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.

British Airways’ policy in 2026 is to attempt to seat groups on the same booking together, but it is not a guarantee unless you pay to reserve seats in advance. If you choose not to pay, BA’s automated system will allocate your seats when online check-in opens 24 hours before departure. To have the best chance of sitting together for free, you should check in the very second that 24-hour window opens. For families traveling with children under 12, BA has a specific "Family Seating Policy" where they guarantee that children will be seated with at least one adult from their group, and the system usually begins this allocation several days before the flight. However, for groups of adults on "Basic" (Hand Baggage Only) fares, the system is less generous and may split the group if the flight is nearly full. In 2026, the only way to ensure an entire large group sits in the same row is to pay the seat selection fee at the time of booking.