[christ]

I think it is a good policy as surely those with status should get some benefit – otherwise for example all the great seats on the upper deck of the 747 would be taken (although perhaps an approach could be to save a few middle seats on the lower deck for non status passengers).

Seat choice is free for First – though I think the first few rows are restricted to Gold.

[MarkivJ]

Hi guys, thanks for all the great responses and thoughts so far. Whilst I do agree with the viewpoint that frequent fliers need to have preference, I don’t think it’s fair to have seats available only for a fee. They could block some of the preferred seats (bulk head, exit seats, etc.) for their frequent fliers but leave some available for the non-FFs.

[canucklad]

Hi Markiv,
I’ve just re-read the thread, and I advised that you contact American, what I’ve not advised is that you contact BAEC quoting your AA platinum member status. You never know, you might just chance along a reasonable sympathetic operator that will resolve everything. If you don’t ask you don’t get !

And if it all goes pear shaped, my simple advice, use Cathay next time , even if it means you have head across the border to BC , not a bad diversion all things considered : )

1 user thanked author for this post.

MarkivJ

[capetonianm]

They could block some of the preferred seats (bulk head, exit seats, etc.) for their frequent fliers but leave some available for the non-FFs.

That used to be standard practice, with ‘preferred’ seats being blocked off according to FF status. Then the whole picture changed when airlines began using seat selection as a revenue stream.

[AJDC]

So you pay several thousand for business class and then have to pay an additional fee for reserving a seat. Those who accept this crap are amazing.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Ah,Mr.Bond

[MarkivJ]

[quote quote=877499]So you pay several thousand for business class and then have to pay an additional fee for reserving a seat. Those who accept this crap are amazing.[/quote]

My guess is – this is probably for J fares booked on non corporate sites, ba.com included. My best mate is also travelling on a work assignment (same route and time frame BLR-LHR in Oct). He booked through his company’s corp travel portal and got automatic seat selection. He isn’t a BA or any OW FF at all. The few trips he’s made are with EK. His fare is about Rs.6000 (~US$100) more than my parents’. So probably corp fares automatically include the seat selection whilst they make that optional for those booking through non-corp sites.

[SimonS1]

[quote quote=877391]

AlanOrton1 wrote:

While they are one of the few that do charge these fees for premium cabins, I suspect they will not be the last. I believe Swiss already does for some of its preferred long haul seats in their business cabin.

AlanOrton1 – You are correct. Swiss introduced a fee for the “throne” seat.

Swiss introduces “throne” seat reservation fee

<iframe class=”wp-embedded-content” sandbox=”allow-scripts” security=”restricted” src=”https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2017/02/27/swiss-introduces-throne-seat-reservation-fee/embed/#?secret=a6vpfpBcbA&#8221; data-secret=”a6vpfpBcbA” width=”500″ height=”498″ title=”“Swiss introduces “throne” seat reservation fee” — Business Traveller” frameborder=”0″ marginwidth=”0″ marginheight=”0″ scrolling=”no”></iframe>

Inquisitive wrote:

In addition there shall be some kind of regulation that family shall be allocated seat together or at least nearby.

I remember one Ask Alex query involved a Hong Kong-based lady travelling with her mother who was in her Eighties.

Both were booked Y class with BA for HKG-LHR. But both had not paid extra to pre-reserve their seats thinking that the BA computer would not be dumb enough to seat both apart.

But it was dumb. Even though they both accessed manage my booking “on the dot” (those were her very words which I can still recall) of the advance booking period they were unable to get seats together.[/quote]

Computers are not smart or dumb. They do what they are programmed to do.

I believe the CAA is currently investigating the way seats are charged for on the suspicion that airlines might deliberately be seating people apart as an incentive to pay.

[SimonS1]

[quote quote=877389]I have travelled business class in Singapore Airlines, Thai, ANA, Korean, United, Delta, Qatar, Jet Airways during last 2 years; none of these charge for seat selection.

Economy is a different matter, that shall not be part of discussion in this case.

Calling it business class with hefty fare compared to economy and then charge for seat selection is a stupid idea and it shows management caliber.[/quote]

Well I don’t agree with the policy, in fact I rarely use BA, however I don’t agree with you.

The job of the company management is to maximise profit for shareholders. That is what BA is doing. They have a rationale which is that it keeps seats available for people they want to give priority to – basically high status BAEC members and people paying full fare J. In some cases there will also be a captive audience, but that is the same anywhere. Buy a pint at Wembley on cup final day and you also get fleeced.

There is no rule that says BA must copy all those other airlines. So those airlines don’t charge – good for them.

The bottom line here of course is that if you don’t like it the best thing is just to use a different airline that doesn’t charge. But it certainly doesn’t mean it’s a stupid idea or that the management is poor calibre, only that they don’t agree with you.

[AJDC]

MarkivJ

It should not matter the channel through which the booking was made. I just priced a ticket JFK/LHR 18-25 September. The price quoted by BA.com was U$7,299.02. I am then offered the choice to choose seats for $91.00. So after spending $7,300 on a flight, I am supposed to pay $91 for a the ability to choose a seat? BA and the customers who do this have got to be out of their minds.
I guess it can do this, because it has gotten away with it- bully for them.

[MartynSinclair]

[quote quote=877765]I just priced a ticket JFK/LHR 18-25 September. The price quoted by BA.com was U$7,299.02.[/quote]

Wow, would someone pay $7,299 for a JFK-LHR, even with a free seat selection??

[SwissExPat]

I recently used Miles and More points to buy a SWISS J seat from ZRH to HKG. This involved paying CHF 350 plus a large amount of points.

Despite trying a number of strategies/avenues, it seems that I CANNOT select my seat in Swiss J for this sector and must wait until check in opens 24 hours out.

On my return flight (paid for using BA points to get a F seat on Cathay) I was able to select 1A on the website.

It seems advance seat selection still remains a problem, even if paid for or by using points.

[FDOS_UK]

[quote quote=877765]MarkivJ

It should not matter the channel through which the booking was made. I just priced a ticket JFK/LHR 18-25 September. The price quoted by BA.com was U$7,299.02. I am then offered the choice to choose seats for $91.00. So after spending $7,300 on a flight, I am supposed to pay $91 for a the ability to choose a seat? BA and the customers who do this have got to be out of their minds.

I guess it can do this, because it has gotten away with it- bully for them.[/quote]

You misunderstand what MarkivJ is saying – he is talking about trade channels and corporate deals, which have features and benefits not available on retail sales.

[capetonianm]

The ability to select seats or not is determined primarily by two criteria :

The booking subclass (= fare level) and the passenger’s FF Tier/Level.

If an agent looks at seat availability before entering the pax name and FF number, it may show a range of seats blocked off. If they then enter the name and FFN, it will ‘unblock’ the seats for that passenger.

It is true to say that the job of BA management is to maximise profit for shareholders, but if that is at the expense of so many disgruntled passengers who choose to not use BA, as I have done despite being an IAG shareholder, sooner or later that will start to show in the bottom line. It’s an ultimately unsustainable policy.

[christopheL]

SimonS1
“The job of the company management is to maximise profit for shareholders. That is what BA is doing”.
I fully agree with you. As BA is concerned “Flying planes to pay dividends” is without doubt more accurate than “To fly to serve” (buy on board food when travelling W).
This is the reason why I never buy a J or F ticket on BA. I only use my 241voucher and that’s all.
I used to use BA as a short haul airline only. Since the introduction of the Buy on Board Policy I have been focusing on AF for my weekly commuting travels between Paris and London (the last few month have been quite tricky but nothing impossible !!!).

[SimonS1]

[quote quote=877782]The ability to select seats or not is determined primarily by two criteria :

The booking subclass (= fare level) and the passenger’s FF Tier/Level.

If an agent looks at seat availability before entering the pax name and FF number, it may show a range of seats blocked off. If they then enter the name and FFN, it will ‘unblock’ the seats for that passenger.

It is true to say that the job of BA management is to maximise profit for shareholders, but if that is at the expense of so many disgruntled passengers who choose to not use BA, as I have done despite being an IAG shareholder, sooner or later that will start to show in the bottom line. It’s an ultimately unsustainable policy.[/quote]

Indeed there are other criteria – that the passenger works for a corporate that has a deal with BA, or indeed has booked through a TA that has access to seating FOC.

Is it unsustainable and will it start to show in the bottom line – who knows? People have been saying that for ages but no sign of it yet and BA shares are still outperforming most other European airlines.

[Author]

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