BA passengers claim carrier is punishing families who don’t pay to reserve seating by spacing them out
Families and groups of friends say they are now being split up if they don't pay extra to reserve a seat
BRITISH Airways passengers are furious with the airline after they were forced to pay up to sit next to family and friends.
The news comes just weeks after Ryanair passengers was accused of punishing passengers who don’t pay for reserved seating by spacing them through the cabin.
Customers who have bought a "Basic" BA fare - a hand luggage only ticket - and want to guarantee sitting together on a BA flight now have to pay £7 each on short haul flights.
Those who choose to buy the 'Plus' fare that includes a 23kg bag in the hold don't have to pay to select seating.
Customers who have bought the cheap "Basic"ticket are most likely to be seated apart though, as the computer system randomly allocates seats to every ticket that isn't a "Plus" fare or higher.
One passenger called Symth C on Twitter said: "Checked in online with seats for me, my wife and our six- month-old baby, arrived at airport and you'd changed our seats to separate us as family."
One passenger who was flying with BA called said: "We managed to check in using their app. We have seats in different rows on different sides of the plane."
A BA spokesperson told Sun Online: "Customers travelling on a standard economy ticket receive a free 23kg baggage allowance and can choose their seat for free 24 hours before their flight.
"Our basic fares, which are available on domestic and short-haul flights, offer great value to customers who don't wish to check-in a bag or pre-select their seat before the flight [and] where possible, customers on the same booking are automatically seated together.
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"A few days before online check-in opens we do our best to seat families together for free. We will always make sure than any children under 12 are seated with an adult from their group."
Last month, the Sun Online reported that couples and people travelling in groups on Ryanair had been complaining that they were being split up throughout the aircraft instead of lumped together.
Each person who didn’t pay to reserve a seat said they were placed in the dreaded middle seat – at opposite ends of the cabin to their friends or family.
The new reports about BA's behaviour is one of a string of negative stories about the airline in recent months.
In March, it was revealed that British Airways would soon be offering less legroom than Ryanair on some flights.
Then in late May, the airline’s check-in and operational systems crashed on Saturday and saw thousands of people trying to travel on Bank Holiday weekend left stranded.
The company is now preparing for a two-week strike by cabin crew, which is due to start this weekend.