simongr

Is the push back onyl from non-elites? Is it that big a deal? I am lucky being OWS so can select seats (even if flying D fares which I mostly do) although the online seat selection tool doesnt like my AA number...

As one of the elites I am glad that they freeze out as many seats as possible

expatboy

Better hope that you stay elite then!

kered

Or if you stay elite, then in time, you might be ableto enjoy having the aircraft to yourself, as all the other “unprivileged” passengers spend their money elsewhere after being royally pi55ed off by BA’s stupid policies.

I wonder if BA could survive without the premium leisure market, depending instead solely on the Golds & Silvers ??

Who, by the way have many other policies to contend with when travelling with BA, such as BAggage to mention but one

phreegreens

Well said kered..!

There is also a going to be a significant impact from occasional business travellers that do not have status. In my company there are maybe 4/5 in the UK who will do a couple of long haul trips a year, they are BA loyal for the miles, but are now refusing to travel BA if they cannot advance seat select.

So far, based on our experience, VS and CX seem to be doing very well out of this new seating policy.

As a BA shareholder

ozzie

I disagree with most people on this board. If I am booking a last minute full-fare ticket, I think I should have a right to the best seats on the plane.

The main reason for this policy to to encourage people to OLCI which saves BA money.

Smirnoff

Well I for one fail to see why a BD Gold, who occasionally books on BA but has no status with BA and no loyalty to BA, should get access to the best seats when he books last minute.

On the contrary, a BA Gold who does extensive travel on BA, and chooses BA over other airlines whenever possible - whether he books last minute or 11 months in advance, whether he pays full J fare of cheapo ex-Eur I class cheateroo fare - should be the one that always get access to the best seats.

LHR Tim

I don't think folks are disagreeing with you on that one. But the current policy means that if you've spent £2,500 for a club ticket, you won't be able to select a seat -- that's ludicrous.

I think we all agree that BA should hold back premium seats for Gold/Silver/Full Fare, but could surely allow those that purchse a premium cabin fare (Club or WT+) the chance to pre-reserver a bloddy seat!

And how does it do that excatly? So you OLCI, PYOB and then still have to queue up for a desk to check you bag. All it does is justify to Wally the W@nker a way to cut frontline staff. Yet queues are still getting bigger! Funny that.

G-BOAC

I think that's agreeing with most people...indeed even BA (who specifically give full fare holders the seat selection rights with no status). What is clear from people like Swanhunter is this isn't working for them - Gold on full J (even as much as 2 weeks out I believe he said) on a busy route with lots of card holders = relegated to poor lower deck seat. It's then you start to question 'Well, who is more valuable to BA and who should have got that prize seat - the Silver on a cheap ticket booked months ago, or the Gold on a full fare', especially if you're that pax.

Clearly, something needs tweaking somewhere IMHO. I've said before I believe everyone should get to pre-assign a seat, but the best and/or majoirty should be for full fare and/or status holders. Given I don't expect the change to be that sweeping, I wonder if BA may tweak it to say 'Full fare and Gold get 100% access, Silver get more restricted access'. Kind of like it used to be (but with 100% of the cabin open to the first group as now). This would maybe ensure people like Swanhunter have a better chance on full J, closer to departure, by limiting the best seats slightly again.

Raffles

But the crux is that 90% of last-minute full-fare travellers either a) travel alone or b) are not bothered if they sit with their travelling companions or not. These people are generally happy if they can grab a seat upstairs (on a 747) or outside of the middle-blocks on a 777. In general, this can be accomodated. What is happening with seat selection is that human nature means solo travellers put themselves on a row where both seats are currently empty, in the hope (almost certainly false hope) that no-one will appear next to them. This means that very few pairs can remain even when the load is only 65% or so.

As has been pointed out here numerous times, the real losers are couples and families travelling in Club who are a) absolutely determined to sit together and b) are less likely to have status.

I don't think that anyone booking a last-minute full-fare ticket expects the best seat on the plane. I reckon at least 50% of CW pax would be on full-fare tickets anyway. And, of course, if you work for Megabank then your 30%-40% corporate discount (rebated at the year end) means that your full-fare ticket is potentially cheaper than an I-class or ex-EU.

phreegreens

Or in the case of Mrs PG and I traveling to SYD next January (in J), no guarantee of us sitting together on a 24 hour flight. That's why the revenue will be going to another carrier.

We are not expecting the best seats in the house if we do not have status, we would be happy with an aisle and an inner downstairs, as long as they are together.

jhm

I was just wondering whether since the new seating policy, any couple travelling together in J has actually not been able to sit together ? Or is it just peoples' perception that this may not be the case ?

I know everyone's needs vary but - in my case (which may not apply to others) - I'd rather go for the airline which suits me in terms of price, convenience, comfort (e.g. flat beds) etc rather than a possibility that I'll be separated. If I am separated, no big deal for me at least.

BAAZ

There isn't really a solution to that one, though. If Swanhunter can't get a good seat a week or two out, it means that a lot of people have already booked, who are either status or full J. Swanhunter is both. Which of the others should be denied the right to book a good seat so that a status and full J pax should subsequently be able to? That would suggest a tightening of the policy, if anything.

The real problem is that not all routes are the same. By all means, on a leisure route, allow some of the I-class pax the right to book some of the seats. But on something like LHR-JFK where I'd guess the vast majority of the CW pax have status or are paying C or J, there simply aren't enough seats to go round.

Just shows that a single policy will never work - needs to be adjusted to suit the route.

sunrisegirl

And I'm with Smirnoff on this one. Why should someone who doesn't have any loyalty with BA get the best seats, even though on this occasion they may be paying big money for that privilege. It doesn't necessarily mean next time they travel they'll use BA.

And let's not forget, the seat shifters can always do their bit to give a better seat if it's felt necessary.

In theory people using OLCI saves BA money, however it still takes a lot of time at the airport explaining to people why they can't have seats together, why they can't change seats, etc, etc - and this is not really saving money as it can cause long delays to queues, and staff costs in resolving these issues.

Raffles

Your (presumably non-frequent flying) wife would be happy being separated from you and sitting next to a stranger for a 24 hour flight to Oz?

Smirnoff

It's the same in CE - every flight is different.

Just booked a LHR-DME, an almost EVERY SINGLE seat in 20 rows of J is already taken. Good job lots of people forget that row 12 is also the bulkhead row, and right by door 2, which they always use at DME.

For my return HEL-LHR, it's the opposite, almost every seat untaken (?). My pick of any seat in row 1.