SCLflyer

Hi, I'm about to purchase a ticket for which I should leave January 2015 and return December 2015. Due to the 330 days rule, return flights are only available until the first days of october. If I book with the available dates, will the change fee will be waived when I change to my intended december return trip?

Does it make any difference if I book it through an OTA rather than BA (over the phone since the first legs are not operated by BA the webpage won't allow me to)

thanks for your help!

PS. the fare allows changes and it's not restricted to any particular season and I'm assuming that booking class will be available.

Dave Noble

You will be assessed whatever the change fee rules are for that fare

BA's limit is not 330 days ; currently dates up to the 28th October are available

SCLflyer

Thanks, since the last leg is operated by LAN I'm limited by their limit that is 330 days.

I'll try to figure out what to do.

Thanks once again

cbagent

Book directly over the phone with BA. Explain what you are wanting to do and the agent will book your inbound flight on latest available date. You will need to call again when preferred date comes in range. Your ticket will then be reissued without change fee or service fee applied although any increase in fare,taxes etc will be payable.The agent will add notes to booking to this effect.

pappap647

It's very annoying when people try to get 'one-up' on other posters on here because someone has posted something where a minor detail may be incorrect. Dave Noble, the original post has already said he wishes to return in December, so the fact he can return on October 28th because you thought the 330 day rule did not count, id not really here or there and you post did not help him in anyway. It's comments like that, that will put people off posting at all on FT.

JAXBA

+1 To booking directly with BA over the phone - the booking needs to be notated from the start that the desired return date is out of system range.

I saw too many bookings made online where customers would call in months and months later and claim that they meant to book their return a month later than they had - sometimes after their return had departed.

As soon as your intended return comes into range, call back in and rebook. Don't wait until months later!

Properly setup and noted, it's no problem at all.

Allegria

Sorry for the bump of an old post.

I'm trying to book a flight beyond the eos, 8 June 2017-5 June 2018.
Feeling about how difficult it is for something I thought would be a common request.

I emailed Singapore Airlines asking if it was possible to book a temporary return date of mid-Feb 2018 now & have a note put in the system about June return and received the following response

If the booking limit is 350 days booking tickets in the mid week of May 2017 won't help me to return in June 2018!!

Also frustrating that you can't be sure of change fees until after making the booking.

I'm now looking at British Airways flights. Does anyone know if they will still put a note in the system? The fares available on their website seem to be cheap O class tickets or a flexible ticket for twice the price. Again, can't find out change fee until after the tickets are booked.

The O class had this note in the fare conditions

JAXBA

Welcome to FT Allegria!

You still need to call BA to book, so probably best to call and ask if they still do out of system range bookings (I believe they do but have no recent experience). The agent you speak to can advise what the change fee is for any changes after the first one.

Please don't try and book online if you need the return out of system range.

Allegria

Thanks Jaxba for the welcome & the advice. I'll call them today. Got sick of all the mucking about last night (I've spent ages researching/stressing over flight options ) & went to book online. Luckily there was an error & my payment didn't go through.

Another question please..

The return flight is BA LHR-HKG & then Cathay Pacific (BA flight code on booking) HKG-BNE.

BA has economy baggage of 23kg checked & 23kg cabin (I can only lift about 15kg so won't go that heavy but may need more than 7kg)

CX is 30kg checked & 7kg cabin.

Am I likely to run into problems taking a cabin bag over 7kg onto the CX flight? The rules about codeshare baggage only mention checked baggage (so I assume I'll only get 23kg). Should I ask that the bag is not checked through & do some repacking at HKG?
If I end up with lots to bring home I'll probably book an additional bag & travel light on board.

Globaliser

On this specific point, it may be worth remembering that the BA allowance is not 23 kg, but 1 piece (which may weigh up to 23 kg). If you want to check two bags each weighing 10 kg, you have to pay extra for the second bag even though the total weight is less than 23 kg.

However, I think that you are right that the BA allowance will govern the whole LHR-HKG-BNE journey because the airline operating LHR-HKG is the "most significant carrier".

On cabin baggage, the advice (which may reflect the rules) is that each airline applies its own limits, so you have to conform to the most restrictive limit. In this case, that would be CX's limit.

Allegria

Success!!

I called the Australian BA number, and a lovely guy booked me onto the flights I had found online. Yes they still permit one free change to the booking when the date is outside the system. (Fare & tax differences still applicable)
Only extra cost was $40 service centre fee, well worth it!

Additional changes for this ticket class are permitted & would cost $150AUD. Still much cheaper than Singapore & the BA flight was $150 cheaper than them too.

Thanks Globaliser, I did see that it was 1 piece X 23kg. That was the thing swaying me to Singapore - 30kg able to be split up. I think I'll have more bulk rather than weight coming back.

I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. ^

sxc

Technically you will only get 7kg cabin allowance, but in reality CX rarely weighs cabin bags. You just have to make sure the bag is within cabin baggage dimensions.

itsmeitisss

And don't do what I once did at ICN directly in front of the security weight monitors. I was with (a very pretty) colleague and encouraged her to try and lift my hand luggage. I had the Homer simpson D'oh moment, the moment I asked her. As when I walked to security I was asked to weigh the case. I was told that if my airline accepted the weight, they would allow it. Thankfully AY allowed it and gave it the approved tag even though it was over their weight allowance...

Australian and NZ airports will often ask to weigh carry on bags that look heavy at the entrance to security.