I thought it would be interesting to highlight the news that British Airways will soon be charging for seat selection. See news story.

In recent times BA has had a different approach to choosing seats from its competitors: only First class and full fare ticket holders could choose seats in advance of check in, as well as Gold and Silver members of their frequent flier scheme. So if you had a discounted Club World ticket and didn't have the requisite status you had to wait until online check in until you could grab a decent seat.

The new charges mean anyone can pay for the privilege but I'm not sure how many will do so. After all, a family of 4 in Club World would have to pay almost an extra £500 to reserve seats out and back.

Will this put people off BA when you've always been able to reserve premium seats on other airlines (e.g. Virgin) for free?

BC

Response to: Blackcat, Ultratravel's post on Tue 06 Oct 2009

I thought it would be interesting to highlight the news that British Airways will soon be charging for seat selection. See news story. In recent times BA has had a different approach to choosing seats from its competitors: only First class and full fare ticket holders could choose seats in ...

Incidentally there is a nice article in Business Traveller about how to grab Club Europe seats in Economy. You'll need to pay the advance seat selection fee (or be a Silver or Gold card holder) but the 5 seats just behind the curtain are worth having if you want more space.

BC