When did British Airways Become A Discount Airline?

The people who fly with British Airways will have to do something that people who fly on other airlines will NOT have to do: Pay for a particular seat on the plane. If they want to sit somewhere in particular they will have to pay some kind of fee according to the airline. The extra charges will only affect those who want to sit next to the window or the aisle (SO I suppose, if you want to be stuck in the middle of two people you don’t know, you should be alright?).

The change will take place starting on October 7th. The lowest fee that will be assessed will be 10 pounds for those who are booking their seats on an economy flight throughout Europe. The most expensive seats will cost the customer sixty pounds for long trips in the business class. Those who are expecting a seat somewhere near the emergency exit will have to pay an extra fifty pounds a flight.

British Airways says this measure will give customers more control over their seating. British Airways currently allows customers to select their seat for free 24 hours prior to their flight. If customers want to book ahead of time, they can do it before 10 and 4 days before take-off.

“Customers frequently request specific seats, but in the past we’ve only been able to confirm them 24 hours in advance or on the day. We know people want to secure them in advance and have real control over their flying experience. This will allow them to do that,” said a BA spokesman.

With this new fee and probably others that will follow, BA tries recover after £401m loss last year. Earlier this year, BA decided to no longer offer free meals on short flights and cut luggage allowances.

It is really annoying when any company decides to take advantage of a customer when there is some kind of demand for a product. In this case, the airlines are trying to squeeze money out of the consumer because they are paying rock bottom prices for airline tickets. It’s a funny thing though because these customers are still waiting in airports for delayed flights and sitting on tarmacs waiting for their planes to take off. I should know, I spent over an hour on a tarmac in North Carolina waiting in the past few months. I hate flying on airplanes.
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