New BAEC benefits: free seating on Hand Baggage tickets, status extension for new parents

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• Rami says:

  4 May4 May 05:54

  As one of BA cabin crew told on a recent flight, “BA is focusing on the people in front, making it fancy and ignoring the passengers in the back, including the crew which can barely afford pot noodles”.
  Very happy with the changes, but all we see is improvement/changes for the premium classes and status holders.
  Now when that day comes and I lose my status and have to fly (in the back on the plane), I won’t have any reason to go with BA, because I get no value for money. Even the ME3 airlines are trying not to just focus on the premium classes.

  • Tina says:

    4 May4 May 07:26

    Losing status is optional. Class of flight isn’t (always).

    This article is sbout rewarding status passengers

    • Gavin says:

      4 May4 May 08:45

      BA still charge you for seat selection if in J with no status!

      • Talay says:

        4 May4 May 12:01

        I know. Shocking isn’t it ?

        LHR-BKK return on Amex 241 and they wanted around £250 for seat selection after £1050 or so in “fees”.

        Managed to get it for free due to child having allergy but would not pay it otherwise and thus not use BA.

        Thinking about routing on Qatar to get status but we don’t do 4 x BA flights !

        What happens if you have a booking for two people but only one has status ? Can you only reserve one seat ?

        Madness.

        • Alan says:

          4 May4 May 12:32

          As long as you are all on the one booking then the BAEC member with status can select seats for everyone else.

      • DAZ says:

        5 May5 May 00:20

        Just cost me £300 to select seats in CW to Denver on a 241+1 one way! So £1700 + £600, I could get a deal without using avios on ME3 elsewhere in the world paying solely cash (credit card). Crusty BA 747 as well.

  • John says:

    4 May4 May 07:26

    Surely if BA is the cheapest and flies direct without a stop in the middle of the night, you would still go with them in Y

  • Callum says:

    4 May4 May 09:07

    If BA crew can barely afford pot noodles then they’re financially inept.

    By all means they can go on about how they deserve more because being a flight attendant is such a tough job (not something I’ve ever bought into, but most frequent fliers seem to), but there’s no need for the dramatics…

    • LondonSteve says:

      6 May6 May 14:10

      That’s not entirely fair, Callum. Many jobs these days, Mixed Fleet FA being one of them, are not paying enough in the south of England to maintain a decent standard of living. The UK is a very expensive country for rent, utilities and car insurance, which is probably where most of their salary is vanishing, leaving enough for Pot Noodles at not much else… Of course, if you have rich parents, a wealthy partner, win the lottery….. Most of us are not that fortunate however.

• Phil says:

  4 May4 May 06:13

  As BAEC silver and above give you 1 extra free checked bag does a hand baggage only ticket give you 1 checked bag for free ?

  • Alex W says:

    4 May4 May 06:30

    No

• James A says:

  4 May4 May 06:14

  To Mr. Cruz and his cronies; too little too late. You’ve pissed me off for some time now by taking stuff away and you’ll rue the day!
  As a BAEC GOLD all I have to say is; am done here. Bye bye thieving BAstards!

  • BA Sucks says:

    4 May4 May 12:02

    I reiterate this comment. The tipping point on both sides has not been reached yet. BA are still continuing to make cuts. When the cuts stop, it will take at least 6 months for an equilibrium to be reached. And in the meantime, if a BA plane falls out of the sky, or has a bit of a bump, it will be attributed towards the cuts. Nothing but a change in management regime will change things,

    • barry cutters says:

      4 May4 May 13:14

      I know many people involved in the maintenance of BA aircraft .
      It is widely known that safety is a NO1 priority and decisions are made based on safety, not cost .
      Linking paying for seat selection, or for a G&T on-board to an aircraft crash is not really relevant.

      • BA Sucks says:

        4 May4 May 14:10

        Safety is a NO1 priority (as you put it) for all airlines. But if an airline is fast developing a reputation for cuts, as BA is, then if a couple of bumps were to occur – such as the BA LHR crash landing of 2008, or the BA LHR to OSL incident of 2013, or the BA Las Vegas fire runway incident of 2015, then that reputation – of ‘BA making penny-pinching cutbacks – where does it end?’ starts to become entrenched in public perception. Irrelevant of whether safety is a NO1 priority and decisions are made based on safety, not cost.

        • Will P says:

          5 May5 May 20:51

          More negativity towwatds BA. Go elsewhere…..

• Pun-dit says:

  4 May4 May 06:22

  Can oneworld elite members (I’m QR) also select seats on HBO ?

  • John says:

    4 May4 May 06:51

    Should be able to after 14 june

    • Allan says:

      4 May4 May 07:02

      Sure? The website seems to suggest it was BAEC status holders.

      • John says:

        4 May4 May 07:31

        I said you should be able to because the internal system which checks your status in order to grant free seating treats OW status holders as the equivalent BA status.

        Read the FT thread in 24-48 hours time to see whether it is definitely true.

      • Rob says:

        4 May4 May 07:33

        The BA communications made no mention of oneworld but the implication is that the same rules apply as for other ticket types, so OW status will work.

        • DAZ says:

          5 May5 May 00:26

          Oh for the return of the CATHAY gold card with AMEX plat. How I miss you old chum!

• Anna says:

  4 May4 May 07:06

  Now you need to persuade them to revert to checking baggage all the way through!

  • Barry cutters says:

    4 May4 May 09:37

    Book it as one flight .

    • TripRep says:

      4 May4 May 11:58

      Not always possible, esp. if BA don’t fly to the destination but a OW partner does. eg. not possible to link to OW partner on a BA 241. I’ve asked before…

• Darren Seeley says:

  4 May4 May 07:18

  So if a silver status member books an HBO flight today for travel after 14th June will they get to choose seats for free at this point? Or do they have to wait until after 14th June to select them?

  • Tina says:

    4 May4 May 07:27

    And get rid of BoB!

    • Barry cutters says:

      4 May4 May 09:37

      Bob works . It’s better than before

      • Rob says:

        4 May4 May 09:47

        That’s because it had been purposely run down before.

        It is like a property developer deliberately letting a building become derelict so the council will allow literally anything as a replacement irrespective of guidelines.

        • barry cutters says:

          4 May4 May 11:07

          I don’t agree it was purposely run down.
          What BA offered 10 -20 years ago was no longer competitive compared to the likes of Easyjet and Ryanair. They had to do something.
          Yes they do charge more sometimes, but a lot of flights booked in advance are same price and cheaper. Plus landing fees are more at heathrow.

          For me the advantage of BOB is I can now get a real sandwich, and a decent coffee in economy. ok its a disadvantage that there is no free alcohol for the couple of boys trips I take a year (7pm to Prague tonight if anyone wants free T3 lounge access to Cathay first lounge about 5pm)

        • Mzungu says:

          4 May4 May 16:08

          @barry cutters
          “decent coffee in economy” you must be on a different BA than the one I’ve flown with! Instant coffee, and tea made with warm water and a tea bag in a paper cup! Yuk 🙁

      • LondonSteve says:

        6 May6 May 14:22

        Stripping out the free drink was the biggest mistake they could have made in short haul Economy, in my opinion. It was a genuine differentiator compared to the low cost competition. Some people may not care that liquid refreshments are no longer included in the ticket price, but I do and I’m sure many others do, too. I never cared for free food as since the end of hot meals, nothing they gave you was ever substantial enough to ward off hunger, so you’d end up eating before you fly or buy a sandwich at Pret when passing through the terminal. But the gratis G’n’T was served at exactly the right moment of relaxation, after the hours of melee before the flight and steeled one for the arrival experience. It’s now a 7 pound pleasure that I certainly won’t be paying for, in fact, I won’t be buying seats on BA short haul, period. Constricting legroom is my other major gripe – the planes now feel as claustrophobic as any low-cost carrier, in fact Ryanair now offers more legroom with its slimline seats on the 737 NGs.

  • Tina says:

    4 May4 May 07:28

    Wait until June

    • Barry cutters says:

      4 May4 May 16:28

      Not since buy on board – it’s filter coffee

      • Ro says:

        4 May4 May 19:14

        Sorry but the coffee is truly disgusting.

        • Barry cutters says:

          5 May5 May 00:45

          Its ground java republic coffee beans with hot water poured on them, which are filtered through the lid.
          apart from having an Italian coffee machine and barista on board , i don’t see how it can get any better.
          My point being that i am happy to pay £2.30 for real coffee, than the Luke warm, coffee bag stuff they did before.
          same point goes for a mini bag of crisps, when i’m in a rush and don’t have time to eat in the lounge id rather have the option to buy something a little but more substantial like a sandwich.

  • Rob says:

    4 May4 May 07:34

    My interpretation is that you should be able to do it now for flights from 14th.

    • Andrew says:

      4 May4 May 09:19

      I have a HBO flight on 24 June and BA still charging £11-23 for silver BAEC. Seems like it’s from the 14th

  • roberto says:

    4 May4 May 08:13

    After the 14th.. I booked HBO yesterday for the 23rd of june and it was paid seat selection.

  • AndyR says:

    4 May4 May 10:34

    Yep it seems you can select them from 14th June, not now for flights after 14th June. Shame as I fly on 16th.

    • Klaus-Peter Dudas says:

      4 May4 May 13:36

      From the BA article you should be able to pay for seat selection and then claim a refund though: “If you have already paid to allocate a seat and are due to travel from the 14th June, you may be eligible to receive a refund on the cost of that seat reservation.”

• the real harry1 says:

  4 May4 May 07:57

  Even without status, phoning up BA to get them to ‘link’ HBO fares with Avios redemption fares (and presumably also applies to +1 checked luggage economy/ ET fares) – means you get allocated seats together – despite the blurb saying HBO fares will have to sit wherever allocated

  and don’t forget you can choose/ change HBO seats FOC at the airport self check-in machines, just check in at home/ work T-24 hrs but don’t print off your BPs (as this crystallises your seat)

  • Mzungu says:

    4 May4 May 16:06

    “Even without status, phoning up BA to get them to ‘link’ HBO fares with Avios redemption fares (and presumably also applies to +1 checked luggage economy/ ET fares) – means you get allocated seats together – despite the blurb saying HBO fares will have to sit wherever allocated”

    I tried this (as a silver) with 1 HBO and 1 checked luggage ticket, and they were adamant that there was no way it could be done, and there was nothing I could do to obtain seat selection on my HBO ticket as a silver…

    • the real harry1 says:

      4 May4 May 17:06

      I did it for our return flight at Easter – 4 x Avios tickets + 1 HBO – all 5 of us allocated seats in a row

      free seat selection with HBO is only possible afaik using the method I mentioned above (self check in machines)

• Alan says:

  4 May4 May 08:07

  Thank goodness they’ve seen sense on the HBO fare front – although it has made redemptions marginally less attractive it also gives me some reassurance that they’re not going to imminently remove free seat selection for status holders on redemption tickets, which was more the direction I thought they’d move in than this!

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