LCY8737

KARFA

Thanks. You were very lucky

SKRan

LondonElite

Um, have you actually read the thread past the first post?

Henry III

Quick update: Refund on expensive GLA-LHR ticket (which I cancelled) has now been processed. Fully flexible J (£488) so no issue with BA! Expedia added £3.00 as a booking fee, but this has yet to reappear in my card account. Considering all that has happened, though, I don't think I'll be getting too angry about that and chasing them up.
No trace whatsoever of the cancelled flight in my BAEC account (it was there for a while, because I had to enter my number manually after the booking); is this normal for cancelled bookings?

Points, Avios and miles (KL?FB) have all appeared in my accounts. I was half expecting KL to have offered some 'goodwill' miles for the disruption but nothing has appeared.

Incidentally, on the point raised about getting a TA to put the KL and BA flights on 'one ticket' (or, at least, one booking) - can you get both BAEC and Flying Blue numbers in the system? And, are there two different ticket numbers (as expected, KL and BA stock), or just one (which stock)? If the latter, then there would be protection for missed connexions.

-- Henry

rapidex

Well done^ But why are you still posting on here instead of getting on with what you flew half way around the world for

snaxmuppet

Don't you know??? I have found that this is so addictive that no matter where in the world you are you always have the urge to post

Sounds like a great result

SKRan

Henry III

So, looking at my next trip to Thailand in June/July (as previously mentioned, I've already booked the AMS/LHR/BKK r/t): KLM fares for GLA-AMS are very high (may come down later) and, strangely, the lowest fare I get from a quick search on Expedia is BA out (GLA-LCY-AMS) and U2 (EZY) back (AMS-GLA direct). Strange! Also strange is that the BA flights offered on Expedia don't appear on BA.com.

Also looked (on BA.com) for business class GLA-LON-AMS flights (hoping to get an Avios part-payment option) but very little shows up. Noticed this before for quite a few intra-EU routes on BA.com.

Still, I shall definitely take on board the advice given herein and the stress-experience: book flight(s) to AMS the day before AMS-LHR... and relax overnight in Amsterdam (excellent Cappuccinos in those down-town coffee shops). Also, hotels in the Schiphol area aren't too expensive.

-- Henry

corporate-wage-slave

I would be surprised if Expedia had a noticeable benefit over BA.com for one-stop shorthaul, since given the structure of ticketing there is very little scope for arbitrage. Longhaul would be different. So I'd want to drill down into that to see who has made the mistake! Such as double inputting APD, or in the case of Expedia adding on two Basic fares (so no checked luggage). If it's a small difference then always go with BA rather than Expedia for the usual reasons. You may want to play around with Multi city a bit, and note that GLA-LGW-AMS should be the cheapest option. EDI and NCL are cheaper since there is a better collection of Through Fares to AMS rather than the motley collection of End On fares from GLA. I suspect it's LCY which is stopping part-pay, I've seen that before. Part pay isn't usually good value for money however. And finally I would also point out the other option of a true B2B, so overnighting in LON, since if AMS-LON is a problem, BA tend to be OK at stripping that sector out. This is more of a factor if it's important to be on a particular arrival time into BKK, if preserving the trip rather than timings matter, then indeed overnighting in AMS makes sense. The coffee will keep you awake and sentient.

flyingbee

I have a corporate travel agent booking that involves a mix of sky team (2 legs) and star alliance (3 legs) flights. Those are mixed with flights with the different alliances in both directions. My FlyingBlue and Lufthansa M&M numbers (pre-loaded on my profile in the system) have appeared against the appropriate airline for each leg. Lufthansa is the lead airline for the booking and through the Lufthansa MMB I have been able to select my seats not only on the Lufthansa flights but also on the sky team flights.

Not sure about the ticket numbers though for this trip. For other trips I've had different ticket numbers but all under one booking.

VSLover

similar situation three weeks ago.

had booked DUB-LHR-JFK departing DUB at 720ish in the morning.

day prior i was meant to fly LCY-DUB and moved the flight back to the last one of the day due to work. i was cutting it close and the uber GOT LOST en route to LCY so i missed that flight. returned home and called. first agent quoted me about 2500GBP to drop first leg or "try my luck at LHR in the morning" which doesnt sound like the most brilliant strategy.

hung up, gave it a think and prepared to swallow the 2500GBP charge, explained situation to new agent and she just dropped the first leg and all was forgiven. i was shocked! i dont know if it was due to being GGL and/or in F but i couldn't believe my luck.

granted it was the second flight in my life i've missed but definitely dont plan on going through that stress or potential cost again!

orbitmic

Often1

It does not take a corporate TA or frankly a TA at all. The essence of interline ticketing agreements is that one carrier may ticket onto others'. Thus, so long as BA has an interline ticketing agreement with the others in your itinerary, you may have a single ticket issued.

FFP credit is also segment-by-segment. Whether your ticket includes your BAEC number and then the other numbers for the other carriers, you may add those numbers with the other carriers if it does not. Generally, this may be done online at the other carriers' website, but certainly by phone or at check-in (or later). Generally, so long as one did not claim against another program, one may also retro claim for segments where one did not get this all done in advance.

The only thing to be very careful about is how earnings schemes work. It may be a balance of fare vs. earnings. But, that is your choice.

Henry III

My previous Thai trip was at the time of the Drone Incident! But, also, there was the initial delay due to high winds at AMS (same as what prompted this thread). However, I didn't get any knowledge of it until after I had boarded the GLA-AMS flight, where the crew then announced we'd be waiting on the tarmac for a long time, hoping to get clearance from ATC if things improved (normal procedure, I think). KLM crew were very helpful and the purser checked her phone once we'd landed for details of my BA AMS-LHR flight - which was then also delayed by about the same amount, so I could (theoretically, at least) make the gate in time. (The booked flights that time had a much tighter layover at AMS).

That (AMS-LHR) flight was then further delayed because of issues caused by the drones at LGW (flights being diverted to LHR, etc), so I missed the onward LHR-(HKG)--BKK flights… but that was a 'protected' connexion (through ticket), and the BA transfer staff at LHR sorted it all out. As mentioned before, arrived 12 hours late, even though the delay was actually much longer (direct rather than via HKG).

But I think I've learnt the lesson! It's nice to save £££, but there's a balance between savings and stress-factors! Also, looking to June, I think the best option (currently) seems to be U2 direct each way, GLA-AMS (with an overnight at AMS for the outbound). … That also prompts another memory of a missed AMS-GLA (KL) flight due to a long delay in a (separate ticket) LGW-AMS U2 flight. On that occasion, I spoke to the easyJet folks (airside) at LGW and they moved me (for free) to their next LGW-GLA flight. Brilliant!

-- Henry