how to get seat assignments on british airways

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British Airways Boarding Groups & Process — Everything You Need To Know

Jeff Brownson

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24 Published Articles

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Keri Stooksbury

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British Airways Boarding Groups

Pre-boarding, priority group 1, priority group 2, priority group 3, groups 4 through 9, hand baggage only fares, how to build up your british airways avios balance, final thoughts.

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With primary operations based at both Heathrow and Gatwick airports, British Airways has a massive presence in both the trans-Atlantic and European airline markets.

In addition, it flies long-haul flights from these London hubs to multiple cities in pretty much every region of the world .

Even if you don’t live in England, chances are you’ll find yourself on a British Airways flight at some point. BA often has plenty of award availability if you are trying to get to Europe with miles, and it is an excellent choice for hopping around to other countries once there.

If you fly with British Airways, it makes sense for you to learn a bit about how it boards its planes. It’s always nice to know how the process works ahead of time instead of trying to figure things out once you get to the boarding gate!

To make things easier on you when it comes time for your next British Airways flight, let’s go through all of the details of how its boarding process works . That way, you can be sure you are ready to go.

British Airways does things a little differently than most airlines when it comes to boarding.

Yes, it has pre-boarding for certain passengers, and then it uses 9 numbered boarding groups . That may sound somewhat familiar.

What it does differently is change which passengers are eligible to board with each of the numbered groups, depending on whether you’re boarding a short-haul or a long-haul flight .

British Airways doesn’t have a first class or premium economy cabins on its shorter flights. As a result, those passenger categories are not in the short-haul boarding groups.

Since business class passengers are the top-tier passengers on the short-hauls, it moves them up to Group 1 for boarding those flights.

Other than that, the 2 boarding procedures are pretty much the same no matter where you are flying.

You may notice that with both types of flights, economy class passengers do not board until the last 2 groups.

Since this is by far the largest section of the plane, you should expect long lines when it comes time to board groups after Group 4.

BA Short-haul Flights

• Families with infants under 2 or young children in strollers
• Customers requiring disability or mobility assistance
• Business (Club Europe) class passengers
• Executive Club Gold members
• Oneworld Emerald members
• Executive Club Silver members
• Oneworld Sapphire members
• Executive Club Bronze members
• Oneworld Ruby members
• Economy (Euro Traveller) passengers

BA Long-haul Flights

• First class passengers
• Business (Club World) class passengers
• Premium economy (World Traveller Plus) passengers
• Economy (World Traveller) class passengers

Boarding Notes

Passengers traveling together on British Airways may be assigned to different boarding groups, but they have the option of seeing the gate agent to board together.

British Airways does not explicitly say in its official procedures which group you will end up boarding with, so it’s likely up to the discretion of the gate agents.

Families traveling with young children are asked to get to the gate 50 minutes before the flight so that British Airways has plenty of time to board them and stow any strollers or car seats in the cargo hold.

Passengers with disabilities or those who need extra assistance with boarding are asked to contact British Airways at least 48 hours before their flight so that the proper preparations can be made.

Hand Baggage Only fares on British Airways are most often the least expensive option and, as such, have fewer benefits for passengers.

Although you do not get a checked bag with these fares, you can still bring a full-size carry-on and a personal item on board with you.

If you want to select your own seat location with these fares, you will have to pay an additional fee. Otherwise, British Airways will assign a seat to you before your flight.

Families traveling on Hand Baggage Only fares will be assigned seats together if possible, though they may be in different rows or across aisles. Children under 12 will be seated with a parent .

Hot Tip: Read our article on British Airways’ baggage fees for more information and how to actually cover those expenses!

British Airways initially launched Hand Baggage Only fares on just its short-haul flights. Since that went well, it has now started selling the fares on its long-haul flights as well.

Since these 2 boarding procedures mirror each other in most aspects, we can expect that those lower Hand Baggage Only fares will be in the last boarding group on the long-hauls just like they are with the short-haul flights.

This may be a problem on long-haul flights because passengers who purchase these fares are traveling without a checked bag and will likely need to place a larger carry-on bag in the overhead bin.

As the last passengers to board, there may be limited overhead bin space left , and some Hand Baggage Only passengers might have to gate-check their bags.

Interestingly, along with saving a few dollars (or pounds), checking a bag was probably one of the things these specific passengers were trying to avoid.

The British Airways Executive Club program uses Avios as its mileage currency. Although this is the same currency used by both Iberia , Aer Lingus , and Qatar Airways , the British Airways Executive Club is a separate loyalty program from the other 3 airlines.

It has its own award charts and its own ways of earning lots and lots of Avios .

One of the easier ways to earn a massive number of Avios very quickly is by taking advantage of Chase’s co-branded British Airways Visa Signature ® Card . This card often has a sign-up bonus of up to 100,000 Avios , although the minimum spend required to get the full bonus can be pretty high.

If you haven’t earned enough Avios with your credit card, you can also transfer all 4 of the main flexible bank points to your Executive Club Account.

British Airways is an American Express transfer partner , Capital One transfer partner , Chase transfer partner , and Citi transfer partner , and all transfer quite quickly. There are often even transfer bonuses as high as 30% or 40% that you can take advantage of with one or more of these programs (make this process easy with our transfer partner calculator !).

When planning to use Avios, it’s essential to know that you will often find high fuel surcharges if you book flights on British Airways metal.

This is especially true on long-haul flights that depart out of London — and the charges get even higher for travel in premium cabins.

If you want to avoid these surcharges , some great ways to use your Avios are shorter flights on British Airways and partner airlines worldwide.

Hot Tip: Since it is a member of the Oneworld Alliance , British Airways Avios can be used to fly on many different carriers. One of the best uses of Avios for U.S.-based customers is booking short-haul American Airlines flights. Many flights that American wants 12,500 miles to book will only cost you 7,500 Avios if you book them through British Airways.

Even though the fuel surcharges for some routes can border on ridiculous when booking British Airways flights with miles, plenty of other flights can be an excellent deal.

Whether booking with Avios, with your American Airlines miles, or buying a cash ticket to Europe — you are bound to find yourself at a British Airways boarding gate at some point as you travel the world.

We hope we have helped clear up the British Airways boarding procedures with what we have presented above.

Remember that boarding can be a little different depending on the length of your flight. Just pay attention to your assigned group, and you should be ready to board without worry.

Get on board, get comfortable, and let British Airways whisk you away to the next destination on your list. Maybe you’ll even find a member of the Upgraded Points team hanging around the gate next time you’re in London !

Frequently Asked Questions

How many boarding groups are there on british airways.

British Airways uses 9 numbered groups for its boarding process. Prior to these groups, families with infants under 2 or with young children in strollers and customers requiring disability or mobility assistance are allowed to pre-board.

Are British Airways flights assigned seating?

Yes, British Airways uses assigned seating for all of its flights. In most cases, passengers can select their seats ahead of time. If premium seats are selected, payment may be required.

Who has pre-boarding on British Airways?

Families with infants under 2 or with young children in strollers and customers requiring disability or mobility assistance are allowed to pre-board on British Airways flights.

When can families board on British Airways?

Families with infants under 2 or with young children in strollers are allowed to pre-board on British Airways flights. Families are asked to be at the gate 50 minutes prior to the flight so that there is plenty of time to stow any strollers or car seats in the cargo hold.

Who is in Group 1 on British Airways?

For short-haul flights, Priority Group 1 on British Airways includes business class (Club Europe) passengers, Executive Club Gold members, and Oneworld Emerald members. For long-haul flights, Priority Group 1 includes first class passengers, Executive Club Gold members, and Oneworld Emerald members.

Who is in Group 2 on British Airways?

For short-haul flights, Priority Group 2 on British Airways includes Executive Club Silver members and Oneworld Sapphire members. For long-haul flights, Priority Group 2 includes business class (Club World) passengers, Executive Club Silver members, and Oneworld Sapphire members.

Who is in Group 3 on British Airways?

For short-haul flights, Priority Group 3 on British Airways includes Executive Club Bronze members and Oneworld Ruby members. For long-haul flights, Priority Group 3 includes premium economy (World Traveller Plus), Executive Club Bronze members, and Oneworld Ruby members.

Who is in Groups 4-9 on British Airways?

For short-haul flights, Groups 4 through 9 on British Airways includes economy (Euro Traveller) passengers. For long-haul flights, Groups 4 through 9 include economy (World Traveller) class passengers.

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About Jeff Brownson

Since discovering miles and points in 2010, Jeff has traveled to over 35 countries, flying in first class, business class, and sometimes even in coach. Whether he’s staying in a hostel dorm, or in a luxury suite at a 5 star hotel, Jeff is constantly looking for the best deal to make travel as close to free as possible.

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British Airways seat selection

First time travelling with BA, Phx to London direct Oct 2024. I booked business class, Club World, but it looks like you still have to pay a huge seat upgrade to select your seats in advance? Anyone else experience that? Do the seat upgrade prices go down as you get closer to departure date? Since there are limited seats in this class (56) and half of those are single seats, I'm wondering if I have to suck it up and pay the high seat fees?

We've flown business class with BA several times, and we always pay the seat selection price (toward the back is less, but still not cheap.) I didn't see the prices drop as departure approached, and we didn't want to be "sleeping" apart.

You can book your seat for free 24 hours in advance. Which plane are you flying? The newly remodeled BA business class seats are all great- there's no first class seats. Check the configuration. Good luck.

We fly BA Premium Economy and always suck up paying the extra as often there are few seats left when we book and we want to sit together. It was suggested that seats further back tend to be less and that is true in PE, so might be your best bet. I’m nervous that waiting for the 24 hr free choice will put us in separate and middle seats. With Business the middle seat option goes away, but you could still be separated.

I’m flying business class on AA in Oct for the first time in my life and I booked my seat for no additional cost at the time of purchase. I assumed this was standard procedure for all airlines. So you’re saying for BA you pay for business class and then again depending on where you want to sit!? Do other airlines do this too?

And thus the reason my preferred airline to fly to London is Virgin Airlines. Premier Economy seat.

Next time, start by looking at BA flights as codeshares from the American Airlines site - you may be able to avoid the seat reservation fees.

It depends on what’s comfortable for you. You will have a seat in the class that you paid for. If where you sit is critical then that may come at a cost. If it doesn’t matter then a roll of the dice (waiting) will still be a win.

We waited for the free 24 hour seat selection on BA Premium Economy, London to Seattle flight last summer and the only seats left were up against the bathrooms. Pay for the seat selection!

BA's seat-selection fees were somewhat higher than everyone else's the last time I researched that question. I avoid BA for that reason (along with the crazy taxes and fees it charges on frequent-flyer tickets). I do often end up paying a seat-selection fee for trips to Europe on non-US airlines. It's annoying, but I want an aisle seat and am not willing to roll the dice on the long transatlantic flight. I'll take a chance on short intra-Europe hops.

I just booked an eastbound frequent-flier ticket on Austrian Air through the United website and was surprised and pleased to see that I could choose an ordinary coach seat at no cost.

So you’re saying for BA you pay for business class and then again depending on where you want to sit!? Do other airlines do this too?

@lyndash - on United Polaris, no. You get to select your seat for no additional fee.

It is not a “seat upgrade”, it is what British Airways charges for the “privileges” of choosing your own seat in advance of the check-in time. That is on top of the “supplemental” fee they charge if you book the flight with miles/Avios. And it does not go down (or up)as the flight date approaches. I believe have read, however, that the fee is slightly lower if you pay it as the time you make the booking, and pay in the same transaction.

The fee applies to Economy, PremiumEconomy, and Business Class seats, but it is much higher for Business Class than Economy. Within each cabin, the more desirable seats (usually those toward the front of the cabin) are more expensive.

As noted above, American Airlines does not charge for seat selection like this. I don’t know about United or Delta. If you do not want to pay extra, you can wait until Online Check-in (24 hours in advance of the flight) and move yourself to any available seat for free, if you do not like your assigned seat. In all the flights we have done on BA in Business Classs with our miles, I have never done that. I always pay so we can be sure of having the seats we want. (It is actually not guaranteed; they can move you for operational or other reasons, but once you have paid you can move yourself around if you want. Thus, if they change the airplane type and the seating is different, you can pick your seat for free on the new airplane. )

The new BA single row seats - against the windows- are fantastic. You have lots of room and storage. Even if you sat together in the new double seat configuration, you're still not very close, with the additional room, and conversation is hard. My advise is wait , and get your seat 24 hours out - free. In the new configuration, there really aren't any bad seats. Safe travels!

Thanks all, very helpful! Yes, I am used to American where I would pay for the premium Economy & seat selection as one fee. I could have booked thru American this time, but I really wanted to fly on the Airbus 350 with the new seat configuration. It sounds like it is well worth it. Thanks again! Cindy

When we fly BA business, we pay on the way over and take our chances on the way back. So far, we’ve always had seats together on the way back. It did seem that the fee was less this year than last, but I don’t know if it made a difference that we’re on a codeshare leg from LHR to Barcelona.

We have given up on British Airways for all the reasons mentioned above.

If you have status on another One World airline that allows you to book fee free reservations on that airline then you don’t have to pay on BA for seat selection. For example, I have status on Alaska and when I book on BA I don’t have to pay for seat selection.

We previously preferred BA Business but our last experience was not pleasant so the shine has worn off (it was just at that point when the airlines were adding additional flights coming off COVID peak. Cabin service was disorganized/haphazard, and food quality was very much lacking. I think they were using staff not sufficiently trained or experienced).

Our next flight (March 2024) is with KLM Business and no seat fee so that was great. We’ve used KLM/Air France Business before and were happy so likely will go back to them.

I can see worrying about sitting next to each other in economy or premium economy, but business? You are each going to be in your own little cubicles anyway.

I made my reservations for a round trip Seattle to London for the summer of 2022 with American Airlines, but the flight was operated by British Airways. I was in the main cabin -- not the absolute cheapest location. As a solo traveler I didn't need to worry about sitting near anyone in particular.

So I decided to wait till the 24 hour window for free seat selection. For the SEA-->LHR flight I got online within 5 minutes of the opening of that window and easily got my preferred aisle seat toward the front of the main cabin seats. When I did the same thing for the LHR-->SEA flight, I'd already been assigned a middle seat farther back in that section. There was more than one aisle seat still available and I easily switched the seat assignment to a great one for my return home.

Maybe I was just lucky, maybe preferring an aisle seat is a good thing or maybe getting online right after those 24 windows open improved my luck. The major point is that if you're assigned a seat you don't like and there are seats available that will work for you, it is possible to switch to one of those and have a guaranteed seat of your choice without paying extra.

BTW, I did pay extra for RT SEA<-->LHR seats on a trip in 2016. I did it out of some of the fear others have reported and because it was only $25 each flight. By the time I made my reservations for 2022, the price had escalated so much that I wasn't willing to pay that much in advance for my pick of a seat.

Apparently, yes, you do have to pay.

I don’t ever travel business but this is something that I am aware of people being annoyed about. On the other hand, regular travellers tend to have a favourite seat and are happy to pay in order to get it.

I have silver status with BA so get to choose my seat at the time of booking for free however, as others have noted, if you're flying in the new Club Suite seats (which you most likely will flying from PHX) then there really is little point in worrying about sitting together as you're so coccooned in your own 'suite' that it's actually quite difficult to converse with someone in the adjacent seat. I flew business from Phoenix with BA last December and whilst I was in a single window seat my two sons were sat together in the central aisle but because of the style of the seats they found that they could easily avoid interracting with each other.

“they found that they could easily avoid interracting with each other”. Thanks for the chuckle.

We have those Club Suites on the later Seattle flight, on a 787. I agree that the seats are isolated from one another, even in the paired seats in the center. My husband and I have tried all combinations—-window seats one behind the other, window seat plus aisle seat directly across, and the pair in the center. None of them give us as much contact with one another as we are accustomed to, but we manage to survive. Since I end up passing half my food to my husband, we will take the center pair on the overnight flight from now on, so we don’t pass have to pass things across the aisle. But for the return flight in the daytime, I still want my window seat!

I just bought my first British Airways ticket (economy) and it looks like this is just their standard procedure - charge extra for the privilege of choosing a specific seat. It's bad enough that it's an added charge, but they wouldn't even display the cost until after I bought the ticket. This made comparing prices to other flights extremely challenging. I'm still shocked to hear that they also do this for business class. For those curious the cost of an Economy ticket seat (excluding exit rows/extra leg room seats) was:

$53-99 for PDX-LHR (one way) and $11-$27 for LHR-DUB.

I hope this doesn't become a trend. Unfortunately I couldn't find an equivalently convenient ticket with another airline, but I did spend extra time researching to try and not go with British Airways.

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How To Reserve British Airways Seats On American Airlines Award Tickets For Free

June 9, 2013 by The Weekly Flyer

American Airlines AAdvantage members can redeem miles on AA’s partner airline British Airways. Business and Coach Class passengers that don’t have American Airlines Gold status (or higher) are not allowed to select a seat in advance of the flight unless they pay a fee.

For example, on a recent AA award flight in coach intra-England, British Airways was requesting $10 reserve a seat.

But you don’t have to pay this fee if you don’t want to.

How To Reserve Seats For Free

You have two options. Wait until you check in to reserve your seat. But this option doesn’t guarantee you’ll have seats together or the most desirable seats.

Instead, you can call or log into British Airways and “Manage Booking” to reserve your seat 24 hours before your flight.

To do this, you’ll need your British Airways record locator. Simply call up American Airlines and ask them for your corresponding record locator for the British Airways segments on your itinerary. Once you have this information, log into British Airways at the 24 hour mark to select your seat. At the 24 hour mark, you’ll notice that seat selection is now complimentary.

Bottom Line

British Airways seat selection for Business and Coach Class seating is not complimentary on an American Airlines award for those with no status. If you want to avoid the fee, you can select your seat 24 hours before the flight online or wait until the day of departure at the airport.

Granted, waiting until the 24 hour mark may not give you the exact seats you were looking for, but it’s free and you’ll have a better chance than if you waited until you checked in at the airport.

And if you are looking for extra American Airlines AAdvantage miles, American Airlines and Citi are running a limited time offer for 40,000 American Airlines AAdvantage® bonus miles after spending only $3,000 within the first 3 months of getting the Citi® Platinum Select® / AAdvantage® World Signature® Card . I’ve already had this card, but I recently signed up for the 40,000 bonus mile offer for the US Airways Premeir World MasterCard in anticipation that the US Airways Dividend Miles will be merged with American Airlines AAdvantage miles in the near future.

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“passengers that don’t have American Airlines Platinum status (or higher) are not allowed to select a seat in advance of the flight unless they pay a fee.”

AA Gold members’ seats can be reserved at the 1-week mark.

I got gold status on AA. Just call AA and ask them to change the FF# to AA and then you can pick your seats!

It’s kind of confusing how you say “British Airways seat selection for Business and Coach Class seating is not complimentary on an American Airlines award for those with no status” Isn’t that because seat selection on a British Airways flight is not complementary in coach or business class? I must say I was surprised when I booked a business class award using avios on BA and then was asked to pay another $95/person if I wanted to select seats immediately?! If you have a child traveling with you, BA will choose seats for you 5 days before the flight that ensure each child will be seated with an adult, if you don’t pay to choose your own seats.

If you don’t feel like calling AA to get your BA record locator, just head over to Qantas and locate your flight on their site. From there they have a link to modify your flight on BA. It also shows you your BA record locator!

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Simple Flying

British airways' business class seats: what to expect onboard.

One of several configurations may used depending on the aircraft type.

Like any typical full-service airline, UK flag carrier British Airways offers a comprehensive business class offering across its mainline fleet. Known as Club World, or Club Europe on short-haul aircraft, this product comes in various shapes and sizes depending on the exact aircraft and its seating configuration.

Club Suites have taken the offering up a level

Recent years have seen British Airways begin to overhaul its Club World offering with the introduction of a brand-new product known as the Club Suite. The most notable change this new seat has offered is the introduction of a four-abreast 1-2-1 configuration, with every single seat offering direct aisle access.

With first class cabins becoming a rarity in the world of modern commercial aviation, high-end long-haul business class offerings with low-density configurations have taken on greater importance. The introduction of the Club Suite, which features personal doors for additional privacy, 198cm (6ft 6in) beds, and 17-inch entertainment screens, according to BA , is the airline's way of joining this trend.

Trip Report: British Airways Boeing 777 Club Suite New York JFK to London Heathrow

However, as lovely as the new product is, it is yet to become a ubiquitous offering on British Airways' long-haul aircraft. According to aeroLOPA , it features on all of the carrier's Airbus A350-1000s and Boeing 787-10s, but only some of its 777-200ERs, 777-300ERs, and 787-8s. Meanwhile, none of its A380s or 787-9s have been fitted with Club Suites, although retrofits are planned for the coming years.

The older product

For British Airways' planes that don't yet feature the Club Suite, passengers in Club World must contend with a product that is sadly now rather outdated. On wider aircraft such as the double-decker Airbus A380, these seats are laid out in a staggered 'yin-yang' configuration with a 2-4-2 layout.

In other words, this setup features twice as many seats per row as the new Club Suite product. Furthermore, half of the seats face backward, and both the bed and entertainment screen are significantly smaller than the new offering. Specifically, these measure 183cm (6ft) and 12 inches, respectively.

Want answers to more key questions in aviation? Check out the rest of our guides here !

Of course, the same high standards when it comes to the onboard service of food and drink are still present. However, where possible, these older seats are best avoided from a comfort point of view. British Airways' 787s are slightly better in terms of their old Club World product configuration, with 'only' seven seats per row.

The short-haul offering is rather basic

BA's short-haul offering is Club Europe, and, like many European flag carriers, simply consists of a blocked middle seat . While this offers greater operational flexibility with varying business and economy loads, the comfort levels are obviously inferior to, for example, domestic first class in the US. That being said, Club Europe passengers do get better catering and baggage than their economy counterparts.

What do you make of British Airways' various Club World configurations? How many have you flown in? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!

British Airways

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British Airways Seat Assignment Advice - London Forum

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Is this something I should pay for? Only my wife & I are traveling together. I don't know the percentage of people who wait till 24 hrs in advance. I just don't want to be stuck in a row where the seat doesn't recline or in the middle of the Boeing 777.

Also..... any recommendations for best seats in World Traveler on a 777 ?

Long haul may be different - the 'penalties' are higher if you don't get acceptable seats. Depends on how much it matters to you - personally I'd be inclined to stump up unless budget is really tight

Take a look at the bottom of the page at SeatGuru, another TA site.

I always use it.

Take a two-pronged strategy.

1.Plan to checkin and select seats at exactly 24 hours before take off. The majority of people leave it much later and indeed don't even checkin until they get to the airport.

2. Occasionally (every few weeks) go into manage my booking and start a seat selection process. You can see a seat map, if it looks like its starting to fill up, and there are few seats that you'd like left, pay.

As said above, use seat guru (or seatexpert, another good website) to know in advance what are the good and more to the point bad, seats.

In most cases (1) is all you'll end up needing. Note that some seats are reserved for elite level frequent flyers and released at T-24, so additional "nice" seats do open up then, but you do have to be quick to snag those.

It's rare that pax in WT won't have a good choice of seats when OLCI (on line check in) opens at T-24h.

This topic has been closed to new posts due to inactivity.

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