BA to allocate seats for Hand Luggage fares

callum9999

jpsartre wrote: »

If you purchase a HBO only fare it is presumably because you don't have any bag to check so there's no impact on the service you get..But lots of people travel without checked luggage and would still like to select seat. More importantly, it's a perk of having status which is being taken away unless you pay extra.

And now it will be because you don't have a bag to check and you don't care where you sit. Iberia already charge you to choose where you sit (I'd imagine it's where they got the idea from - they'll presumably have a lot of info as to how it's impacted Iberia passengers), I haven't witnessed any major exodus from them.

Free baggage is also a perk of status taken away unless you pay extra.

Making anything chargeable that was at one point free is never beneficial, but I'm still struggling to see how it's any less logical than having HBO fares in the first place!

bagand96

Do people South of Watford Gap really still use BA for short haul travel?!

The rest of the UK have got used to easyJet and Ryanair who provide the UK with decent connectivity and prices. Maybe it's time those in the South caught up?!

Doshwaster

jpsartre wrote: »

If you purchase a HBO only fare it is presumably because you don't have any bag to check so there's no impact on the service you get..But lots of people travel without checked luggage and would still like to select seat. More importantly, it's a perk of having status which is being taken away unless you pay extra.

I wonder if the booking system will be set up to put status passengers into middle seats near the rear of the plane in the knowledge that the majority of them will choose to pay the extra for a better seat. A nice little earner for BA.

SW17

bagand96 wrote: »

Do people South of Watford Gap really still use BA for short haul travel?!

The rest of the UK have got used to easyJet and Ryanair who provide the UK with decent connectivity and prices. Maybe it's time those in the South caught up?!

If BA's short haul load factors are a guideline, lots of people are using them, whether from the south or not. It won't all be connecting long haul passengers.

SW17

This change itself is not much more than a revenue grab for BA. The real risk for them is the cumulative impact of all the changes (those already announced and those heavily rumoured to come in the near future).

For many of their most frequent flyers, a big benefit of status earned on long haul premium cabin flights is the ability to use it on economy short haul flights. Devaluing those benefits means less incentive to need that status, which means less need to fly BA on long haul flights in premium cabins, where they make their money. BA are taking a gamble that they will make some money on short haul HBO, but not lose it elsewhere. In my case they will lose it, but we shall see overall.

They've picked an interesting moment to announce this, when EZY have just allowed a 2nd cabin bag for certain customers. That, in combination with BA's other devaluations, will be enough for me to move a chunk of flights.

richardw

bagand96 wrote: »

Do people South of Watford Gap really still use BA for short haul travel?!

The rest of the UK have got used to easyJet and Ryanair who provide the UK with decent connectivity and prices. Maybe it's time those in the South caught up?!

As a person living in the south, yes BA is still considered for short haul travel, who operate a large number of short haul flights from LHR, LGW and LCY and yes we are well aware of Ryanair and easyJet at their largest bases of STN and LGW. With kayak and skyscanner it's very easy for us southerners to find great short haul flights at good prices and this is where this new policy will affect BA, it'll just encourage more potential flyers to consider all possibilities rather than being loyal to BA.