[MrMichael]

FDOS, I do agree if it is the case it is indeed rude and poor marketing not to have informed people in advance.

Is it possible this is a safety related issue, I recall the days not so long ago when exit row seats could only be reserved at check in and that depended on you being fit and able to operate the exit, speak the right language and not be a child. Not saying it is the case, but could actually be a safety enhancement. There was a thread not long ago on this very subject.

[FDOS_UK]

rferguson – 07/02/2016 11:18 GMT

I can only think that BA has decided that their corporate contracts are so strong that individual customer loyalty is not important.

Therefore, your company will choose which airline you fly and we’ll give you a shiny card, but you can pay for seats etc.

Kinda makes sense, if the corporate base is robust.

[icenspice]

I too am BA Silver FDOS and recently booked a PE flight. If I want an exit seat it’s €81 o/w. It’s impossible to tell until you have actually made the booking AFAIK.

If they had quoted €79, I might consider LOL

[FDOS_UK]

MrMichael – 07/02/2016 11:25 GMT

It could be safety related, we will see.

[HarryMonk]

I seem to remember one of the American full service airlines, although I can’t remember exactly which one, was charging extra for those wishing to select an aisle seat.
A future possible “Enhancement” for BA? There are 4 of those per row on a widebody !!!

[rferguson]

I don’t think it’s a safety thing as it’s not just the exit row blocked out. On all the flights i’ve looked at it’s ALL the seats forward of the exit row.

Fingers crossed it’s a glitch.

[MrMichael]

FDOS/Canucklad , as for IAG going in the red, nlikely in the short term. I think as with any business things change as the market fluctuates. If BA see a drop in loyalty then they will up their game, but while load factors are good, why spend more than you need to on a high pax. The whole principle of business surely is to get maximum revenue for least investment/cost. It is the business that does nothing about a declining market that will suffer the consequence, such as Thai, MAS etc. I know WW is not popular on this forum, but something I think you would agree with is that he has his eye on the ball. If loads drop, he will react very quickly either with an improved product, lower fares or a combination of the two. If he doesn’t then BA will indeed go in to the red and him to the yonder.

[rferguson]

I’ve tried two dummy bookings for the same shorthaul flight in Y – one as a ‘gold’ the other as a non status passenger. When reaching the seat selection stage the result was the same – seats only available for selection starting at the row behind the exit rows. Everything forward is blocked out.

I’m hopeful that as BA are not trying to flog exit row seats (or those forward) at a price to the non status passenger that this is just a glitch of some sort.

If it is a change in policy my biggest beef would be that no one had the decency to notify exec club members before the change.

[GreenScot]

This policy change would explain how I managed to bag 1A on a early morning weekday flight to Glasgow recently and an overwing exit row on the return that evening when I checked in online 24 hours before. My work became UK based last year so BA status lapsed and I sat there wondering what the CSM must have been thinking to find a peasant Blue in 1A on a full flight of business travellers.

[MrMichael]

A blue in 1A, has WW been watching reruns of Citizen Smith? What is the world coming to?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_Smith

[Cheeryguy]

I too tried a couple of dummy bookings. One was a 767, the ET cabin began at row 14, with seats available both sides of the exit row at doors three. However both sets of exit seats adjacent to the doors were blanked out. I tried the same for a 321 operated sector and the same applied, all 10 seats at doors three blocked, seats either side available. I then tried a similar flight without logging into the Exec Club and got the same result.
The only inkling that it could be a computer glitch is that no request for payment was made, the seats simply weren’t available.

[WillieWelsh]

This sounds like something LH tried a few years ago where they projected the loads for economy and set the curtain in the position it would be if every seat was taken. I can remember on more than one occasion being at the back of an A320 which behind the curtain was full with not a single spare seat.

In front of the curtain there were many empty rows and on many services people traveling in C had three seats to themselves. It made C a bit better and economy pretty nasty and unnecessarily so.

They didn’t bank on how annoyed their card holders got and the barrage of complaints that resulted and within six months the situation was reversed and the more normal balance of space we are all used to when there is a moveable curtain was restored.

Bean counters though may see it as a great ploy to try once again and restore the fortunes of the business cabin which they have ruined by tightening the seat pitch, make economy as nasty as it can be and people will once again pay for business.

The only trouble is that there’s little in front of the BA curtain worth paying for. A wilted salad anyone?

[HarryMonk]

Personally, I don’t think exit row seats should have an additional fee but equally they should not be available for online selection. In my opinion they should be allocated at the airport where airline staff have the opportunity to verify that the passenger meets the legal requirements and could perform the emergency responsibilities that comes with the seat.
By charging a fee and/or allowing online selection it then makes it difficult for the on board crew to re-seat a passenger when it is seen the passenger does not meet the criteria for such a seat. Some crew might not want the heated discussion that is likely to follow

[AlanOrton1]

Don’t fly a huge amount short haul (with BA), but last three European legs in Y, when I went to choose a seat, the first several rows of Y were not available. I thought this odd, but yet much nearer to departure, they opened up – so am guessing this could be down to initial uncertainty of the curtain position.

[PeterCoultas]

HarryMonk +1

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