Amend seat allocation BEFORE accepting BA-cancelled and changed itinerary

[jonnyfly]

Hi
My Avios redemption LHR-HKG flight has been cancelled and rebooked on the earlier flight the same day. I have not yet accepted the new itinerary. I’m hoping for Avios availability to KUL instead which BA won’t rebook us into as >350 miles from HKG. This is despite BA opening up HKG revenue seats to accommodate the cancelled flight and proactively offering Swissair and Lufthansa for HKG rebookings.

Is there any way to pick different seats on the BA-proposed (BA-operated) HGK flight BEFORE accepting the new itinerary? Call centre (Gold) didn’t know how to do it. And I couldn’t see how to do it on RJ.com either.

Then I can just wait for a better option to come up in the knowledge that if it doesn’t, we’ve still got decent seats. Thanks

[SamG]

I don’t think so as you’re not currently confirmed on the flight just holding space

You can accept it and pick your seats and if KL opens up (which is unlikely to be honest, they’ve already given away 4 CW seats in a pretty small cabin) then you can pay the £35pp change fee

[TGLoyalty]

What’s the issue? You want to see what seats are available? You can do that with a dummy cash booking. Once you accept the flight you can pick your seats

[BA Flyer IHG Stayer]

I’d be careful of doing any thing as active as selecting seats as opposed to merely looking,

There’s a case to be made that once you’ve selected seats that you’ve accepted the rebooking so be careful.

[jonnyfly]

Ok thanks all for the comments.

[John]

Expertflyer can also show you the current seat map without paying

[TGLoyalty]

No need to pay anything or let BA know you’ve selected anything. Everyone is free to see the seatmap and which seats are available when looking at cash fares well before you pay or login to BA website.

[JDB]

TGLoyalty wrote:

No need to pay anything or let BA know you’ve selected anything. Everyone is free to see the seatmap and which seats are available when looking at cash fares well before you pay or login to BA website.

What the OP was trying to do, per his post, was not to accept the reroute but nevertheless book specific seats on that flight which he will only take if a better option doesn’t emerge. That course of action is not possible.

[TGLoyalty]

Ah missed that last paragraph. Agree not possible. Either accept the change and the best seats or wait it out for new options and take whatever seats are left.