British Airways restricted business class

Or of course do not pay the very high costs of a 6 star luxury line who cannot guarantee your travel arrangements for a cruise that you paid thousands of pounds for.

During our 14 year experience with Regent, we have not had problems with their travel arrangements. And, when an airline screws up, Regent somehow fixes it!

Flyertalker, thank you for your input. My original question was general but as you requested the detail here goes....Barcelona to London Heathrow BA 479 on 27 September 18. Business class.

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Swansong like you our BA club tickets always show restricted business class.

Only difference I would say is our TA has always found out at time of booking if there are limited seats left in business or club Europe. She seems to have that info when she books our cruise and tells us there and then.

We have never been in your situation though. We have 2 flights due to having to fly ABZ to LHR for connecting flights.

Hope you can get this resolved via the TA communicating with Regent? Jean.

Travelcat, sorry to disagree, you may remember the Lisbon experience, you were on that cruise . I drew Regent’s attention to the overbooking issue both before and on board and they denied it was an issue. I posted the details on this board at the time saying the Executive Concierge was no help at all, in fact he was in denial and off hand about it all.

Since then I have paid particular attention and there have been other passengers in a similar situation as I find in the computer room when printing boarding passes, ( usually British as it happens). The tell tale sign is that no seat allocation is available and the message is something on the lines of ‘ contact a member of BA staff at the airport. ‘

I know that the choice of Airlines in the UK is somewhat limited for direct short haul as most are budget airlines and Regent are not in a good position to protect their customers from this practice but when identified to them they should ( for the money) take some action. Of course they do have a get out clause in the contract!

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Three comments.

 

First, how did you know that you were overbooked? Did you have access to inventory?

 

In a manner of speaking yes. At those times a close relative was a senior ops manager within BA.

Second, how did you know that the aircraft change was due to overbooking? And not due to some other factor?

 

A very valid observation. As you rightly observe there are many reasons for an aircraft change. I should have made it clearer that on most other occasions when I have been in an overbooking situation there has been no aircraft change and many passengers were downgraded or offered incentives to take another flight. On the occasions I referenced I was informed by my relative that the aircraft change was directly as a result of the demand profile. On these occasions there were large groups of 'VIP' passengers booked in to First & Business en masse on one occasion and on the rest there was a pattern of overbooking for the route for several days or more.

 

Third, the assignment of aircraft to a routing is not just made on the basis of one day's bookings. There is an intricate ballet of coordinating aircraft, staffing and maintenance that operates over long time frames and is not conducive to ad hoc changes for a particular date

 

I absolutely concur with this. See comment above.

.

Comments in line above.

As other have said since the flight is a Club Europe one then they have the option of simply reconfiguring more economy seats as business in the manner described by other in the thread. I had misread the original post and should have picked up that this was Club Europe.

BA will not talk to either Regent or my TA about it and they tell me because it is restricted business I can’t choose seats although they acknowledge that there is only one available.

I agree that Regent should be explaining the situation but as I said neither they nor the TA would speak to BA as they said BA would not speak to them.

The response from Regent seems very odd since they made the booking :rolleyes:

The response from BA about not being able to book seats because of the ticket type is wrong. But yes, you will have to pay to reserve seats in advance of 24hrs prior unless you have Frequent Flyer status (I have raised the issue previously with Regent as to why UK customers have to pay to reserve seats on BA but US customers do not)

Assuming Regent have booked you on flight BA0485, Barcelona to LHR, at 13:35 on 27 September 2018 then the following is information gleaned from the ExpertFlyer website:

• 8 rows (32 seats) are allocated to Business at this time.
  
• The front 2 rows (8 seats) are blocked.
  
• 16 seats have been reserved
  
• 8 seats are available (including 3 pairs - 6A&C, 7A&C, 8A&C)
  

The previous flight (BA0473 at 10:10) shows 19 Business Class seats available and the later flight (BA0481 at 18:25) shows 20 Business Class seats available

Based on this information, you should not have an issue. Try on the BA website again as they may have opened up more seats for reservation since you last looked. :cool:

If I have got the date, destination or flight times wrong I apologise. Let me know the correct details and I will check again.

Although BA has its drawbacks, we have found them to be the best of a bad bunch when flying within Europe.

These are the most current rules in the EU.

 

http://www.airpassengerrights.eu/en/your-rights-a-summary.html

 

Years ago BA was a great airline but in the past few years they have downgraded so many things like US carriers did. Also, American Airlines is a codeshare with BA so that is another option as they do not charge for booking seats in business class if you fly on their aircraft.

 

Flying coach on BA is now like flying Easy Jet or Ryan Air. We avoid BA at all costs.

So do we as a rule...Swiss is tons better on everything - seats, food, wines etc. Plus if we fly BA we have to transit at LHR. ZRH airport is a lot more "user friendly".

Swiss and Lufthansa are excellent airlines. We have flown Swiss many times and loved it. ZRH is a wonderful airport and of course Zurich is beautiful in itself. We stayed at a lovely hotel the Bauer Lach <Sp>? Switzerland should be on everyone’s bucket list....so beautiful.

BA 479 is zeroed out for that date. 9 rows have been allocated for Club Europe, which I believe is the maximum. The fact that one seats is not "assigned" likely is that someone hasn't done a selection. And you are likely in an oversold situation in Club.

Interestingly, both the flights before and after 479 are wide open in Club - I would suggest seeing if you can be reaccommodated to either one. Unlikely, but it can't hurt to ask. And if you are in an oversold situation with 479, having a seat assignment is no guarantee that you will be on that flight - you can get an IDB (Involuntary Denied Boarding) anyhow.

Be prepared for that IDB - especially if you are only going BCN-LHR. BA will prioritize those who need 479 to make an onward connection.

swansong, sorry I missed post #27 which gave your flight number :o

As FlyerTalker advised, unless Regent/BA can confirm that yours are two of the seats already reserved on BA0479, I would get Regent to switch you onto one of the other BA flights Barcelona to Heathrow on that day.

See my post #31 which shows availability of Business Class seats on either the 10:10 (a bit tight getting to the airport) or 13:35 (leisurely departure from the ship, but may be an issue if you have an onward connection in the UK)

Not sure about BA but Qantas certainly has different 'classes' of Business Class Fares, those being C,D,I and J with I having the most restrictive conditions (and is the cheapest) regarding policy on no show, rebooking etc . I just looked at the flight in question and it is showing availability for Class I which usually means there are quite a few seats available as when availability gets tight they usually only have the less restrictive (and more expensive) seat classes available. There are 4 flights that day with only one available after your particular flight. Maybe they are overselling your flight with the hope of using the overflow to fill the other flights. I have been on an oversold BA flight before and as I didn't have time restrictions volunteered to move my flight to the next day. The conditions were very generous and I got to spend an extra day in Singapore.

Travelcat, sorry to disagree, you may remember the Lisbon experience, you were on that cruise . I drew Regent’s attention to the overbooking issue both before and on board and they denied it was an issue. I posted the details on this board at the time saying the Executive Concierge was no help at all, in fact he was in denial and off hand about it all.

 

Since then I have paid particular attention and there have been other passengers in a similar situation as I find in the computer room when printing boarding passes, ( usually British as it happens). The tell tale sign is that no seat allocation is available and the message is something on the lines of ‘ contact a member of BA staff at the airport. ‘

 

I know that the choice of Airlines in the UK is somewhat limited for direct short haul as most are budget airlines and Regent are not in a good position to protect their customers from this practice but when identified to them they should ( for the money) take some action. Of course they do have a get out clause in the contract!

 

 

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Sorry - I did not recall the incident that you brought up. After reading a few more posts it seems as if there needs to be a differentiation between what is Regent's responsibility and what is the airlines responsibility. While I do not know all of the ins and outs - especially in the U.K., it would seem that BA makes the rules for who does or does not have to pay for a seat and when they can be booked. Their contract with Regent in North America apparently gives Regent the right to book seats for their clients. This may be due to the number of flights that Regent books with them.

Another issue is seat availability. There can be seats available on a flight but they are "full" in terms of contracted seats since Regent only contracts for a certain number of seats on each flight. So, when posters tell you that they see availability, it is misleading unless they know if they are contracted seats.

It seems that your TA is the key here. I would not accept that Regent's Air Department would not speak to my TA. That is unheard of. Since this is what your TA is telling you, I would tell them that they need to figure it out as you will not be left hanging and wondering if you have reserved seats. They need to call Regent again and ask to speak with a manager if they are not able to get an answer. While I don't mean to sound harsh, you should not be going through what you are going through.

Club Europe on BA is basically the same as coach except with sometimes decent included food and drink and very slightly more room, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Now for a trans Atlantic flight, I would be worrying.

Club Europe on BA is basically the same as coach except with sometimes decent included food and drink and very slightly more room, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Now for a trans Atlantic flight, I would be worrying.

Really good point! We have flown Club Europe on BA several times and it is no big deal (more or less like flying First Class domestically). And, we are one of the few that like the backwards seats on transatlantic flights. Dennis and I like to face each other - toast with champagne at the beginning of the flight, etc. Since Dennis doesn't like to "fly backwards", I get the window seat and when it is time to go to sleep I put up the screen between us and sleep undisturbed by people walking by!

Really good point! We have flown Club Europe on BA several times and it is no big deal (more or less like flying First Class domestically). And, we are one of the few that like the backwards seats on transatlantic flights. Dennis and I like to face each other - toast with champagne at the beginning of the flight, etc. Since Dennis doesn't like to "fly backwards", I get the window seat and when it is time to go to sleep I put up the screen between us and sleep undisturbed by people walking by!

Me too! And I like the upstairs seats on the old 747s.

Me too! And I like the upstairs seats on the old 747s.

Those are our absolutely favorite seats! I found the row where you don't have to climb over someone else's feet.

Thank you again for all your comments. I have emailed Regent again demanding answers. If I get any I will post again!

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Swiss and Lufthansa are excellent airlines. We have flown Swiss many times and loved it. ZRH is a wonderful airport and of course Zurich is beautiful in itself. We stayed at a lovely hotel the Bauer Lach <Sp>? Switzerland should be on everyone’s bucket list....so beautiful.

So glad you liked my country! Hotel is Bauer au Lac ... much loved by FIFA apparently!

sadly cruise lines - aside from river cruises - don't dock in Switzerland!! could be visited as pre- or post-cruise though from any Italian or French port.

So glad you liked my country! Hotel is Bauer au Lac ... much loved by FIFA apparently!

 

sadly cruise lines - aside from river cruises - don't dock in Switzerland!! could be visited as pre- or post-cruise though from any Italian or French port.

Switzerland is such a beautiful country! We took our three young sons there in 1972. Will tell you all about it when we see you.

Sheila

Me too! And I like the upstairs seats on the old 747s.

Yes and window seats in rows 62 and 64 can get into the passage without disturbing their partner :)

But that is BA Club World. This thread is focused on Club Europe so we are a bit of topic :(

Yes and window seats in rows 62 and 64 can get into the passage without disturbing their partner :)

 

But that is BA Club World. This thread is focused on Club Europe so we are a bit of topic :(

You found our seats!:D

There are 4 flights that day with only one available after your particular flight. Maybe they are overselling your flight with the hope of using the overflow to fill the other flights. I have been on an oversold BA flight before and as I didn't have time restrictions volunteered to move my flight to the next day. The conditions were very generous and I got to spend an extra day in Singapore.

Sorry to disagree, but I believe that BA are scheduled to operate a total of 7 flights from Barcelona to London Heathrow on 27 September 2018, with 4 after the 11:40 flight on which swansong is presently booked.

So, unless swansong has a pressing engagement or a connecting flight there are plenty of alternatives onto which Regent could switch their guests to ensure they get a seat in Business and are not bumped into Economy or off the flight.

I hope common sense prevails with both Regent & BA so that the OP doesn't have to continue worrying and chasing this issue.

Sorry to disagree, but I believe that BA are scheduled to operate a total of 7 flights from Barcelona to London Heathrow on 27 September 2018, with 4 after the 11:40 flight on which swansong is presently booked.

So, unless swansong has a pressing engagement or a connecting flight there are plenty of alternatives onto which Regent could switch their guests to ensure they get a seat in Business and are not bumped into Economy or off the flight.

 

I hope common sense prevails with both Regent & BA so that the OP doesn't have to continue worrying and chasing this issue.

Sorry I should have been clearer. At the time I posted there were 4 flights showing availability on that day including the one swansong was booked on. That flight was showing availability on Booking Class Code I. I just looked again and it now shows 6 flights as having availability in Business Class on that date. The seventh flight for that day is the one swansong is booked on and it now shows no availability in Business Class. Hope that clarifies. :D

Sorry I should have been clearer. At the time I posted there were 4 flights showing availability on that day including the one swansong was booked on. That flight was showing availability on Booking Class Code I. I just looked again and it now shows 6 flights as having availability in Business Class on that date. The seventh flight for that day is the one swansong is booked on and it now shows no availability in Business Class. Hope that clarifies. :D

Thanks, Oz_Steve; useful update for the OP :cool:

Hopefully swansong will get some clarity from Regent & BA soon.

Just to update. Regent contacted BA and left it at that. However I checked availability almost every day and a couple of days ago two seats were available to choose. The same day Regent emailed me to say BA had been in touch and there were two seats available. I thanked them for following the issue up. Their advice was, however, to check in online as soon as the check in opens...

On another topic, when you air deviate do you still get transportation provided between airport and ship / hotel and vice versa?

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