Change of name- help needed
 

Hello all,


Long story but my elderly grandparents have been repatriated for health reasons from Florida to the uk, which means the original return flights (in j) they were booked on will now be unused (they have flown the outbound sector). Does anyone have experience in this type of scenario for BA either refunding the return leg (presumably unlikely) or allowing a change of name on the ticket - the reason this could be useful is my mother is also over there and could switch into their J tickets if possible. The tickets were purchased directly from BA with a car so technically a travel package..

Any advice before I call would be appreciated!

Close to zero chance of a name change.
Possibility of a refund, however it may just be the taxes/fees/charges.

Agreed, unfortunately.

Speak to BA but be prepared for a no.

I thought that name changes were possible on BA holiday bookings.

For holiday bookings only for EU residents up to 48 hours prior to the outbound flight, with an ammendment fee.
For group bookings, with all names required 2 weeks prior to the outbound flight iirc.

They cannot be changed once the outbound is flown.

BA are likely to allow a change of date in the case of illness. Could you ask for this, then arrange outward travel for a repeat trip (Avios booking, perhaps) later, if your grandparents would like to do that?

I wish them a speedy recovery.

Name change is unlikely but you can ask BA holidays.

I see, thanks nux. Any idea what the amendment fee is?

Thanks very much all, as expected options very limited but will call BA on the off chance and update you with the response..

The relevant term is here, and allows a credit for the non-refundable part of the fare:


3e) Your rights if you are prevented from travelling by events beyond your control
If: you are a consumer.
you have been prevented from travelling by events beyond your control and
all or part of the fare for your ticket is non-refundable.
we will give you a credit for the non-refundable part of the fare. We will do this if you:
have a completely unused ticket
have told us promptly about the events beyond your control and
have given us evidence of these events.
The credit can be used for future travel on us by you or any person you choose. We may take a reasonable fee from the credit to cover our administration costs.


In this case however, because the route flown is likely to be more expensive than a return ticket, there is unlikely to be any 'non-refundable' part of the fare that applies. Also, it isn't clear if BA have been informed promptly.

As for name change, it appears that BA Holidays may allow this, so as it was a package there may be hope here, although they may fall foul of the 'date of departure' clause:


3f) Your right to transfer your booking to another passenger where the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tour Regulations apply.
We or our authorised agents will, if you ask, issue a new ticket to somebody else to replace your ticket if:
your ticket has been issued as part of a package to which The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 SI 1992/3288 as amended (the Regulations) apply
you want to transfer your booking under regulation 10 of the Regulations
you prove to us or our authorised agents that you have satisfied the requirements of regulation 10 and are entitled to transfer the booking
you give us or our authorised agents reasonable notice of your intention to transfer the booking before your date of departure
you give us or our authorised agents the full name, address and contact number of the person to whom you want the new ticket to be issued
you deliver your ticket to us or our authorised agents and
you pay us or our authorised agents a reasonable administration fee for issuing the new ticket.