FCO lounge or lack of it and compensation
Jun 9, 15, 9:30 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2015
Posts: 15
FCO lounge or lack of it and compensation
Afternoon All,
As many of you are no doubt aware the BA lounge at Rome FCO was recently destroyed by fire.
I travelled home from FCO on Sunday evening but was simply advised at bag drop that there were no lounge facilities. I was not offered any apology, vouchers or compensation.
Upon my return home I emailed BA customer services but have just received a response advising that they cannot offer me any compensation for the lack of lounge facilities.
Given that the lounge comprises part of the premium you pay for a ticket in Club Europe over economy, that BA have charged a percentage, however tiny within the fare for a service which they could not offer (I do accept that the fire was however out of their control) and have not offered any alternative facilities I fail to see how they cannot offer some degree of compensation. They have charged for something which they could not provide.
Has anyone else approached BA in this regard and if so how did you get on?
Regards
Simon
As many of you are no doubt aware the BA lounge at Rome FCO was recently destroyed by fire.
I travelled home from FCO on Sunday evening but was simply advised at bag drop that there were no lounge facilities. I was not offered any apology, vouchers or compensation.
Upon my return home I emailed BA customer services but have just received a response advising that they cannot offer me any compensation for the lack of lounge facilities.
Given that the lounge comprises part of the premium you pay for a ticket in Club Europe over economy, that BA have charged a percentage, however tiny within the fare for a service which they could not offer (I do accept that the fire was however out of their control) and have not offered any alternative facilities I fail to see how they cannot offer some degree of compensation. They have charged for something which they could not provide.
Has anyone else approached BA in this regard and if so how did you get on?
Regards
Simon
Jun 9, 15, 9:39 am
#3
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Sheffield, UK
Programs: BA - Silver,Hilton-Diamond, IHG - PlatAmb, GHA - Plat
Posts: 766
TBH I wouldnt even bother....
They also sell Club Europe, from a number of other destinations, which don't have lounge facilities, nor do they offer vouchers etc...(see the numerous other threads).
With regards to not providing alternative facilities, it could be down to the way that the when dealing with contracts in italy (sorry for the generalisation.. but i have worked in Italy so speak from experience), it takes forever and so could just be stuck, and we dont know the discussions between the airport authorities and BA (other airlines are in the same position) with regards to dealing with the current state of play..
They also sell Club Europe, from a number of other destinations, which don't have lounge facilities, nor do they offer vouchers etc...(see the numerous other threads).
With regards to not providing alternative facilities, it could be down to the way that the when dealing with contracts in italy (sorry for the generalisation.. but i have worked in Italy so speak from experience), it takes forever and so could just be stuck, and we dont know the discussions between the airport authorities and BA (other airlines are in the same position) with regards to dealing with the current state of play..
Jun 9, 15, 9:43 am
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2012
Programs: BA Gold, QF WP
Posts: 12,551
Jun 9, 15, 10:14 am
#5
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 634
While it is true that there are some outstations which don't have lounges, I don't think that logic applies in this case for tickets booked prior to the fire. One might have explicitly seen that a lounge existed at FCO, and used it in their cost-benefit analysis to determine paying for CE, etc.
The fire was outside of BA's control, but even offering a 10 EUR food voucher would go a long way...
The fire was outside of BA's control, but even offering a 10 EUR food voucher would go a long way...
Jun 9, 15, 11:28 am
#6
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 6,349
Originally Posted by lewis_saint
While it is true that there are some outstations which don't have lounges, I don't think that logic applies in this case for tickets booked prior to the fire. One might have explicitly seen that a lounge existed at FCO, and used it in their cost-benefit analysis to determine paying for CE, etc.
The fire was outside of BA's control, but even offering a 10 EUR food voucher would go a long way...
The fire was outside of BA's control, but even offering a 10 EUR food voucher would go a long way...
Jun 9, 15, 11:46 am
#7
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: near Heathrow
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL (OWE), SA LifePlat (*G), BD Gold to the end, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,149
They only recently abandoned the Starbucks arrangement in 5C so there is a precedent for providing alternative facilities in the absence of a lounge. (Probably not the best example though given the creative use of the Starbucks allowance 
)
)
Jun 9, 15, 1:55 pm
#8
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 48,226
More discussion of this topic is here:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...-rome-fco.html
As far as FCO is concerned, if the outage is short, then I'd be inclined to put it down to force majeure. It was quite a serious fire, and the trade unions at the airport are not at all happy about working there due to perceived smoke inhalation issues, to illustrate the scale of it. However as is pointed out in that thread there are viable alternatives open to BA in FCO, so if the situation continues then I think future passengers would have a point, particularly at a relatively major outstation such as FCO.
I must admit to being disappointed that the list of places without lounges is getting longer, and in many cases (SPU, ACE, BIO) there are lounges used by other oneworld airlines. BGO and SVG I can understand - no one gets a lounge there. However ANE has a lounge of sorts, and outstations don't get any smaller than that!
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...-rome-fco.html
As far as FCO is concerned, if the outage is short, then I'd be inclined to put it down to force majeure. It was quite a serious fire, and the trade unions at the airport are not at all happy about working there due to perceived smoke inhalation issues, to illustrate the scale of it. However as is pointed out in that thread there are viable alternatives open to BA in FCO, so if the situation continues then I think future passengers would have a point, particularly at a relatively major outstation such as FCO.
I must admit to being disappointed that the list of places without lounges is getting longer, and in many cases (SPU, ACE, BIO) there are lounges used by other oneworld airlines. BGO and SVG I can understand - no one gets a lounge there. However ANE has a lounge of sorts, and outstations don't get any smaller than that!
Jun 9, 15, 2:59 pm
#9
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: UK
Programs: BA Gold, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold, IHG Platinum Elite, Accor Silver
Posts: 173
Originally Posted by EY11
Afternoon All,
As many of you are no doubt aware the BA lounge at Rome FCO was recently destroyed by fire.
I travelled home from FCO on Sunday evening but was simply advised at bag drop that there were no lounge facilities. I was not offered any apology, vouchers or compensation.
Upon my return home I emailed BA customer services but have just received a response advising that they cannot offer me any compensation for the lack of lounge facilities.
Given that the lounge comprises part of the premium you pay for a ticket in Club Europe over economy, that BA have charged a percentage, however tiny within the fare for a service which they could not offer (I do accept that the fire was however out of their control) and have not offered any alternative facilities I fail to see how they cannot offer some degree of compensation. They have charged for something which they could not provide.
Has anyone else approached BA in this regard and if so how did you get on?
Regards
Simon
As many of you are no doubt aware the BA lounge at Rome FCO was recently destroyed by fire.
I travelled home from FCO on Sunday evening but was simply advised at bag drop that there were no lounge facilities. I was not offered any apology, vouchers or compensation.
Upon my return home I emailed BA customer services but have just received a response advising that they cannot offer me any compensation for the lack of lounge facilities.
Given that the lounge comprises part of the premium you pay for a ticket in Club Europe over economy, that BA have charged a percentage, however tiny within the fare for a service which they could not offer (I do accept that the fire was however out of their control) and have not offered any alternative facilities I fail to see how they cannot offer some degree of compensation. They have charged for something which they could not provide.
Has anyone else approached BA in this regard and if so how did you get on?
Regards
Simon
Jun 9, 15, 5:37 pm
#11
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 114
Lounges are a complimentary service. When you buy a premium ticket, you aren't buying the complimentary services as part of the package. You are just paying for a better product and service for your transportation from point A to B. The lounges are a way of the airline showing you gratitude for your custom. In this case the BA does not need to compensate you for the lack of a lounge thereof.
Jun 9, 15, 6:57 pm
#12
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 6,349
Originally Posted by HereToHelp
Lounges are a complimentary service. When you buy a premium ticket, you aren't buying the complimentary services as part of the package. You are just paying for a better product and service for your transportation from point A to B. The lounges are a way of the airline showing you gratitude for your custom. In this case the BA does not need to compensate you for the lack of a lounge thereof.
Still I suppose penny pinching must come first.....
Jun 9, 15, 11:56 pm
#13
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 1999
Posts: 12,097
Originally Posted by Southlondonbonviveur
The difficulty from a legal perspective is quantifying the loss for the purposes of compensation. But I do think BA should at least offer a voucher.
Jun 10, 15, 4:38 am
#14
Join Date: Jan 2015
Posts: 114
Originally Posted by simons1
Sounds like a good BA standard answer. Would it really be a big deal to give clients a voucher, particularly as the airline is (misleadingly) advertising the availability of a lounge online despite knowing it doesn't exist?
Still I suppose penny pinching must come first.....
Still I suppose penny pinching must come first.....
Jun 10, 15, 10:05 am
#15
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: London
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 2,407
After my recent experience with BA in a number of European locations, I get the clear impression that lounges are very low on the priority list to get sorted, either at new or established locations. If the FCO lounge wasn't rebuilt I wouldn't be surprised. The fact that lounges are often used as a selling point for Gold/Silver/CE seems irrelevant. BA really do not care if there is a lounge of not.
