The bit quoted by dajop says "The changes apply to all Executive Club members ... " So I presume it doesn't apply to non Executive Club Members - but maybe non EC members pay now, anyway?
No - it applies to
oneworld customers with elite status at equivalent levels to the relevant Executive Club members.
BA only sent this email out to Executive Club members; they never mention other
oneworld member elites, although in
most cases benefits afforded to Executive Club members are also afforded to
oneworld members of the same rank.
Oh that is just cough. it costs them nothing for seat selection.
This is just penny pinching to the n'th degree. I would expect this from a LCC but not an alliance member for their network of 'elites'.
It will be a fast way for elites to drift away as seat selection is a very personal thing for most regular travelers.
Well they are gutting their award chart as well, and for those of us based in Europe, shorthaul redemptions got quite a bump up in price as well.
For those at the top of the food chain, e.g. GGLs, the effect is probably minimal as either:
- They never book Hand Baggage Only fares - either Club or at least the lowest all-inclusive Economy fare
- They hardly ever fly intra-Europe, or at least intra-Europe as a separated fare (i.e. if your intra-Europe is a tag-on to a longhaul itinerary, there is no "hand baggage only" fare)
- They probably have more money than what to do with, so even coughing up the differential for a more expensive fare (or a seat allocation) is peanuts
...as similarly was observed with the recently proposed changes by BAEC (i.e. changes will benefit high Golds and GGLs overall who travel in premium classes but for those in the low end or flying often cheapest Economy they will be negatively affected overall).
For whatever it is worth, the differential in fares between the Hand Baggage Only and lowest inclusive Economy fare is fixed (e.g. for LYS/LHR the differential was EUR 20). I believe that's the same as the old VA Saver Lite and Saver fares (i.e. no matter what the fluctuation of prices was, the differential between both types of fares was fixed but this differential can vary by route).
For this change by BA, I have to say I don't quite get it. I can understand that they want to make some sort of rock bottom fare with no included baggage and so there, but to completely remove the whole idea of seat selection (free of charge at any time at all) just seems odd. I could maybe get if they said, "No more free seat selection in advance of OLCI for all members", but not at all and fixed random allocation at OLCI is baffling.
Was a bit surprised when I was charged to select seats on BA J LHR-IST as part of an AA redemption. And it was like A$84 for two people on a sub 4 hour flight. You could probably almost get an entire base airfare for that on a cheap airline lol.
This is the annoying thing. Only members of status can pre-select seats ahead of OLCI. The fact you are in J means very little for your seat selection. The fact you coughed up for it rather than waiting for OLCI must mean you had a specific reason to do so.
