Seat Reservation JAL (BA Codeshare) Nobody is responsible
 

Hi there,

I booked a British Airways flight operated by Japan Airlines.

I really had problems reserving seats. It took about a couple of days.
I called BA, not responsible because it was operated by Japan Airlines. I'm supposed to call Japan Airlines.
Japan Airlines called, not responsible because the tickets were issued by BA.

Then I went personally to the Japan Airlines office, they can't do anything. Also called Japan Airlines London, no chance. BA must reserve the seats.
Then by coincidence I wrote BA on Twitter and they reserved the seats for me without any problems.

Well, the problem doesn't end there.

I had to rebook my flight. And so I lost the seat reservation.
Thought no problem, write BA on Twitter again.

And what's the answer now. I should contact Japan Airlines. ...?!
I explained to them that they had reserved seats for me here on Twitter and I also sent screenshots of that.
I was only told that it was right, they would only call OneWorld Desk (What is OneWorld Desk?!) And OneWorld Desk would then call Japan Airlines to reserve a seat.
They can't do that and I'm supposed to call Japan Airlines. (I think because of the situation at the moment?)

Okay, I'm calling Japan Airlines again. Give all of my details ... "Ohh, I see you booked the ticket with BA. Unfortunately, you have to contact BA."
I'm going crazy! I feel like a ping pong ball.

At JAL, I cannot log in to the booking at all.

I wrote BA's Twitter account again, I hope that they will reserve my seats as before.

Who is ultimately responsible for the seat reservation? What can I do if everything doesn't work?

BA, the marketing carrier.

Does BA call Japan Airlines as they say or can they do it on their computers?

And why can't I log in to JAL in the booking?

BA should not need to call anyone to do it. But at times the seat map may not have been loaded, or they have assigned all of the seats they have available to assign in advance.

I believe not all the seats on JAL flights are available for assignment in advance.
If no-one can do it at this point, I think you will need to leave it for a while.

But the seats had already been reserved for me by the BA employee, so I don't understand why it shouldn't work now.
On CheckMyTrip you can see the vacant seats that are available. Some are marked with an X, they are not available.

Seat availability depends on a lot of factors such as passenger status, fare code, marketing carrier, etc. What you see as available on checkmytrip may not match what is available for your particular ticket.

What's the new flight number, date and booking class?

^^ Agreed. My (anecdotal) experience is that BA marketed tickets are often limited to the rear portion of the business cabin, irrespective of date of purchase relative to date of travel, and seemingly empty seats elsewhere. Occasionally, I can re-assign my seat online at some point before departure. I wouldn't use the call centres of BA or JAL. Nothing to be gained there, as you've already discovered.

FYI nowhere does the OP state that they are traveling in business. But your point still stands...

Sorry for the late replie because of the anti spam protection in the forum

It's the same flight, plane, booking number, just a different date. The time of the flight is also the same

Booking class is Economy Q

As far as I have read, booking class Q is allowed to reserve seats in advance. I only need a person who wants to make these 2, 3 clicks in the booking for me....or do I see it wrong and it is much more complicated than I imagine ??

I don't know if it is relevant, but as I said, I had already reserved seats on when I originally booked
If it weren't possible for whatever reason, why doesn't anyone tell me on the phone but always pushes me like a pingpog ... JAL -> BA -> JAL -> BA -> JAL.....

It would be good if I could somehow log into JAL booking

JAL intentionally blocks MMB on codeshare flights because it is not their responsibility to handle customer requests prior to check in.

What is MMB ? :confused:

So, BA is 101% responsible and can do it on their own program / computer without calling anyone at Japan Airlines or OneWorld Desk?

"manage my booking". codeshare passengers used to be able to pull up their flights on JL MMB page. But JL has "fixed" that more than a year ago already.

whether you can do it on BA system yourself is up to BA. But at the end of the day codeshare flight is like you've bought a regular BA flight. The only difference is on the day of departure, you go to JAL counter and JL staff will be responsible for bringing you from LHR to TYO.

But what is the reason why BA always refers to JAL ?!

In my case, with Economy Q, am I entitled to a seat reservation or not?