With respect, you will find most carriers (not just BA) have had their capacity restricted at the request of Heathrow Airport Ltd until at least 15AUG. The most frustrating thing about this imposed restriction is that availability still shows in booking sites and on airline/travel agent GDS. To the untrained it does look as though you can secure availability. The fact is as soon as you try to take what appears to be an available seat, the reservation will be denied and the payment process part of the transaction system fails/errors out and you cannot complete the reservation. IROPS are still governed by the same 'ghost' availability.... no seats is no seats however you choose to spin it so I dont think screenshots is going to get you very far.... they won't have been of special hidden inventory. That simply does not exist.

I've lost count over how many customers I've dealt with in recent weeks who've insisted they know best and that I'm effectively lieing to them when I've tried to explain I cannot book them onto a ex LHR departure to a Euro destination until Tuesday next week due to the capacity restrictions. When met with the inevitable ' but I can book it on-line' response, I've happily waited while they've tried to complete the reservation.... so far nobody I've encountered has managed to secure a new or rebooked ex LHR reservation to Euro destinations over the restriction period. BA, EI, KL, IB, TK, TP are the ones I've encountered recently and thry all have the same restrictions imposed on new reservations ex LHR before 15AUG.

Regardless to all of this however, there is absolutely no call for the way in which you or others were treated. If anything there would be more reason to ensure the service was spot in when breaking the news you'll be travelling from another airport. I guess for £20k pa you need to ask yourself whether BA are you going to be attracting those who genuinely care or have compassion in delivering that message. That should not be your problem however and it's a common reoccurring theme now where it unfortunately is a passengers problem when they get stranded at LHR at the moment. The airport should be avoided like the plague regardless as to whether originating there or connecting via/to another city. Their systems people and processes are creaking under the pressure of summer demand. Low tenure and inexperience are exacerbating the problem to a level where it's now unfit for purpose. My feeling is this isn't going to go away in September either.