Irish wedding in Greece ‘ruined’ by British Airways’ error
Jul 14, 2017, 4:05 am
#46
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: OSL/IAH/ZRH (time, not preference)
Programs: UA1K, LH GM, AA EXP->GM
Posts: 38,265
I actually do think that this what would have happened eventually.
A fair point. I wouldn't expect it but I'd consider it a remote possibility when we are talking about airlines.
But then I had my fair share of disappointing experiences.
If the non-delivery of a barman could ruin my life, I'd never go to a pub. I would indeed consider the possibility of nondelivery.
No, they ere merely are in a position not to have their happiness / life / marriage /wedding etc ruined when a minor hiccup happens.
True. I have ambition to help either - the subject caused a lot of the chaos herself by being too activist and short on funds at the same time. And I will certainly not support the airline.
I don't think as customers people should have to consider the "risk" that the company you hand your cash over to won't deliver...
But then I had my fair share of disappointing experiences.
When I buy a pint in the pub (a "non-essential item") I don't take into account the risk that the barman might take my money and then pour the pint down the drain...
It's not a demand, but nonetheless the logical conclusion of your argument is that only people who are able to absorb any additional costs incurred due to issues outwith their control and potentially write these costs off for an indefinite period are in a position to travel.
This is spectacularly unhelpful and ultimately doesn't work in the long term interests of the airlines either.
Jul 14, 2017, 4:12 am
#47
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: LHR/LGW
Programs: DL Gold, CO Silver
Posts: 1,036
Hmmm
I'll be flying from DUB to Texas with BA for my wedding most likely (although AA is looking attractive instead after reading this ,changing at ORD instead of LHR is no big deal) ,it won't be through group sales and as an experienced traveller I know to query the lack of ticket numbers but I'd be livid if BA first messed it up and then claimed they could do nothing to correct it as it's a weekend. Teams that deal with medical repatriations and ships crew reservations work weekends at BA, as many groups are leisure based so are more likely to involve weekend travel it is deeply absurd that there is not even minimal weekend cover for groups even if off shore . BA are a global business not a small family business with limited resources.
If BA choose not to empower their outstations that is understandable but having chosen that stance they need to provide support to those outstations to resolve issues during normal operating times (after all BA don't fly Mon-Fri only , if they did their stance might be more understandable)
As for the delay in refunding and the paltry amount, completely unacceptable. I hope they get a judge who awards a decent amount for time spent and distress. No one wants the abiding memory of their wedding to be how BA screwed things up after all.
I'll be flying from DUB to Texas with BA for my wedding most likely (although AA is looking attractive instead after reading this ,changing at ORD instead of LHR is no big deal) ,it won't be through group sales and as an experienced traveller I know to query the lack of ticket numbers but I'd be livid if BA first messed it up and then claimed they could do nothing to correct it as it's a weekend. Teams that deal with medical repatriations and ships crew reservations work weekends at BA, as many groups are leisure based so are more likely to involve weekend travel it is deeply absurd that there is not even minimal weekend cover for groups even if off shore . BA are a global business not a small family business with limited resources.
If BA choose not to empower their outstations that is understandable but having chosen that stance they need to provide support to those outstations to resolve issues during normal operating times (after all BA don't fly Mon-Fri only , if they did their stance might be more understandable)
As for the delay in refunding and the paltry amount, completely unacceptable. I hope they get a judge who awards a decent amount for time spent and distress. No one wants the abiding memory of their wedding to be how BA screwed things up after all.
Jul 14, 2017, 6:43 am
#48
Join Date: Jun 2003
Programs: BA, IHG, 5C
Posts: 4,413
However I don't think BA can apply the 50% haircut: the airline has to reroute them, not rely on them rerouting themselves.
When passengers are offered re-routing to their final
destination on an alternative flight pursuant to Article 8, the
arrival time of which does not exceed the scheduled arrival
time of the flight originally booked
..
(b) by three hours, in respect of all intra-Community flights of
more than 1 500 kilometres and for all other flights
between 1 500 and 3 500 kilometres;
..
the operating air carrier may reduce the compensation
provided for in paragraph 1 by 50 %.
destination on an alternative flight pursuant to Article 8, the
arrival time of which does not exceed the scheduled arrival
time of the flight originally booked
..
(b) by three hours, in respect of all intra-Community flights of
more than 1 500 kilometres and for all other flights
between 1 500 and 3 500 kilometres;
..
the operating air carrier may reduce the compensation
provided for in paragraph 1 by 50 %.
Jul 14, 2017, 8:59 am
#49
Join Date: Apr 2001
Posts: 592
BA's offer would be paltry if issued promptly. The fact that it took an inquiry from a journalist and the threat of negative press makes it both stingy and ill advised. They could have done something magnanimous and in the spirit of the wedding and honeymoon they disrupted. If I were their PR person, I would have suggested two free first class tickets wherever BA flies. Sure, that could have cost the airline more if used on a sold out flight, but you might have turned this into a positive with a story about how much the couple enjoyed their trip to XXXX and the fact that BA is now part of a happy story.
Jul 14, 2017, 9:38 am
#50
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 6,349
BA's offer would be paltry if issued promptly. The fact that it took an inquiry from a journalist and the threat of negative press makes it both stingy and ill advised. They could have done something magnanimous and in the spirit of the wedding and honeymoon they disrupted. If I were their PR person, I would have suggested two free first class tickets wherever BA flies. Sure, that could have cost the airline more if used on a sold out flight, but you might have turned this into a positive with a story about how much the couple enjoyed their trip to XXXX and the fact that BA is now part of a happy story.
Jul 14, 2017, 8:21 pm
#51
Join Date: May 2006
Location: MYF/CMA/SAN/YYZ/YKF
Programs: COdbaUA 1K MM, AA EXP, Bonbon Gold, GHA Titanium, Hertz PC, NEXUS and GE
Posts: 5,837
Yes .. but BA outstations act against basic intuition in my experience. I was IDBed in NRT despite the agents confirming that they can 'see' the reservation, ticket # ... but they could not see the payment for my return flight...
So that part of the story, with the station acting helpless sounds credible to me.
They likely did not. It seems as if the passengers overreacted and did not let the airline handle the issue. There tons of travel options to Rhodes ... arrive 12 hours later, collect the mandatory comp, enjoy life.
But they chose to patch their travels incompetently.
Another thing, I don't get - if money is such an issue, why do the wedding abroad? It seems like inviting trouble. As a poor student, I canned the majority of my plans as they felt outside the reach of my finances. I don't get it why people are taking these risks for nonessential items.
So that part of the story, with the station acting helpless sounds credible to me.
They likely did not. It seems as if the passengers overreacted and did not let the airline handle the issue. There tons of travel options to Rhodes ... arrive 12 hours later, collect the mandatory comp, enjoy life.
But they chose to patch their travels incompetently.
Another thing, I don't get - if money is such an issue, why do the wedding abroad? It seems like inviting trouble. As a poor student, I canned the majority of my plans as they felt outside the reach of my finances. I don't get it why people are taking these risks for nonessential items.
It should not be a contingency plan that the airline completely screws up your booking, and then pretends your confirmation isn't enough.
BA's offer would be paltry if issued promptly. The fact that it took an inquiry from a journalist and the threat of negative press makes it both stingy and ill advised. They could have done something magnanimous and in the spirit of the wedding and honeymoon they disrupted. If I were their PR person, I would have suggested two free first class tickets wherever BA flies. Sure, that could have cost the airline more if used on a sold out flight, but you might have turned this into a positive with a story about how much the couple enjoyed their trip to XXXX and the fact that BA is now part of a happy story.
Jul 15, 2017, 4:51 am
#52
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: OSL/IAH/ZRH (time, not preference)
Programs: UA1K, LH GM, AA EXP->GM
Posts: 38,265
Airlines have stranded me on numerous occasions and I was often out of the expenses for months. So I'd linearly extrapolate that it could have happened for my wedding as well. It did not but it did happen for my wife's best friend at the same location. It took nearly half a year to get reimbursed for the hotels and the missed connections.
But I agree with you - within Europe, with the protection of EC261, this should not happen. And I think that it would not have happened, had the pax be less activist.
Jul 15, 2017, 8:10 am
#53
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: ORD
Programs: US Air, UA BA LH AI DELTA MARRIOTT CHOICE SGP
Posts: 9,883
BA's offer would be paltry if issued promptly. The fact that it took an inquiry from a journalist and the threat of negative press makes it both stingy and ill advised. They could have done something magnanimous and in the spirit of the wedding and honeymoon they disrupted. If I were their PR person, I would have suggested two free first class tickets wherever BA flies. Sure, that could have cost the airline more if used on a sold out flight, but you might have turned this into a positive with a story about how much the couple enjoyed their trip to XXXX and the fact that BA is now part of a happy story.
.....And privately they are probably saying / meaning " We have enough suckers., loyals and captive corporates who will pay and fly us, so damn the torpedoes, full steam ahead !"
Jul 15, 2017, 8:27 am
#54
Join Date: Aug 2012
Location: Provincie Antwerpen, Vlaanderen, België
Programs: MUCCI Gold
Posts: 2,512
The fact that this situation was able to escalate this far tells me that in fact EC261 is still not robust enough, and passengers still need further protection enshrined in legislation in addition to what is already provided. The airlines can bleat about it all they want, but ultimately they can prevent it from being necessary by not treating their customers so poorly in the first place.
Jul 15, 2017, 10:27 am
#55
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: BOS
Programs: BA Silver, Mucci
Posts: 5,289
BA doesn't get to decide stuff like this. The central reason why EC261 exists at all is because before it came into force, all airline passengers were not treated fairly. Now fair treatment of ALL passengers according to the EC261 rules is mandatory.
The fact that this situation was able to escalate this far tells me that in fact EC261 is still not robust enough, and passengers still need further protection enshrined in legislation in addition to what is already provided. The airlines can bleat about it all they want, but ultimately they can prevent it from being necessary by not treating their customers so poorly in the first place.
The fact that this situation was able to escalate this far tells me that in fact EC261 is still not robust enough, and passengers still need further protection enshrined in legislation in addition to what is already provided. The airlines can bleat about it all they want, but ultimately they can prevent it from being necessary by not treating their customers so poorly in the first place.
Jul 15, 2017, 9:30 pm
#56
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: OSL/IAH/ZRH (time, not preference)
Programs: UA1K, LH GM, AA EXP->GM
Posts: 38,265
The fact that this situation was able to escalate this far tells me that in fact EC261 is still not robust enough, and passengers still need further protection enshrined in legislation in addition to what is already provided. The airlines can bleat about it all they want, but ultimately they can prevent it from being necessary by not treating their customers so poorly in the first place.
But I fear we won't see any improvement soon.