I received a last minute request to meet with a client in London last week. Looking at Skycanner, it seemed that an EasyJet / BA combo from Edinburgh to Gatwick was the cheapest that matched the times I needed. There was a BA option (returning from Heathrow) for an extra £16, which seemed to make sense – my EasyJet Plus membership recently ran out and I expect I would have spent that much on Speedy Boarding.
I booked my flights with BA and added my Cathay Pacific Gold card details. This is One World Sapphire, which is equivalent to Silver Exec Club. I should have lounge access along with the ability to select my seats at the time of booking free of charge along with using business check-in counters.
Once the booking was complete I was prompted to select my seats. I was surprised to see how many empty seats were available so close to departure but then remembered that you need to pay £10 to select a seat in advance. Clearly not many passengers want to do this for a flight that takes just over an hour.
I could see several seats free in rows 1 – 12… but I every time I selected them and saved the page, I was presented with an error. Eventually I called BA – not because I am that precious about my seat but because of the principal; I should be able to select any free seat.
I waited. And waited. And waited a bit more. After almost 16 minutes (!) I was connected to an Advisor. After checking with his supervisor, he informed me that I couldn’t select these seats until 24 hours before departure…unless I paid £10 per seat!!! The best seat the Advisor could assign to me (free of charge) was in row 12! Why market free seat selection as a benefit of One World status if it’s a lie? The whole point of this benefit is to select the seats at the time of booking.
I logged in 24 hours before departure and managed to select the seats that I wanted free of charge anyway but the whole experience disappoints me hugely.
BA – I would love to hear your side of the story – why couldn’t I select the seats I wanted? Is this policy or did I speak to a poorly trained Advisor? Why should you charge me for a benefit I am entitled to? I promise I will publish any response in full.
