BA seat selection in J

[Matt_01]

It has been a long time since I have flown on BA, had a couple of sectors booked for 2020 and booked one the other day al these were F rewards. Today I added a couple of J sectors to another booking and then proceeded to find some seating. First thing I noticed was the 1-2-1 layout 'sweet', I know this may change but at this stage things are looking up.

Then to my suprise BA are charging up to AUD200 to select seat in J (LHR-JFK), is this a new cabin thing or do BA always charge for J seat selection. I am assuming the latter as there was a charge of AUD43 for J CDG-LHR. Is F the only cabin with free advanced selection.

Has this always been the case I was a bit taken back by the cost.

 

[Daver6]

I think they've been charging for seat selection for a long time. OWS and OWE are exempt from memory.

 

[Matt_01]

OWS and OWE are exempt from memory.

Maybe I will take another look, I am OWE it seemed like l was was going to have to pay so I did not proceed. The page indicated that free seat selection was available at check in. I have not come across paying for advance seat selection in J and the other bookings I had and have with BA are in F. As these are speculative bookings they may not happen. As it is the new seating I may stick with BA had it been the old club work I most likely have switched to IB. At this stage I just needed to get a seat to the US and now that that part has been achieved it is time to set some EF alerts for F rewards either BA or AA will do the trick.

 

[Daver6]

Last couple of times I flew BA they were part of a QF booking, so seat selection was done via QF. No fee for me as a OWE.

Have you looked at seat selection through a different OW airline. I think AY used to be a good option for doing MMB stuff.

 

[Matt_01]

No fee for me as a OWE

All sorted now. I called BA and was advised that they could not see my OW status. Another quick call to QF and they confirmed for some reason my QFF number was not in the BA booking, once added free seating available.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

As others have said, BA charges for seat selection in business class. This fee is waived for status pax at various stages of the booking: emerald and sapphire - free seating from the time of booking, ruby - free seating 7 days before departure. As a ruby I've always secured excellent seats on BA.

 

[RooFlyer]

@Matt_01 your experience in 'not remembering how it works' will be something many of us are going to come up against as we start travelling again. I think AFF will come into its own again!

 

[Matt_01]

@Matt_01 your experience in 'not remembering how it works' will be something many of us are going to come up against as we start travelling again. I think AFF will come into its own again!

I would agree with you and suspect there will be other things I may miss as rebooking starts. In this case BA is an airline I rarely fly, maybe 4 times in the past 6 years. Initially when selecting seats, I was actually more surprised that BA charge for advanced seat selection in J (unless exempt) and the cost that they may get away with. That got me thinking are there other airlines which charge for seating in J it is not something I have come across in the past. After realising this was just a FF number issue it also served to remind me how status can help. I will suggest that having reasonably high status across OW, *A, VA and a number of hotel programs I have become somewhat oblivious to the benefits that status can bring and took these as granted. In the new world who knows how things will change.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Charging for 'prime' seats in business class is starting to creep in... Swiss for example charges hefty fees for their 'throne' seats in business class. Lufthansa has similar plans when it introduces its new seating.

 

[Matt_01]

@MEL_Traveller you have given me a quick reminder about something that I may have read or I may be wrong, was it the likes of LH, EK and possibly others that are considering the concept of or have unbundle the J product.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

@MEL_Traveller you have given me a quick reminder about something that I may have read or I may be wrong, was it the likes of LH, EK and possibly others that are considering the concept of or have unbundle the J product.

Yeah... that’s true too! Several airlines are looking to unbundle their business class offering, with seat selection not included anymore (although status overrides that). Qatar is also in that club.

LH on the other hand I think is like Swiss, allows ‘regular’ seat selection, but you pay for prime seats.

 

[Spongbob]

Charging for 'prime' seats in business class is starting to creep in... Swiss for example charges hefty fees for their 'throne' seats in business class. Lufthansa has similar plans when it introduces its new seating.

In the early 20th century in Texas the Newton Gang robbed many, many banks. When they were asked why did you rob banks, one replied: "because that is where the money is!".

Asking J pax to pay for seat selection is very similar (and many would have OneWorld status anyway). I doubt many Y pax are willing to pay the BA price for seat selection (i.e. this is not where the money is).

 

[adamiam]

Hi all. Not sure if this is the right place but does anyone know if blocked bulkhead/bassinet seats on BA are made available to OWE at T72? Can't find a recent thread when searching online but gave me a sense that it wasn't consistent a couple of years ago.

 

[kelvedon]

Air France and KLM are also introducing paid seat selection in J for non status members.

Air France & KLM Roll Out Fees For Selecting Business Class Seat On Long-Haul Flights From April 13, 2023

Air France and KLM are introducing a fee of 70 to 90 euros per segment for choosing a business class seat on long-haul flights.

loyaltylobby.com

 

[Mr H]

I doubt many Y pax are willing to pay the BA price for seat selection (i.e. this is not where the money is).

My guess would be that plenty of Y pax would pay, if only to guarantee that their family group gets to sit together.