[dutchyankee]

I think the practice of charging to block a specific seat on a paid for Business or First ticket is a disgrace. Likewise if a family with children book even then seat allocation should be free in economy as well. I just had lunch with a client and we were talking about airlines and that he is taking his wife to Las Vegas and San Diego on a nice getaway and was booking on BA in Club. When he found out he had to pay to select the seats he wanted (he has no status in BAEC) he cancelled the process and booked instead on Air Canada. While I still am Gold with BA (they surprisingly renewed me for 2016 without my meeting the tier points required) so I have the ‘privilege’ of reserving seats, I think the practice of charging in premium cabins is pathetic for an airline that wants to be, or rather, claims to be world class.

[usflyer]

Couldn’t agree with you more dutchyankee – more people should complain – and switch to another airline if necessary…

[stephen160]

I have just purchased two business class seats on Iberia.com flying to Las Vegas, the flight will be on a BA plane . Iberia offers advance seat selection for business class, but when I tried to select my seats I was directed to BA.com , they then want to charge me for this. I refused to pay. I have spoken to Iberia and BA and both have said pay or no seat selection. Not what I am used to, flying United or Aer Lingus.

[FDOS_UK]

It’s important that people pay for their seats, so that people with ‘status’ can get a choice when booking late.

That’s the justification many ‘status’ pax give – obviously it’s b*ll*cks – it’s about maximising revenues, so people have a choice.

When one reviews the total cost of the flight, including the seat charge, one can make a decision as to whether it is good value.

I’ve got ‘status’ with BA and think everyone should tug their forelock when they pass me in the street 😉

[Tramor01]

I’m flying ARN to New York on Saturday on BA in C and back to CPH on Finnair…. BA want a whopping £78 for booking a club seat on their sardine can for the leg from LHR.
Coming back Finnair there wasn’t a charge for booking a seat on the return legs – I was able to choose a window on their 1-2-1 configuration.
Like many others on here I avoid BA like the plague where possible.

I’m a frequent SAS flyer (Diamond) its nice to see them upping their game (SAS V BA) after a few years of being “lost in the wilderness”

[ba747fan1]

I really do not see what the problem is as if everyone got for free, it would be unfair for gold and silver members who are loyal to the excellent brand. If a non status member books a flexible ticket, free seat selectionis available and then 48 hours before for semi flexible. Therefore it is only those non status passengers on severely discounted tickets which have to pay. Anyone with the slightest BA loyalty with BA will have a bronze card which is easy to obtain and gives seat selection 7 days before the flight. Surely an airline should look after its most loyal customers.

[ba747fan1]

I really do not see what the problem is as if everyone got for free, it would be unfair for gold and silver members who are loyal to the excellent brand. If a non status member books a flexible ticket, free seat selectionis available and then 48 hours before for semi flexible. Therefore it is only those non status passengers on severely discounted tickets which have to pay. Anyone with the slightest BA loyalty with BA will have a bronze card which is easy to obtain and gives seat selection 7 days before the flight. Surely an airline should look after its most loyal customers.

[ba747fan1]

I really do not see what the problem is as if everyone got for free, it would be unfair for gold and silver members who are loyal to the excellent brand. If a non status member books a flexible ticket, free seat selectionis available and then 48 hours before for semi flexible. Therefore it is only those non status passengers on severely discounted tickets which have to pay. Anyone with the slightest BA loyalty with BA will have a bronze card which is easy to obtain and gives seat selection 7 days before the flight. Surely an airline should look after its most loyal customers.

[ba747fan1]

I really do not see what the problem is as if everyone got for free, it would be unfair for gold and silver members who are loyal to the excellent brand. If a non status member books a flexible ticket, free seat selectionis available and then 48 hours before for semi flexible. Therefore it is only those non status passengers on severely discounted tickets which have to pay. Anyone with the slightest BA loyalty with BA will have a bronze card which is easy to obtain and gives seat selection 7 days before the flight. Surely an airline should look after its most loyal customers.

[FDOS_UK]

ba747fan1 – 05/02/2016 09:06 GMT

Most gold/silver members are not loyal to the brand, their corporations choose the preferred carriers.

I don’t see why people buying a discounted business class ticket should have to pay a separate charge for seat selection, this is public transport and you get what you get – that isn’t unfair, it’s life with reasonable expectations.

If you buy a first class open rail ticket, you may well not find a seat or at best, a poor one, whilst advance purchase tickets are only valid with a seat reservation.

As no other airline that I am aware of follows BA’s practice, I conclude that it has little to do with looking after BAEC members (for the recent years have been little but a slash and burn attack on benefits) and much more to do with revenue stream creation.

I expect to pay for seat selection on easyJet and Ryanair, buit not on a so called ‘premium’ carrier, in long haul business class.

[usflyer]

Of course it is all about revenue….. the price of the ticket includes the seat – the question is why we should have to pay such an extortionate extra amount to reserve/allocate the seat….. fair enough on a budget airline where nobody begrudges paying £5-10 to reserve…. but £70+…..come on…

[StephenLondon]

To pull some thoughts from boardingarea.com:

“While first come first serve makes sense on one hand, keep in mind that those typically booking in advance also get the lowest fares. Those paying the highest fares are getting the least desirable seats. Which is ultimately fine, but there’s something about it which doesn’t seem like the “perfect” system.

While I find British Airways’ policy of charging for seat assignments in business class to be borderline insulting, I did find there to be a huge difference in quality between seats. The window seats on British Airways are actually quite nice, while the aisle seats have no privacy, and the middle seats are sort of laughable.

I suppose by charging for seats they’re at least creating some barrier to all the good seats being booked up earlier. While many companies will pay for business class, lots of people don’t want to personally shell out for the cost of a seat assignment.”

Corporate fares get free seating assignments, as do OW and BAEC higher tier members, ditto those paying top fare brackets.

[ba747fan1]

FDOS UK – I note your point regarding trains but I dont think we should be taking the lead from trains. Also in first class, it is rare for the train to be full (potentially at extreme peak times) and so I do not think it is comparable. There are only a small handful of people who do not get advance booking of seats without a fee and so I think that it is fair so as to protect BA’s loyal customers or those paying last minute higher fares. However, I agree there have been other eroding of benefits such as the ridiculous increase of miles plus upgrade to club and I would also get rid of the HBO fares. I am not sure what other airlines do for long haul business (I dont recall being charged in club) but perhaps BA is leading the way on this one as I fully agree with.

[Tim2soza]

FDOS_UK – I am a BAEC Gold card holder. I know my position in life. I too expect Blue and Silver’s to tug their forelock to me. I look up to Premier card holders and those with the CCR key. I tug my forelock to them and would happily carry their bags.

[TimFitzgeraldTC]

I can’t think of any airlines other than BA that charges for seats in Premium Economy or above. Sure KLM, SAA, VS and a few others are now charging on some economy fares but in Business I personally find it pretty outrageous. Not to say that every seat should be available (Maybe just allow the 4 middle seats to be allocated for free if non – status) and open aisle/window combo’s to relevant status or a fee for non-status. You can easily buy a fare for £6k plus on BA in Club on some routes and still not get free seat allocation. Nuts.

[Author]

Posts