British Airways

RailWonderer · Tuesday at 17:42

najaB said:
That is somewhat surprising. Usually seat selection is part of the benefit that comes with premium fares - be it business or premium economy.

Most airlines offer free business class seat selection if the ticket is flexible or only charge for some seats not all seats but it depends on the route. Only BA charges it on all routes on all tickets for all seats to my knowledge.

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Butts · Tuesday at 17:53

RailWonderer said:
Most airlines offer free business class seat selection if the ticket is flexible or only charge for some seats not all seats but it depends on the route. Only BA charges it on all routes on all tickets for all seats to my knowledge.

With the exception of 1st Class.

Sealink · Tuesday at 18:28

RailWonderer said:
Most airlines offer free business class seat selection if the ticket is flexible or only charge for some seats not all seats but it depends on the route. Only BA charges it on all routes on all tickets for all seats to my knowledge.

If you have status, Silver and above get free seat selection, Bronze free seven days before departure. And First class for all passengers regardless of status as mentioned above.

They also do a thing called Theoretical Seating, where Gold members see seats that others do not, for example Row 1 on nearly any service.

If Gold members haven't selected these seats they are generally available to choose at check-in to anyone booked in that cabin.
.

Butts · Tuesday at 18:42

Sealink said:
If you have status, Silver and above get free seat selection, Bronze free seven days before departure. And First class for all passengers regardless of status as mentioned above.

They also do a thing called Theoretical Seating, where Gold members see seats that others do not, for example Row 1 on nearly any service.

If Gold members haven't selected these seats they are generally available to choose at check-in to anyone booked in that cabin.
.

For Silver the only exception to that is Exit Seats on Long Haul in Economy - Gold get them for free.

Sealink · Tuesday at 18:47

Butts said:
For Silver the only exception to that is Exit Seats on Long Haul in Economy - Gold get them for free.

Oh wow that's news to me. Thanks for the update.

MrJeeves · Tuesday at 20:31

Sealink said:
They also do a thing called Theoretical Seating, where Gold members see seats that others do not, for example Row 1 on nearly any service.

But it also goes both ways, where Golds don't see seats which some Silvers or Bronzes do!

Bald Rick · Tuesday at 21:12

Butts said:
I think what surprises a lot of people is that BA actually charge non-status passengers for selecting Business Class Seats in advance - not sure how many other carriers do this?

Another reason not to use them.

Virgin don’t charge in Upper Class for seat selection.

Butts · Tuesday at 22:13

Bald Rick said:
Another reason not to use them.

Virgin don’t charge in Upper Class for seat selection.

It depends where you live really - From Edinburgh they connect you to the world and if you are Silver it is a great way of visiting a lot of places in relative comfort.

Breeze through Security with Fast Track, Have your Breakfast in the Lounge and then Priority Boarding to your free Exit Seat.

Lunch at the Lounge at LHR and then repeat above steps.

Coming back it's the same from most places you go to.

That's 4 Fast Track Security 4 Lounge Visits 4 Exit Seats all Gratis not even mentioning the copious luggage allowance if you need it.

Book with BA Holidays and if anything goes wrong they are quick to rectify using the dedicated number you get.

Bald Rick · Tuesday at 22:32

Butts said:
It depends where you live really - From Edinburgh…

I don’t!

nlogax · Thursday at 10:58

Butts said:
It depends where you live really - From Edinburgh they connect you to the world and if you are Silver it is a great way of visiting a lot of places in relative comfort.

Breeze through Security with Fast Track, Have your Breakfast in the Lounge and then Priority Boarding to your free Exit Seat.

Lunch at the Lounge at LHR and then repeat above steps.

Coming back it's the same from most places you go to.

That's 4 Fast Track Security 4 Lounge Visits 4 Exit Seats all Gratis not even mentioning the copious luggage allowance if you need it.

Book with BA Holidays and if anything goes wrong they are quick to rectify using the dedicated number you get.

Fantastic for you but not everyone is on the doorstep of a frequent BA connection. I'm silver too (and probably back to Gold by the spring) and I've come around to the opinion that I wouldn't recommend BA to anyone that didn't have to use or if there were an easier option.

jumble · Thursday at 11:30

Bald Rick said:
Another reason not to use them.

Virgin don’t charge in Upper Class for seat selection.

My understanding from Flyer talk is that BA's high value premium passengers with status who book late and expensive tickets are delighted that the best seats are not being taken by people who book early at the lowest fares

Butts · 2026-08-28T01:02:42+0100

nlogax said:
Fantastic for you but not everyone is on the doorstep of a frequent BA connection. I'm silver too (and probably back to Gold by the spring) and I've come around to the opinion that I wouldn't recommend BA to anyone that didn't have to use or if there were an easier option.

As I opened with the caveat "It depends where you live ..."

If you are dissatisfied with BA KLM or AIR France from Edinburgh to the world via Amsterdam or Paris ?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Yesterday at 01:06 ==

jumble said:
My understanding from Flyer talk is that BA's high value premium passengers with status who book late and expensive tickets are delighted that the best seats are not being taken by people who book early at the lowest fares

That's not the whole story if you have Gold Status you can book row 1 or Exit Seats (for domestic and European) at the time of booking however much you've paid.

nlogax · 2026-08-28T10:06:46+0100

Butts said:
If you are dissatisfied with BA KLM or AIR France from Edinburgh to the world via Amsterdam or Paris ?

It does depend where you live, but I suppose my point was more BA aren't worth the time / effort / money to fly if you're not local to one of their airports.

British Airways

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