[SwissExPat]

[quote quote=932304]Really. I just bought 2 J returns to LHR HKG on Swiss yesterday, and asked to chose our seats at the same time, no extra charge. Was amazed, as BA Silver, we don’t pay. But read lots of complaints of those who do have to pay to ensure sitting with family. Was praising Swiss for this policy. BA obv use it as an income policy in J, seems unfair after paying so much for a J Asia tkt, to have to pay another £80 pp per flight, on top to chose seats. Plain greedy.[/quote]

@Polly,
Yes, there will be SOME seats you can select on SWISS J longhaul and not pay extra for, but if you want one of the “Throne” seats or one in the 2 row small cabin in the front of J, then it will be CHF 199 (at least if your are buying ex ZRH).

[DAVIDINBRIGHTON]

total lunacy …

Ages back I booked with BA a flights and hotel for my birthday …

I paid the extra to go Business Class . lots of dosh !! … but it is a special birthday holiday ///

Imagine my joy !!!! when I checked the seats allocations and found that i had been put in 2A and my partner in 6D …

I then spent an hour and a half arguing with BA staff that this must be a mistake / and eventually gave up …. I was told that these seats are what you have you been allocated !! and there was nothing anybody could do ………….

ABBA is a new acronym in the UK ..it stands for “Anything But BRITISH AIRWAYS “… I had previously thought ABBA was a bit harsh ..but when i am on the receiving end of such BA lunacy i now am starting to understand why ABBA is a genuine belief… Looks like i will be starting off my special holiday with my partner with a four hour plus flight and we are not even sitting in the same row .!! this really beggars belief … in despair and wondering if BA have a death wish … all very sad /
we have one more flight this year already booked with BA and i now think it will be our last ever …. all too much drama /
what a way to start a holiday !! can it get worse ??
I now know that in order to have guaranteed two seats together i needed to pay another hundred plus pounds !! d
oes any other airline treat their business class clients this way …

[Tom Otley]

Hello DavidInBrighton.

Welcome to the forum.

I have merged this with a similar thread (you perhaps won’t be suprised that your frustration is shared).

When I interviewed the CEO of British Airways, I asked him about this. He would not be drawn, and simply said that he thought other airlines would soon do the same…

What about making people pay for seat selection (if they aren’t in the BA Executive Club)?

“We’re still seeing more airlines going in that direction.”

The interview is here

British Airways CEO says investments are showing results

[w8ster]

[quote quote=934156]total lunacy …

Ages back I booked with BA a flights and hotel for my birthday …

I paid the extra to go Business Class . lots of dosh !! … but it is a special birthday holiday ///

Imagine my joy !!!! when I checked the seats allocations and found that i had been put in 2A and my partner in 6D …

I then spent an hour and a half arguing with BA staff that this must be a mistake / and eventually gave up …. I was told that these seats are what you have you been allocated !! and there was nothing anybody could do ………….

ABBA is a new acronym in the UK ..it stands for “Anything But BRITISH AIRWAYS “… I had previously thought ABBA was a bit harsh ..but when i am on the receiving end of such BA lunacy i now am starting to understand why ABBA is a genuine belief… Looks like i will be starting off my special holiday with my partner with a four hour plus flight and we are not even sitting in the same row .!! this really beggars belief … in despair and wondering if BA have a death wish … all very sad /

we have one more flight this year already booked with BA and i now think it will be our last ever …. all too much drama /

what a way to start a holiday !! can it get worse ??

I now know that in order to have guaranteed two seats together i needed to pay another hundred plus pounds !! d

oes any other airline treat their business class clients this way …[/quote]

Love it! ABBA.. I am totally subscribed to that

2 users thanked author for this post.

Jacob, tomwjsimpson

[capetonianm]

BA should not be in the race to the bottom and to emulate Ryanair, whose policies are arguably more honest and transparent.

The national carrier is fast becoming a national disgrace.

[canucklad]

[quote quote=934167]What about making people pay for seat selection (if they aren’t in the BA Executive Club)?
“We’re still seeing more airlines going in that direction.”[/quote]

This seems to be the default answer in the aviation industry.
Although BA are guiltier than most at eroding the customer experience, they’re certainly not the only ones.

Increasing profits might impress shareholders, alas it doesn’t impress me.
Especially when those profit margins are driven by creative ancillary fees designed to extort money for what should be an expected level of service….especially in J class !!

[esselle]

I don’t think BA have been the national carrier for quite some years. They stopped seeing themselves as that when they dropped the “Fly the Flag” tagline. They’ve just hung on to “British” in their name.

Shame. If they still had that sense of national pride, things may have turned out a bit differently.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Paul

[JonathanCohen09]

I subscribed to ABBA years ago and have never regretted that decision. I now fly with which ever carrier suits me, I get better prices, better hard product, better food and onboard service.

I no longer worry about avios and free flights as with the money I have saved by not flying with BA I can by myself additional flights for dates and times that suit me without having to worry about the availability of avios seats.

I realise that many people do not have a choice but to fly with BA but if you do and are not happy with BA then do yourselves a favour and try different carriers some of whom actually care about your business.

I fly London to TLV on a very regular basis and used to fly BA. Since switching to Easyjet and Wizzair from Luton I pay roughly 50% or more less than I used to pay for BA and that includes seats with legroom and a case in the hold.

Interested to hear from others who have done the same or who might be considering doing the same a?

[GivingupBA]

[quote quote=934550] …..I realise that many people do not have a choice but to fly with BA but if you do and are not happy with BA then do yourselves a favour and try different carriers some of whom actually care about your business….. Interested to hear from others who have done the same or who might be considering doing the same a?[/quote]

I spent years and years and years flying BA quite frequently, mostly longhaul in J, but I can choose my carrier and I finally gave up 4 years ago (check my user name) (apart from one flight to Germany) and I have never looked back. I do not regret my decision.

[capetonianm]

I am fortunate to have a choice and I exercise it, and it’s to fly BA as infrequently as possible. If a premium fare is too good to pass over, for example €1150 AMS-CPT-AMS which I got a couple of years ago, I’ll take it. Then, I don’t mind paying £40 for a seat selection as I always want a window seat, although I think the principle is wrong. I don’t expect it to be anything other than mediocre, so I’m pleasantly surprised if it betters that low bar. The crews are usually pleasant.

I normally use EZY for intra-EU as I think they’re better than BA and value my custom. Premium is a waste of money for me on short flights so my comparison is EZY vs. legacy carriers Y class, or to use the official GDS class code, M for Misery. I always console myself by spending the money saved on a little luxury.

My most recent trips to ZA have been on Star Alliance members in W or J and even if it costs me more than BA, as it invariably does, it’s something I enjoy.

[ASK1945]

[quote quote=934550]

JonathanCohen09 wrote: I fly London to TLV on a very regular basis and used to fly BA. Since switching to Easyjet and Wizzair from Luton I pay roughly 50% or more less than I used to pay for BA and that includes seats with legroom and a case in the hold.

Interested to hear from others who have done the same or who might be considering doing the same a?[/quote]

Sorry we have moved off-topic but to answer Jonathan – I also fly frequently between LON and TLV and your experience does not match mine.

I returned earlier this week, with BA, flying WT outward and WT+ back- and in both directions it was good. Apart from a £75 addition for the upgrade to WT+, the prices were not much different, once I had factored in the leg-room, speedy boarding, bags and meals. Actually, my own experience with Easyjet is tempered by flying out from awful Luton at 0700 (ugh) and even more awful T1 at TLV, both where you are treated like cattle and the awful late arrivals back to LTN that often occur with Easyjet.

In the last couple of years El Al has aggressively priced the route to compete with EJ and one can avoid awful Luton and T1 at TLV.

I have just priced up a return to TLV in four weeks’ time and El Al (with meals) works out the cheapest at £409 from LHR. EJ is £406 (factoring in the extras except for meals) and BA £479. We will be going BA.

I have no experience with WizzAir because I don’t want a return flight that lands back at Luton at 0100.

[FaroFlyer]

Love it! ABBA.. I am totally subscribed to that[/quote]

Actually, ABBA stands for Always Bashing British Airways

[Tramor01]

I always thought it was Anyone But British Airways 🙂

2 users thanked author for this post.

Jacob, tomwjsimpson

[Author]

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