Warning against British Airways!!!

[wishspirit]

Just to warn people against buying British Airways!!

I booked in September for my June trip, before the new 'pay £20 extra per person, per way and you will actually get the seat you want!' policy came in. I called today to complain that I had bought under the proviso that I would choose my seat at 24 hours in advance with EVERYONE ELSE, and that I am not willing to pay £80 for me and my partner to sit together (I am a nervous flyer and do need his support).

Not only did they refuse to wave payment, but also refused to give me a refund on my ticket.

Just to warn anyone in similar circumstances. Virgin Atlantic are currently cheaper for their flights plus you get to choose when you book.

This will be the last time I fly British Airways.

 

[gemmybear83]

British Airways have always had 24 hour online check in, where you can choose your seats.

It was only in September where you could pay the surcharge you mention and pick earlier?

There has always been this difference between them and Virgin?

 

[wishspirit]

British Airways have always had 24 hour online check in, where you can choose your seats.

It was only in September where you could pay the surcharge you mention and pick earlier?

There has always been this difference between them and Virgin?

I don't quite understand your point.

British Airways have always have the 24 hour before booking policy, however they have now brought in a £20 per way surcharge if you want to pick your seats earlier than this. This means that potentially my partner and I may not be able to sit together, even if we check in exactly 24 before our flight. They did not have this policy when I booked, and at the time were less expensive than Virgin (not now however).

I guess I am going to have to chalk it up to experience, but I thought I would warn others.

 

[Cyrano]

Hope it works out okay Kate

 

[wayneg]

BA's policy has always been to allow you to book 24 hours before, now they are offering a new service which allows you to book before that if you pay for it. This then guarantees you seats together.

With Virgin, yes you can choose your seats earlier and free but as we found out you are not guaranteed these seats, we arrived at the airport to be told our seats had been given to a family with younger children, we had to sit apart for 9 hours.

Some people prefer the way BA do it, some prefer having it free with Virgin. Sorry you don't like the new service.

 

[disney_princess_85]

With Virgin, yes you can choose your seats earlier and free but as we found out you are not guareteed these seats, we arrived at the airport to be told our seats had been given to a family with younger children, we had to sit apart for 9 hours.

Exactly. Although you have to pay for BA's new service, at least you're guaranteed the seats you choose.

 

[wishspirit]

Some people prefer the way BA do it, some prefer having it free with Virgin. Sorry you don't like the new service.

I understand that, I was just annoyed that they gave people who booked early no warning that this policy was planning to come into effect. It may of changed my mind. Now I am trying to decide within myself if I should pay £80 to assure myself a seat (not quite yet, as the ticket prices aren't that high yet I am sure the flight isn't that full), or if I should stick to my guns and not pay, but then spend the first 9 hours of me and my partners first proper holiday together alone? (He is trying to cheer me up by saying after two whole weeks with him, 9 hours alone might be bliss! He might not be wrong!)

Sorry for my moaning, I only just got off the phone with them when I wrote the post, and was beyond angry. I feel penalised for being a loyal BA customer.

 

[fuse04]

With Virgin, yes you can choose your seats earlier and free but as we found out you are not guaranteed these seats, we arrived at the airport to be told our seats had been given to a family with younger children, we had to sit apart for 9 hours.

Similar for us last year Wayne, we 'reserved' our seats only to find that Virign had changed things when we booked in at twilight check in. After a very freindly discussion where I couldn't have been nicer to the check in assitant, he found us somehwere better and we did sit all together (no not the check in assitant as well ) and as we left he shook my hand and wished us a happy holiday

Flying with BA this year for the first time and am still dithering with paying the extra ££ to reserve seats

 

[luke]

Last time we went, with Virgin, we checked in online and got seats apart which we couldn't change.
When we got to the airport (nice and early) we got them to put us together.

Isn't it a certain percentage they can't/don't allocate in advance?
Maybe best to get there nice and early which I always do

 

[natalielongstaff]

Exactly. Although you have to pay for BA's new service, at least you're guaranteed the seats you choose.

I would prefer this policy than Vigins free (yet worthless) option ! at least BA are upfront about it

 

[cantwait!!!!!!!!!!!!]

To be honest as you are a nervous flyer and really want to sit together I would just pay the £80 yes its a bit of a pain but worth it for the peace of mind it will bring.

 

[mossyflossy]

Sorry to hear this Kate, but we'd rather fly BA any day rather than Virgin, but that's another story entirely.

Are you travelling with children under 11? if so, seats are allocated by BA 3 days in advance, and families are sat together?

If not, you could check expedia.com to see how busy your flight is, or over on the Dibb, Cabbie will tell if you post in the thread "Is my flight full?"

Either way, phone BA's special assistance and explain that you are a very nervous flyer and ask them to make a note on your reservation no. for you to sit with your partner. You never know, you may find a helpful person who will assign your seat for you.

Hope it all works out OK for you!

 

[suzycute]

I agree with Wishspirit (ok - she is my DD!!). She did not know when she booked that BA were going to change their policy (she booked 8 months in advance) and that she would then be charged another £80 for a guaranteed seat with her boyfriend. I think she is being penalised for booking early.

I think that a fair way to do this would have been to charge those who booked after the policy change but to waive the charge for customers booked before it (as I believe Virgin are doing for those who take more than 1 bag where as those who booked before the policy change can still take 2 bags).

I understand you can't please all of the people all of the time and I take others points about Virgins seats being changed without notice, so , yes, if I knew about the policy then I might choose to pay - but her point is that there was no policy when she booked.

I do feel a bit sorry though as she and her boyfriend are both students and have saved hard from their part time jobs working at a play scheme for disabled children where they don't earn much per hour. Another £80 is a lot of money to them.

 

[wishspirit]

I would prefer this policy than Vigins free (yet worthless) option ! at least BA are upfront about it

That's my issues with the whole thing, they weren't upfront about it. They brought in the policy after I booked the tickets. I booked in the good faith that everyone would be allowed to book 24 hours before hand, which I had done before for a BA flight and felt happy that I knew the procedure. Now I feel that for automatically going with BA, and booking early, I have been penalised for it.

£80 might not seem like a lot to some people, but its not easy to budget all this stuff in. I am just saddened by the attitude that they don't care about their customers.

 

[maureen4200040]

Well I can't comment on BA policy as I never travelled with them.

Having booked with thomas cook several times, I have paid £20 per person for me and my family members to sit together, on 4 different occasions.
It was well worth it because we all sat together and there was never any chance our seats would be given away at the last minute as they were prebooked in advance. And well worth the money spent.

Good luck on you getting the seats you want together when the time comes.

Maureen4200040

 

[dc1964]

That's my issues with the whole thing, they weren't upfront about it. They brought in the policy after I booked the tickets. I booked in the good faith that everyone would be allowed to book 24 hours before hand, which I had done before for a BA flight and felt happy that I knew the procedure. Now I feel that for automatically going with BA, and booking early, I have been penalised for it.

£80 might not seem like a lot to some people, but its not easy to budget all this stuff in. I am just saddened by the attitude that they don't care about their customers.

i am not really understanding why there is a problem, u still have the option to allocate your seats in the 24 hours before the flight which is what u were expecting.
I would be very surprised if there are not 2 seats together for u.

 

[wishspirit]

i am not really understanding why there is a problem, u still have the option to allocate your seats in the 24 hours before the flight which is what u were expecting.
I would be very surprised if there are not 2 seats together for u.

What I was expecting was that EVERYONE would book seats at 24 hours ahead, meaning it was all equal and fair, and didn't potentially depend on shelling out another £80 for me to sit with my partner! I booked on the premise that at the 24 hour mark it would be first come first served, but it isn't.

Don't get me wrong, they can have the policy if they want, but for those of us who booked in advance of the policy shouldn't have their options limited because of it.

I don't understand how people can't think that this is at least a little bit wrong? Most companies have the good grace to allow those who booked before the change to stick with what they bought in good faith (e.g Virgin with the changing of it's baggage allowance).

Some people may think nothing of shelling out another £20 per person, but for me it is the principle. I bought the ticket in good faith of fairness at the 24 hour mark, which has now changed.

 

[Ware Bears]

I sympathise with you ~ it's very annoying when you book and pay early then find out the rules/policy changes. I am sure you won't have a problem sitting together if you leave it until the 24 hours before, it's just that you won't get such a choice of where you sit.

I was a bit annoyed on our flight home with Virgin at the weekend because we had pre-booked our seats ~ we like a row of 3 for the girls with the row of just 2 behind for DH and I, and on the way home these had all been given to others. What's the point of letting you pre-book if they don't honour it? I decided to just let it go as we were quite late getting to DTD and wanted to go for our lunch, also I don't think it would have made any difference as someone had now been allocated those seats and at least we were still sat together, it's just that we were now sat with a stranger but it turned out to be a good thing in a way as when our plane flew over our home town we were on the other side and were able to wave to our house!!

 

[disney_princess_85]

Don't get me wrong, they can have the policy if they want, but for those of us who booked in advance of the policy shouldn't have their options limited because of it.

Your options aren't limited though, they're the same as when you booked: you are able to choose seats 24 hours beforehand. Seats chosen this way aren't, and never were, guaranteed. All BA have done is introduced a system where you can ensure your chosen seat is 100% yours, in exchange for a fee.

Anyway, it's very unlikely that every other passenger is going to pay for the privilege, so you probably have nothing to worry about.

 

[wishspirit]

Your options aren't limited though, they're the same as when you booked: you are able to choose seats 24 hours beforehand. Seats chosen this way aren't, and never were, guaranteed. All BA have done is introduced a system where you can ensure your chosen seat is 100% yours, in exchange for a fee.

Anyway, it's very unlikely that every other passenger is going to pay for the privilege, so you probably have nothing to worry about.

What was guaranteed at the time of booking was EVERYONE first come, first served at the 24 hour point. This is no longer the case. I am going to argue my point no longer, as it isn't just about MY situation, being only the two of us, but the principle that I booked on old rules, and they changed them, without so much as an email.

Would you feel this if you had a family who wanted to be together? £20 per person per way adds up as a hidden cost. Some of you may think its fair to add hidden charges (which they were at the time of booking, since this extra fee was not advertised). I believed I had as fair an opportunity of the seat of my choice as anybody else.

If Disney started serving meals in a nice restaurant you had to book and pre pay for, then a short time before hand expected you to find out for yourself that, unless you pay extra, you can't sit and eat with who you wanted but wherever they had space left for you, people on here would be in outrage! Yes you still get a meal, and the décor maybe lovely, but if before booking you weren't informed or they changed their policy after the fact, you would be beyond livid!

I know the point doesn't exactly match, but the feeling of being cheated is the same. This compounded with bad customer service (admittedly at a busy time), just made me upset enough to post this, in the hope it would inform others. Sorry if you think I am being upset over nothing, but I resent not being told the true facts before booking.