golfmad

Here is a link to your original thread:

Schedule change with BA ...

chuckstar

Thank you @golfmad and @ringingup ...

yes, have an 'end game' that is reasonable for the agent to approve and be prepared to compromise if it doesn't fit in with the rules.. solutions not problems etc ...

littlefish

In the spirit of enabling a viable 'end game' to be investigated prior to calling BA. Herewith a small recent mis-step by myself (or possibly AA/BA) that might develop into another data point for this clinic thread.

Previously, I'd been 100% successful in re-booking onto a similar timing and routing, of my choice, on BA or AA when one of my transatlantic flights suffered a moderate schedule change or cancellation. Not so this time .
The DFW-LHR sector of my fully avios thru BAEC single PNR, LHR-LAX-LAS LAS-DFW-LHR booking for November changed such that the BA operated flight moved back 6 hours and an AA flight became the 'early flight' from Dallas to London.
Fine I thought. Let's just re-book onto AA. Call GGL and they say fine. However, 6 weeks later GGL pro-actively call me and say the AA flight is no longer feasible as AA "refused to release a commercial seat".
I've re-checked the 'rules' linked from post #14 in this thread and recalled similar changes were no problem in the past. Seems Option 1 - "Same point of origin and destination via a Joint Business routing", isn't available any more. I7 availability shows in both UK and USA.
So, learned FTers, what gives?
Is there some new limitation on crossover arrangements AA:BA? or on rewards bookings? Is DFW-LHR no longer a JBA route? A temporary glitch?
The good news is ... I feel I'm about to learn something .

KARFA

with avios bookings it is usually the case that non BA flights only allow rebooking on new flights where there is reward availability unless the other airline releases a seat - which they don't seem to want to do very often. I have certainly had this experience before with rewards booked on CX.

endoman

What a useful resource, thank you. Had the seat change email this evening to an impossible flight, flights not until June so I will just enjoy seeing how quickly BA notices.

r2d2

Me and Mrs. booked a cheap HEL - LHR - SEZ and back ticket in Y for next spring. Last Tuesday I got a notification from CheckMyTrip that the BA 62 from SEZ was retimed. Our connection to BA 6034 in LHR went under MCT. No problem, there is a later flight (BA 6030) to HEL with plenty of availability and I was expecting to be rebooked on that. BA also sells tickets to the BA 62 + BA 6030 combination.

However on Friday both of the inbound flights disappeared completely from CheckMyTrip. I haven't yet received any communications from BA. Is this typical or should I expect something has gone wrong and I need to contact BA to sort out the inbound flights?

In case BA doesn't rebook me automatically, would there be a chance of getting a higher booking class by waiting the lowest booking classes to sell out and contacting BA only after that? I guess the only I could lose by waiting is that there might not be that good seats left.

corporate-wage-slave

BA6034 is actually a Finnair service, so while I think it will probably recalculate and rebook in a few days, the Finnair angle may complicate matters. So I would call up in the next few days, perhaps midweek UK lunch time whenever suits you, to rectify. I wouldn't try to game the fare buckets, that's an artificial process anyway, and you could be Q9 until 2 days before travel quite easily. It may be you'll end up in N or higher anyway which if you wanted a cheap CE Upgrade using Avios (on BA metal) would be good enough.

r2d2

Just got an email from BA that we've been rebooked on BA 6030, still in fare class O.

orbitmic

Am I correct that Mexico is fully within the scope of the JBA and that therefore with a cancellation in effect of one flight in my all-BA itinerary I can ask for rerouting via the US?

endoman

snaxmuppet

Was this a AA codeshare? I had a weird thing happen this week... time change and equipment change on a BA flight but when I looked in the AA MMB the time change hadn't happened. I looking in the timetables section of Expert Flyer and the new BA flight was there but so was the old flight with the AA codeshare. I called BA and they said just wait... the AA will update in a day or two and so it did... BA MMB, AA MMB and EF all agree now.

endoman

It was the 288 BA flight, Just rang them up, I think they were trying to move me to the earlier AA codeshare, which I don't want, I'm very happy to spend 5 more hours by the pool in Scottsdale then an extra 2 hours in the lounge at LHR so have asked to be put back on the 288 and then onto then later MAN flight. Hopefully can get my seats back in 62AB. .

Edit, changes now come through on the app and we are back upstairs.

orbitmic

So to continue from this, I have run into a problem I did not experience with BA before. I am booked on a connecting flight to Mexico and back in CW (paid WT+ upgraded with a GUF). BA cancelled my final leg (with more than two weeks notice) and want to rebook me on their next flight which is 4 hours later than originally scheduled and would mean both a 6 hour wait at LHR and an arrival at 11pm at destination at which time ground transport to where I need to go is inexistent.

I called GGL which mentioned that with a cancellation, I could change both outbound and return, change to a day before or after, and change origin/destination by 300 miles. So far so good and I said that I would check the best plan B and call the same agent which I did.

I asked to be rebooked to the next day and to leave a day later too (to keep the same time in MEX). Unfortunately, however, BA do not fly to MEX every day so to move the flights to the next day I need to go via the US with an extra stop. Agent blocked the space on the flights and called ticketing and said he'd call me back. He reported that ticketing replied that:

1) they are not willing to let me rebook the outbound since the cancellation was only for a segment of the return flight
2) they are not willing to let me rebook via the US adding an additional segment and will only rebook me on days where BA fly direct.

I cannot fly earlier, and I cannot fly later either, since the next day I have another J trip booked with BA!

I then asked if they would propose whatever itinerary they are happy with on the day after for the return even if I kept the outbound as was. They replied that nothing was possible (again, there are itineraries but with via the US).

I then called back and spoke to another agent (the shift of the first had ended) and said that since they can't offer a rerouting on a different day, can they refund the segment that they cancelled and I will then book it on another airline (again, I asked if they would rebook me on another airline themselves on that last segment but they said no as I knew they would). Again, nice agent who called the fare department, who answered:

3) that they cannot refund the last segment. They will only refund the whole itinerary or nothing.

Of course, I booked my original flights in July, and if I want to rebook from now (on BA or on others) things are significantly more expensive. Moreover the BA fare people are so flaming incompetent that the last two times BA cancelled my flight and wasn't able to offer a decent rebooking and I opted for a refund, the money took over 4 months to reach my account again (both times for very high amounts as we are talking about two J returns to Australia in one case and two J returns to the West coast in the other). They are also saying I can reroute within 300 miles which is obviously useless as my original airport is by far the closest to where I need to go.

EC261 is not very clear on whether an airline ought to offer a refund of the flight cancelled alone if this is the passenger's preference in the context of a through fare itinerary. In the absence of any specification, I would have thought that there is a decent chance that article 8 ought to be interpreted as entitling the passenger to the refund of the flight cancelled alone but I couldn't find any confirmation on the EC261 thread of whether this is possible or not.

Am I being unreasonable here? I tried to be constructive and suggested four things:

1) move the whole trip by 1 day - refused because they did not want to change the outbound since cancellation was only in the return and there would be an extra connection;
2) move the return only by 1 day - refused again because of the extra connection
3) get a refund for the fare component and tax of the flight that BA cancelled - again refused because it is a through fare.
4) ask them to propose an itinerary of their choice on the days I booked or the next that does not lead me to arriving at 11pm - they have nothing to offer of course because the itineraries I found were by far the best (and cheapest, available in the originally booked buckets). All they can do is offer to rebook me two days later and lose my next long haul for two in J with them.

Anyone has an option no5 I can suggest to them or should I just hate them?

cauchy

When is the flight? Is there a way to go down the County Court route (after letter before action, etc)? The cost outlay is relatively small, and you don't take any of your other options off the table.

I would be surprised if BA fought it - there's a big downside for them if they lose.

littlefish

@ Orbitmic. This has some of the elements from my example upthread. KeaneJohn linked the TT guidelines near the start of this thread and they are still extant at https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb...mer-guidelines

Anyway, the suggestion 2 you cite seems very much possible under the Option 3 in the BA rules linked where BA have cancelled.
In that situation, in my example, I inquired why they could not follow their own rules. The excuse was it was an avios booking, I lucked out on an alternative all-BA route, so left it there.
Yours is basically a cash-fare (albeit GUF'd), it would be interesting the precise excuse in your example (is it a JB routing you are asking for? is it something to do with the GUF?).
Ultimately, if you believe they are not following their own rules, then accept a compromise alternative or escalate.
I did ask the GGL agent, on the booking notes, to be sure to note down what I requested was noted and as refused and then hence I was choosing another routing; just so the facts were easily available were more twists and turns to happen.