BA cancelled my flight- right to re-routeing at BA's expense?
Mar 4, 2018, 3:16 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 12
BA cancelled my flight- right to re-routeing at BA's expense?
As a long-time lurker on this forum, I'd like to say a belated hello and to request advice.
As a BAEC Blue member, my booked Euro Traveller Avios Reward Flight Saver (RFS) 08:50 flight from Heathrow to Kos on Saturday 12th May 2018, as booked back in August, was cancelled by BA a few weeks after booking, because they stopped flying to Kos as of summer 2018, albeit after accepting bookings and payments for the now-cancelled flights. I know perfectly well that I am not entitled to compensation as such due to the notice period given vastly exceeding two weeks, but understood that I was nevertheless entitled by Article 5(1)(a) and Article 8(1)(c) of EU Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 to re-routeing to my contractual booked destination (in this case, Kos) at the airline's expense.
I later found out that I have been unilaterally switched to a BA flight to Athens on the same day, without me having previously requesting this prior to the switch being made, and although I wish to fly to Kos, not to Athens.
I first used the BA online contact form and was advised to phone them.
I phoned up BA on the number given wishing to exercise my (presumed) right to re-routing, so as to reach Kos via an alternative flight or flights. The customer service representatives I spoke to insisted that I had to phone another department (and refused to transfer me directly), using another number which put me on hold forever, before disconnecting me. I have spent over an hour on the phone, in multiple calls, and the only thing I established was that BA would definitely not in any circumstances pay for me to travel on a direct flight to Kos with a rival airline, such as Easyjet.
I subsequently, in October, wrote directly to BA at their Uxbridge address, with proof of posting, requesting that:
1) If possible, that my booking to Kos be honored after all, albeit that I acknowledge that this is unlikely to happen;
2) If the above is not possible, that BA make suitable alternative arrangements for transporting me to my ticketed destination of Kos on 12th May 2018, either via rival airlines (Easyjet?), via Athens, or by some other method;
3) If the above is not possible, that:
a) my RFS flight to Kos be switched to the 12th May 2018 BA0640 08:45 service from Heathrow to Athens instead (in fact, this had already happened without me requesting it), and b) BA formally commit to reimbursing my reasonable and necessarily incurred expenses for onward travel from Athens to my ticketed destination of Kos (i.e. the cost of the additional onward flight from Athens to Kos, and possibly additional costs if a late or cancelled BA flight causes me to miss the (3 hours+) connection at Athens).
I mentioned in my letter that I had found a cheap-ish connecting Olympic flight from Athens to Kos, and suggested that, if BA agreed to reimburse me, I would immediately book this flight, and reclaim the cost from BA after flying.
Five months on, I have not received any reply at all, not even to say that I am not entitled to any of these things. Attempts to complain via the online form have resulted in incoherent replies that do not address the issue at all.
Putting to one side the poor customer service I believe I have received, my questions are:
Am I entitled under EU law to re-routing to my original ticketed destination of Kos, and, if so, what form would this re-routeing take, given that BA no longer fly to Kos?
Does anyone have a contact number for someone at BA who will not insist that I have to phone another (apparently non-existent) department and who has authority to deal with the situation?
If BA continue to ignore me, what should I do next (such as perhaps booking the connecting Olympic flight anyway and sending a bill to BA, and/ or raising a complaint with CEDR)?
As a BAEC Blue member, my booked Euro Traveller Avios Reward Flight Saver (RFS) 08:50 flight from Heathrow to Kos on Saturday 12th May 2018, as booked back in August, was cancelled by BA a few weeks after booking, because they stopped flying to Kos as of summer 2018, albeit after accepting bookings and payments for the now-cancelled flights. I know perfectly well that I am not entitled to compensation as such due to the notice period given vastly exceeding two weeks, but understood that I was nevertheless entitled by Article 5(1)(a) and Article 8(1)(c) of EU Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 to re-routeing to my contractual booked destination (in this case, Kos) at the airline's expense.
I later found out that I have been unilaterally switched to a BA flight to Athens on the same day, without me having previously requesting this prior to the switch being made, and although I wish to fly to Kos, not to Athens.
I first used the BA online contact form and was advised to phone them.
I phoned up BA on the number given wishing to exercise my (presumed) right to re-routing, so as to reach Kos via an alternative flight or flights. The customer service representatives I spoke to insisted that I had to phone another department (and refused to transfer me directly), using another number which put me on hold forever, before disconnecting me. I have spent over an hour on the phone, in multiple calls, and the only thing I established was that BA would definitely not in any circumstances pay for me to travel on a direct flight to Kos with a rival airline, such as Easyjet.
I subsequently, in October, wrote directly to BA at their Uxbridge address, with proof of posting, requesting that:
1) If possible, that my booking to Kos be honored after all, albeit that I acknowledge that this is unlikely to happen;
2) If the above is not possible, that BA make suitable alternative arrangements for transporting me to my ticketed destination of Kos on 12th May 2018, either via rival airlines (Easyjet?), via Athens, or by some other method;
3) If the above is not possible, that:
a) my RFS flight to Kos be switched to the 12th May 2018 BA0640 08:45 service from Heathrow to Athens instead (in fact, this had already happened without me requesting it), and b) BA formally commit to reimbursing my reasonable and necessarily incurred expenses for onward travel from Athens to my ticketed destination of Kos (i.e. the cost of the additional onward flight from Athens to Kos, and possibly additional costs if a late or cancelled BA flight causes me to miss the (3 hours+) connection at Athens).
I mentioned in my letter that I had found a cheap-ish connecting Olympic flight from Athens to Kos, and suggested that, if BA agreed to reimburse me, I would immediately book this flight, and reclaim the cost from BA after flying.
Five months on, I have not received any reply at all, not even to say that I am not entitled to any of these things. Attempts to complain via the online form have resulted in incoherent replies that do not address the issue at all.
Putting to one side the poor customer service I believe I have received, my questions are:
Am I entitled under EU law to re-routing to my original ticketed destination of Kos, and, if so, what form would this re-routeing take, given that BA no longer fly to Kos?
Does anyone have a contact number for someone at BA who will not insist that I have to phone another (apparently non-existent) department and who has authority to deal with the situation?
If BA continue to ignore me, what should I do next (such as perhaps booking the connecting Olympic flight anyway and sending a bill to BA, and/ or raising a complaint with CEDR)?
Mar 4, 2018, 3:26 pm
#2
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Bridport, Dorset
Programs: Mucci, BA Bronze, Hilton Gold
Posts: 2,129
EU261
Reimbursement, re-routing or rebooking in the event of denied boarding or cancellation
The air carrier must offer you, on a one off basis, a choice between:- the reimbursement of your ticket and, if you have a connecting flight, a return flight to the airport of departure at the earliest opportunity
- re-routing to your final destination at the earliest opportunity or,
- re-routing at a later date at your convenience under comparable transport conditions, subject to the availability of seats.
- If the air carrier does not comply with its obligation to offer re-routing or return under comparable transport conditions at the earliest opportunity, it has to reimburse your flight costs.
- If the air carrier does not offer you the choice between reimbursement and re-routing but decides unilaterally to reimburse your original ticket, you are entitled to an additional reimbursement of the price difference with the new ticket (under comparable transport conditions).
- If you booked an outbound and a return flight separately with different air carriers and the outbound flight is cancelled, reimbursement is only due for the cancelled flight.
Mar 4, 2018, 3:40 pm
#4
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
You have a right of a reroute under "comparable conditions" (or a refund or rebooking at a later date). The term is undefined and there is no precedential case determining that a carrier must rebook on another.
As a first step, have you looked at what it would cost to fly LON-KOS on U2? If it is less than what you have paid for your now cancelled ticket, take a full refund from BA and purchase the new U2 ticket yourself. Same if you can find anything on any other carrier.
If not, and presuming that you reside in the UK, take the ATH flights and then purchase your U2 tickets and initiate an MCOL action (forms for a letter before action online). Do understand that if BA does not agree and does wind up litigating, as it sometimes does, that there is no guarantee and if you lose, you are out the money for the ATH-KOS ticket.
As a first step, have you looked at what it would cost to fly LON-KOS on U2? If it is less than what you have paid for your now cancelled ticket, take a full refund from BA and purchase the new U2 ticket yourself. Same if you can find anything on any other carrier.
If not, and presuming that you reside in the UK, take the ATH flights and then purchase your U2 tickets and initiate an MCOL action (forms for a letter before action online). Do understand that if BA does not agree and does wind up litigating, as it sometimes does, that there is no guarantee and if you lose, you are out the money for the ATH-KOS ticket.
Mar 4, 2018, 6:02 pm
#5
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 2,659
As a long-time lurker on this forum, I'd like to say a belated hello and to request advice.
As a BAEC Blue member, my booked Euro Traveller Avios Reward Flight Saver (RFS) 08:50 flight from Heathrow to Kos on Saturday 12th May 2018, as booked back in August, was cancelled by BA a few weeks after booking, because they stopped flying to Kos as of summer 2018, albeit after accepting bookings and payments for the now-cancelled flights. I know perfectly well that I am not entitled to compensation as such due to the notice period given vastly exceeding two weeks, but understood that I was nevertheless entitled by Article 5(1)(a) and Article 8(1)(c) of EU Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 to re-routeing to my contractual booked destination (in this case, Kos) at the airline's expense.
I later found out that I have been unilaterally switched to a BA flight to Athens on the same day, without me having previously requesting this prior to the switch being made, and although I wish to fly to Kos, not to Athens.
I first used the BA online contact form and was advised to phone them.
I phoned up BA on the number given wishing to exercise my (presumed) right to re-routing, so as to reach Kos via an alternative flight or flights. The customer service representatives I spoke to insisted that I had to phone another department (and refused to transfer me directly), using another number which put me on hold forever, before disconnecting me. I have spent over an hour on the phone, in multiple calls, and the only thing I established was that BA would definitely not in any circumstances pay for me to travel on a direct flight to Kos with a rival airline, such as Easyjet.
I subsequently, in October, wrote directly to BA at their Uxbridge address, with proof of posting, requesting that:
1) If possible, that my booking to Kos be honored after all, albeit that I acknowledge that this is unlikely to happen;
2) If the above is not possible, that BA make suitable alternative arrangements for transporting me to my ticketed destination of Kos on 12th May 2018, either via rival airlines (Easyjet?), via Athens, or by some other method;
3) If the above is not possible, that:
a) my RFS flight to Kos be switched to the 12th May 2018 BA0640 08:45 service from Heathrow to Athens instead (in fact, this had already happened without me requesting it), and b) BA formally commit to reimbursing my reasonable and necessarily incurred expenses for onward travel from Athens to my ticketed destination of Kos (i.e. the cost of the additional onward flight from Athens to Kos, and possibly additional costs if a late or cancelled BA flight causes me to miss the (3 hours+) connection at Athens).
I mentioned in my letter that I had found a cheap-ish connecting Olympic flight from Athens to Kos, and suggested that, if BA agreed to reimburse me, I would immediately book this flight, and reclaim the cost from BA after flying.
Five months on, I have not received any reply at all, not even to say that I am not entitled to any of these things. Attempts to complain via the online form have resulted in incoherent replies that do not address the issue at all.
Putting to one side the poor customer service I believe I have received, my questions are:
Am I entitled under EU law to re-routing to my original ticketed destination of Kos, and, if so, what form would this re-routeing take, given that BA no longer fly to Kos?
Does anyone have a contact number for someone at BA who will not insist that I have to phone another (apparently non-existent) department and who has authority to deal with the situation?
If BA continue to ignore me, what should I do next (such as perhaps booking the connecting Olympic flight anyway and sending a bill to BA, and/ or raising a complaint with CEDR)?
As a BAEC Blue member, my booked Euro Traveller Avios Reward Flight Saver (RFS) 08:50 flight from Heathrow to Kos on Saturday 12th May 2018, as booked back in August, was cancelled by BA a few weeks after booking, because they stopped flying to Kos as of summer 2018, albeit after accepting bookings and payments for the now-cancelled flights. I know perfectly well that I am not entitled to compensation as such due to the notice period given vastly exceeding two weeks, but understood that I was nevertheless entitled by Article 5(1)(a) and Article 8(1)(c) of EU Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 to re-routeing to my contractual booked destination (in this case, Kos) at the airline's expense.
I later found out that I have been unilaterally switched to a BA flight to Athens on the same day, without me having previously requesting this prior to the switch being made, and although I wish to fly to Kos, not to Athens.
I first used the BA online contact form and was advised to phone them.
I phoned up BA on the number given wishing to exercise my (presumed) right to re-routing, so as to reach Kos via an alternative flight or flights. The customer service representatives I spoke to insisted that I had to phone another department (and refused to transfer me directly), using another number which put me on hold forever, before disconnecting me. I have spent over an hour on the phone, in multiple calls, and the only thing I established was that BA would definitely not in any circumstances pay for me to travel on a direct flight to Kos with a rival airline, such as Easyjet.
I subsequently, in October, wrote directly to BA at their Uxbridge address, with proof of posting, requesting that:
1) If possible, that my booking to Kos be honored after all, albeit that I acknowledge that this is unlikely to happen;
2) If the above is not possible, that BA make suitable alternative arrangements for transporting me to my ticketed destination of Kos on 12th May 2018, either via rival airlines (Easyjet?), via Athens, or by some other method;
3) If the above is not possible, that:
a) my RFS flight to Kos be switched to the 12th May 2018 BA0640 08:45 service from Heathrow to Athens instead (in fact, this had already happened without me requesting it), and b) BA formally commit to reimbursing my reasonable and necessarily incurred expenses for onward travel from Athens to my ticketed destination of Kos (i.e. the cost of the additional onward flight from Athens to Kos, and possibly additional costs if a late or cancelled BA flight causes me to miss the (3 hours+) connection at Athens).
I mentioned in my letter that I had found a cheap-ish connecting Olympic flight from Athens to Kos, and suggested that, if BA agreed to reimburse me, I would immediately book this flight, and reclaim the cost from BA after flying.
Five months on, I have not received any reply at all, not even to say that I am not entitled to any of these things. Attempts to complain via the online form have resulted in incoherent replies that do not address the issue at all.
Putting to one side the poor customer service I believe I have received, my questions are:
Am I entitled under EU law to re-routing to my original ticketed destination of Kos, and, if so, what form would this re-routeing take, given that BA no longer fly to Kos?
Does anyone have a contact number for someone at BA who will not insist that I have to phone another (apparently non-existent) department and who has authority to deal with the situation?
If BA continue to ignore me, what should I do next (such as perhaps booking the connecting Olympic flight anyway and sending a bill to BA, and/ or raising a complaint with CEDR)?
Mar 5, 2018, 1:09 am
#6
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,766
Yes, I think you've been going down the wrong approach here, probably best to reach out on FT first in this sort of situation. There are some Customer Guidelines for the Kos bookings, they often take a while to be resolved, you just need to go to "Change Existing Reservation" and ask them to look at the Guidelines dated 20 October 2017, make sure they look at the second update since the first update didn't have these options. The routing is somewhat unexpected, via Vienna! Still OS is a good alternative in this scenario. As it happens there is also an Aegean/Olympic option too. Now the problem here is that the Guidelines do not cover Redemptions, this is not correct under EC261, so assuming they won't rebook you, I would ask them to note on your PNR that you have asked for the Guideline to apply to your RFS, make a note of who you spoke to, time and date it, and then book the alternative as per the guideline. Then after travel claim back the cost, you may need to start MCOL or CEDR but they won't have a leg to stand on so they will surrender fairly quickly. With any luck a supervisor will just rebook you anyway.
For commercial reasons, British Airways has suspended services between London Heathrow (LHR) and Kos (KGS).
British Airways apologises to our customers for the disruption to their travel plans, please use rebooking or refund options from Conditions of Carriage
The following additional guidelines are also available to assist our customers.
Update 2 - 20 OCT 2017
Advice for British Airways-125 ticketed customers on CANCELLED BA flights to or from the destinations listed below
Airports affectedKGS – Kos
Tickets issued by19-Oct-17
Ticket travel dates05 May – 29 September 2018
New travel dates05 May – 29 September 2018
Rebook onto other airlines
Rebook onto Austrian Airlines (OS) services between KGS and VIE (Vienna) or v.v. (ONLY on OS flights within the flight number range OS9101 – OS9102), as close to the original travel date as possible but not earlier than 05 May 2018 or later than 29 September 2018.
OS does not offer business class on this route. Use the following classes:-
Club Europe – Y class (in Economy Cabin)
Euro Traveller – L and W class
Then rebook a connecting British Airways operated service between Vienna (VIE) and London (LHR)
Rebook into the same class as original or if not available the lowest class in the same cabinRebook onto other airlines 2Rebook onto Aegean (A3) services operated by Olympic Air (OA) between KGS and ATH (Athens) or v.v. as close to the original travel date as possible but not earlier than 05 May 2018 or later than 29 September 2018.
A3*OA does not offer business class on this route. Use the following classes:-
Club Europe – use T/K/L/Q/H/M/Y class (in Economy Cabin)
Euro Traveller – use T/K/L/Q/H/M/Y class
Then rebook a connecting British Airways operated service between Athens (ATH) and London (LHR)
Rebook into the same class as original or if not available the lowest class in the same cabin
Must add OS A3 INVOL REROUTE DUE ROUTE CANCELLED PER A3/BA AGREEMENT
Redemptions includedNO
Available for TradeYes
Important Info
one involuntary ticket change allowed
Must add OS OS INVOL REROUTE DUE ROUTE CANCELLED PER OS/BA AGREEMENT
For commercial reasons, British Airways has suspended services between London Heathrow (LHR) and Kos (KGS).
British Airways apologises to our customers for the disruption to their travel plans, please use rebooking or refund options from Conditions of Carriage
The following additional guidelines are also available to assist our customers.
Update 2 - 20 OCT 2017
Advice for British Airways-125 ticketed customers on CANCELLED BA flights to or from the destinations listed below
Airports affectedKGS – Kos
Tickets issued by19-Oct-17
Ticket travel dates05 May – 29 September 2018
New travel dates05 May – 29 September 2018
Rebook onto other airlines
Rebook onto Austrian Airlines (OS) services between KGS and VIE (Vienna) or v.v. (ONLY on OS flights within the flight number range OS9101 – OS9102), as close to the original travel date as possible but not earlier than 05 May 2018 or later than 29 September 2018.
OS does not offer business class on this route. Use the following classes:-
Club Europe – Y class (in Economy Cabin)
Euro Traveller – L and W class
Then rebook a connecting British Airways operated service between Vienna (VIE) and London (LHR)
Rebook into the same class as original or if not available the lowest class in the same cabinRebook onto other airlines 2Rebook onto Aegean (A3) services operated by Olympic Air (OA) between KGS and ATH (Athens) or v.v. as close to the original travel date as possible but not earlier than 05 May 2018 or later than 29 September 2018.
A3*OA does not offer business class on this route. Use the following classes:-
Club Europe – use T/K/L/Q/H/M/Y class (in Economy Cabin)
Euro Traveller – use T/K/L/Q/H/M/Y class
Then rebook a connecting British Airways operated service between Athens (ATH) and London (LHR)
Rebook into the same class as original or if not available the lowest class in the same cabin
Must add OS A3 INVOL REROUTE DUE ROUTE CANCELLED PER A3/BA AGREEMENT
Redemptions includedNO
Available for TradeYes
Important Info
one involuntary ticket change allowed
Must add OS OS INVOL REROUTE DUE ROUTE CANCELLED PER OS/BA AGREEMENT
Mar 5, 2018, 2:13 pm
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 12
Thanks everyone for your suggestions.
I tried exactly that, and they insisted I had to call customer relations, giving me a number that didn't work (on hold for ages before disconnecting). I called back and they refused to transfer me directly.
The man I spoke to on the 'change booking' number seemed to think that it would be reasonable for BA to rebook me to Athens and then to cover the cost of the connecting Olympic flight, but insisted that he didn't have the authority to authorise this. I would be prepared to accept this, notwithstanding my arrival in Kos being delayed by 4 hours relative to the original booking, for which I understand and acknowledge I would not be entitled to compensation (but wondered whether it might nevertheless be considered reasonable to claim for a drink and light meal during my enforced Athens stopover)?
The Easyjet direct flight costs an extortionate amount, and gets me to Kos much later than would be ideal, so I would prefer the BA/ Olympic option even in the unlikely event that BA agreed to pay for the Easyjet flight in lieu of the cancelled RFS flight, which they wouldn't.
corporate-wage-slave: Are you quoting from a public or internal document (I suspect internal, but, if public, please could you provide a link)?
Does anyone have a direct contact number which will preferably not take me to a call center whose representatives apparently lack authority either to agree to anything or to transfer my call to a decision maker? I intend to follow corporate-wage-slave's helpful advice.
I regard legal action as a last resort, and am aware that there is no such thing as a 100% certainty on the 'small claims track', even though my own (non-expert) interpretation of the EU Regulation is that BA have an obligation to get me to Kos, or, failing that, to reimburse me for additional expenditure directly and necessarily incurred by me in getting to Kos. That said, if it came to the crunch, would I have a decent chance with CEDR, or should I go direct with MCOL?
The man I spoke to on the 'change booking' number seemed to think that it would be reasonable for BA to rebook me to Athens and then to cover the cost of the connecting Olympic flight, but insisted that he didn't have the authority to authorise this. I would be prepared to accept this, notwithstanding my arrival in Kos being delayed by 4 hours relative to the original booking, for which I understand and acknowledge I would not be entitled to compensation (but wondered whether it might nevertheless be considered reasonable to claim for a drink and light meal during my enforced Athens stopover)?
The Easyjet direct flight costs an extortionate amount, and gets me to Kos much later than would be ideal, so I would prefer the BA/ Olympic option even in the unlikely event that BA agreed to pay for the Easyjet flight in lieu of the cancelled RFS flight, which they wouldn't.
corporate-wage-slave: Are you quoting from a public or internal document (I suspect internal, but, if public, please could you provide a link)?
Does anyone have a direct contact number which will preferably not take me to a call center whose representatives apparently lack authority either to agree to anything or to transfer my call to a decision maker? I intend to follow corporate-wage-slave's helpful advice.
I regard legal action as a last resort, and am aware that there is no such thing as a 100% certainty on the 'small claims track', even though my own (non-expert) interpretation of the EU Regulation is that BA have an obligation to get me to Kos, or, failing that, to reimburse me for additional expenditure directly and necessarily incurred by me in getting to Kos. That said, if it came to the crunch, would I have a decent chance with CEDR, or should I go direct with MCOL?
Mar 5, 2018, 2:25 pm
#8
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,766
I regard legal action as a last resort, and am aware that there is no such thing as a 100% certainty on the 'small claims track', even though my own (non-expert) interpretation of the EU Regulation is that BA have an obligation to get me to Kos, or, failing that, to reimburse me for additional expenditure directly and necessarily incurred by me in getting to Kos. That said, if it came to the crunch, would I have a decent chance with CEDR, or should I go direct with MCOL?
Mar 5, 2018, 4:55 pm
#9
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: UK (currently)
Programs: BA Gold (and many other greater and lesser distinctions)
Posts: 7,207
I profess no specific knowledge but the thread caught by attention and I did notice this in the Guidelines mentioned by CWS:
Must add OS A3 INVOL REROUTE DUE ROUTE CANCELLED PER A3/BA AGREEMENT
Redemptions includedNO
Available for TradeYes
Important Info
one involuntary ticket change allowed
Must add OS OS INVOL REROUTE DUE ROUTE CANCELLED PER OS/BA AGREEMENT
Does this have any relevance given that this is an Avios booking ? If not, what are the words in red referring to ?
Must add OS A3 INVOL REROUTE DUE ROUTE CANCELLED PER A3/BA AGREEMENT
Redemptions includedNO
Available for TradeYes
Important Info
one involuntary ticket change allowed
Must add OS OS INVOL REROUTE DUE ROUTE CANCELLED PER OS/BA AGREEMENT
Does this have any relevance given that this is an Avios booking ? If not, what are the words in red referring to ?
Mar 5, 2018, 5:01 pm
#10
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 509
I would suggest sending a direct message to BA on twitter asking them to call you for help changing a booking. Keep the details to a minimum in the message, the BA Twitter team deal with change bookings both commercial and redemptions and can deal with any cr issues.
Mar 5, 2018, 11:02 pm
#11
Join Date: Jun 2003
Programs: BA, IHG, 5C
Posts: 4,413
I profess no specific knowledge but the thread caught by attention and I did notice this in the Guidelines mentioned by CWS:
Must add OS A3 INVOL REROUTE DUE ROUTE CANCELLED PER A3/BA AGREEMENT
Redemptions includedNO
Available for TradeYes
Important Info
one involuntary ticket change allowed
Must add OS OS INVOL REROUTE DUE ROUTE CANCELLED PER OS/BA AGREEMENT
Does this have any relevance given that this is an Avios booking ? If not, what are the words in red referring to ?
Must add OS A3 INVOL REROUTE DUE ROUTE CANCELLED PER A3/BA AGREEMENT
Redemptions includedNO
Available for TradeYes
Important Info
one involuntary ticket change allowed
Must add OS OS INVOL REROUTE DUE ROUTE CANCELLED PER OS/BA AGREEMENT
Does this have any relevance given that this is an Avios booking ? If not, what are the words in red referring to ?
Mar 5, 2018, 11:53 pm
#12
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Feb 2010
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold; Flying Blue Life Platinum; LH Sen.; Hilton Diamond; Kemal Kebabs Prized Customer
Posts: 63,766
Yes, this is a very good point, which I neglected to mention in my earlier post. If the OP is on Twitter this is where I would start. After sending a Direct Message to the Social Media team - who are based at the Newcastle call centre - someone from BA is likely to call back. So best to do this on a day when you can keep an eye on the phone for a few hours.
Mar 6, 2018, 12:21 am
#13
FlyerTalk Evangelist, Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Somewhere between 0 and 13,000 metres high
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Posts: 30,514
Bolding mine. The level of legal incompetence of BA's operation deciders never ceases to amaze me and reflects very poorly on the brand. OP, BA have absolutely no leg to stand on. Whether you take the reimbursement or a rerouting under equivalent conditions is entirely up to you, not up to BA. You can afford to play hard balls on this if you want as the law is on your side.
Mar 6, 2018, 12:26 am
#14
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: ±38,000 feet
Programs: LH HON, BA GGL, AF Plat, EK Plat
Posts: 6,428
Bolding mine. The level of legal incompetence of BA's operation deciders never ceases to amaze me and reflects very poorly on the brand. OP, BA have absolutely no leg to stand on. Whether you take the reimbursement or a rerouting under equivalent conditions is entirely up to you, not up to BA. You can afford to play hard balls on this if you want as the law is on your side.
Mar 12, 2018, 10:44 am
#15
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 12
Well, after being kept on hold for a long time, and transferred from person to person, BA's customer service flatly and categorically refused either to book me on the ATH-KOS connecting flight, or to reimburse me when I book it myself, even after I drew attention to the internal guidelines and suggested that BA had entered into an agreement with Olympic to transport affected passengers onwards from Athens to Kos. The woman I spoke to even suggested, quite outrageously in my view, that I should be grateful to be offered a flight to Athens rather than simply given a refund.
I have now booked ATH-KOS with Olympic direct, with the cost of this flight having increased enormously since I was originally told by BA's "changes" department that BA would likely agree to cover this cost, but that I should to write to BA to confirm this before booking it (I did, and they never replied). I made the booking now in order to mitigate my losses in the expected event that the price of this connecting flight increases further in the two months prior to travel.
I now intend to:
1) send a formal 'letter before claim' to BA- (should I use the Uxbridge address, or is there some other address I need to use?) making a final demand for reimbursement, quoting the EU Regulation and the Consumer Rights Act 2015, (the latter to dispute BA's asserted right to unilaterally cancel the contract for travel to Kos simply because they find it inexpedient to honor it), disputing their asserted right to treat RFS bookings less favourably than cash bookings, and asserting that my travel to Athens on the amended RFS booking does not amount to acceptance of their unilateral change, but rather a recognition of my duty in law to mitigate my losses as arising from their breach of EU law).
2) On 12th May, fly LHR-ATH on the RFS booking as unilaterally amended by BA
3) fly ATH-KOS on the (now incredibly expensive) Olympic connecting flight
4) as soon as the flight is complete, lodge a CEDR claim seeking reimbursement of the additional cost of this connecting flight (drawing attention to BA's unreasonable behaviour in leading me to believe over the telephone in October that BA would either book me directly on the ATH-KOS flight or else to reimburse me, and then never replying to my letter requesting this, whilst the price increased substantially in the meantime).
My further questions are:
1) Is there anything I should do differently?
2) Are there any other costs I may legitimately claim for, (e.g. the hours spent dealing with this issue, the cost of the multiple phone calls, the cost of posting two letters, the delay of over 3 hours to my arrival in Kos, and perhaps the cost of a light meal and drink in Athens airport in view of the above)? Would CEDR consider these additional claims, or are they restricted to dealing solely with the underlying claim for the ATH-KOS flight?
I have now booked ATH-KOS with Olympic direct, with the cost of this flight having increased enormously since I was originally told by BA's "changes" department that BA would likely agree to cover this cost, but that I should to write to BA to confirm this before booking it (I did, and they never replied). I made the booking now in order to mitigate my losses in the expected event that the price of this connecting flight increases further in the two months prior to travel.
I now intend to:
1) send a formal 'letter before claim' to BA- (should I use the Uxbridge address, or is there some other address I need to use?) making a final demand for reimbursement, quoting the EU Regulation and the Consumer Rights Act 2015, (the latter to dispute BA's asserted right to unilaterally cancel the contract for travel to Kos simply because they find it inexpedient to honor it), disputing their asserted right to treat RFS bookings less favourably than cash bookings, and asserting that my travel to Athens on the amended RFS booking does not amount to acceptance of their unilateral change, but rather a recognition of my duty in law to mitigate my losses as arising from their breach of EU law).
2) On 12th May, fly LHR-ATH on the RFS booking as unilaterally amended by BA
3) fly ATH-KOS on the (now incredibly expensive) Olympic connecting flight
4) as soon as the flight is complete, lodge a CEDR claim seeking reimbursement of the additional cost of this connecting flight (drawing attention to BA's unreasonable behaviour in leading me to believe over the telephone in October that BA would either book me directly on the ATH-KOS flight or else to reimburse me, and then never replying to my letter requesting this, whilst the price increased substantially in the meantime).
My further questions are:
1) Is there anything I should do differently?
2) Are there any other costs I may legitimately claim for, (e.g. the hours spent dealing with this issue, the cost of the multiple phone calls, the cost of posting two letters, the delay of over 3 hours to my arrival in Kos, and perhaps the cost of a light meal and drink in Athens airport in view of the above)? Would CEDR consider these additional claims, or are they restricted to dealing solely with the underlying claim for the ATH-KOS flight?
Last edited by jkdd77; Mar 12, 2018 at 11:25 am