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Hi. I’ve booked a “BA Holiday” – flight plus hotel. The flights are operated by Iberia but have a BA flight number. As a Bronze level I was expecting to be able to select my seats for free 7 days before the flight. However, using the BA app or online, I get an error message when transferring to the iberia website. Using the Iberia website, it wants to charge me.
I called both BA and Iberia and both are saying the other should sort it out.
Is this actually possible to do? Doesn’t seem very joined up in the “alliance”
The seat selection benefit to your status only relates to BA metal. I cam back on an Iberia A350 in July from Madrid, booked on BA with a BA flight number and expected to be able to book seats for free as I normally would but it didn’t work so I looked into it. I had to pay to ensure two seats together. Annoying!
Check what seats you want on Iberia website and then try chosing on Malaysian Airlines website using the BA 6 digit reference. Might work!
Not sure about Bronze, but with Silver/Gold you can just login to IB website with the PNR and although it shows the prices for the seats, you can actually select them and not pay. They stick. Done this myself many times, usually on the app, so worth giving it a shot…
Similar discussion before https://www.headforpoints.com/forums/topic/iberia-not-recognising-ba-silver-status-on-booking/
IB has a known issue with seat selection.
Basically do this:
– go to BA’s website and to select a seat. You will see that just before you jump to IB’s website a new booking reference is displayed. This is IB’s own reference. Write it down– download IB’s phone app. Enter your last name and the IB booking ref. Your IB flight will be added to your profile on the app
– go into your booking and select a seat. You may see you have to pay. Keep clicking continue but stop when you are asked to enter your credit card details. Exit the app
– go into the app again. If you are gold or silver you will now see your seats have been selected! I don’t know the case for bronze as I do not know if IB or OW have a similar status but if you can select a seat on the 7 day period and they recognise that you will see your seats selected too
All, many thanks for your responses. In some respects in makes sense that it’s for BA metal only – the benefits site says, “BA operated flights”, assume this to mean BA code and BA metal. However, going online/app, the “choose seats” section is clear I can choose my seat, stating I can do this for free within 7 days.
I’ve tried the app. Using the Iberia reference it doesn’t give me any options to select seats, just the details of the flight. Using the BA reference, I do get the option! I’ve now selected my seats but not paid. Each time I go back into the app it shows the seats, which is good, but also the “basket” to pay. Logging into the website shows no seats selected. I’ll just have to wait and see if they stick when I check in!
Not tried Malaysian website yet, that’ll be next.
This is very frustrating.
Also, found this on the BA website, so it should be possible and not just on BA metal:
Choosing seats with our partner airlines
If you make a booking on ba.com or by calling a British Airways customer centre for a flight operated by American Airlines, Finnair, Iberia, JAL or Qantas, you can choose your seats in Manage My Booking.If you’re flying with one of our oneworld alliance partners and are an Executive Club Gold/oneworld Emerald Member, a Silver/Sapphire Member, or a Bronze/Ruby Member, you can contact your local British Airways customer centre to choose a seat for that flight.
Just an update on the original issue. Tried Malaysian airlines and no luck. Shows “can’t find seatmap”.
Even online check-in fails both using BA or Iberia, the latter saying no valid ticket found for one or more travellers.
So, all in all a pretty poor experience.
Resurrecting this!
Seat selection is now available on our AGP-MAD flight next June. I put my BAEC number on the booking, however the IB site is still trying to charge me for seats, both online and in the app. I can’t select seats via BA – possibly because I only have the 5 figure IB booking ref? I’ve scoured the confirmation email as suggested by another reader, but there’s no sign of a 6-figure reference.
Has anyone managed to get round this? I’ve got a few IB flights planned for next year and would like to be able to use BA/OW status to select seats.
I may have been a little hasty – I followed the steps outlined in the other thread referenced here on desktop, and I can now see the seats allocated in the app, so 🤞 they stick!
Edit – it gets weirder – after checking in the app, I went back on to desktop and it’s now showing that I owe £0 instead of £24. What a faff, and I would never have worked that out myself!
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