Fickle Stepdaughter
Jun 3, 2018, 6:57 am
#16
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
BA does not do this.
Jun 3, 2018, 7:13 am
#17
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 756
BA should not do this, but humans make mistakes and also bend rules. Most BA phone agents will follow the fare rules to the letter, but I'm sure many on FT will have come across a lenient agent who has taken pity on a pax, and helped them out.
So begging might not be entirely fruitless. And feel free to try more than once (HUCA occasionally works).
So begging might not be entirely fruitless. And feel free to try more than once (HUCA occasionally works).
Jun 3, 2018, 7:41 am
#18
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2002
Programs: Mucci des Hommes Magiques et Magnifiques
Posts: 19,090
Begging is just wrong, suck it up and learn from your mistakes and move on.
Jun 3, 2018, 7:49 am
#19
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 756
In your situation, I'd try the phone option a few times. It'll take ten minutes, and - although unlikely - you might be lucky. There is a reason why 'HUCA' is a thing, and that is because not all phone agents follow or understand fare rules correctly.
Jun 3, 2018, 7:53 am
#20
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2002
Programs: Mucci des Hommes Magiques et Magnifiques
Posts: 19,090
So you want a staff member to make a mistake that would benefit the OP and possibly affect their future career?
Jun 3, 2018, 7:57 am
#21
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: London
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 692
Or just give it a go on the phone, explain your situation, and see if they can help you out. I don't see any mistake you've made thus far.
In your situation, I'd try the phone option a few times. It'll take ten minutes, and - although unlikely - you might be lucky. There is a reason why 'HUCA' is a thing, and that is because not all phone agents follow or understand fare rules correctly.
In your situation, I'd try the phone option a few times. It'll take ten minutes, and - although unlikely - you might be lucky. There is a reason why 'HUCA' is a thing, and that is because not all phone agents follow or understand fare rules correctly.
Jun 3, 2018, 8:01 am
#22
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,753
It amazes me how many threads I have read on this forum about BA staff making mistakes to the detriment of customers. Unless I am mistaken, they have kept their jobs. You can understand why, for once it could be seen to be a positive for a customer to benefit from poor training or misunderstanding of the rules by staff.
Jun 3, 2018, 8:05 am
#24
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 756
HUCA would traditionally be recommended when you know the correct rule or process and the agent you talk to doesn't. It shouldn't be used repeatedly until you get an agent who makes a mistake in your favour. Not least because you're wasting time they could spend on genuine callers.
Last edited by newyorklondon; Jun 3, 2018 at 8:18 am
Jun 3, 2018, 8:07 am
#25
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Brighton. UK
Programs: BA Gold / VS /IHG Diamond & Ambassador
Posts: 14,192
Or just give it a go on the phone, explain your situation, and see if they can help you out. I don't see any mistake you've made thus far.
In your situation, I'd try the phone option a few times. It'll take ten minutes, and - although unlikely - you might be lucky. There is a reason why 'HUCA' is a thing, and that is because not all phone agents follow or understand fare rules correctly.
In your situation, I'd try the phone option a few times. It'll take ten minutes, and - although unlikely - you might be lucky. There is a reason why 'HUCA' is a thing, and that is because not all phone agents follow or understand fare rules correctly.
Sorry but you appear to have very little knowledge about and over egged expectations over what BA will do in circumstances like this. The most they will do is refund the applicable parts of the fare. If the OP wants to use that partial refund to buy a spare seat that's down to them but BA won't keep the seat free if there is another passenger who needs to sit in it.
I agree that the OP hasn't made a mistake but people change their minds all the time about flying but that doesn't mean BA should do anything about it just because a recalcitrant teen is involved.
Jun 3, 2018, 8:12 am
#26
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: London
Programs: MUCCI; BAEC Lifetime Gold; Marriott Bonvoy Emeritus Titanium; Hertz#1, Avis President’s Club
Posts: 3,214
Maybe I should buy a WT ticket and beg to be put in First????
Jun 3, 2018, 8:16 am
#27
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 756
10 minutes? funniest thing I've read on here is a while. Most of the time you'll be waiting a lot more than that for the phone just to be answered!
Sorry but you appear to have very little knowledge about and over egged expectations over what BA will do in circumstances like this. The most they will do is refund the applicable parts of the fare. If the OP wants to use that partial refund to buy a spare seat that's down to them but BA won't keep the seat free if there is another passenger who needs to sit in it.
I agree that the OP hasn't made a mistake but people change their minds all the time about flying but that doesn't mean BA should do anything about it just because a recalcitrant teen is involved.
Sorry but you appear to have very little knowledge about and over egged expectations over what BA will do in circumstances like this. The most they will do is refund the applicable parts of the fare. If the OP wants to use that partial refund to buy a spare seat that's down to them but BA won't keep the seat free if there is another passenger who needs to sit in it.
I agree that the OP hasn't made a mistake but people change their minds all the time about flying but that doesn't mean BA should do anything about it just because a recalcitrant teen is involved.
As for over-egging, I've maintained that any outcome other than the one you and others have outlined up-thead is unlikely. I think that's the third time I've said that.
Jun 3, 2018, 8:38 am
#29
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: Key West
Programs: DL Silver, AA EXP, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 401
If allowed, your best bet is to have the remaining two switch to window and aisle then check-in the missing daughter. It's less likely that someone will willingly grab a middle seat. If it's forced on someone, it's near certain they would switch to either the window or aisle so the other two can sit together.
Jun 3, 2018, 8:46 am
#30
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: JAX
Programs: Ex-BA/AA/CP/LY staff, BA Executive Club Blue, IHG Diamond, Marriott Silver, Chick-fil-A Red
Posts: 3,583
The correct method of booking an EXST involves Revenue Management. Any attempt to bypass them will not work.
There's no way an agent can transform an existing booking for a human into a secure empty seat. The process would require the blessing of RevMan and a manual reissue by the Etkt Help Desk; meaning 3-4 people would have to be complicit in the rule bending...