold or GGL in 53B?

Thank you for all the responses!

Yes I spent some time on the phone. They couldn't do it straight away as I had originally paid for a seat in WT+ then upgraded with Avios to Club so only had to pay the difference in seat selection and he couldn't refund the two separate payments. Forwarded my case to refunds team but dear only knows how long that will take with current strike related refunds.

I don't think you'd get moved from a paid seat if a status pax booked 53B, you might not be able to book it if they got their first but you should be fine the other way around (I think). It's much more likely an ops thing with that aircraft or a crew rest if that's the right seat for it.

As Swanhunter says, keep an eye on it as it might open up again before your flight. So feel free to check in but don't get a BP.

That's often suggested here as a possibility but I don't think I've ever seen any evidence that this happens. Certainly more knowledgeable folk than me will tell you it's not how things work.

agreed, i have no ability to shift anyone.. taking a seat next to someone else does not result in them being moved.

That sounds complicated but should be possible to achieve by simply doing two refunds, one for WT+ and a second for CW.

TBF BA are pretty good at refunding you once they've agreed to do so. You may have to give them a gentle prod in a couple of weeks. I hope your flight goes smoothly and that whatever seat you end up in is good for you.

That sounds like the start of a DYKWIA rant :-)

Thank you for all the helpful/informative/kind replies! This is why I love the BAEC page in FlyerTalk!

If only this were true, I would then be able to relegate Mrs SD to another row and blame the system :)

I find if you smile and stare repeatedly at your CW seat partner while dribbling mildly and laughing for no reason people will seek another seat. At least my wife moved when I did that.

No. Sadly (haha) BA do not bump people for Gold or GGL in any way (at least not under a normal circumstance) - whether they want the seat or the seat next to it (to keep the seat next to them empty) - although theoretical seating may prevent the seat next to Gold/GGL to be chosen at a certain point.

Ah, I will make sure to say hello if I see you on board! Let's hope the flight isn't delayed. Last time I took the 297, it was 4hrs delayed!

That can happen, and those with assistance dogs also can only sit in particular parts of the aircraft and can lead to seat shifting. My two incidents in recent years of this (leaving aside the likely cause......) was once for a very, very nervous flyer, and also to make room for a lovely Golden Retriever.

However I think this probably isn't the case here since the seat would be allocated, not blocked, normally; this is more likely a defective seat given the circumstances described by the OP. For 90% plus (made up statistic alert) of defective seats, they are usually fixed on return to London, so long as the turnaround was long enough for it. So ideally one doesn't print the boarding pass, since the Flight Management Unit will reinstate the seat closer to departure. Occasionally FMU aren't told a seat is fixed, plus there are the mysterious problems which vanish after a few hours of non use (aka power down, power up). But that is what I think the cause is here.

Perhaps that gold passenger got the best seat as a reward for being a good boy. ;)

There was somebody on here that used to brag that he always got his preferred seat - and that BA would move people around to accommodate.

He also said he'd often phone the JFK station manager to ask them to hold a flight if he was running late.

Not a premier from what I recall.

Of course, no way of knowing if he was a Walter Mitty, but he had a long track record on FT. I can't recall his handle though unfortunately.

Actually Dear - I loved your rant. I could visualise your Teddy flying around the room. You clearly have a good sense of humour and I like that. I hope that wherever you are you enjoy yourself.:)

Lovely to meet you too, thank you for coming to say hello! Interesting I took a peek at 53A during the flight and there was someone using it.. hmm..

They told me they didn’t recline .......

Last time I flew A380 CW there was a broken seat (also not reclining) but the captains wife very gratefully sat in it during the flight vs sitting in a jump seat!