Seat Selection with no status

[Mel TS]

We’re flying LHR-NBO in CW in June for an anniversary trip. As we have no status we can’t select seats (still miffed about that but thats the way it is). Looking at the flight there is only one pair of the reverse facing middle seats left, and there are only 6 pairs of seats net to each other across the cabin. Weirdly, exactly the same seats are free on both the outbound flight on a Wednesday and the inbound on a Saturday.

I haven’t flown BA since 1983 according to my Junior Jet Club book I just found. As you guys fly more than we do with BA, does anyone have any insight into wether they will just let the seats all be booked up as singles and leave no seats next to/near each other? Or will they open up more seats closer to check in? Is that flight really almost full?? We don’t have to sit together but I don’t want to end up either end of the cabin.

I realise I can just pay the extra £300 and I might simply do that for peace of mind, but that isn’t a insignificant amount on top of everything else.
Thanks everyone

[Rob]

No single traveller in their right mind is going to want to share a double bed pair with a stranger, so the chance of the middle blocks remaining free is decent.

Remember, too, that if you choose to cancel due to covid etc, you lose the seat selection money (unless you take an FTV) – it’s not refunded.

[Mel TS]

Rob Burgess wrote:

No single traveller in their right mind is going to want to share a double bed pair with a stranger, so the chance of the middle blocks remaining free is decent.

Remember, too, that if you choose to cancel due to covid etc, you lose the seat selection money (unless you take an FTV) – it’s not refunded.

Thanks Rob, I hadn’t thought of it that way. Although Guess we are assuming the all travellers are in their right mind……. 🤦‍♀️
The loss of seat selection is money is also a factor!

[Robm]

I was in a similar situation. We left it and my wife was sat in the ‘double bed’ with someone who was more than happy to switch with me and sit in the window seat I’d been allocated. Personally I can’t justify spending £300 for seat selection – or getting status just for this purpose.

[CarpalTravel]

This for me was the biggest turn-off for BA and why I piled my efforts into earning VAA miles. Thankfully club suite has arrived for my favoured routes which coupled with VAA’s removal of ~98% of reward flights has seen me return now back to them. The fact they don’t refund the money fro seat selection is borderline criminal behaviour in my opinion. It’s not like it costs them anything simply to release a seat. The whole process is just there to extort money from certain customers bank accounts.

[Garkov]

Have you checked expert flyer?

Some of the seats could be blocked…

[masaccio]

Don’t bother booking a seat. I think the only seats worth paying for are exit/bulkhead when you fly economy.

There will be a number of solo travellers who you can do seat switching with. I remember organising a chain of half-a-dozen seat switches on one flight to help a couple sit in the centre seats.

People are generally not assholes and if the worst happens, as soon as you’re in the cabin, start negotiating.

[Rich_A]

Take £300 in cash, and pay a fellow passenger to move if necessary!

[Mel TS]

Thanks everyone, I think we’ll just wait and see what happens. I like the idea of taking money and paying someone to move 😂😂