MASTER THREAD: Seat and flight availability
 

As regular readers will have noticed there are an increasing number of threads asking for seat and flight availability details. To keep these in one place - and also to provide some self help - we have created this master thread.

How to look for seat and flight availability?

www.ba.com can help. Using flight explorer you can see what 'fare bucket' is currently being sold and if less than 9 seats are left this will also be noted. If you have status or are travelling on a qualifying ticket MMB will also show you the seat map for your flights.

www.expertflyer.com. A subscription web-based service that gives you access to the full inventory for flights and also allows you to access seats maps for many airlines (including BA up to T-24). One point of note: it uses US Point of Sale availability which can and often does vary from UK availability especially on long routes (e.g. I is available in the US but only C in the UK)

www.kvstool.com. This offers much more flexibility on point of sale and the GDS (Global Distribution System) you can access, but does require a download to your PC.

There are other tools e.g. www.seatcounter.com but I don't have experience of using those.

seatcounter (and its mirror on the web site cited in my signature) requires verification but no subscription. It provides accurate counts for availability in the various fare buckets. There's a limit on the number of queries a given IP address can post in one day.

Shuly

BA299 to ORD on 29/07 - is it busy please?
 

I decided to splurge and have got an MFU to CW for my return trip, but woe is me, there was nothing showing up for the departure on BA299 on 29/07. So I'm in WT+ for the moment...

Going to MMB, I have my seat allocated for the trip down from NCL, but no specific seat mentioned for the LHR-ORD sector, obviously I realise that I can't change seats til -24 but I thought it would show up where I am at the moment?

Would it please be possible for someone kind and considerate to see how full WT+ and CW currently are on that flight? Wondering whether any more availability to MFU up to CW may appear between now and then, or if WT+ is looking over-booked with the lucky chance they might think "we'll chuck the voracious violinist into CW... even if she is only Blue...?

Really was looking forward to these scones for tea. :( Maybe I'll have to end up raiding the CW Kitchen... :D:D

Best I can do unfortunately - maybe someone else will be more helpful !

[KVS Availability Tool 5.0.1/Platinum - WSpan: Availability/ITN/US-WOT]
[KVS Availability Tool 5.0.1/Platinum - Amadeus Seat Map: 29 Jul 2009/BA 299/LHR-ORD/744/C]
[KVS Availability Tool 5.0.1/Platinum - Amadeus Seat Map: 29 Jul 2009/BA 299/LHR-ORD/744/W]

Confused...
 

Thanks Singapore Air for the info, I'm afraid I don't know the first thing about how to interpret it but hopefully someone will be able to help.

:confused:

A "+" shows an available seat and a "-" one that is taken or blocked for allocation (e.g. reserved for Golds, bassinet etc.). Basically both cabins are still wide open with very few seats allocated. Given the seating policy this may have nothing to do with loads, though.

Singapore_Air posted flight availability figures, the J9 C9 D9 R9 I5 indicate good availability in Club. The diagrams that followed are representative of the current seat maps. I've extrapolated this into a more user friendly format below. Those seats already assigned are indicated with a dollop of orange.
http://www.flyertalk.pwp.blueyonder....299_090729.jpg

U class availability is known to open up closer to the date of travel, so keep checking BA.com.

Wow! Nice job, Prospero! :-:

Oooh I like colours...!
 

Thanks very much Prospero - I am definitely a "pictures and colours" girl so that makes the whole issue so much clearer in my head!

With the J9 C9 D9 R9 I5 figures, which category would an MFU be going into? It's W isn't it? I guess I just have to hope my luck changes between now and the 29th. At the moment when I go into MMB both the upgrade for money and upgrade for miles are greyed out. :(

I have to admit I've not done an MFU before as I was never a Tesco Tart with enough miles until I joined this forum, have always bought nice seats myself or been treated. So this is my big treat of the year to be honest.

No, W is WT+ fully flex. You can't obtain MFU (or the same, regular award availability) from a normal flight availability tool like EF. Only the ba website (or the Qantas one) will work. And some tools that process those internally like KVS...

BTW: CW (and CE) award bucket is U.

What is the load for BA113 LHR-JFK on 03AUG09? I'm in CW for the first time :)

Here you are jcnorway

[KVS Availability Tool 5.0.1/Lite - WSpan: Availability/ITN/US-WOT]

Thanks speedbird182!

A lot of space left I see :rolleyes:

Thanks Frank for the clear explanation, I shall just have to keep glueing myself to ba.com in the hope of something coming up. Starting to wonder what kind of luck people have had with upgrading with miles actually on the day of flight at airport...

None at all. The airport systems can't cope with it.

JFK Loads
 

Does anyone know which JFK flights to London are least and most busy in WT+ tonight?

Tonight will be difficult to find out unless there are any BA lurkers prepared to give you the information - Expertflyer etc won't have information for today's flights as this will now be under airline control...

EF won't show you seatmaps after OLCI opens - the buckets are still there no problem right up to departure.

Dummy booking on Expedia.com so you can see the seatmaps? Or will that be the same as expertflyer? Actually, seatmap is not the most accurate as not everyone will be checked in.

You learn something new every day!! All pretty wide open still in WT+ (and WT so no bumping up from below) on all flights..

BA () 112 0
JFK 22/07/09 6:20 PM
LHR 23/07/09 6:25 AM 744
F2 A2 J7 C1 D1 R2 I0 W9 E5 T5 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V7 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G9


BA () 174 0
JFK 22/07/09 7:05 PM
LHR 23/07/09 7:05 AM 744
F8 A8 J9 C5 D4 R3 I0 W9 E9 T9 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S9 N6 Q0 O0 G9


BA () 176 0
JFK 22/07/09 7:35 PM
LHR 23/07/09 7:40 AM 744
F7 A4 J9 C9 D9 R9 I1 W9 E9 T9 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S9 N9 Q1 O0 G9


BA () 116 0
JFK22/07/09 8:05 PM
LHR 23/07/09 8:10 AM 744
F5 A3 J9 C5 D4 R2 I0 W7 E6 T6 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L6 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G9


BA () 182 0
JFK 22/07/09 10:30 PM
LHR 23/07/09 10:25 AM 777
F8 A8 J9 C2 D2 R2 I0 W9 E9 T9 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V7 S1 N0 Q0 O0 G9

Oh dear, that doesnt look good load wise at all. That means award flights most likely available in all classes and quite a light load in all cabins :(

Excellent - many thanks indeed for the info.

Trying to interpret figures...!
 

OK, please have a little patience as I try very hard to become "self-sufficient" as Swanhunter suggests! :D
According to SeatCounter, this is the current availability on my flight:
L K S N V Q H E M B Y D I J R C A F
0 9 0 0 0 0 9 9 9 9 9 0 0 6 0 1 2 2
1 British 299 747-400 LHR/05:50p ORD/08:05p

Obviously I'm interested to know if WT+ is going to be overbooked or full in the hope of the "u" word. But I'm a bit confused with the letter codes here. Please can someone teach me which are WT+ in this case?!

Thanks for helping out a mere musician who gets glazed eyes when it comes to interpreting numbers, notes are so much easier.

You'll need Expert Flyer or KVS, that list you have above has no WT+ buckets on it (W, E, T).

Don't, is my advice. Get to the airport and what happens, happens. I have looked at the loads for my flights many a time and thought 'that must be ripe for an OpUp' and not had one (or seen any others) but conversely I've looked and thought it was plenty open and yet still enjoyed sitting in a better seat. It's not worth the time, effort or thought even slightly working yourself up to any degree of expectation at all - you'll feel far more deflated when it's dashed.

I will try to dig out a post somewhere I did once that explains the letters though, anyway. Edit: here's one of them http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/7651285-post83.html

Basically, the number represents how many seats BA are willing to sell in that bucket. 9 represents '9 or more'. The buckets do not 'sum' (so J9 C9 D9 R9 I9 does not equal 5x9 = 45 seats for sale). How and why certain buckets are for sale can vary over regions (e.g., one of my flights right now is I0 for the UK 'point of sale' (POS) but I9 for the USA on the same flight). In general: anything showing 9 is pretty open, low numbers indicate space is running out...at least in that bucket if not the cabin.

CW Loads on BA2155? (LGW-BGI, 6th August)
 

Hi,

I'm treating my family to their first CW flights next week, 6 August, BA2155 LGW-BGI, and was wondering if some kind sole would check out the current loads in CW?

We're coming back 18th August (BA2154), so loads on that flight would be appreciated too.

Thanks

06AUG09 BA2155 LGW-BGI
F0 A0 J9 C9 D9 R9 I9 W9 E9 T9 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M8 L7 V2 S1 N1 Q1 O0 G0

18AUG09 BA2154 BGI-LGW
F5 A4 J9 C9 D9 R9 I7 W9 E8 T8 Y9 B8 H7 K5 M0 L0 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G0

I'll merge this into our master thread :)

Thanks for the info, and apologies, I'd missed the master thread.

Looks like we might have plenty of room in the 777 dorm :)

Hey, what a coincidence! I am also on BA 113 on August 3rd! Maybe we can meet or something like that....
BTW: BA 113 looks very full as of today...Eco is most certainly overbooked (zero availability even in Y)
[KVS Availability Tool 5.0.2/Platinum - Apollo: Availability/ITN/US-MYP]
[KVS Availability Tool 5.0.2/Platinum - Apollo Seat Map: 03 Aug 2009/BA 113/LHR-JFK/744/C]

Best,

Lukas

Just checked ExpertFlyer and all booking classes are now showing "0".

Chances on 162/189 on Aug 2
 

Hi, I am BAEC gold, booked in T class on flights 162/184 tomorrow,
seatcounter does not have any information on WTP status.

Can anyone hint on my bump chances tomorrow?
Thanks!

BA162 TLV LHR 020809
J2 C1 D0 R0 I0 W6 E5 T5 Y0 B0 H0 K0 M0 L0 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G0

As per expertflyer.com

Thanks. Does not look promicing - as they will probably fill whatever left in J with their friends/co-workers...

Can you please post 189 for tomorrow?

Sure - hope this helps....

BA () 189 0 LHR
08/02/09 3:45 PM EWR
08/02/09 6:30 PM 777
F3 A3 J2 C2 D1 R0 I0 W1 E1 T1 Y0 B0 H0 K0 M0 L0 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G0

It is always hard. What to do?

1. Book the light load flight so at least you have the chance of an empty seat next to you and a quiet flight?
2. Book the last WT+ seat on a very busy flight with a small chance of an upgrade but the certainty of a crowded cabin...

This might be a useful tool for anyone looking for availability. I have no idea how useful it is for finding all availability but it is free. :p

As always the advice is book the flight that best suits your plans. If you happen to get an OPUP - GREAT!! - if not then you get the seat you paid for! ;)

I always expect to get what I pay for :)

But after years of being Gold and Platinum in LY it is a bit disappointing to get along with the BA policy through which the fact that I fly transatlantic twice a month from TLV via LHR does not entitle me to a CW seat - which will stay empty anyhow if they don't upgrade their golds...

OT- Increasing fare buckets
 

This is a bit OT but I din't want to start a new thread.

A checked on a flight I've booked for December and have noticed that the availability in the Far bucket (M) from when I last looked 2-3 weeks ago has actually increased from 1 to 7 in Expert Flyer.

Is this a regular occurrence? I know the revenue management types fiddle with these things in order to, well... manage revenue, is it a regular occurence however or does it suggest that they are struggling to sell the plane, when it's being done over 4 months out?

It currently looks like-

F9 A9 J9 C9 D9 R9 I9 W9 E9 T9 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M7 L0 V0 S0 N0 Q0 O0 G0

Yes, very much so. I've been the beneficiary of this many times. Though sometimes it requires some nerve to sit tight and wait a couple of days or even weeks to see if the booking class I want goes up from 1 to 2 so I can grab those seats.

I'm booked on BA117 on Sept 16th and wanted to MFU my CW tickets in 1st, but ba.com says full...
yet the link above shows...
F9 A9 J9 C9 D9 R9 I9 E9 Y9 B9 H9 K9 M9 L9 V9 S9 N0 Q0 0 0

So all the 9s mean open right? What are fare class N and Q?

The upper deck on BAs seat map shows our 2 seats plus 1 or 2 others... does this mean it's gonna be a quiet flight or would you expect it to get busier?