I have the misfortune of needing to deal with BA on a future booking. OMG. I mean I do recognize that I have zero status with them, but the level of dysfunction is just appalling.

An hour hold to reach an agent to book an award. 300k Avios one way for two people. And $800. OK, fine. But unless I "lied" and pressed the key that says "buy" instead of "avios", I would get dumped to a perpetual busy. A few times getting dumped to busy and you learn how to fool the system to get into the queue.

But hey, a few tries and seats booked, Im happy. Card charged. A week goes buy, no eticket.

Another call, 30 minutes. "you need to wait sir, ticket is processing"

Next week, nothing. Another call, 30-40 mintues... Must be your email. Is not. Is too. She resends, nothing. Change to business email, works. (meanwhile i run the ISP, nothing came in- issue is on BAs side). But I figure, emails are now working, lets just move forward.

Read the email. It is only one ticket and only $80 (the change fee, not the initial booking) Sigh. And she did not change the email for the second record, wife's ticket

2:10 tonight to get through. Told now any receipts must be requested via 'manual', on the web. (They cannot 'resend' them like the agent did yesterday.) He gives me the addy.... But, ive been burnt before so I have him walk me to the site. I look and find the webform, give it a review- wait.... under "flight" it has BA _____. I point out "this is a QF flight, what do I put there, it looks like it is expecting a BA flight number?" He insists "QF0012". OK I think, thank him and off I go. Its only been two and a half hours minutes on that one call.

Well, of course it doenst like 'QF12' as the flight number- it wont accept alphas.... and it wont accept a request for a receipt for future travel. I am forced to manipulate numbers, placing my request in the comment field, to get it to 'accept'.

Then it is successful and they inform me it may take 28 days. I would bet big money this will not result in the receipts I need. If I could, I'd tell them I wont pay the bill until they send me a receipt, but due to their abject incompetent they would probably fail to respond to the CC company, wind up losing the inquiry and then in a pique cancel my award bookings!

Did I also mention multiple email webforms to customer service, trying to fix the email issue, only to be told first it was a customer SUPPORT issue, and a different team is working on it. Then finally 'there is nothing anyone can do'.

On the rare times Ive dealt with BA in LHR and other EU airports it has ranged from perfunctory to incompetent.

My condolences to those of you that live in the UK.


PS They replied to my request for a receipt. "we aim to send your document within the next 28 days, however at the moment we have an unprecedented number of requests and it might take a little longer. "