Should I pay extra to reserve seats?

Bailey101

Afternoon All

I'm flying to the USA soon with British Airways, and having never flown long haul with BA before I'm not too sure what the cabins are like and if I should pay the extra £25 each way to get a bulkhead seat.

I really don't fancy being squished for 10 hours if the person in front reclines their seat right back, but on the other hand I've never had it happen to me so it might be non-issue (I've heard some horror stories but the person in question can be a bit of a drama queen ).

I'm also not too sure if it would be worse to have my space encroached on or to risk being stuck next to a moany baby in a bassinet seat.

Any advice would bemuch appreciated.

Bailey xxx

Bailey101

PS I'm about 5'4, so not very tall, but not short either.....

_Andy_

£25 for a bulkhead to the states? I'd snap it up. Obviously exit row would be better but £25 is a bargain

headpin

I'm not sure what the attraction of a bulkhead seats is. OK, you have not got a seat in front that will recline back towards you, but the (IMO) bigger downside is that you do not have the space under a seat in front to where you can put your legs and feet (or carry on for that matter). IMO this is just a marketing ploy by the airlines to convince you there is some advantage, which in reality there isn't.

You are better off with an exit row seat, although of course on some aircraft configurations you can have a large bulge on the exit door that holds the escape slide. So you can be worse off!!!

malkie76

Might not be exit row seats depending on the airplane config. Which flight are you on ? You can look up which type of airplane you are on (BA have 2x 747-400 configs, 3x 777-200 configs and 1x 777-300 config).

richardw

If you think it is £2.50 per hour well spent go for it. Www.seatguru.com has seat maps.

Bailey101

The planes a Boeing 747, and according to seatguru.com there's 2 different versions but I'm not sure which it is. I did want an exit row seat, but they're £50 each way and I'm on a bit of budget so I can't really justify spending the equivalent of 3 nights of my hotel bill on the seats

xx

Bongedone

I wouldn't have thought somebody who is 5'4 would need more legroom. I'm 6'2 and don't need it.

lady1964

If you can access your booking on the BA website via Manage My Booking (MMB), I'd do that and keep an eye on what seats have already been selected. You then have to take a bit of a risk if you want to pay extra, but in all honesty, leg room in economy isn't all bad on BA and at 5' 4" you should be fine. That said, I think I would pay the £25, it's not a huge amount of money - as has been said £2.50 per hour.

My dd is flying back to London on Sunday and as a Bronze Exec Club member, has already selected her seat and she has chosen an aisle seat with no-one yet in the middle or window, I don't think there is anyone in front of her either as yet, so if this remains the same, no-one will recline their seat into 'her space'. She also did this on her flight out to see us and had all three seats to herself so she could stretch out on her overnight flight. That will of course depend on your route and how busy it might be. She was on a flight that wasn't at all busy, you might not be so lucky but keeping an eye in MMB might help you decide.

headpin

richardw wrote: »

If you think it is £2.50 per hour well spent go for it. Www.seatguru.com has seat maps.

As I said above bulkhead seats will not offer (generally) any additional legroom. The standard pitch for the class of travel normally applies. The only benefit is that you will not get a seat in front that reclines back. However, if travelling in economy (or whatever name your airline wants to posh it up as - world traveller on BA) then the amount of recline is pretty minimal anyway and should not really cause any problems.

The big downside on a bulkhead seat is that you do not have the space under the seat in front of you to uise as extra leg/foot room and to stow any carry on baggage or bags.

Even at £2.50 an hour I would say it is money wasted. And, as has already been posted above, the legroom on BA is fine unless you have exceptionally long or awkward legs. At 5' 4" I wouldn't even worry and save the £££'s for spending on something whilst away.

blindman

Bailey101 wrote: »

PS I'm about 5'4, so not very tall, but not short either.....

So long as you're not 5'4" wide you'll be fine.