BA seat cancellation

[Firework73]

Hi I just wanted to get your advice . I booked a holiday in Jan with exit row seating and paid the additional extra . This was mainly for my elderly mum and child who recently had a knee op
to make it more comfortable for them . I happened to email live chat tonight about something and mentioned I’d not seen confirmation of seats on
my app . They then proceeded to tell me the aircraft had been changed and I had to rebook seats but of course the exit ones have all gone ! Mumsnetters , how do I escalate this further than the usual channels and what if any compensation should I be asking for … I’m so annoyed I just want the seats I paid for ! If I hadn’t emailed myself tonight I wouldn’t have known … Appreciate any advice of similar experiences . TIA

You should get a refund for paid seats if no linger available but also should not be able to sit at exit unless fit enough to operate exit elderly mum and daughter post surgery may rule the option out.

This happened to us. BA were spectacularly unhelpful. Couldn't sit in the exit seats. Took over 6 months and a lot of emails to get refunded. Hope you get a better resolution.

You won’t get exit seats for an elderly woman and a child. You need to chase them for a refund.

Thanks for your replies .. she’s 7 months out of surgery but every so often the knee is stiff … they allowed me to book seats at the time and happily took my money !!! It’s just the fact that they changed aircraft without telling us ! The very least they should have transferred our seats over !

You should be entitled to a refund op but as others have said, neither mum nor child would have been allowed to sit in an exit row and they'd have been moved when you boarded with no refund. It's in the t&cs that you have to be fit and able to assist in an emergency to sit in an exit row. They take your money because they don't know that you / they don't qualify. They rely on you reading the terms.

This. No way they should be in an exit row. You need premium economy or similar.

The t and c s stated that anyone under 12 couldn’t sit in the exit rows . She’s 14 . My
mums quite sprightly for 77. I’ve booked with others in the past and yes you are right the option isn’t even there to book for my daughter but this was clearly stated that she could and allowed me to… I guess I’ll have to wait and see what they say… thanks for replies

You won’t get those seats no matter what.

better to upgrade to premium economy

This, honestly it's quite lucky you found out now because at least you can chase a refund. If they'd had to move them on the day I doubt you'd be able to get refunded as it is in the T&C's about being fit and able to help.

You should ask for a refund, but neither your mother or your daughter would have been allowed to remain in the exit row anyway.

You won’t be getting the exit row. So either pick alternative seats or get a refund of the seat fee. Those are your only options. Making a complaint won’t get you anywhere.

Thank you , I didn’t realise that even after buying the seats they could kick you off ! I’ll see what my options are

Of course they can - you have to be deemed fit and capable of operating the doors in an emergency.

Of course they can be kicked out of the seats. There’s no way a 77 year old with a dodgy knee and a 14 year old are suitable for emergency exit row seats. Can they both lift 20kg above their heads easily while staying calm and not panicking? I suspect not. And that’s how much the emergency exit doors weigh and they need to be quickly pushed up and out by the passengers sitting in the exit row if there’s an emergency.

Fair points … actually my daughter probably can but my mum not so … thank you for giving me that reality check …

BA are spectacularly shit, sorry OP. You’ll need to chase hard for a refund of anything you paid to select seats.

The question to ask yourself is whether you’d want them in charge of the emergency doors with tens of people exiting fast in an emergency. If not, don’t book those seats.

Ideally you want the 6’ 5” rugby players who can’t fit in the normal seats!

Actually you can claim via BA’s website for seat reservation fees that need refunding - although I seem to think it’s only after the flight has taken place. It’s usually a quick process to be refunded though. Just make sure you keep your boarding passes so you can claim.

And we’ve been ‘downgraded due to sales’ by BA, so it’s not as if booking premium economy seats would guarantee anything in the event of an aircraft change.

BA are utter bastards.

Yes you can, but if you booked premium economy and they downgrade you to economy for a 10 hour flight because of ‘over sales’ when the online check in had been ‘unavailable’ (in the wake of the Heathrow fire) despite constantly trying to check in as soon as the 24 hr window started I think you’d be rightly pissed off.

(Don’t get me started on the 24 hr check in window either - spectacularly shit).

Update . I put in for the refund last night and it’s come through this morning which is great ! Now have to find seats on a busy August flight !! Thanks again for the head shake I needed that !! Xx

Whatever airline you book with, they ALWAYS say on the page where cost the seats, that requested seats cannot be guaranteed and that they reserve the right to change them for operational reasons. I'm afraid that, though you should get a refund, you have no other recourse at all.

The Ts&C's of seat booking are not remotely hidden away. They're right there when you click on the page.

I once got booted off my emergency exit seat just before takeoff. I was flying domestically with a Chinese airline, and they needed anyone by the emergency exit to speak Mandarin so that they'd understand instructions in an emergency!

But they kindly led me to an empty row that I could have to myself!

You wouldn’t have got it anyway. When they do the physical look you up and down when you check in they wouldn’t have let a 77yo woman sit in the exit row and they wouldn’t have shuffled you with others.

In the future, skip the online chat and make a phone call. They have far more power to find a solution (including potentially moving your seats) than chat ever does.