British Airways

[RailWonderer]

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.

 

[Butts]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

It depends where you live really - From Edinburgh…

I don’t!

 

[nlogax]

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]

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]

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: 28 Aug 2026 ==

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]

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.

 

[AlterEgo]

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.

These days Flying Blue and AF/KLM/SAS would be a better option with at least as many places available with a single change of plane.

Hopefully you aren't making Silver by doing 50 BA/IB flights, credit those to another certain Oneworld carrier and you'd be Emerald for two whole years and you wouldn't be imprisoned with those two airlines.

 

[najaB]

These days Flying Blue and AF/KLM/SAS would be a better option with at least as many places available with a single change of plane.

I'm in Team Blue even though OneWorld would work just as well for me since Edinburgh is my closest biggest airport.

 

[Butts]

These days Flying Blue and AF/KLM/SAS would be a better option with at least as many places available with a single change of plane.

Hopefully you aren't making Silver by doing 50 BA/IB flights, credit those to another certain Oneworld carrier and you'd be Emerald for two whole years and you wouldn't be imprisoned with those two airlines.

Most of my trips are booked via BA Holidays so Air France / KLM are not really an option for me.

With the number of Flights BA have per day to LHR and LCY from EDI it opens up options to select less popular services hence reducing the price overall with more combinations available.

I know AF only have about 5 a day to CDG from EDI not sure about KLM to AMS - plus do you have to face the dreaded EES utilising these transfer points rather than LHR ?

 

[AlterEgo]

Most of my trips are booked via BA Holidays so Air France / KLM are not really an option for me.

With the number of Flights BA have per day to LHR and LCY from EDI it opens up options to select less popular services hence reducing the price overall with more combinations available.

I know AF only have about 5 a day to CDG from EDI not sure about KLM to AMS - plus do you have to face the dreaded EES utilising these transfer points rather than LHR ?

If you're already registered you don't need to register again. AMS is now very easy to transit through, though CDG far from ideal. The European reach of those two airlines is much greater than BA.

KLM operate very early flights from UK airports designed to arrive in a morning wave to make connections easier. The whole operation is more set up for transfers to Europe as opposed to BA whose timetable starts a little later and is optimised for connections into long haul.

I regularly use KLM from Birmingham and find the whole setup more more convenient than if I had to use BA from the regions - and yes I've done that quite a few times before!

 

[Butts]

If you're already registered you don't need to register again. AMS is now very easy to transit through, though CDG far from ideal. The European reach of those two airlines is much greater than BA.

KLM operate very early flights from UK airports designed to arrive in a morning wave to make connections easier. The whole operation is more set up for transfers to Europe as opposed to BA whose timetable starts a little later and is optimised for connections into long haul.

I regularly use KLM from Birmingham and find the whole setup more more convenient than if I had to use BA from the regions - and yes I've done that quite a few times before!

If I lived in Birmingham I would choose KLM as there are no BA Flights !!!

Remember I'm talking about Holidays (Mini-Breaks) not just flights do KLM or AF have the equivalent of BA Holidays ?

My son lives near Birmingham and we are planning a trip to DC - I will defect for this one as SAS seem to have attractive Business Class Fares from BHX via CPH. Indeed they undercut AER Lingus via DUB by a considerable margin.

Horses for courses !!

 

[Mike395]

If you're already registered you don't need to register again....

That's interesting - so as I've been through it once, I can go straight to the e-gates at Schiphol without visiting the EES terminal again each time (presumably for 2 years)?

 

[AlterEgo]

That's interesting - so as I've been through it once, I can go straight to the e-gates at Schiphol without visiting the EES terminal again each time (presumably for 2 years)?

I transited from Warsaw to Birmingham on my UK passport last week. I could use the e-gates with no need to see a border guard. On entering, if you are already registered, the e-gates will accept you and you can simply walk up, provide your passport and photo, and enter the EU.

Now, if you have multiple registrations, and multiple copies of the same data therefore on the EES, this may not work for you. I can recommend applying for a clean up of the data from the country which entered the erroneous registration/s under GDPR. See https://travel-europe.europa.eu/ees/data-held-by-ees

 

[Butts]

I transited from Warsaw to Birmingham on my UK passport last week. I could use the e-gates with no need to see a border guard. On entering, if you are already registered, the e-gates will accept you and you can simply walk up, provide your passport and photo, and enter the EU.

Now, if you have multiple registrations, and multiple copies of the same data therefore on the EES, this may not work for you. I can recommend applying for a clean up of the data from the country which entered the erroneous registration/s under GDPR. See https://travel-europe.europa.eu/ees/data-held-by-ees

If only this was the case in Germany - Border Guard and Stamp required every time !!

 

[eoff]

If only this was the case in Germany - Border Guard and Stamp required every time !!

Welcome to the EES mess.

 

[JCO1406]

BA are slowly rebuilding their African network, with the reintroduction of Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar, from May 2027. Flying 3x a week from LGW.

Sean M ✈ (@SeanM1997) on X

NEW ROUTE British Airways - London Gatwick to Kilimanjaro and Zanzibar. Flights start 29 May 2027 BA2163 LGW 0905-2020 JRO 2120-2225 ZNZ 0025+1-0755+1 LGW (Mon, Thu & Sat)

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