which seats?

My husband and I will be flying with British Airways at the end of September. Our TA told us we cannot pre-select our seats until 12 hours before the flight is scheduled to leave. I have been on seatguru but am still unsure which are the better seats to book. It would be great for some specifics on which seats to book. We are in ecomony class.:( Thanks!

If you have your locator number try logging into BA and check if you can select seats now.

Checking in 12 hr prior you may not have a choice of seats ...just ask at the check in desk for seats together.

You need to know the type of aircraft for your flight ...most of the seats are ok on BA just don't willing choose ones that seatguru has marked red or yellow;)

If you booked cruise air you will be "world traveler" seating.

My husband and I will be flying with British Airways at the end of September. Our TA told us we cannot pre-select our seats until 12 hours before the flight is scheduled to leave. I have been on seatguru but am still unsure which are the better seats to book. It would be great for some specifics on which seats to book.

Actually, it's 24 hours before departure, when online check-in opens. At that time, any seats that have not been pre-allocated should be available to you.

 

Current British Airways seating policy is that pre-allocation is only available to Gold and Silver Executive Club members (or oneworld equivalents) and those on full fare tickets. In practice, this means that almost every seat in economy is available at the -24 hour point.

 

If you want advice on which seats are good, it would help to know which of BA's various aircraft types you're flying on!

Actually, it's 24 hours before departure, when online check-in opens. At that time, any seats that have not been pre-allocated should be available to you.

 

Current British Airways seating policy is that pre-allocation is only available to Gold and Silver Executive Club members (or oneworld equivalents) and those on full fare tickets. In practice, this means that almost every seat in economy is available at the -24 hour point.

 

If you want advice on which seats are good, it would help to know which of BA's various aircraft types you're flying on!

 

You can believe Globaliser ....he has never offered anything but excellent advice..I have used it myself several times to my advantage.

 

I am a BA executive club member..travel frequently on cruises using BA (specified as my preferred carrier for no extra fee as I am Elite status with the cruiseline we normally book) and last trip they had just changed the seat book ahead policy..used to be if you had your locator no. you could choose your seats when you booked your cruise....now they have special categories of who can book their seat immediately and the rest of us who are restricted to only 24 hours before your flight. As most of my flying is done on concessionary airfares provided to the cruiseline as part of my cruise package I do not qualify for the last 600 miles I need to get up to the required level (silver) so that I would be able to choose my seats immediately.

I would be interested to hear from Globaliser if possible, if there is any way apart from purchasing full price air to get over the hump of those missing 600 points I desperately need and what length ( where to where roughly ) of flight would offer this amount of points??

Leave BWI 11/21/07 to Heathrow. Boeing 767

Same type of plane coming back

 

Heathrow to Vienna: Airbus A320 jet

 

Thanks,

Sharon

As most of my flying is done on concessionary airfares provided to the cruiseline as part of my cruise package I do not qualify for the last 600 miles I need to get up to the required level (silver) so that I would be able to choose my seats immediately.

I would be interested to hear from Globaliser if possible, if there is any way apart from purchasing full price air to get over the hump of those missing 600 points I desperately need and what length ( where to where roughly ) of flight would offer this amount of points??

I think you're referring to Executive Club tier points, of which you do need 600 to qualify for or retain Silver.

 

One of the best ways of doing this (IMHO) as a leisure traveller is to fly in World Traveller Plus on longhaul trips. Every WT+ fare qualifies for Executive Club tier points. You get 75 tier points each way (135 each way to/from Australia), so you need 4 return trips a year in WT+ to get to Silver. If you are a savvy buyer, you can get some stonkingly good WT+ fares bought directly from the airline in sales and such like (eg the weekly exclusive offers, for all Exec Club and website registered customers only - so not very exclusive, really!). For example, there are a lot of WT+ fares this week to North America for just over £500 return.

 

The other good way is to look for the cheapie Club Europe return tickets on short haul trips. (For example, I'm currently looking at a London-Munich fare of £288.50 return for travel in July.) These will earn you 40 tier points each way, so you need 8 of these return trips a year to get to Silver.

 

Or, of course, you could mix and match. My personal problem with the latter approach is not having enough time to do eight trips a year.

 

If you're anywhere near close to the threshold, BA Silver is definitely worth it for a leisure traveller. Priority check-in (ie at Club class desks), pre-allocated seating and lounge access on departure are three stunningly good reasons for spending some money to get it.

Leave BWI 11/21/07 to Heathrow. Boeing 767

Same type of plane coming back

 

Heathrow to Vienna: Airbus A320 jet

Unfortunately, the 767 is the aircraft I know least well. Personally, I would aim for the exit row at 26 if you can get it, and failing that the bulkhead seats at 16 and 26 (if you don't mind the fact that the benefit of extra face room comes at the cost of foot room - in fact, there's no single thing called "leg room" on an aircraft). Otherwise, there doesn't seem to be anything that distinguishes any of them as good. As a general rule, the further forward you are, the quieter it'll be. And the 767 is pretty good for couples because of the 2s on both sides.

 

On the shorthaul flight, you are definitely looking to get as far forward as possible. The rows nearer the front of the cabin may well be the convertible zone, where the pitch is the same as in business class although the layout is 3-3 rather than 2-3. If you are able to secure the first row on the left hand side of the aircraft, you will probably find that that is a 2-3 (AC-DEF) and that is the most prized row in economy for a single or a couple. Otherwise, pick an exit row that does not have another exit row immediately behind it. That way you get a seat with more pitch and that still reclines. It's difficult to be more specific because the aircraft type used on a particular flight can change as the weeks go on.

I think you're referring to Executive Club tier points, of which you do need 600 to qualify for or retain Silver.

 

One of the best ways of doing this (IMHO) as a leisure traveller is to fly in World Traveller Plus on longhaul trips. Every WT+ fare qualifies for Executive Club tier points. You get 75 tier points each way (135 each way to/from Australia), so you need 4 return trips a year in WT+ to get to Silver. If you are a savvy buyer, you can get some stonkingly good WT+ fares bought directly from the airline in sales and such like (eg the weekly exclusive offers, for all Exec Club and website registered customers only - so not very exclusive, really!). For example, there are a lot of WT+ fares this week to North America for just over £500 return.

 

The other good way is to look for the cheapie Club Europe return tickets on short haul trips. (For example, I'm currently looking at a London-Munich fare of £288.50 return for travel in July.) These will earn you 40 tier points each way, so you need 8 of these return trips a year to get to Silver.

 

Or, of course, you could mix and match. My personal problem with the latter approach is not having enough time to do eight trips a year.

 

If you're anywhere near close to the threshold, BA Silver is definitely worth it for a leisure traveller. Priority check-in (ie at Club class desks), pre-allocated seating and lounge access on departure are three stunningly good reasons for spending some money to get it.

 

Thanks again Globaliser..will take your advice onboard to see what I can work out..presumably if you book WT+ with cruise combined through your cruiseline..it would again fall into the category of a concessionary airfare so may not qualify for points? Therefore it would only be effective to raise my points amount if I purchased air separately and bought cruise only? If those points accrue do they self destruct if you don't use them? I think I had points before after a WT+ flight LHR to MIA but they were lost for some reason...my memory thinks it was because after a specific date they were wiped by BA ?

presumably if you book WT+ with cruise combined through your cruiseline..it would again fall into the category of a concessionary airfare so may not qualify for points? Therefore it would only be effective to raise my points amount if I purchased air separately and bought cruise only?

No, any WT+ fare should qualify for tier points, including those sold through cruise lines and other tour operators. I have no problems getting mine when flying to NCL cruises with the air travel arranged by NCL.

 

Basically, you have to get at least 600 tier points every membership year. If you're Blue now, your current start date for counting will be on your BA statements or on the website if you log in - it's always the 8th of some month. You need to collect 600 tier points within the 12 months starting from that date to qualify for Silver.

 

By a quirk of the BA system, if you move up to Silver your tier points are reset to zero, and a new membership year starts straight away - you have the benefit of Silver for the whole of that period. If you collect 600 tier points during that year, you will then be Silver for a further year after that.

If those points accrue do they self destruct if you don't use them? I think I had points before after a WT+ flight LHR to MIA but they were lost for some reason...my memory thinks it was because after a specific date they were wiped by BA ?

These tier points are different from BA Miles, which are the miles that you can exchange for free flights or upgrades. You will also earn those whenever you fly, although on the cheapest economy fares at a very low earning rate. BA miles last indefinitely, so long as there is some activity on your account at least once every three years.

 

But the tier points are wiped at the end of every membership year, or every time you move up to a higher tier.

No, any WT+ fare should qualify for tier points, including those sold through cruise lines and other tour operators. I have no problems getting mine when flying to NCL cruises with the air travel arranged by NCL.

 

Basically, you have to get at least 600 tier points every membership year. If you're Blue now, your current start date for counting will be on your BA statements or on the website if you log in - it's always the 8th of some month. You need to collect 600 tier points within the 12 months starting from that date to qualify for Silver.

 

By a quirk of the BA system, if you move up to Silver your tier points are reset to zero, and a new membership year starts straight away - you have the benefit of Silver for the whole of that period. If you collect 600 tier points during that year, you will then be Silver for a further year after that.These tier points are different from BA Miles, which are the miles that you can exchange for free flights or upgrades. You will also earn those whenever you fly, although on the cheapest economy fares at a very low earning rate. BA miles last indefinitely, so long as there is some activity on your account at least once every three years.

 

But the tier points are wiped at the end of every membership year, or every time you move up to a higher tier.

 

Thanks Globaliser...the explanations are exactly what I needed to know..and explain why my WT+ points were wiped... grateful thanks again!

Hi again...I just checked my email from our TA and she didn't have any specifics about which type of aircraft just our flight numbers. We depart Toronto to London Heathrow flight #98. We then depart LHR to Barcelona #484. Another question...when we prearrange our seats for Toronto are we able to do it for the LHR to BCN leg of the journey at the same time?

 

Thanks,

Hedy

Hi Hedy,

 

I would certainly be questioning the competence of my TA if she was unable to tell me what aircraft type you are booked on as this is readily available from the airline reservation system. I'm not sure what date in September you are flying but checked a selection of dates on BA website and it seems that BA 98 is operated by Boeing 747-400 and BA 484 is operated by Airbus 319.

 

The seatguru site has seating plan for BA 747 indicating which seats are recommended. Which seats I would choose would depend on whether flight is full or not. I am assuming you are flying in economy? When I know that flight is not full I would select window/aisle seats in a row of three (ie A/C or H/K) in the hope that middle seat is left empty, thereby giving you more room to spread out. This generally works well in my experience and in the event that somebody is allocated the middle seat I'm sure they would have no problem swapping with your husband or yourself so that you could be seated together.

 

I would also try and select row away from toilets or galleys as it is a night flight and you want to avoid being disturbed by people congregating by toilet etc.

 

For the LHR BCN leg you are on an A319 which is a single aisle aircraft with 3 seats either side. Not really much to choose between the seats and it is only a two hour flight. I would choose a seat as far forward as possible just so that you can get off the plane quicker and opt for window seat on left hand side as this should offer view of Mediterranean as you fly into Barcelona.

 

Cheers,

 

Kiwifruit

We depart Toronto to London Heathrow flight #98. We then depart LHR to Barcelona #484. Another question...when we prearrange our seats for Toronto are we able to do it for the LHR to BCN leg of the journey at the same time?

I wholeheartedly agree with Kiwifruit about your TA's competence. You can get this information from a myriad of online sources, starting with the airline's own website. And a TA who has a booking system terminal in their office would be able to interrogate the airline's system directly for your particular flights.

 

BA98 operates 6 days a week (on the seventh day, Tuesday, it's numbered BA1098 for genuine but arcane scheduling reasons). The BA website suggests that it's operated by a 747 on Mon, Thu, Sat and Sun, and by a 767 on Wed and Fri.

 

See above for the little advice that I can offer on 767s.

 

If you're in economy class, then basically BA will be operating two flavours of 747. (There is actually a transitional period of four configurations at present, but this doesn't matter much for your purposes.) When you start online check-in and look at the seat map, you'll see that the economy section either starts somewhere about row 25 (or 28), or at row 33.

 

In the former case, the plum seats are 28BC or 28HJ. These are exit row seats, but nowhere near galleys or toilets. 29A and 29K are also highly sought after, because they are window seats but the occupant can get out by going between the gap between 28B or 28J and the sidewall, so they don't have to climb over anyone. But these are the seats in highest demand and are likely to be taken by people who can get pre-allocated seats. If you don't mind bulkhead seats (see above), then row 25 if it exists, and 28DEFG are good. The bulkhead seats at 39 and 40 can be noisy because of the galley.

 

In the latter case, my personal advice is to avoid rows 33-36. I think they have a narrower pitch than the rest of the economy cabin, although I have never measured this. Same comment applies to row 40.

 

If you really want a pair of seats on your own, there are a few BC and JK pairs back at rows 51, 52 and 53. But these are noisy, and there is more movement in turbulence that far back.

 

As for seats for the shorthaul flight, see above too.

 

And when you check in for the longhaul flight, you may well be offered the chance to check in for your connecting shorthaul flight as well, even though it's more than 24 hours away.

Thank you so much for your advice. It has been very helpful. I haven't been on a plane in 15 years so I'm a little nervous.

 

Thanks again,

Hedy