Booking extra seats

Content in this page

• Terms and conditions
• Keywords
• Requesting extra seats
• Pricing guidelines
• Fare calculation and construction
• Ticketing instructions

Terms and conditions

• Extra seats can only be booked on the following carriers: British Airways, BA Cityflyer, BA Euroflyer, or Loganair.
• Extra seats must be purchased at a published fare, or at the minimum applicable fare if lower.
• If any part of the journey includes travel on another airline, the extra seat must be booked separately. Each airline follows its own policy and requires a separate PNR.
• Extra seats must be booked at least 48 hours prior to scheduled departure.
• When booking an extra seat, do not add a customer title (Mr/Mrs/etc.).
• Seating will be assigned once the special service request is confirmed. For cabin baggage seat (CBBG) bookings, the extra seat will always be a window seat next to the customer’s seat. 

Important: Booking extra seats does not increase the standard baggage allowance. Although each extra seat can take a maximum of 50kg (diplomatic baggage weight (DIPB) excluded), any excess versus the standard baggage allowance will have to be paid for separately.

NDC Bookings: Service capability not currently available via API.

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Keywords

Permitted reasons for booking an extra seat:

• Personal comfort: adjacent seat remains unoccupied.
• Carriage of large or high-value items: examples include musical instruments, wedding dress, artwork, or diplomatic baggage.

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Requesting extra seats

Cabin baggage seat (CBBG) bookings

• CBBG, including Diplomatic Baggage (DIPB), can be booked in all cabins. However, in Club World and First, the extra seat may be positioned in front of or behind the customer, rather than adjacent. The customer must be advised accordingly at the time of booking.
• Multiple CBBG seats can be booked together only in Premium Economy and Economy cabins.
• If a single item exceeds the size limits for one seat (e.g., a large painting), a maximum of three seats can be allocated together. In such cases, the booking must be made in the Economy cabin only, due to aircraft layout constraints.

Extra seat for personal comfort (EXST)

• In Economy cabins on short-haul and selected long-haul aircraft, an EXST provides additional seat width.
• In Premium Economy, due to fixed armrests, an extra seat provides adjacent space only, with no increase in seat width.
• EXST is not available in Club World or First cabins.
• Refer to Seating | Information | British Airways for full details on cabin configurations and restrictions.

Requesting extra seats at time of booking (no PNR created)

• When an extra seat is requested at the time of initial booking, it must be included in the same PNR.
• Use your GDS instructions to add the extra seat and include the mandatory SSR code (e.g., SSR CBBG or SSR EXST).
• Clearly state the reason for the request and provide any supporting details required for approval and processing.
• Example SSR entry:
  SSR CBBG – CELLO 12 KGS H X W X L CMS

Adding extra seats after the original booking has been made

• Request the extra seat within the existing PNR using the SSR code BULK.
• Clearly state the reason for the extra seat and include all supporting details, such as item description, weight, and dimensions.
• Example SSR entry:
  SSR BULK BA - Guitar 4KGS 100x40x30CM

Diplomatic Baggage (DIPB) instructions

When booking an extra seat for diplomatic baggage, ensure the following:

• Include the appropriate SSR code (e.g., SSR CBBG or SSR BULK) in the booking.
• Use the below keyword in the booking remarks or free text field to support identification and handling
• Example SSR entry:
  SSR CBBG BA- DIPB CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS
  SSR BULK BA- DIPB CONFIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS

GDS entry for Diplomatic Baggage

Request handling and ticketing information

• We aim to respond to all extra seat requests within 24 hours.
• Once confirmed, the PNR will be updated to include an OSI BA TCP element, referencing the new PNR created for the additional seat.
  Note: This information will be accessible only to British Airways offices.
• The charge for the extra seat should be collected on the ticket as a Q surcharge.

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Pricing guidelines

New booking

• Extra seat price is collected on the ticket as a Q charge.
• The charge for the additional seat is based on the fare paid by the customer, excluding taxes, fees, carrier charges, and Distribution Technology Charge (DTC).
• A minimum charge applies:
  • £40 for short-haul routes
  • £300 for long-haul routes
• One-way journeys are permitted for long-haul only, charged at 75% of the applicable one-way fare, subject to the £300 minimum.

Adding an extra seat to an existing booking using SSR BULK

• Extra seat price is collected on the ticket as a Q charge.
• When an additional seat is requested in an existing PNR, the charge is based on the selling class in which the extra seat is held and the commercially available fare on the date of fare confirmation, excluding taxes, fees, carrier charges and DTC.
• Minimum charge applies:
  • £40 for short-haul routes
  • £300 for long-haul routes
• For long-haul one-way segments, charge 75% of the applicable one-way fare, with the £300 minimum still applicable.

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Fare calculation and construction

When an extra seat (EXST) is booked, the fare must be manually calculated and adjusted. It is essential to use NUCs and Q surcharges correctly and ensure all mandatory ticket elements are applied in accordance with fare construction rules.

Key points:

• Extra seat fare must not be lower than the base fare for the same segment.
• DTC which is reflected as a Q surcharge on the ticket, applies only to the base fare and is already included in the ticket.  It must not be charged for the extra seat.
• Always confirm the fare calculation ladder before adding extra seat charges.

Example: Round-trip extra seat

Itinerary: LON – NYC – LON
Base fare: £230 (includes DTC)
Extra seat: £300 (excluding DTC) – longhaul minimum charge

Process:

1. Convert £300 to NUCs → 379 NUC
2. For round-trip, divide by 2 → 189.50 NUC each way
3. Add Q189.50 to both outbound and inbound sectors

Original fare calculation: LON BA NYC Q16.43 214.87BA LON Q16.43 42.97NUC290.70END
Updated fare calculation with extra seat: LON BA NYC Q16.43 Q189.50 214.87BA LON Q16.43 Q189.50 42.97NUC669.70END

Example: One-way trip extra seat 

Itinerary: LON – NYC – LON 

Extra seat: NYC-LON only 

Process:

1. Check JFK–LHR one-way fare = £1102

2. Apply 75% = £826.50 for the extra seat

3. Convert £826.50 to NUCs → 1353.55 NUC
4. Add Q1353.55 to the return leg only

Original fare calculation: LON BA NYC Q16.43 357.01BA LON Q16.43 274.31NUC664.18END ROE0.610616 XF JFK4.5
Updated fare calculation with extra seat: LON BA NYC Q16.43 357.01BA LON Q16.43 Q1353.55 274.31NUC2017.73END ROE0.610616 XF JFK4.5

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Ticketing instructions

Please adhere strictly to the following guidelines:

Only one ticket should be issued per passenger, including the extra seat.

Fare Construction:

• Add the extra seat cost as a Q surcharge in the fare calculation ladder, applying it per direction as necessary.
• Do not include a Distribution Technology Charge (DTC) for the extra seat.
• Total base fare must equal the sum of the passenger fare plus the extra seat fare, excluding taxes and fees.
  
  Total base fare = Passenger fare + Extra seat fare (excluding taxes and fees)

Fare Basis Designator:

• Use the correct 2-letter designators to indicate the reason for the extra seat:
  • EX = Extra seat for comfort
  • CB = Extra seat for cabin baggage
• Add the designator to the fare basis, either after a space or a slash ( / ).
  • Examples: SXB2F1/CB or SXB2F1 CB
• For BULK seats, apply EX or CB as appropriate. Do not use "BULK" as a designator.

Endorsement Box:

• Include a clear comment stating the reason for the Q surcharge.
• Example: FE NONREFUNDABLE/RESTRICTIONS APPLY/Q SURCHARGE FOR 1 X CBBG

Example

1TEST/TEST

1 OLHR BA 173   S 02OCT1140 OK SXWUKJB/CB   O   02OCT02OCT 1PC

2 JFK    ARNK

3 OLAX BA 282   Q 23OCT1545 OK QKX7F1M4/CB   O   23OCT23OCT 1PC

LHR

/FC LON BA NYC Q190.98 Q16.55 139.41 /-LAX BA LON Q190.98 Q16.55 96.13 NUC650.60END ROE0.785408 

FE NONREFUNDABLE/RESTRICTIONS APPLY/Q SURCHARGE FOR 1 X CBBG

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