TheInternationalLine

[Update 2/6/12: I called back this evening and got a helpful agent on the BAEC line. She admitted the charges weren't normal, and contacted the ticketing desk. She came back and said I was overcharged due to a computer glitch the night I had booked, and the overage (everything over $10) would be credited back to my card. Issue resolved.]

I booked a simple award flight over the phone because ba.com wasn't working properly. The flights were GRR-DFW-LAS, LAS-ORD-GRR in March. The agent quoted 29,500 avios plus $77.87, then deducted the $25 booking fee due to the website issues. Total charged to my card was $52.87.

Eticket recept:
Fare Details USD 0.00 + Tax/Fee/Charge USD 52.87 = USD 52.87

I can't find any further breakout of the taxes/fees. Shouldn't this be a $10 ticket ($2.50 x 4 domestic segments)? Where did the other $32.87 come from?

guv1976

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.601 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

That's a very good question. Suggest you ask it of the company that charged it to your credit card.

Git-er-dun

I just tried to book an award flight with Adios points in J. LAX to NRT.
BA showed partner flight AA 169 and AA 170 return for 100K Adios Points and $667 taxes, fees, surcharges, and corporate greed. On the other hand, the AA website showed the exact same flight with only $53 in fees.
BA Adios has turned into a garbage program.

HIDDY

Sooner you Adios the better then. ^

Happy

Even before the Avios change, BA charges YQ on AA international flights.

Use the Avios for the short haul domestic or international, you would be much happier. Though you would still need to watch like a hawk on the taxes BA charges such as the OP of this thread realized that BA charged some apparently erroneous taxes again - this time the route is 100% domestic so there cannot be any such garbage argument on the International facility fee when Canada or Caribbeans are involved despite charging the international facility fee is a clear violation of the IRS rules when no YQ is charged, BA continues to charge the erroneous tax. Who knows if BA would ever remit those taxes to the US government?

clacko

aa.com showed ~ $44 in ticks & fleas for your trip, wed-wed in feb thru dfw & ord on the 2 days...

lancefan

And out of the 2 airlines, which one filed for bankruptcy protection

Git-er-dun

The way you blindly defend the Adios program, one might assume that you own stock in the company.
Nevertheless, if you want to defend it go ahead. If you want to make it personal against me, go ahead.
However, I will not "sooner you adios the better then"
I will continue to pound away on the BA Adios program because it is defective. Not so long ago, BA had a very good program. That is not the case now.

Git-er-dun

BA Adios does have a few good points. A partner award LAX to HNL is 25K adios points. So, as a short haul domestic program it has value. Nevertheless, I signed up for and use the program for Long Haul.

guv1976

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.601 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

Is that on a revenue booking, or on an award booking? Certain taxes/fees apply to revenue bookings that do [I]not[/b] apply to award bookings. Historically, BA has only charged $2.50 per segment on AA domestic redemptions.

FlyerChrisK

It really depends when you plan to travel. LAX-HNL prices can be pretty good outside of the summer (during which finding AA saver availability can be hard anyways, so getting a good savings out of it is harder).

It's the one-way hops that the airlines would gouge for (contrast nonstop one-way prices for say, NYC-DFW [which I just booked earlier today with a stop for substantial cost savings] for the number of Avios points required).

tom911

I did a test award booking GRR-LAS with a connecting flight in each direction and the total taxes on AA.com were $10.

TheInternationalLine

I called back to ask about the extra taxes and they said that AA charges taxes and fuel surcharges for all flights and they can't do anything about it, and they can't give me the breakout of the taxes charged. They also said they would not transfer me to a supervisor (our supervisors don't take calls), and my only option is to pay $40 to cancel the whole reservation.

Thanks, BA. Really appreciate the stellar customer service experience.

guv1976

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.601 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/417)

Price the trip on ba.com when it is working, and if the fees total only $10.00, take screen shots, call BAEC back and offer to send them the screen shots, and insist that they refund the overage. If they refuse, I suggest that you send a private message (with your BA record locator) to the BAEC rep on FlyerTalk and ask for her assistance, and/or contact the Ombudsman service at Condé Nast Traveler magazine. If you do not get satisfaction, consider filing a complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation and/or filing a complaint in small claims court (if you have the time and inclination). If enough people started hauling BA into court over these shenanigans, at least some lawyers would have to take a look at these situations, and maybe -- just maybe -- BA would stop doing stuff like this.

Things are really getting out of hand with BA. First, they start charging U.S. international arrival and departure taxes on certain "free" international award tickets for which no fuel surcharges are imposed (and for which no U.S. international and departure taxes are due); then they start charging phantom fees on phone redemptions that do not appear when the same itinerary is booked at ba.com. When asked, they provide no explanation for either practice, other than the rank falsehood that AA imposes fuel surcharges on all of its flights.

Outrageous.

TheInternationalLine

As of February 5, nearly a month later, BA customer service has yet to reply to my polite inquiry asking for the excess fees to be removed and/or explained (I have a case number, but no one ever wrote back). Consistent with their phone responses, BA seems to be taking an "ignore the customer" approach rather than trying to resolve the issue.

Thanks for the recommendations in this thread.

Has anyone else experienced extra fees on domestic AA awards?