Tenplus401

Hi first time poster but have some invaluable assistance from reading previous posts. Got a mixed bag of issues on a recent Tier point run (my first !) and wondering if someone could help - apologies its a long one and not sure where it should be aimed- I should say the run was fun but brought some challenges ..

Route as bought (via BA) and all on BA numbers with the exception of ARN-HEL and return. 2 PAX

Outward (the Simpler leg)

ARN - HEL AY J (Overnight Hel)
HEL - LHR AY J
LHR - JFK AA J
JFK - LAX AA A (Overnight LAX)

There was an issue when we went to ARN who could only book us through to LHR. We spent 1.45 hours on the phone to BA, AA and AY to get it resolved -
who couldnt - but in the end the AY flight to LHR was nearly 3 hours late (mech) and at LHR we were rebooked on VS J class (arriving LAX at the same time as we would have via JFK but without the First experience from JFK to LAX) - I presume its a case of claiming ORC - what about the drop from first to business ? - overall though happy with the worked out solution

Inward (more complicated)

Scheduled Route was the reverse (2 PAX)

Lax - JFK AA A
JFK - LHR AA J
LHR - HEL AY
HEL - ARN AY

Checking in at LAX i was told there had been an error due to the change on the outward leg and that i didnt have a ticket on the JFK flight in first - though my colleague did - indeed i didnt have a ticket at all. The best they could do was offer a Y ticket on the scheduled flight to JFK. For a number of reasons I was keen to stay lie flat and the only alternative was a flight 11 hours later direct to LHR which i took. This meant that we split up with 1 PAX flying via JFK and ultimately onto LHR and ARN (missing out Hel due to a delayed flight) and me flying direct back to LHR much later and missing my scheduled connection to HEL-ARN. I was booked on a flight direct to ARN that would have arrived ARN over 6 hours after i was scheduled to do and after my return ARN - LHR (on a different ticket) was booked. In the end I didnt take the LHR-ARN flight that had been proposed and abandoned at LHR.

This happened last weekend and to date i have been credited some of the flights i flew , and some that i didnt.

Any advice on what to do next would be gratefully received and should i get ORC all the way back - or just to LHR ? - what should i be asking for or is it as simple as putting this to BA customer services - (i should say that the trip took me from BA Silver to Gold and my colleague is already BA Gold).

Thanks for reading this - advice appreciated and apologies its a long one !

scubaccr

To advise better, we need to know which flights were on different/same PNR (same BA ticket).

Booking separate tickets changes things, sometimes drastically,
eg such as BA won't check your bags through eg separate BA PNRS (bookings) such as pnr #1 HEL-LHR and pnr #2 LHR-JFK-LAX

Tenplus401

thanks Scubaccr - I Should have been clearer - the 4 legs in each direction listed were on the same ticket - ie ARN to LAX (return)- via HEl,LHR,JFK . Outside of that we had a seperate LHR - ARN - LHR to start and finish the run - the last leg of which i did not take.

orbitmic

Just request ORC and hope for the best (AA make this difficult). On the return you would at best get it to LHR but I suspect AA will argue your change of itinerary was voluntary as they could fly you on your booked flights (albeit with the downgrade in one leg).

agehall

You won't get anything from the ARN-LHR leg you didn't take as that is a different trip and you were simply a no-show for that sector. For the other mess, I would think ORC is due since it was involuntary rerouting.

I would contact BA customer services and inquire about it.

NWIFlyer

There may also be a fare reduction due to the loss of F on the JFK-LAX sector. It's worth an enquiry to BA as the ticketing agent (or the TA if booked through them) to see if you'll get some money back - although this won't be a lot, I'm afraid.

The delay on the return won't get you anything because it was a US carrier operating out of the US, so EC261 won't apply, and you travelled in the booked cabin.

nufnuf77

But if BA caused the ticketing issue wouldn't they be at fault why he couldn't take lax JFK and hence ec applies?

NWIFlyer

Because it's not in scope for EC261 which applies to operating carriers, not ticketing agents.

There is potentially merit in asking BA for an ex-gratia payment of some Avios for the inconvenience if it can be established it was their mistake, but we all know how generous BA is these days ...

Tenplus401

Thanks everyone for the replies - will take it to BA and see how i get on ...

BERbound

Quite an Adventure you had. I had a similar problem when my EX-EU fell victim to fog in Seville. I rerouted from AA to IB & Delta and got my original routing credit credited easily by BAEC. At least you will know for next time to always check your return ticket in advance as they get auto cancelled by AA if your first flights are cancelled.

ps - If you have a Virgin FF account, dont forget to claim your Virgin Miles for the LHR- LAX leg as well.

Tenplus401

BERbound - Thanks - useful to know - had thought briefly about looking for Virgin credit but was worried it might adversely affect the ORC - w
ill definitely pursue that one