Scots_Al

I can see that it would be irritating and that it may be a mild inconvenience, but if you're not a carer, it really shouldn't be something you allow to put a dampener on your trip. Maybe I'm just not romantic enough, but longhaul trips with my wife in J/F have always been a case of enjoying the lounge together, getting onboard, headphones on, eating / sleeping, maybe the odd word, and then reconvening 10 hours later to enjoy the rest of the trip together.

ttama

I think if the OP made the effort to post about it, they clearly aren't happy with the situation. Hearing from others who wouldn't be bothered if it happened to them may not be helpful. After all, the thread is about them and their predicament. And they want to please their partner as well as themselves.

I agree with others who've posted. If I'd managed to book a really good CW seat I'd be reluctant to swap, but I've done it before when flying solo and I hope I'd be big enough to do it again. I hope it works out for the OP and that this hassle, and the lack of assistance from BA to date, doesn't spoil their trip. BA does have some lovely staff who would probably go above and beyond to help, you may just have to keep asking in the hope you'll find one.

cosmo74

I think you'll probably find that you're not the only ones who have been affected by this as they don't seem to move you from CS to CW seats in the most logical way. On my most recent 777 flight which was switched from CS to CW, a guy who was travelling alone ended up switching seats twice before ending up in the aisle seat next to me, so hopefully you'll find someone willing to move if you don't find the optimal seats beforehand - if you are travelling on the flight pictured above I'd suggest 4B&D as it's quite easy to chat across the aisle

Ldnn1

I'd go further than that and emphasise that the OP should not ask someone to give up a good seat to move to a worse one. Asking puts someone in an awkward position where they might feel obliged to accept something they shouldn't have to.

If OP does need to ask someone to swap onboard, he should make sure it's done fairly by offering up the better of their current seats.

fruitcage

I think there are some long and inconclusive threads around about the acceptability of asking other pax to swap seats and also the ethics of accepting or declining such requests.

Definitely controversial as I recall. Apart from anything else people can have very different views on what is a good or bad seat.

Scots_Al

Clearly OP is bothered and I empathise with that. I was just trying -helpfully I had hoped - to try to shift that perspective a little. Sometimes we all get caught up in what are essentially details in a much larger picture, and allow that to spoil what should otherwise be an enjoyable experience. I know I sometimes benefit from others doing likewise. If it wasn't helpful, then obviously I apologise.

cauchy

If OP offers up his aisle for a middle, then there's every reason to think this will work out well.

Key thing here is to keep checking the seat map, try to move partner to a window or aisle so you've got more to bargain with.

tennessetom

Sign up on expert flyer for notifications if your seat opens up it is free, otherwise keep checking the seat map, i find that perseverance is often the best tool in these cases though it is time consuming

krispy84

Just to point out to the OP, if needed, that any voluntary swapping by pax once onboard is a nice to have and should not be expected or pressured.

subject2load

Given that the OP has received no help whatsoever from BA Customer Support (“nothing we can do”), it is entirely understandable and useful that fellow FT-ers should suggest potential opportunities for achieving a satisfactory solution. And true, it is possible that the necessary move might be actioned by airport staff, failing which (although I fear somewhat less likely) an acceptable swap could perhaps be negotiated once onboard.

The reality is that it should never have even come to this. OP made his booking about as far in advance as was feasible, taking great care to select specific seats for what is seemingly a very special, much-anticipated trip. He handed his cash to BA (or in this case, miles + cash, although that’s irrelevant) but BA - even though able to point to small print T&C’s - have, I would say, let him down badly in not keeping their side of the deal.

I find it strange that these needlessly-frustrating seat changes ‘for operational reasons’ should even be deemed normal.

Would anyone be remotely forgiving or sympathetic towards the management of say, a restaurant, or theatre which suddenly separated two customers on the same booking …….. and then defensively claim ‘operational reasons’ as a justification, whilst making no attempt to put it right …?

suley

Out of interest, do both of you have seating preferance as window? I have noted in the past me and my wife get split up due to having window seating and when we are moved around the system tries to give us both window seats.

Schultzois

As row 1 has been mentioned here, I also wonder if perhaps one of the available seats is not available as it’s being held for crew rest. My recent experience of this was in F, where both 1A and 1K were empty but not available. Online, at the airport, in the lounge, at the gate… obviously I was told all sorts of things along the way (they are occupied, there were same day upgrades, etc etc) all of which were false.

Finally onboard and not extremely happy to be in 1F, I think it was, and seeing 1A and 1K both still unoccupied, I asked the Purser about it, mentioning also what I’d been told along the way (occupied, upgrades etc). She advises that on her manifest the seats are empty, but 1K is marked for pilot rest. After doors close she moves me to 1A. A bit later on she came by to explain that another passenger had been seated in 1K, and she didn’t want me to get the wrong opinion. She went on to explain that flight crew have either 1A or 1K available to them, and that’s why they were both blocked even though only one would be used. And then that the crew agreed to let someone else use 1K and the crew rest would be 1F (my original seat). Clearly a crew that wants passengers to be happy.

I thanked her for the explanation and basically said “all is well that ends well.”

But it was something a bit inexplicable until I heard why. To block 2 out of 4 windows in the F cabin for one crew rest seat seemed odd but plausible.

So, long story short, I hope the OP can sort this out day of if not before, and also hope he’s not chastised for asking, given that he’d booked the seats together 11 months ahead.

BA235

I see no reason why you should: you were quite correct. It�s a ten hour flight, not a lifetime. I�m sure she or he or they will cope perfectly well.

Schultzois

OP doesn’t say how long the total trip is. Also didn’t mention whether they have the romantic luxury of being together whenever they want, or if this really is a one-off chance to have some quality time together.

If it’s a weekend escape that’s been planned for months out, I think you’re insensitive to suggest that spending one of those few days separated even after all efforts had been taken to travel together is something just to “cope.”

If it’s a longer trip then I wouldn’t sweat it, but I’d still probably be unhappy. And if it’s the kind of trip these people take together all the time (doesn’t sound like it is) then I would also not sweat it.

But for something planned ahead as a special occasion, it’s unpleasant to be fobbed off and say that basically one of the days you planned to spend together, you will be separated through no fault of your own.

I hope it gets sorted for them, and happy travels all around.

Also, FWIW, this is definitely a case where I as a flier would happily swap if asked nicely. I’ve done so on flights where couples were together for a honeymoon, IRROPS caused them to get shifted, they’re still in F/J but not together, etc. and it definitely gave me a happier flight to let them enjoy the moment together than to keep exactly my seat.

QT31415

This happened to us on a TA flight Mr. QT took with me two years ago. We checked in, and were told that one of the seats was "nonfunctional". They switched me to a middle seat. No worries, it was an anniversary trip but we travel a lot and aren't that romantic. Before the flight took off, they brought up someone from back in the plane and sat him next to Mr QT - he was apparently upgraded to the CW seat even though it was "nonfunctional". Very odd. We aren't complainers, but Mr QT WAS irked to see him operating his seat and his in flight entertainment as normal, and even more upset at the hacking and coughing his new seatmate produced during the flight. And EVEN more upset to come down with that virus the next week and miss a chunk of work on top of it. So, TLDR, it can get worse.