British Air basic economy

You can pay for seating in advance for either option.

The main difference is when check-in opens. Standard allows you to choose any seat available once check-in opens. Basic allocates a seat for you; you have to pay a fee to change seats, if available.

Hi, Beth,

I'm assuming that you'll be flying out of PHL. BA has direct flights to LHR, for your onward flight to Italy, and the sale lasts through December 3rd.

I have to say that I've never flown basic economy, mainly because I am always over for at least three weeks, so I need a suitcase for clothing and to bring back chocolate. :) From what I understand, basic economy means that you have no choice of seats - they'll put you where it's most convenient for them. With standard economy, you can pick your seat free of charge if you jump on the internet at the 24 hour preflight window.

Also basic economy means that if you change flights, you have to pay $199.00 to do so, plus the difference in fare, if there is one. With standard economy, you just pay the difference in the cost of the new fare, if there is a difference.

With both fares, you can pay to pick a seat, but that pretty much defeats the purpose of saving money by flying basic economy. Frankly, the cost of reserving a seat is not worth it, unless you want something in an exit row or bulkhead seat.

Whatever you choose, have a wonderful time in Italy!

Best wishes,

Mike (Auchterless)

If you have ruby status on a One World Partner airline, free seat selection starts 7 days in advance.

Don't feel bad about paying for seat selection on BA. Even those in business class, without FF status, have to pay extra for a seat if they want it more than 24 hours in advance.

The big question is....do you mind being assinged a middle seat for a 7 hour flight?

Google’s AI generated response to your question, “Standard Economy includes a checked bag and allows for seat selection at check-in, while Economy Basic does not include a checked bag, and seat selection is either paid for in advance or assigned for free at check-in.”

At my age I fly premium economy on British Airways for the extra legroom and slightly wider and more comfortable cushions. I still pay for a specific seat to avoid having to sit in the middle section of seats and to ensure my wife and I sit beside each other.

The basic and standard economy seats are the same and in the same cabin. In that cabin, if the person in front of you fully reclines their seat (there are inconsiderate people who do) the movie screen is difficult to watch and they’d need to raise it for meals or if someone in your row needs to get up to use the restroom. Without paying for a seat in advance somebody flying basic economy may get boarded in one of the last groups or get a seat right in front of the restroom at the back of the plane. If boarding last, there may be no available overhead bin space for the carryon bag.

We visit London yearly flying BA (BWI-LHR) and the flights are almost always completely full.

Beth -I see you are in Pennsylvania. Fi so, just an option for you to check: Are you anywhere near or likely to be flying out of Philadelphia? if so, I suggest you check what American Airlines may have going on. AA and BA codeshare, so among others it is possible that you can get flight that at least one way, likely the return, is on AA. I mention this as have done this a few times, the most recent being BA to LHR to Italy, and return direct on AA from Rome or Venice. These were bought on AA. The difference is that AA flies 787 Dreamliners, while BA uses the older 777. I find the cabin atmosphere superior on the Dreamliners, they can pressurize higher. Also, buying seats on BA is a joke, it is usually like $90 for a basic cabinet seat, while these seats on AA are $14 or $15. ALSo, the free membership in AA Advantage at least gets you up tp group 6 for boarding. Otherwise basic economy will be the same in both.

I fly basic economy because I prefer to spend the money I save on something else - nice meals, a better hotel. It's only a seat on a plane - as long as the bugger doesn't crash, that's all that bothers me.

Nick and I flew basic economy last year. It's exactly like jaimeelsabio describes. The leg room is minimal. The person in front of Nick did recline their chair and you could not see the TV screen or use the tray at all. We had to ask them to put their seat up back a bit (they did but weren't happy about it). I take the middle seat since I'm a little smaller than Nick and it is pretty uncomfortable. If memory serves, BA does not have the air vents above each seat and it got pretty stuffy. I remember fanning myself with the laminated safety card. But the cost difference between basic and premium economy is currently showing $900 more per person (for the flight we are looking at). That's a bit more than we can typically swing. So basic economy is something we just deal with for the 9 to 10-hour flight. One day we'll try to splurge on the better seats, but today is not that day! :)

I really appreciate everyone’s input here. I’m still looking online at the BA sale. AA flights don’t seem to share these sale prices. Your experience with BA has been helpful to hear as it seems like my previous AA flights.

I fly basic when it works for me. Not on BA yet, but on a few of the other carriers. Being young (68) and rather small 6 foot and about 200lbs I fit fine in the seats in economy; even when the individual in front of me is fully reclined ... better when I do the same between meals. The only problem I ever have is bending down to get my shoes back on.

Yes, they will stick you with a crummy seat. I get the impression they dont give you an avaiable seat, they give you the worst available seat to teach you a lesson. But to be honest, given my stomach and the airplane food, I like being close to the toilet. Its gotten so bad I cant eat their food and usually bring a few cans of sardines to get me through the flight (the ones in mustard).

I do check the seating plan the day prior and if it looks like a near sell out, then I buy seat. Otherwise I just get up and move after the flight leaves the ground. Either way, most of the time for some reason, the person sitting next to me will get up and move shortly after the first meal time. Dont know why. But its not uncommon that I get their asile seat and a straight run to the head.

Yes, some think I am P.W.T they just dont get that the important thing is getting on a plane I can afford and affording it as often as possible. So a few hours of something not as good as my vintage naugahyde '68 BarcaLounger isnt the end of the world. Getting to the Albanian airbnb beach resort is my only goal.

A couple of posters have confused the fare class “basic economy” with the seats at the rear of the plane. I hope you can tell the difference.