Book my own way after BA delay... What happens now?
#106
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 2,660
Many thanks to OP for the various follow-up reports. And my compliments to you for taking all this in stride it seems... It sounds like you will be able to find your bags even if they don't find you on their own, and you have taken care of your highest priority needs ahead of things like bags or bureaucracy.
Given that you now have a flight back to LHR, if it was not excessively dear and BA permits you to use the final leg of your original ticket, then my personal approach would probably be to use the unexpected situation to take a trip to London and forget the rest. Even another hour or two of your personal time in order to get a few dollars back is likely not to be worth it.
But I'm hoping BA doesn't make a fuss over using your final leg at your discretion, and I hope the spontaneous booking by your TA was also a date/time that suits you.
Given that you now have a flight back to LHR, if it was not excessively dear and BA permits you to use the final leg of your original ticket, then my personal approach would probably be to use the unexpected situation to take a trip to London and forget the rest. Even another hour or two of your personal time in order to get a few dollars back is likely not to be worth it.
But I'm hoping BA doesn't make a fuss over using your final leg at your discretion, and I hope the spontaneous booking by your TA was also a date/time that suits you.
#107
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2013
Programs: BA GGL, Matmid Gold, TAP Air S* Gold, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 160
of all the random dates he could have picked for the non-changeable ticket (since it was a throwaway), he "just so happened" to pick the day after Hanukkah" which works for me
#108
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2013
Programs: BA GGL, Matmid Gold, TAP Air S* Gold, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 160
another update:
was about to go to pick up the luggage when the airport calls me and tells me that two luggage arrived and one is only arriving 4 am tomorrow, so they will deliver all three to me tomorrow
asked if i have anything in the luggage to declare, and that's all...
I guess once that situation is resolved we'll figure out the rest...
I wonder if this additional "one suitcase still missing" delay means anything as far as luggage delay compensation
.
was about to go to pick up the luggage when the airport calls me and tells me that two luggage arrived and one is only arriving 4 am tomorrow, so they will deliver all three to me tomorrow
asked if i have anything in the luggage to declare, and that's all...
I guess once that situation is resolved we'll figure out the rest...
I wonder if this additional "one suitcase still missing" delay means anything as far as luggage delay compensation
.
#109
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: 63,821
There's no such thing on BA, or indeed any airline with which I am familiar. There may be with your insurance. However you can claim expenses for any essentials that you need temporarily. Should you be returning "home" that is usually presumed to be zero.
#110
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2013
Programs: BA GGL, Matmid Gold, TAP Air S* Gold, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 160
BA says that they cannot reschedule my last leg for in 3 weeks time.
they asked me for a copy of my elal boarding pass and flight reservation.
they told me that i'm entitled to "a few minutes" of EU delay but not sure based on the circumstances how they will approach that.
still no luggage, courier service says they don't have it yet. bags in TLV, they say...
maybe i will go to TLV tomorrow and try to get them.
will update on how much i get for the leg i didn't take, as well as if i get compensation and how much. i advised them that Israeli legislation law might apply as well
if EU doesn't in this circumstance.
they say it's a simple calculation on if EU laws apply, nothing to do with my status or anything like that coming into play.
they also said that the fact that my LY return came with two legs does not matter to them at all (in my favor, were they to reimburse it.)
they asked me for a copy of my elal boarding pass and flight reservation.
they told me that i'm entitled to "a few minutes" of EU delay but not sure based on the circumstances how they will approach that.
still no luggage, courier service says they don't have it yet. bags in TLV, they say...
maybe i will go to TLV tomorrow and try to get them.
will update on how much i get for the leg i didn't take, as well as if i get compensation and how much. i advised them that Israeli legislation law might apply as well
if EU doesn't in this circumstance.
they say it's a simple calculation on if EU laws apply, nothing to do with my status or anything like that coming into play.
they also said that the fact that my LY return came with two legs does not matter to them at all (in my favor, were they to reimburse it.)
#111
Join Date: May 2004
Posts: 2,660
Choices being either an overnight delay (what they proposed) or a new ticket to get home (a couple hours, not a few minutes) late.
Pretending that you were not delayed because you actually took steps proactively not to be delayed is a bit rich for me. I think clearly BA should either make you whole for what got you back on time, or accept that they created an overnight delay to your trip, and compensate accordingly.
#113
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2013
Programs: BA GGL, Matmid Gold, TAP Air S* Gold, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 160
BA has informed me that a re-route is not allowed-- they will not allow me to use the last leg in a few weeks time, as it "must" be used immediately, within 2-3 days at max after the original flight.
I asked them to notate the account to that effect, which made the agent a wee bit unhappy, but he put me on hold and then came back saying he had asked a supervisor, and a later date was a no-can-do.
I now see my partial payment in avios being refunded to my account, no amount of cash yet to my credit card, so I don't know how much it will be for the leg reimbursement...
I asked them to notate the account to that effect, which made the agent a wee bit unhappy, but he put me on hold and then came back saying he had asked a supervisor, and a later date was a no-can-do.
I now see my partial payment in avios being refunded to my account, no amount of cash yet to my credit card, so I don't know how much it will be for the leg reimbursement...
#114
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: London Stratford, E7
Programs: BAEC Gold! Thanks to FT
Posts: 3,380
I think it's worth remembering that there is rarely not a significant queue at the flight connections rebooking queue. My guess is that there was a BA agent at the gate who met the OP and others who had missed their connections with new boarding passes and hotel vouchers, but all this agent was able to do was provide what the system had offered for new accommodations. Anything beyond that would require visiting the flight connections area, or taking matters into your own hands. If the OP had waited to talk to an agent at the queue, they would have missed their only option that evening. So I don't see it as the OP refusing to talk to BA, but rather the airline not making sufficient staff available to have no queue for rebookings.
A truly proactive option would have been to have an agent meet the OP, give them the option of BA the next day with hotel voucher, or the alternative airline booking on LY, and a car transfer to T4, with the understanding by the passenger that their bag would not make the connection. And if BA's proposed option had been a downgrade I probably would have declined, but at least I would have been given that option.
This set of options is what AA would probably do at their hub airports, but only for CK, BA GGL members, and international first class passengers.
BA could choose to employ enough staff such that at most times (days with a normal amount of misconnections, not days of mass disruption) there is no queue at flight connections. However, I have rarely, if ever, not seen a significant queue at that desk.
There are various things BA could choose to do that they generally do not choose to do, and I'm not saying they should do all of those as they are costly. But I do believe they rarely would choose by default to offer a tight connection on another carrier in a lower class of service.
The one thing BA has announced for the near future is making it possible for far more airport staff to be able to handle rebookings which could help. It's too late for this particular case, but perhaps that will help reduce the queues at the rebooking desks.
A truly proactive option would have been to have an agent meet the OP, give them the option of BA the next day with hotel voucher, or the alternative airline booking on LY, and a car transfer to T4, with the understanding by the passenger that their bag would not make the connection. And if BA's proposed option had been a downgrade I probably would have declined, but at least I would have been given that option.
This set of options is what AA would probably do at their hub airports, but only for CK, BA GGL members, and international first class passengers.
BA could choose to employ enough staff such that at most times (days with a normal amount of misconnections, not days of mass disruption) there is no queue at flight connections. However, I have rarely, if ever, not seen a significant queue at that desk.
There are various things BA could choose to do that they generally do not choose to do, and I'm not saying they should do all of those as they are costly. But I do believe they rarely would choose by default to offer a tight connection on another carrier in a lower class of service.
The one thing BA has announced for the near future is making it possible for far more airport staff to be able to handle rebookings which could help. It's too late for this particular case, but perhaps that will help reduce the queues at the rebooking desks.