Idiotic Customer Service Protocols
 

Last month I called and tried to book seats for me and my travel companion for Club World flights. Was told that they could not help me unless I input our passport information into the booking and then call them back. Not sure why here is this extra step.

Today, I got an email about a reservation for a minor that is travelling with me also in Club World next week, its says:
"We need to speak to you about your existing reservation with us.Please call British Airways at your earliest convenience, quoting the reference number detailed above.If you do not contact us then you may encounter issues with your reservation."
So I call and explain I am traveling with a 9yo and just received this email and they are adamant they must speak with the 9yo passenger, I explain that we are currently in different countries and I cannot put her on the phone. His suggestion is to forward the info to the 9yo and have her call. Seriously?

That is idiotic. Have worked with staff (in another life), who were incapable of thinking through what they were saying before they said it.

I guess I'll have to wait until I travel this weekend and call BA with the 9yo on the line, she is not fluent in English so not sure if I request a translator or if the 9yo has to do this themselves. That in itself is a hassle, plus whatever it is they need to talk to us about.

Surely a case of Hang Up And Call Again. What can there possibly be in an airline booking that would require them to speak directly with a minor?
Just keep asking to speak to a supervisor if the computer says no, pandering to idiotic whims like this helps no one.

Is the minor in the same booking as you or booked separately ?

If in the same booking, it seems strange -

if not in the same booking, then doesn't seem odd that the airline is being restrictive in access to the booking from another person - even more so if the surname was to be different

Adults and children are both covered under data privacy laws

BA is one of the better airlines at protecting bookings from access from random people. Wirh some airlines ( such as AA ) , it is really bad how easily someone can make changes/ get information about bookings of people - no checks to make sure that the person calling is the passenger

Is the child's second name different from your name. My friend had USA security questioning them two weeks ago and wanted a copy of the birth certificate to prove he was the father. Her name begins with C and his with G. They didn't understand that a child could have a different name from the father.

Crazy this day and age when professionals commonly have different post-marriage names.

Agree with you on BA at least trying to work on the issue. But I do not agree there to be any situation where the airline needs to talk to a 9 year old. If its a separate reservation then they need to talk to who ever is the legal guardian of the 9-year old, not the underage passenger. For example the 9-year old could easily say he does't want to go at all since its boring at Granny's. Does this mean he is not going then?

Are you the child's parent or the guardian?

If not, there might be some other reasons why they are imposing somewhat unusual requirements.

Well one other reason for checking the minor is to prevent human trafficking, though it might seem to be more effective to check at the airport and catch the trafficker at the same time than spooking them prematurely. Unless BA is doing this as a legal and financial precaution, since a phone call is cheaper than delaying a plane.

Would suggest a DM to the twitter team with all the details, I have always found them more helpful as a starting point than calling.

Wow. That's almost as bad as the time they wanted to talk to the infant when I wanted to fix a infant ticket on a BA-operated, AA-marketed ticket.

And this was a BA Gold number!!!