dreamrider1

I am new to this site and having major frustration with trying to get ticketing information from BA. It seems impossible to get hold of someone who can actually speak English and all I get is rote answers to my questions without any resolution. So, Im putting this question out there in the hope some experienced travelers out there can ease my stress. I am scheduled to fly DFW to LHR on 1/27 returning on 2/20. The return flight was changed a month ago but still hasn't been ticketed or money taken out of my account and I am unable to access any seating plans through My Booking so have doubts that I will be able to check in online.

Does anyone know if this is normal practice and if I should be concerned? Any info would be helpful. Thanks so much.

Globaliser

Welcome to FT, dreamrider1!Yes, it is normal for ticketing not to take place straight away, and re-issues are dealt with using priority that depends on how far away your flights are.

As your first flight is now only three days away, I think that I would be making that phone call to ask for it to be chased, or to find out if anything has gone wrong.

dreamrider1

thanks for your response. I have tried calling multiple times but reach an overseas call centre where I am given rote replies of "it will be done 24-48 hrs before". I used to be able to speak to someone in the UK but seems all calls are routed to India now.

Anonba

There are still uk call centres... the other call centre saying will happen in 24/48 hrs isnt correct. There isnt a set time for it to happen because in a sense it depends on demand ie how many bookings there are to action and what dates they are for. I have seen some reissues take as long as up to 24 prior to flight. I would wait patiently and if you havent had email or etkt doesnt show updated on manage my booking few hours before online check in is going to open then call up!

All opinions are my own and dont represent ba or iag***

dreamrider1

Who would you suggest I call? I am in the US and get routed to the indian call centre everytime I try. Do you have the UK number by any chance?

T8191

Do any of the numbers listed at this link help?
http://www.britishairways.com/travel...out_Country=GB

Although I have noticed that, even in UK, weekend calls often end up routed to India.

greg5

Try twitter. I find the twitter team to be pretty responsive. They're great as I'm in Switzerland, and they respond when Bremen is closed (which is pretty much any time I'm not working).

corporate-wage-slave

Welcome to Flyertalk dreamrider1, and welcome to the BA Forum. Thanks for joining us here, and I hope we will see more of you in the future. So welcome on board, it's good to see you here.

For starters, if you genuinely struggle to make out what is being said at a call centre, just say "I'm sorry, I am struggling with your accent, can you transfer me to another agent please?" - some call centre agents are a little tricky to make out, others speak English very clearly, indeed it's their mother tongue.

Secondly, if you are within 48 hours of departure, I think you can reasonably request to stay on the line until the ticket has been issued. It doesn't normally take long, and though agents are very much discouraged from calling the ticketing unit, there are times when there is no alternative. The service centre agents will know that OLCI starts at T-24, and that if you can't check in then it can lead to substantial problems at the airport. Now, I'm not sure I would recommend this, but if you are not ticketed, and turn up at the airport, it would then be the airport agents' job to resolve it. However the outcome is somewhat uncertain, so it's best avoided.

Thirdly, if you don't think your call has been properly handled, in your BAEC login in the Help and Contact section in black at the foot of the page, you should see a separate telephone number for Customer Relations. This is marked "post-travel" but if your complaint is about an agent's inability to be understood then this number can be used.

Finally, unfortunately the Twitter process does give results, whether we like it or not!

dreamrider1

Thank you all so much for your input, I am still waiting for the elusive ticketing and will call again tomorrow if its not there.

Just out of curiosity does anyone know if the ticketing is an automated process or whether an actual human is involved?

JAXBA

In your case, ticket issue is waiting on one of a team of humans to get your booking in their work queue.

Speedbird876

I often wonder about these people.

Don't they just press a few keys on their computer and couldn't that be automated?

Anyway, I picture them reviewing, snootily, everyone's tickets:

Economy to SYD, uggh!

Another TP run to HNL

Sale fare: cheapskate

etc etc

greg5

I picture the office in question full of desks with file folders stacked atop 3 feet deep.

The last time I had a nightmarish ticket that kept on getting screwed up. Finally, the checkin desk agent on my return trip was able to get things hammered out.

Pandra

I am waiting for a ticket to be reissued for 4 February, when I phoned this morning was told they get 9,000 a day to be processed, hence the delay! So yes reckon the files must be really stacked up and the desks heaving

T8191

Why, I honestly wonder, do I never seem to have the issues?

Am I one of BA's chosen Executive Club members? Apart from the occasional OLCI hiccup, everything has been plain sailing for the last 15 years.

I have sympathy for those who hit brick walls ... I have no answer, apart from phoning BA.

windowontheAside

How often do you change your tickets, T8192?