Help booking ex-uk on the phone
Aug 18, 2016, 4:03 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 123
Help booking ex-uk on the phone
Hi all
Just been told of a policy change that I wanted to check with you guys if you’ve heard of this.
I'm trying to book an ex-eu to the US on the phone with BA and want to force the AA internal legs to be booked as AA flights (not BA codeshares) so i get the First TP's rather than the business class tp's I would get if booked as a BA flight.
the agent is telling me they have been told to book onto BA code if one exists and wouldn’t budge. I'm not sure i quite believe this but has anyone else had similar? Not the end of the world as I can book the correct ones via AA.com if needed but would prefer the Amex bonus points for booking through BA if possible…
Cheers
Just been told of a policy change that I wanted to check with you guys if you’ve heard of this.
I'm trying to book an ex-eu to the US on the phone with BA and want to force the AA internal legs to be booked as AA flights (not BA codeshares) so i get the First TP's rather than the business class tp's I would get if booked as a BA flight.
the agent is telling me they have been told to book onto BA code if one exists and wouldn’t budge. I'm not sure i quite believe this but has anyone else had similar? Not the end of the world as I can book the correct ones via AA.com if needed but would prefer the Amex bonus points for booking through BA if possible…
Cheers
Aug 18, 2016, 8:02 am
#4
Join Date: Dec 2015
Location: Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
Programs: Lufthansa , British Airways, IHG, Hilton, Marriott
Posts: 161
We are having issues with OLCI if mixing BA/AA flight numbers recently - Could it be FLY?. BA all the way doesn't seem to have the issues.
Perhaps try a local TA?
Perhaps try a local TA?
Aug 18, 2016, 9:06 am
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 123
Hi all, bit of an update.
Had a chat with someone else who wasn’t hugely helpful and couldn’t get the same fare I could get via aa.com, ITA and google flights.
Tried a third time and got an old timer who knew all about TP running and was quite happy to ticket me into whatever fare codes I wanted. So looks like it's hit and miss on who you get.
First trip to HNL, Ex-Dub booked including a night in Vegas on the way. Two FT’ers on the loose in Vegas for 24 hours… what’s the worst that can happen…?
Full TR to follow.
Had a chat with someone else who wasn’t hugely helpful and couldn’t get the same fare I could get via aa.com, ITA and google flights.
Tried a third time and got an old timer who knew all about TP running and was quite happy to ticket me into whatever fare codes I wanted. So looks like it's hit and miss on who you get.
First trip to HNL, Ex-Dub booked including a night in Vegas on the way. Two FT’ers on the loose in Vegas for 24 hours… what’s the worst that can happen…?
Full TR to follow.
Aug 18, 2016, 11:50 am
#7
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Las Vegas
Programs: BA Gold; Hilton Honors Diamond
Posts: 3,227
I was told exactly the same on a relatively recent call - that where a BA code exists that they had to use that rather than the AA code (for example). That was definitely the case for flights from the UK. Where the flight originates in the US and is operated by another carrier then that carrier's flight number would be used in preference to a BA codeshare.
Aug 18, 2016, 2:09 pm
#8
Join Date: Mar 2016
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 74
I deal with this by booking ex EU on the phone with BA to an east coast point of entry (e.g. JFK or BOS) and then booking domestic first directly with AA for the internal flights. There are pros and cons to both approaches - e.g. not being on one ticket is not ideal if you have close connections, more avois (I think?) on BA tickets versus the tier points on domestic first. Bookings on aa.com can be in sterling which is a bonus and I have booked ex DUB on aa.com in sterling several times (plus if you put business in as the travel class, the domestic legs seem to automatically be in first).
Aug 18, 2016, 4:56 pm
#9
FlyerTalk Evangelist, Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Somewhere between 0 and 13,000 metres high
Programs: AF/KL Life Plat, BA GGL+GfL, ALL Plat, Hilton Diam, Marriott Gold, blablablah, etc
Posts: 30,520
I've been told the same (in my case for the first time) by a supervisor on the GGL line the other day. Insisted and got them to book me what I wanted. I'll admit that it worried me a little.