BA backwards facing seats & skyscanner

Jude13

Hi all,

Has anyone had the experience of the backwards facing seats on BA long haul? I just booked two tickets home for Christmas ( hate flying) and am going to try and avoid these seats as i think it would be weird taking off backwards. However, they are the only seats together and I am flying with my partner.

Another thing, I booked them through skyscanner just now and called BA to confirm the booking was made however they don't' have me on the flight. Does it take a while to go through? I have never booked through a site like that but it was considerably cheaper.

Cheers for any replies, the flights not till mid December and im already in a tizzy.

The J Stands for Jay

If it's the rear facing seat in Business Class, I'd highly recommend it.

Jude13

Yeah it is. Seems very strange though. It may sound stupid but would you not fall forward during take off?

Crumbs868

You dont actually book through skyscanner and you have no contract with skyscanner, they re-direct you to the website which is selling the ticket (eg expedia, BA etc), what was the name of the website which you made your booking with?

Jude13

You're dead right it was airtickets24.com

I am just worried that when I type in the booking ref for manage bookings on the BA site nothing comes up. Ditto when I rang.

I want to try and avoid the backwards seats. I also haven't gone through T1 in ages, hope its Christmassy when we arrive.

L1011

And some sites skyscanner shows are extremely unreliable (edreams for one). Who did you book through?

Jude13

I just rang the website and they said that I will have the ticket within 24 hours then I can change my seat etc. Im a panicer.

Excited about being home for Christmas now. I think I wil get two aisle seats if available for the two of us, the backwards ones just don't sit right.

steve-o

FYI, if you want to choose seats ahead of check-in, BA will charge you through the nose for the privilege.

Jude13

Will they put myself and my partner together without selecting the seats? Surely on business class they do't charge you?

arubex

I found rear-facing seats to be quite comfortable ( on 111s a few times ), take-off felt slightly odd but was actually quite fun because you're looking back and down at the ground rather than up into the clouds.

No real difference in-flight but landing is splendid, you're nicely cushioned in your seat whilst everyone else is flopping forward with the decelerations.

And you feel slightly smug because you're in the safest seats on the aircraft.

Jude13

Safest? I like the sound of that.

41.6 OMR to select a seat each! 80 euro approx. not a chance.

Stillnotworking

Jude13 wrote: »

Will they put myself and my partner together without selecting the seats? Surely on business class they do't charge you?

It was €66, per seat, per leg, in business. If your bronze you can book 7 days in advance for free, if silver or gold you can book them at time of booking.

I was reluctant about the rear facing seats initially but like them now.

Jude13

Im just a new member. I usually fly Etihad however they were 800 euro each more expensive so I decided BA for a change.

Thought that booking a business seat would at least mean I can select my seat for free. should have read the small print. It only matter to me as I am flying with my partner and I want to avoid the backwards seats.

Marcusm

Jude13 wrote: »

Hi all,

Has anyone had the experience of the backwards facing seats on BA long haul? I just booked two tickets home for Christmas ( hate flying) and am going to try and avoid these seats as i think it would be weird taking off backwards. However, they are the only seats together and I am flying with my partner.

Another thing, I booked them through skyscanner just now and called BA to confirm the booking was made however they don't' have me on the flight. Does it take a while to go through? I have never booked through a site like that but it was considerably cheaper.

Cheers for any replies, the flights not till mid December and im already in a tizzy.

You're talking about Club World on BA. The seats (which convert to a 6'4" bed) are in a yin-yang combination recognising that they can squeeze more in if passengers frly nose to tail - your body is carrot shaped (wider at the shoulders and narrower at the ankles).

Before commenting any further, it's probably worth noting that over the last 10 years or so, I have prbably had 70-80 sectors in this type (incl its predecessor) on B767, B772, B773 and B744 aircraft. I have yet to try it on the A380.

If you're travelling in a pair, this layout is probably the best as it's much easier to chat and communicate face to face than side by side. If you're flying solo, there is a black out screen (less effective on the original model - called NCW - on the 763 aircraft) which means you're private.

Flying backwards is not an issue and you'd not notice it except when looking out the windows. Generally, window seats face rearwards and aisle seats face forwards. The only exception is a pair of rear facing seats int he middle of the 777 and 744 cabins. These form a nice double bed but are to be voided unless you are very close to your seat mate.

Many people criticise BA's layout as window passengers need to step over the aisle passenger in the row behind to get out. If you're the sort of person who's up and down lots of time during the flight it's a bit of a hassle. Otherwise it's making a mountain out of a molehill.

IMO, best combos for this seat layout are on a 744 upper deck, either 62AB/JK or 64AB/JK.

As they say, YMMV.