BA to charge for choosing seats

[silverfox]

I've only seen short articles about this but surely it should be compulsory that a mother and child (or father and child if no mother present) should sit together on a flight without being charged for the privilege or leaving seating to a 24-hour before travel lottery?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8274200.stm

[candj]

I received an email from BA as we fly them regularly and it is only if you want to reserve an exit row seat in either business or first class that you can do so for ?50/75. Depending on what level you are with the BA mileage club, you can still reserve all other seats according to your booking and of course they would keep mother/father together with children.

[silverfox]

From tonight's evening standard:

"A family of four faces paying up to ?160 extra to fly on holiday with British Airways this half-term after the airline announced it will charge customers to guarantee they can sit together.

...Those who want to make sure they sit in a group or have a preference for aisle, window or exit seats will be affected...

Choosing a seat will cost ?10 per person on a one-way economy flight within Europe, rising to ?20 for long-haul economy and premium economy flights and European business flights. That means every economy passenger will have to pay ?40 for a specific seat to and from any destination outside Europe.

Securing an exit row seat with extra leg room costs ?50. Long-haul business travellers without enough frequent-flier miles to have a gold or silver club card will need to pay ?60 per one-way flight. First-class passengers are unaffected.

BA today insisted most families who booked trips on one credit card would be seated together without having to pay extra. But a spokeswoman admitted that this would be harder to guarantee in peak season when flights are fully booked. She said: ?Not all the seats on a flight will be opened up to pre-booking. We will continue our policy of offering free seat allocation for families from three days prior to travel. We will also still reserve some seating until the last 24 hours, when any passenger can then pick their seat for free.?

But she acknowledged that there may not be enough seats in the free three-day slot to cover every family in peak season. ?To guarantee sitting together during busy periods, people will have the option of paying extra,? she said.

[silverfox]

I see today's Times has clarified the matter slightly and the charges will not apply to passengers travelling with infants(but presumably will if travelling with children 12 years old and above).

[SeanMacGabhann]

I don't think passengers want fewer cabin crew either, but this latest wave of strikes announced yesterday is hard to fathom. I'm not flying anywhere and am not affected but of all the bone-headed, shoot-yourself-in-the-foot decsions made my a workforce....

(silverfox - sorry if I've resurected this thread inappropriately - it seems a little bit connecte anyway)