dylanks

I think it's better to err on the side of giving the poster the benefit of the doubt and not assume that their story doesn't add up, as that quickly derails the discussion and doesn't help either the OP or anyone reading this later.

To the OP, it would help to know the full fare code for the ticket to know what to suggest.

orbitmic

I'm sorry to confirm bad news, but none of those ideas are good ideas and none will work. There is nothing to plead for, this would be the typical case for flexibility or for some particularly broad travel insurance policies, but in the present case, they are wholly unrealistic, and as such, by even considering them, your relative is merely wasting time that would be better used considering his/her preferred best choices between actual options which are:

1) Stick to their original ticket, do as much as they can for the relative during that time and accept that they will not be there on the day of the intervention;

2) Miss the departure to stay and book another flight back (if avios poor and buying cash, it may be cheaper to buy a return from there than a one way although if the £250 ow others quote is still there I doubt it can be bettered);

3) Cancel his/her ticket altogether to get some taxes back and use that towards buying a new Y return from Europe on the dates your relative actually wants to fly.

I know this is not the answer that you want, but it genuinely aims to help because for 2) and 3) the earlier your relative realises the reality of the situation the least expensive new tickets will be. The more (s)he waits hoping for something which is just not going to happen, the more costly the new ticket will be.

henkybaby

If there is one thing about BA that I do like, it is their customer service. I am lucky in the sense that I never have had to deal with India, so maybe I am biased. I actually agree with junebug3 that it can't hurt to try but you need to be able to find the right agent....

They have allowed me to change an unchangeable ticket (new route and date), without me needing to provide one iota of evidence. They did charge a change fee but considering the circumstances that was still a great deal.

On another occasion they allowed a date change (and I was welcomed with a much appreciated upgrade and a friendly word from the CSD) on a ticket with multiple carriers on it (125 with BA and CX).

Up till today I have never heard a 'no can do' from the BA customer service team and I have sang their praise many times here. Just ask kindly, don't expect or use some kind of logic making it sound like you deserve it and make sure that you speak to the right person.

In my case all tickets were changed after the outbound was flown (this is apparently a thing) and all tickets were bought directly from BA.

orbitmic

Could I ask how recent your experiences are? Bear in mind that BA has changed a lot in the last two years, and that has affected back office at least as much as onboard, and particularly customer relations (which admittedly won't be involved here as this is pre-flight).

And the thing is: it does cost to ask. The OP has been told that BA won't touch the ticket because it was booked through a third party, and that won't change for another 10 days or so. By that time, the cheap fares available to the OP's relative right now to travel on the exact dates they want may well not be available any more.

henkybaby

Late 2014 and early 2015...

orbitmic

Other times, I'm afraid... Don't take me wrong, acts of generosity are still possible but they are much rarer.

Also did you have status at the time? Did you fly them regularly? I'm GGL/CCR and fly BA a great deal, so sure they are sometimes nicer to me than rules dictate, but it would be very naïve to think that they treat regular passengers the same, I know from may family members that they don't.

henkybaby

I was Gold for 10 years. Close to 2500 TP per year for most of them. I do work in customer service so I speak their language and that sometimes helps.

Anyway, I have yet to hear a definitive 'no can do' from BA but I am sure it will happen sooner rather than later.

UKtravelbear

Which is all very well and good (for you) but we don't know the status of the OPs friend.


Also they will be dealing with the OTA who likely won't give two hoots about status.

henkybaby

Yes, I was simply answering orbitmic's questions... @:-)

simons1

Irrelevant then, sadly. Times are completely different now.

Virazuno

Gosh, tough crowd! But thank you all for the input and discussion. I appreciate it ^

To clarify a few things:

1) The passenger is my family member. I booked the ticket for them (and generally handle all the travel-related stuff). The 'patient' is their very close friend. The primary reason for the visit has nothing to do with them...the friend has just fallen terminally ill in a short space of time. My family member would really, really, really like a few extra days out there (and we'll happily pay change fees etc.), but the ticket is inflexible.

2) I assure you all, this is not fabricated, as someone suggested upthread. If I wanted to make it up to get a 'free change', I would have just said the passenger's 1st degree relative is ill, or something/someone else that would be considered more urgent/dire.

3) Thanks all for the suggestions re: one-way Y ticket/other airlines to get home. As I mentioned though, I've managed to blag the one-way back using Avios on QR. This is an acceptable outcome, and I'm relieved to have been able to arrange it. The stars aligned, for once. I'm just wondering if BA have any history of being flexible in these less-than-happy circumstances (this is no business trip), so I can get the limited Avios we have back, for use on a happier occasion.

4) The passenger is Silver. The OTA, of course, won't care. And I suspect BA won't either.

All in all, I'm just happy we have the QR ticket ready to go. I was wondering if BA might help out and just change the original ticket, though.

Next question, then:

If the return segment is no-showed, can I get the taxes back?

orbitmic

No, because if your family member has flown the outbound, BA would recalculate the fare according to what has been flow before processing any refund, and a one way will absolutely certainly cost more than what a promotional return did so the reimbursement will be negative!

You'd only get some taxes back if you cancelled the whole ticket.

orbitmic

But that's the thing: you were not just some random passenger asking for a favour, you were part of a target group that the team were explicitly asked to take good care of (notwithstanding the fact that they are less and less encouraged to stop the rules for us. The OP's family member is much less of a priority.

I'm sure it does when you deal with customer service but not in the cases that you describe: the examples you provided are all pre-flight so as per BA structure, customer relations will have been totally irrelevant in the decisions which will have, instead, been dealt with by reservation agents. Those agents precisely do not speak the customer service language. It is neither their task nor their training. Instead, they have fairly specific guidelines as to what is allowable for what type of passenger under what circumstances and excellent technical knowledge as to how to implement it. Sadly, those guidelines are becoming increasingly restrictive.

cbagent

BA will not get involved with an agent issued ticket pre departure and whilst there are guidelines in place that can be used in exceptional circumstances such guidelines would only cover critical illness of immediate family members....not friends.