I (still) fly BA because of the staff
 

I screwed up yesterday.

I usually leave a LOT of time for things to go wrong getting to the airport. So much time that my family and colleagues give me a hard time for it.

Yesterday I had an extra hour built in. I couldn't leave more. I left my last meeting in Eindhoven and drove to Amsterdam Schipol.

I don't usually drive when I'm in the Netherlands. But recent surgery made it necessary.
As I neared the airport traffic ground to a halt. I honestly don't know which road I was on - the nav system in my rental car had rerouted me "around traffic" several times. We sat still for almost 90 minutes. The everything started moving.

I missed a flight. The first one I think I've ever missed.

The check in counter sent me to the rebooking desk.

I explained what had happened to dutch_122 and he started to help me.

My booking was complicated - TA made and upgraded with Avios. I had to call the Gold line to get the avios upgrade removed temporarily. 40 minutes on the phone and 5 people "helping" me later nothing.

Mr dutch_122 then said "hang up the phone - I'll take care of this". I then watched as he rolled his chair between 3 different computers - doing something.

A few minutes later and a mere 250 GBP lighter I had a new flight to London. last seat on the plane. I made my connection - a flight to Mumbai with enough time for a quick scotch in the T5 B lounge.

Mr dutch_122 (man I hope I remembered your user name correctly) - thank you, thank you, thanks you. I'm typing this by the pool in Lonavala, India watching my kids play, drinking a cocktail with my wife. I hope you have a wonderful vacation.

Dutch_122 is indeed a frequent member on the BA and QR fora, and many of us here regard him as a friend.

He also happens to be an absolute whizz when it comes to flight bookings, and has helped many FTers (myself included) with complicated itineraries.

Glad he was able to sort you out with your booking, and I'm sure you'll buy him a drink when you're next around AMS!

M

P.S. It might be worth adding, that he isn't BA staff - albeit he knows their systems exceptionally well.

Nice post and glad it worked out well. In my experience Dutch roads are as prone to snarl ups as the M25!

They should have rebooked you for free.

Why would they re-book me for free?

I've not experienced that since KLM did it for me about a decade ago. And that memory says this wasn't the first time I ever missed a flight - I don't know if I feel better or worse.

I have to add my praise for @dutch_122 - he very quickly helped place a complex booking into BA systems this weekend, which I was able to pay for over the phone with BA (after a small POS adjustment to get a specific flight I wanted).

Excellent ^

if you missed a flight due to circumstances out of your control ( like flat tire, etc.), some airlines will put you on the next flight for free.

if you just don’t show up and not say anything, well that is a different story all together !

Wishful thinking I fear. Non-flex is non-flex. I just missed the last flight from MXP when the tangentiale (=M25) was at a standstill for 2 hours due to a major accident. Phoned BA Gold, politely told all lost and to buy a new ticket for next morning. I decided to go to the MXP ticketing desk & they re-booked me for a change-fee of €70.

BA Conditions of Carriage

"3c4) If you need to change any aspect of your transportation because of events beyond your control, you must contact us as soon as possible. We will use reasonable efforts to transport you to your next stopover or final destination, without re-calculating the fare."

2 years ago I missed a flight, OSL-LHR-LAX-SFO in J, with the LHR-LAX sector upgraded to F on AA using a SWU (AA ticket) , it was an error fare at 600€,

When I arrived at the airport the plane was about to take, no BA staff as they use contracted staff in OSL,

I called BA to explain the situation, and they quoted me 7000€ to change my flight, I hanged up and called the EXP line, they reroute me via JFK and then the transcend to SFO, all in F, for 0€,

Even if I screwed up, on a very cheap J ticket, AA didn't let me down, not sure they would still do it, best part of being an Emerald with AA is the EXP line