HSS748

I have just had the most atrocious response to a complaint I have waited over a month and half to get from BA. Having been a gold EC member for 7 years and an EC member for at least double that, this is the first time I have complained and the response is as bad- or worse- than the situation.

I was due to fly out Club World to HK from LHR for a wedding where I was the best man and the flight was repeatedly delayed until it was cancelled until the next afternoon. So I missed the wedding and then arrived in HK a day late. On my return flight from SIN-LHR I got an email in the morning just to let me know my flight would now be going the next day. I spent an hour on the line to the Singapore BA office who told me that the only advice they could give was to go to the airport. So I get to the airport and then I'm told (which they must have known) that the BA desk doesn't open until 5pm. Once the London EC line opens, I call them and they give me the last seat on the flight before and tell me it's confirmed- and send me an email to say it is. Given I was already at the airport, I go to check in and it actually wasn't confirmed but was stand by- so if I'd turned up in the evening I would have not been able to fly that night and they apologised and said it was an operational error and they would investigate.

Having ruined my whole day (I was meant to be in the office) they then put me on a Singapore flight connecting through FFT which got me back to London late and ruined my Tuesday in the office too.

Having made the complaint (and clearly being owed the 600 EUR compensation) it has taken multiple calls to get anyone to give me an answer over 3 weeks- and the answer is that I can have the same compensation an Economy passenger with a blue EC status, plus 30k of Avios.

Am I alone in thinking that this is insane?

Foltan

All I took from this is that you flew 6,000 miles to a wedding that you were best man for, but only left the night before, as if there was no chance of delays...

shefgab

I think it's a bit unfair to focus on that. Had BA operated the flight on the correct day (not too much to ask for?) then he would have been there in time.

Sounds like a lot of bad luck. I hope you have travel insurance. I think you might be due EUR 600 for each way of the trip? (maybe?).

stewaran

I often think these sort of threads get a harsh response from the locals.

But in this case flying to HK arriving on the day of the wedding seems crazy! I flew to France this Sunday, to make sure i was at an important meeting on Monday afternoon!
I realize in an ideal world it would have all worked out, but not sensible IMHO

Out of interest what compensation do you think would be reasonable?

travelwithross

I normally don't give people a hard time here.... BUT.

If I was best man and flew out the day before, I'd never be spoken to again. Surely you had duties to perform?
Terrible planning.

Yes, the BA flight was cancelled, but surely you should have some common sense and fly out at least 48 hours before for a wedding on the other side of the planet!

I think the compensation you have received is reasonable (you are not entitled to compensation for your return flight as you volunteered for standby and for the earlier flight) - if you incurred any more costs, other than emotional problems with your friends who got married, then I'd be submitting them to my insurer.

sadiqhassan

+1 I hear this a lot on FT but I think it is completely unfair.

With my work schedule, the options would likely be to either go to the night before or to not go at all. While many would choose the latter, I would at least attempt to make the trip.

stewaran

Come on, most weddings give you ample time to plan.

If the engagement was last month, then apologies to the OP

simons1

I'm not aware that EU law distinguishes between gold and blue status, so on the compensation it seems right.

windowontheAside

I suspect that if I were planning on flying at the last minute, and the delay would mean missing the wedding, i'd cancel the trip and save myself the hassle/stress/expense.

But each to their own.

I certain agree that BA's complaint procedure is sub-par based on my experiences, and their reticence to provide legally specified compensation borders on the risible.

I wouldn't want to see status holders offered more compensation than non-status holders though.

IAMORGAN

I don't often bash the OP (I really don't and am not a BA apologist) I do think leaving it so fine to go to a wedding where you are BEST MAN is not a good idea. I dare say the op knows that and feels guilty and 20/20 hindsight is a wonderful thing. As for the comment above about work - some things in life matter, others don't. Work doesn't *really* matter - we all just pretend it does as part of the game. Friends do matter and unless the wedding was very last minute there must have been a way to be there.

Having said all of that (and sorry to the OP, we've all made poor decisions!) to get an overnight delay in both directions and crap phone service and to have to hang around the airport is poor form. I think that's what BA has become though and I doubt you'll get much more from them. Frankly us GCHs aren't important. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to treat our own clients / customers with similar disdain?

Quarky Quark

The question the OP has asked is not related to the wedding, I see why people are focusing on this but ultimately it's irrelevant. Had the OP suggested he was requesting additional compensation because it was a wedding he missed, then it would be fair game. However, I don't read that in the OP's message.

On the face of it OP it sounds as though you are due compensation from BA, did they reply or were you given a reason for the cancellation? That is pertinent to whether (in their mind) EU261 applies.

I do agree with the OP that on the face of it BA has not handled this well. Perhaps we as a group can try to assist the poor chap instead of making judgement calls about timeliness when we are in possession of zero facts.

PETER01

Welcome to Flyertalk HSS748 and the BA Board.

For those who are saying it was terrible planning, I would have flown the day before etc..............give the OP a chance and a bit of space on his/her VERY first post please?!!!!!!! That's not too much to ask is it?

I know we have seen new members joining having rants and never coming back but on the face of it meantime a bit more politeness wouldn't go amiss in what is a reasonably worded statement.

A lot of us have all been on the end of poor CS from BA from time to time, for various reasons, and reading he/she has been on the phone multiple times etc I can sympathise.

There may have been perfectly valid reasons that we don't know why the OP could only fly the day before , previous business commitments he/she couldn't cancel BEFORE the wedding was planned?, ill health/family dynamics, it was a wedding at short notice and 101 more reasons so we shouldn't be the judge and jury on one post.

I think we should be focusing on the question the OP is asking, and I see helpful replies already, not the reasons why he/she never went a few days before.

seanp7

Atrocious is a very strong word. It sounds more like this was some unfortunate bad luck, with a couple of (unsuccessful) attempts by BA to make things right. I would keep trying a little. You can avoid them completely and move on if still unhappy.

Foltan

He's getting €1,200 in cash and 30,000 Avios. I'd be quite happy with that compensation for the level of inconvenience he suffered. Thus the only really bad side effects are that he left no wiggle-room to either attend the wedding on time or recover before going back to work.

I know that people have tough work schedules, but you still have to take the risk of these events into account when travelling so far - I think people can be flippant about the real scale of the travel involved.

It's not BA's job to massage your feelings because you missed an important event.

MSPeconomist

I think we need to distinguish between legally mandated compensation (as I see it, 600 Euros in each direction by EC261 as I believe that the "confirmed" email from BA proves that the OP was confirmed for the return flight) and voluntary customer service gestures given by BA to apologize. The 30,000 Avios fall into the latter category and do not impact BA's EC 261 obligations. Realistically, the number of apology miles given will depend on elite status, cabin booked and fare paid, the profitability of the customer to the airline, etc.

This isn't the place to debate whether that's appropriate (BTW I personally believe that it is) or whether we would have re-arranged our lives in different ways to travel to a wedding.