We recommend that you reserve your seat as early as possible to get the one you want and to avoid sitting separately from your family or friends.
You may be able to reserve seats for free or have to pay, depending on your circumstances. The easiest way to check is using Manage My Booking.
It's easy to do, either at the time of booking your flight or afterwards through Manage My Booking.
If you have an existing booking, follow these simple steps:
Whether seat selection is free or extra depends on a number of factors, including the type of ticket you purchase, your class of travel and your personal circumstances.
On hand baggage only (Basic) fares, choosing your seat is always extra. For all other flights, if you fall into one of the following groups, choosing your seat may be free.
If you have a booking, the easiest way to check if it’s free or extra is in Manage My Booking. Follow the instructions above to choose your seat and we will tell you whether you have to pay or not.
Seats in our First cabin are always free to reserve from the time of booking.
Members of the Executive Club and other oneworld frequent flyers are able to reserve seats at different stages, depending on their tier.
| Tier | Seat selection |
| Gold/oneworld Emerald | Free seat selection from the time of booking for everyone in your booking and friends and family on other bookings, who are travelling with you in the same travel class and on the same flight*. |
| Silver/oneworld Sapphire | Free seat selection from the time of booking for everyone in your booking*. |
| Bronze/oneworld Ruby | Free seat selection from seven days before departure for everyone in your booking*. |
Tickets with increased flexibility allow you to make certain changes to the date and time of your flight. They also include free seat selection:
You choose your flexibility when you buy your flights. If you’re not sure what type of ticket you have, you can follow the instructions under 'How to reserve your seat' and we'll tell you whether you have to pay or not.
To get the best choice of seats and make sure your family sits together, it’s best to reserve your seats in advance, for which you might have to pay.
If you don’t reserve your seats in advance, we’ll do our best to seat your family together a few days before your flight departs. However, the seat selection may be limited at that time and your seats may be split across different rows or the aisle. We will make sure each child under 12 years sits next to an adult from your booking but children over 12 years are booked as an adult in our system and may sit separately.
Seats are free when you travel with an infant, (under 2 years) who won't be travelling in a seat of their own. You can choose a seat for you and everyone in your booking, free of charge, as soon as you've made your booking (except for bookings of over 9 people).
There's no charge for reserving your seat if you have a specific seating requirement because of your disability. In most cases, you can select your seat using Manage My Booking but sometimes you may need to contact us, e.g. for some types of developmental impairment.
This is what you need to do:
Find out about disability assistance
When you travel as a group, we’ll allocate your seats free of charge. While we will try to seat your group together, we cannot always guarantee it, particularly if your group travel is split across separate bookings.
To ensure your group is seated together, or if you would like specific seats, you can pay to reserve your seats in advance (for groups booked in the UK and Ireland only). Please contact us for more information.
If you haven’t already chosen your seat, you can do so when you check in, from 24 hours before departure.
This is free except on Basic (hand baggage only) fares, although your choice may be limited and a fee may still apply to exit row seats on long haul flights.
If you are travelling on a Basic fare, we’ll allocate you a seat at check-in and you can choose an alternative seat for a fee.
You can claim a refund for a seat which you’ve paid to reserve, if we are unable to offer you that seat or a suitable alternative, when you board your flight.
The reason for this is that there may be an aircraft change for operational, safety or security reasons, even after you have boarded the aircraft, so we cannot guarantee your reserved seat.
Seating changes and refundsBulkhead seats are usually reserved for people with infants (under 2) as this is where the fold-down cot tables are positioned, so you may not be able to reserve these if you are not travelling with an infant.
Bulkhead seats are usually reserved for people with infants (under 2) as this is where the fold-down cot tables are positioned, so you may not be able to reserve these if you are not travelling with an infant.
If you sit near the centre of the plane, you don't feel the effects of turbulence as much.
Turbulence is quite normal during a flight, but it can leave some people feeling anxious, so choose your seat early near the centre of the plane and rest assured that you'll have a more comfortable flight.
Does the thought of getting on an aircraft leave you in a cold sweat? Have you been putting off a holiday abroad because you don't want to fly? Or are you scared of flying, but you don't know why? The Flying with Confidence course can help you come to terms with all these fears, so you can make the first step towards your long awaited trip of a lifetime.