corporate-wage-slave

As I understand it, the current limit is now 10k Avios in all circumstances. Which for a non moving seat seems unacceptable, at least in my opinion.

Here are some options for you, it's depends a bit on the circumstances here Was this a cash booking? If so you're probably going to need to set your own compensation level and then be willing to take it further. This is all new territory, since up to now, though we have sometimes moaned about it, ultimately Customer Relations were willing to dip into the Avios/duty free voucher kitty to help with customer remediation. That now seems very restricted so perhaps other approaches are needed. The easiest will be CEDR, but here are the options that I can think of:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/27122574-post39.html

This is new ground so by all means keep us updated, there seems very little information available about this, though I (and, I'm sure, others) will do my best to assist here.

justforfun

It was indeed a cash booking. No upgrades or miles used.

This was a USA originating ticket.

Quarky Quark

If it was me, I'd go after them through MCOL or whichever other route was appropriate.
OP if you do the same please do come back and let us know what happened
Both responses have the familiar cut and paste patois that personally would drive me further up the wall.

CD747

Presumably another (and possibly costly) side effect of this will be a number of passengers taking a harder line with BA upon boarding about perceived defects.

I imagine many people may be willing to get on with a flight despite a broken seat, armrest etc in the faith that BA customer services will repair the damage later on - and if that's not happening, I imagine some customers will insist on offloading.

V10

I don't suppose that this is a particularly common occurrence, and the chances of being affected by it are pretty low. It's therefore slightly confusing as to why BA choses to take such a hard line on compensating for it when it does happen, as in the general scheme of things the cost vs. benefit of placating potentially valuable customers can't be that high. On the other hand, if it *is* a more common issue then BA has a bigger issue that it really ought to be worrying about.

cookie78

That is what I received for a faulty CW seat back from Denver a couple of months ago. Interestingly I never received the email back following the complaint, just the Avios.

NWIFlyer

For comparison, I had a seat on AA (ex-US Envoy) recently that would not recline beyond about 150 degrees - which was almost worse than one that was designed to slope, because it just left my legs dangling wholly unsupported off the end of the moveable part of the seat and unable to reach the foot stool, which meant a pretty uncomfortable experience with the seat digging into my lower legs.

This was for an ex-CDG trip costing about $1300 (£900) at the time of booking, and accounted for about a third of the total itinerary distance.

I pointed out to AA that the seat was the almost sole reason I paid the extra to travel in J given I already had F lounge access, hinting that my expectation was for compensation in line with the percentage of my journey affected - so about $400. They've just offered me a $200 voucher, which - whilst I might well go back and challenge it - is still worth far more than anything BA seems to be giving out these days, and that from an airline not exactly noted for its generosity.

justforfun

I've sent them one more email. I'm assuming they won't budge. My next move will be small claims court in NYC. I've never filed a lawsuit before, so rather intrigued about the whole process. At this point it's not even about the compensation. It's about the patronizing amount offered and the hubris of BA.

Kungpo

It's quite interesting the level of compensation for faulty product is fairly fixed between the cabins. Using Avios as a guide, each cabin is a multiple of the economy fare (ignoring the cash component for now), therefore it would be logical for the compensation be equally multiplied?

After all, a non reclining seat in economy cannot possibly have the same level of comp as a non moving seat in 1st?

V10

Indeed, and I doubt you'd getting anything at all for a non-reclining seat in economy. This is probably fair enough, it's not going to make a huge difference. Perhaps also for premium economy.

However. A large component of the fare you pay to fly in business or first is in order to get the use of the flat bed. I don't think Avios compensation is appropriate in this situation at all - you've not received this particularly important aspect of the service that you've paid a possibly considerable premium for. That ought to generate a partial refund of the fare paid, in my view. It's a fundamental missing part of the contracted service.

justforfun

The latest reply. When I'm back home in NYC will be starting legal proceedings.

Dear Mr justforfun

Thanks for coming back to us about the challenges you had in-flight to London Heathrow on 24 August with your seating. I'm concerned to read you were unhappy with the gesture of good will and I apologise.

I'm aware that you feel the gesture of 5,000 Avios does not cover the cost of your flights or the challenges you faced. I've evaluated your case and I'm afraid we can't offer any more gestures of goodwill. I'm afraid we have to be consistent and fair to all our customers, therefore on this occasion we can't make an exception. I understand this isn't the answer you were hoping for and I apologise.

Thanks again for getting in touch with us about this. We value your support as a Blue member of our Executive Club. I hope we can welcome you on board again soon. Please feel free to contact me directly by using the blue link below if I can help you with anything else.

sxc

And they don't even recognise that you're a AA EXP.

fiona

I still can't believe this. How low can BA go? They have not provided what they promised, a major reason why folks pay for CW instead of wt+.
There is absolutely no excuse for the way they have treated you.
I think I would publicise on fb and twitter and may even try the DM! It's theft really isn't it.

stevie

Wow is all I can say. I am flying to HKG with BA for the first time in years this weekend, instead of my normal CX (having given up on BA years ago), and I just hope it goes smoothly. Keep the fight up!

Also BA is cost cutting across the board as far as I can see. I will be interested to see what kind of company it is in a couple of years.

Kungpo

Another poster did a bit better (eventually) with a broken First seat;

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/27167403-post56.html