porky73

Hi everyone, I know this thread is a bit old but just looking for some advice as couldn't see anything obvious from my various searches on FT. Booked an ex-EU trip to America (via Expedia) and was fully intending to take all segments including the last one which was expected to be LHR-AMS. However, in a rush I didn't notice that the last leg listed under the Expedia search was actually LGW-AMS not LHR, which means I would need to transit to LGW. I can do this of course, but in speaking to the Expedia agent, they said I could just drop the last segment and then book another LHR-AMS separately without risk of penalty from BA. I am of course dubious of this advice and wondering about changing the ticket at the airport. It's ticketed as J class fare from LGW-AMS so I thought it would have the most flexibility without any penalty - however, again expedia agent says its EUR300 change fee plus fare difference. Any advice out there? Many thanks in advance.

simons1

Normally advice would be to head off home from LHR and forget about it. However the fact that it is booked through Expedia (as opposed to on ba.com) does make it slightly more likely that BA will pursue any fare difference via the agent.

As for the costs, well the first bit about booking another LHR-AMS sounds doubtful, and the change fee would depend on the ticket conditions but could well be right.

corporate-wage-slave

Well don't do anything until you have flown the first leg, at which point you are dealing with BA rather than Expedia. Then if there has been a change to flight timings on the return at any point, or you arrive particularly late into LHR or some other irrops then you can change for free, but otherwise the change fee and fare difference is not negotiable. However the fare difference at that point will be the historical one, and that may be zero at that point if you choose the right AMS service (no avoiding the change fee however in this scenario). The Expedia agent is right that you will probably be OK dropping this last segment, Expedia would be the ones to get a penalty if any, except BA probably won't bother to do so with that particular rather large company. But it's true that the risk remains and I suspect Expedia would just ping your card for the cost if that happened.

710 77345

And if Expedia were somehow chased for payment, that’s not your problem.

porky73

Thanks for the quick replies. Really annoyed that I stupidly wasn't paying attention to the return leg (it wasn't displayed but clearly the timing meant it was LGW). Cheap enough to get to Gatwick but just the hassle - Mrs. Porky isn't too pleased with my blunder.

porky73

But can Expedia then come after me? The fair difference is substantial, I think at least £700 per ticket.

corporate-wage-slave

I think they can (you did read the terms and conditions?), I suspect 710 77345 thinks they won't, we probably both agree it's very very unlikely.

Globaliser

You may be booked in J class from LGW to AMS, but that does not mean that you have a J class fare for that sector or the flexibility that goes with it. If your long-haul flights are booked in I class, it's more likely that the fare for LGW-AMS is part of the I class fare that you've booked, so the conditions of that I class fare govern changes to the journey, including the LGW-AMS sector.

Having said all that, I'm not sure why the fare would be substantially different if flying LGW-AMS compared to LHR-AMS. IME, if the last sector is LGW-AMS rather than LHR-AMS, the total fare is marginally cheaper because the TFC are lower - which is why it can be very easy to make the mistake of clicking on an itinerary that has LGW-AMS as the last sector because they are often listed first. But the difference is small (sometimes less than £1).

In addition, any permissible change to the last sector should normally be allowed using a re-price at historical fares even before the departure of the journey, if they are lower than current fares. The change fee is always payable, of course. However, the experience of other FTers suggests that dealing with Expedia for something like this may result in an additional world of pain.

Can you remember how much more it would have been if you had originally booked LHR-AMS as the last sector? Is Expedia wanting to apply its own change fee on top of BA's change fee?

In having a quick look on ITA now, I notice that the fare rules of a current ex-AMS I class fare to a random US destination (I used ORD) seem to have acquired a "CHANGES NOT PERMITTED" condition. But you seem to have bought a fare that allows changes for a €300 change fee, so that suggests that this condition doesn't apply to you.

PAL62V

I recently completed an ex_EU to SYD, booked with BA. Because of client adding another job to my trip I had to call BA and change the return flight. The BA agent asked what I wanted to do with the LHR-PRG final leg. (I could tell by their tone that they knew exactly what I had done...). I asked if I could dump the final leg and I'd sort it later, which they did. It ended up actually saving me a few quid!!! I still don't understand that.

porky73

Thanks again. Globaliser, the prices I thought were identical so I lazily assumed my selection was for a LHR-AMS final segment given this is where I was flying into on the preceding leg. Of course, expedia's search engine doesn't pre-select that as 1st option, nor does it present the shortest journey time first ---- it chose the cheapest which must have been LGW for less than £1 (as you suggested, thanks for clarification on that). It was my mistake for not paying more attention. The £700 fair difference I was referring to was the price of expedia for the exact same overall journey versus BA.com (albeit one of the segments is AA stock on a codeshare).

Worth calling BA to see if I can change last segment with change fee?

porky73

*without change fee

:D!

I actively choose LHR // LGW for my ex-EU return legs and the price for LGW has always been £10-£15 less, which I have assumed to be because of lower LGW airport fees. It means never needing to argue about short-checking so I can bring my luggage home and HBO the short Europe trip (or skip if as necessary).

Sealink

Fascinating thread! I am obsessed with ex INV, with three coming up this year, but I complete all the sectors.

I'm interested in how a passenger dropping the last leg is defrauding BA.
I get they are paying a lower fare, but BA offered that fare. Why? Because they are trying to attract new business departing from that airport. Completing the last sector isn''t fraud. Getting off at LHR is. I don't quite buy it.

I am curious as to how the courts would react to this and indeed if BA would go after folks on the basis of fraud.

It's also weird how airline pricing seems to be held in the same realm as a government department.
BA is a commercial company making commercial decisions. A passenger dropping the last segment is hardly costing them money, as it could be argued that the passenger would not have made the journey in the first place without the initial ex-EU segment.

Sealink

If BA want to close the loophole, stop offering the fare.
Wanting their cake and eating it is all well and good, but there has to be some allowance for passenger behaviour. We will chase the cheaper fares!

710 77345

I was thinking that Expedia can’t do anything as they’ve told OP he was ok to drop the last leg.
If it wasn’t for this, we are getting in to the world of unfair contract terms and the penalty of non payment being limited to cancelling a ticket you don’t want to use - slightly murkier all round but still probably ok.