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Old Aug 19, 2018, 4:50 am
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sts603
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Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: London
Programs: BA GGL, AA 1MM LT GLD, SPG PLAT, National Exec Selc, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Plat, Marriott Silver
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Sorry GGL on a Full-Flex J Ticket - Your Delay is Under 5 Hours We Wouldn’t Help You

Recently had a situation where my flight was delayed 1.5 hours to JFK. It was a later service and thus the different arrival time was material to me given a morning meeting. I’m a GGL and was traveling on a fully-flex J ticket (about 6K GBP r/t). I called my travel agent and asked to be moved to a slightly earlier service. The response from BA was that the flight delay was under FIVE (!) hours and therefore any change had to be processed under the fare rules (which would have cost about 3K GBP due to inventory) and they would not make an exception due to my status/CIV score. They said maybe the airport coudl change it under their discretion but no guarantees (this would have meant leaving my family earlier and potentially sitting around the CCR for 4.5 hours if the check-in desk said “no” so I declined).

I have low expectations for anything that involves “British” and “customer services” in the same sentence. But even by British and BA’s standards of inflexibility, I was shocked at the response here. A similar call to AA or UA would have likely resulted in a flight change in less than five minutes and likely the same response for people with lesser status. On day of travel, sorting IRROPS trumps fare rules.

(1) Given that the TA warned me this was going to be the likely response, I assume the five-hour rule is actually real and enforced, even for GGLs. But curious on other’s experiences in similar situations?

(2) Should I have called the GGL line myself?

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