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So I just used SDC again today. Bought a ticket for £80 and swapped for one of the last seats available on the plane which was selling for £425.
Appreciate it’s not a risk free game but am feeling far too much love towards BA for this so my assumption is that this – like my silver membership – cannot last…
I think SDC actually works quite well for BA and the passenger, so hopefully will remain. There was a brief analysis of it earlier this month by Oliver Ranson about SDC as part of a larger analysis of fares and probability models.
I also think it will remain. Remember while you got a relative bargain there are others who will have paid a higher price initially and potentially swapped for a cheaper fare earlier in the day. And I think the numbers of passengers actually doing SDC is relatively low – far more passengers just book and fly as scheduled.
IIRC @BA Flyer IHG Stayer can attest to it not always working out and ending up on a 7am flight home !
I’ve used it a couple of times but only once to get a cheaper ticket (from Nice- similar savings to you, paid £70 and flew home on a flight that was selling for €600 when I booked). Usually it’s a work trip where I’ve finished up early and pricing was probably similar at the time of booking
I didn’t think it was guaranteed even if there are seats?? I imagine BA decide whether to allow it, based on loadings and probabilities of selling free seats. And you might not have the cheapest seat anyway so even if they needed the seat the might bump someone else.
If implemented correctly, should be a win-win! Did is recently on a trip to AMS as my darling wife was enjoying lunch so much she wanted to stay for dessert and another drink! Who am I to deny her 🤣
No, quite surprisingly it’ll put you into any available seat in your cabin class. I don’t even think it accounts for physical seats / overselling etc – if the flight is Y1 availabililty they’ll let you swap even if oversold
I didn’t think it was guaranteed even if there are seats??
As Sam says that doesn’t appear to be the case. Yesterday’s flight went out 100% full and every flight appeared open for selection. I guess we should be grateful there are still corners to take advantage of…
I’m sure it’s possible to get a bargain, at the risk of being stuck on a terribly timed flight. I used it for the first time ever last week – worked pretty well for a flight up to EDI when I got to LHR a bit early.
The fact I have been a regular BA flyer since before SDC was introduced, have booked plenty of fares including it, and only used it once suggests it’s probably not used that much. You need some specific circumstances to make use of it normally – when my wife flew up to EDI to join me a couple of days later the earlier flights were all full so she couldn’t change.
I’ve used SDC quite a few times now, it’s particularly useful for routes where there are multiple flights a day eg LHR-EDI, as @Matt mentions, but with big price fluctuations. I often book the last flight of the day as it’s cheapest but manage to switch onto another earlier in the evening. I think I’d be less keen to book the earliest flight of the day and try and change to a later one in case I was then bound to the crack of dawn departure! Ultimately, you need to be willing to fly at the time you originally booked and you’ve obviously got a much better chance of finding availability as a solo traveller.
IIRC @BA Flyer IHG Stayer can attest to it not always working out and ending up on a 7am flight home !
I’ve used it a couple of times but only once to get a cheaper ticket (from Nice- similar savings to you, paid £70 and flew home on a flight that was selling for €600 when I booked). Usually it’s a work trip where I’ve finished up early and pricing was probably similar at the time of booking
Thanks for the reminder! I’d almost put that dark day behind me!
I knew the risks of booking the early flight as it was much cheaper than my preferred afernoon one.
How was I supposed to know the date I was flying on was the start of the Dutch holiday period?
I’ve learned my lession and will book a flight that I know I’ll be relativly happy to be on even if it’s not the absolute cheapest.
The ability to book and charge on the day of travel is a new development and one I suspect may be canned as it look more like a mistake than a genuine customer service enhancement. Had it been the later it would have been trumpeted from the battlements of waterside.
I use SDC almost every time now on multi flights routes but the requirement to change after 1am UK time is a ridiculous rule which BA need to fix. 00.01 on day of travel from the point of departure is a sensible rule but 3am in Athens for an early morning flight is mad
If it did get removed then I must admit I would likely be one of the examples of why…
I use it every single week, sometimes in both directions, and have done for years. I commute on the high frequency EDI to LCY route, and always book the cheapest flights on each day and switch to what I need. This means moving to one of the high demand evening return flights, usually saving £200-300 at time of booking (and more if you look at fare difference on the day).
I think I have been caught out only twice in not getting the time of flight home I wanted and having to travel an hour or so later, but this is low risk on this route as there are just so many flights.
SDC is one of the main reasons this commute works, but probably also an example of why it is such a good selling point for BA on high frequency routes.
SDC is also one of the main reasons I booked economy plus fares (including checked baggage), so they’re not entirely ‘free’ changes to me either. If BA removed them, I’d be more likely to book HBO fares, so it’s not quite so clear cut for BA.
I almost forgot about this option… this is great especially for work. I don’t think it works for reward flights, correct?
I almost forgot about this option… this is great especially for work. I don’t think it works for reward flights, correct?
Correct. And when I travelled for work I always booked with bags despite always travelling HBO for exactly this reason.
Latest data point: On a BA Holiday, called 24 hours before my flight and changed to a later flight.
Called BA Holiday number, and they made the change whilst I was on the line.
Too good to be true!Why wouldn’t BA do it if it benefits them?? (e.g. frees up seats on a full/fuller flight). They must have a reason over just good customer service 😏
I guess as has been flagged, the fact this comes at a modest premium over the HBO fare is perhaps the idea of convincing the customer they get outsized value by spending more. I think it’s also a bit like a policy easyJet used to have in place.
Perhaps I’m looking at this the wrong way around because I bought that ticket with the full expectation of not using the flight I had paid for, just like blue_wolf. Do most buy it thinking “oh, that might be useful” then never use it?
Latest data point: On a BA Holiday, called 24 hours before my flight and changed to a later flight.
Called BA Holiday number, and they made the change whilst I was on the line.
Too good to be true!BA Hols operate a different set of rules than flight only.
You certainly can’t do an SDC with a BA Hol booking on line.
Can you do SDC with a reward flight?
No, In fact with a reward flight it’s the polar opposite as you can’t make any changes within 24hrs of departure.
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