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Hi all! My friend and I are buying Zed Fare tickets on BA to fly from LHR to Cape Town in April. I've never purchased a Zed Fare ticket--can anyone give any advice?
Do we need to check in 4 hours early, so that we're at the top of the list? Of course we'd love first or business, but I don't know if British Airways upgrades non-employees and their registered companions. Any advice on Zed fares would be appreciated.
Thanks all!
Jacy...as ever...on the fly
OAL is always bottom of list for nonrev on zeds
doubt BA upgrades for any OAL
zeds are typically limited to coach but you have to check your agreement terms w/BA
I think upgrades depend on the individual agent working the flight.
However, I have been upgraded 2 of 3 segments on BA and all with Zed tickets....
Jacy,
When you check-in on BA does not affect your position in the onload list .. it is based on the priority we assign to your type of ticket and your date of joining / date of listing. You need to list in advance for all BA flights at idtravel.ba.com.
You must check-in using the self-service machines prior to going to the baggage drop.
If you are with American then rather than a simple ZED ticket you should be getting a ZED under the OneWorld agreement which will give you a higher priority on BA than non-OneWorld OAL staff.
CPT is normally a heavily booked route and so I would suggest that also get tickets on BA to/from JNB and then to/from JNB to CPT on Comair ( a BA subsidary covered by the BA interline agreement ).
In general BA will upgrade OAL if required ( rather than as a matter of course ) for them to travel rather than leave them behind but obviously our own staff come ahead on the list so with a popular route like CPT I would be surprised if you manage to get an upgrade but you can always hope...
Hi Paul!
So are you saying I need to list myself asap, so that I am the first of my status in the queue?
Now, I was told by someone who has non-revved on BA in the past, that there's a lot of paperwork, and waiting in a non-rev room for your code to appear on some screen, and then checking in at that point, and that it was a huge hassle. Is that no longer the procedure? Please say no.
We have an 8-hour layover at LHR before our flight. Is there a non-rev lounge or anything else to do around there? Someone suggested we take a bus to Windsor for lunch. Suggestions?
Thanks for all your great info! I really appreciate it.
-Jacy
Jacy,
I'd list as soon as you know what flights you are using .. it can't but help.
At T5 you check-in at the self service machines the same as commercial pax. If there are seats openly available at that time then you will be accepted and given seat numbers otherwise you will be checked-in to standby ... in eother case you then go to a baggage drop desk to get your bags tagged.
If you have been seated then your bags will be sent down the chutes and then you can go airside.
If on standby then you hold on to your tagged bags and wait for the flight to be closed at about STD -40. At closeout you need to go to what you called the 'non-rev' room. In there you will see screens for each flight that is due to depart and on that screen a list of all the standby PNR codes and if you have been onloaded, not onloaded or occasionally that you need to See Agent ( normally if its a jumpseat or group split ) and then follow the instructions given on the screen ... normally to go to the manned check-in area next door to collect you boarding pass and get you bags sent down the chute.
You then need to go straight to airside because if you are not through security by conformance time ( STD -30 ) you will be offloaded.
If you have supplied a mobile number in your listing you will get a text at closeout to say if you are on or not and then you go to the room.
Its generally not daunting and quite a slick process.
Although its a fantastic building theres not a lot to do while waiting at T5. Certainly no non-rev lounge ( if only ).
You can easily get to Windsor in less that an hour by direct bus from T5 .. you can find timings and details here ...http://www.travelinesoutheast.org.uk
if time is more constrained you could get a pub lunch and one of the small villages around Heathrow most of which you can get to by bus
Okay, I get it now.
Now, I was planning on calling AA's ticketing desk to list us, so I hope that's sufficient. I'm not sure how to work idtravel.ba.com. It's asking me for info that I don't have.
If we decide to leave the airport, how early before the flight would you recommend we check ourselves in? Could we check in before we leave the airport so that when we get back we can just wait patiently for seats? Would there be a place to leave our check-in bags?
Thanks again.
Unfortunately you must now use idtravel.ba.com otherwise you may be unable to check-in.
It shouldn't ask for any info that you don't have access to.
There is a left luggage store at T5 where you can leave your bags but they do charge GBP 8 per item per 24 hrs or part thereof. You should be able to check-in as soon as you arrive ( early morning I assume ) and hopefully if seats are available drop your bags off at that time BUT you may be put to standby if you TELL them you are leaving the airport.
rgds
The standby page is asking me for a ticket number. Aren't I creating a listing to receive a ticket number?
No .. the ticket number is printed on the physical ticket that you have obtained from AA ... it is a 13 digit number beginning 001 in the case of AA and is normall at the bottom center of the ticket. What you will obtain from the BA site is a 6 character PNR .. often called a booking reference.
Okay, so I do still need to contact AA ticketing desk. That's what I was wondering. I haven't done that yet, but I will ASAP. Thanks for all of your help.
-Jacy