Cheapest seat booking with BA is £200 for 2 adults !?

sky_rat

I have booked a holiday to Mexico in November with On the Beach for myself and my 19 year daughter.

We are flying with BA but when I looked at booking seats the total cost would be an extortionate £200 !  And this was for the cheapest seats (inbound and outbound).

I have already paid an exrtra £220 so we have 23kg of luggage each.

I was hoping we would be able to sit together with a window seat.

Is there a way to book the seats cheaper or free, other than when checkin opens which seems risky ?

silvercar

BA have a tendency to seat everyone in your party together, so chances are you will be sat together. 

Free check in opens 24 before your flight (or the first flight if you have a connection), so being ready to choose at that point could help.. make sure that on the beach has given you your reference code, then use the BA app. It’s also an oppportunity to earn some Avios.

TheShape

When you say the cost would be £200 do you mean total cost for both passengers inbound and outbound?

If so, that's a bit higher than prices offered for seat selection on my recent BA flight LGW to St Kitts.  From memory the cheapest outbound were £26 one way and £31 the other each so £114 Total for two.

We didn't pay and got sat together, but in the middle section. 

Not surprised at the prices though.  They offer a cheap(er) base-price, otherwise no-one will even consider them, and make up the difference with the extras.

sky_rat

TheShape said:

When you say the cost would be £200 do you mean total cost for both passengers inbound and outbound?

If so, that's a bit higher than prices offered for seat selection on my recent BA flight LGW to St Kitts.  From memory the cheapest outbound were £26 one way and £31 the other each so £114 Total for two.

We didn't pay and got sat together, but in the middle section. 

Not surprised at the prices though.  They offer a cheap(er) base-price, otherwise no-one will even consider them, and make up the difference with the extras.

Cheapest seat (near window) is £47 each.  So for 2 adults, outbound and inbound thats £47 x 4 = £188

TheShape

Similar to our flight then.  Cheaper in the middle, more expensive in the outside sections.  ABC or HJK would have been more expensive on our flight too by at least another £20 total from memory.

We checked in the moment check-in opened each way and got allocated seats F and G each way.  I did use the app to check-in for the return.  Was actually on a boat between islands at the time but made sure to check-in ASAP.

That said, we've never been seperated on a BA flight. 

In 2023 we went to Barbados.  On the flight home we got the dreaded E and F seats having checked-in a number of hours after check-in opened.  We didn't want that again.  On the flight out we had the luxury of the pre-refurbished 777s with just the 9 seats across.

DullGreyGuy

sky_rat said:

I have booked a holiday to Mexico in November with On the Beach for myself and my 19 year daughter.

We are flying with BA but when I looked at booking seats the total cost would be an extortionate £200 !  And this was for the cheapest seats (inbound and outbound).

I have already paid an exrtra £220 so we have 23kg of luggage each.

I was hoping we would be able to sit together with a window seat.

Is there a way to book the seats cheaper or free, other than when checkin opens which seems risky ?

set an alarm for exactly 24 hrs before the flight and check in then, I've never not managed to get two seats together and virtually always gotten a window

silvercar

sky_rat said:

I have booked a holiday to Mexico in November with On the Beach for myself and my 19 year daughter.

We are flying with BA but when I looked at booking seats the total cost would be an extortionate £200 !  And this was for the cheapest seats (inbound and outbound).

I have already paid an exrtra £220 so we have 23kg of luggage each.

I was hoping we would be able to sit together with a window seat.

Is there a way to book the seats cheaper or free, other than when checkin opens which seems risky ?

One suitcase of up to 23kg comes as standard on all BA tickets other than economy basic.  I’m not sure that economy basic exists on long haul to Mexico (I can’t reproduce that fare on the BA site, though the site isn’t foolproof) though I suppose it’s possible On The Beach have access to other fares. You could add baggage to your tickets at £75 per case on the BA site, so your £220 sounds a good deal, if it is an economy basic that has been booked.

I would wait and see what seats you have been assigned when online check in opens 24 hrs ahead. Chances are you will be sat together. £200 could give you some nice spending money for your holiday, worth foregoing a window for.

Caz3121

BA do offer Basic on flights to Mexico City and it looks like the fare is £55 cheaper (one way) than economy standard (on the dates I checked)
The £55 gets you a 23kg bag and the ability to choose your seat at check-in rather than get an allocated one.
The baggage calculator on the BA website shows £55 per bag on a basic ticket in advance (£60 at airport) but would still be an allocated seat

DullGreyGuy

Would have thought the OP was going to Cancun rather than Mexico City but do also see Economy Basic available there.

There tends to be more fare codes available to travel agents than airlines expose to consumers for their direct purchase business.

Doshwaster

The BA business model is to give free seat selection to their Executive Club members. This is a very valuable perk to them.

Personally, I wouldn't pay £200 for Economy seats. Just make sure that you are ready to check-in at exactly T-24 and then grab what is available for free.