Scouse Express

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8274200.stm

More "Good News" from British Airways.

Jim

Dan725

Sadly I think the other airlines will be following suit on that one...charging for every little extra very much in vogue at the moment

tony126

Not at all! It is to benefit the customer to enable him to choose where he they would like to sit.
Typical PR BS IMHO or rip off time is another.

choppi

I think you might be right on that one.

lisa67

yep..agreed...thin end of the wedge!!

meauxna

I think they've made a PR mistake in splitting up travel parties. And it just shows how much BS there is in the system now.

"The new charge - aimed at passengers wanting to reserve seats earlier than this - will be £20 on long-haul economy or short flights in business class, while a seat in an emergency exit row will cost £50."

I've been told consistently over the years that the emergency row seats can not be released until flight day, and only at the desk. For security reasons.

exvj

If I am paying, I think the seating plan should show the weight, age, religion and medical condition of adjacent passengers

Shaking 9 year old boys with attention deficit trying to climb into the overhead racks, huge blubber mountains covered in cheap 'instant gag' perfume, screaming hysterical purple in the face infants, mujahaddin praying out loud for 10 hours - I have had em all next to me

The one that pulled a cat out from under her seat was ok coz I am a cat lover - but some wouldnt like it

I am very tolerant of course but it must be awful for more sensitive types

lansbury

Under the UK rules exit row seats can only be given to people that are physically able to operate the emergency exits if necessary.

Hence some if not most UK airlines will only release exit row seats to frequent fliers who they know or people standing at the desk who they can see are not disabled. However some UK airlines will happly sell you an exit row seat and if when you present at check in they discover you are not physically able to have the seat you get moved, and refunded any charge. BA would appear to be changing to that method. Great becasue I fly business due to a leg injury which means I cannot sit in a cramped position for a length of time without my knee locking up. But I'm phyiscally able to operate the emergency exits, I use to take part in the accident simulations at Heathrow, and would happily pay BA for an exit row seat.

lansbury

Didn't know BA flew to Majoorka

exvj

When I used to fly Tenerife a lot, I said I shouldn't have to share my space with that lot (and especially the chain smokers going back a bit) and I said they should be containerised and loaded in the hold...
'Container people' has now entered our vocabulary
The bar at Leeds Bradford airport an hour before the Tenerife flight (say 6am) look like that start treck bar with all the strange beings - all drinking pints and shorts as fast as they can hurl them down. At that time of morning I can barely manage a piece of toast so its bad news if you cop for one of them

But thats 4.5 hours - the Heathrow Seattle 10 hour experience is similar to 8 years in self catering at Guantanamo sometimes.

One day I will get a surprise free upgrade and find myself next to Liz Hurley in first class, only to find out she clicks her teeth and clears her throat incessantly

Englishmum

Yes, but just try getting an exit row seat these days - everyone wants these seats. Virgin Atlantic and Singapore Airlines have been charging for these seats for quite some time now.....but on virtually every airline whenever I've tried to get one of these seats they're already blocked off in the seat booking chart. It's all very well paying for them (and I was prepared to pay the extra fees on my flight last week with Singapore Airlines from Singapore-Frankfurt - Frankfurt - JFK......23 hours of flying... but those seats had long gone).

I feel sorry for the people at the BA check-in desks who are likely to end up with more irate passengers; children can't be seated with adult males who are not in their party, so if a family can't/won't pay the extra to get guaranteed seating next to each other and get split up, it's a headache for the check-in staff to resolve, especially in busy holiday periods.

exvj

but Myra Hindley types would be ok ?

Not many men try and steal babies

Surely they don't have a rule which says men are more likely to be dangerous than women ? That would be illegal

Hows about this bird for a safe companion....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leila_Khaled

lansbury

I agree the very early worm gets them. But I have never paid more than £800 to fly business class LHR - PDX return. In fact when we came over to live I paid £1 less for business than the cheapest economy ticket was, and no I am not giving away the secret don't want those tickets going the way of emergency exit seats.

meauxna

grrrr.. I will bribe you with canned beans if necesesary!!!

exvj

I blame beans for inflation