nhila

Hey everyone I’m mostly a lurker-poster on AA but happened to be flying BA soon; hence, my post here for guidance.

Flying on a RT ticket LAX-LHR-BCN (and back) in Business Class (FWIW) with a morning arrival at LHR on the outbound.

What happens if I purposely miss my connection at LHR (been asked to attend an event in London day of connection) and then try to standby to keep going to BCN either same day or next day?

is this a normal standby situation where I can just hop on ... or could I possibly have my entire itinerary cancelled on me?

Thanks in advance.

rapidex

You will be expected to travel on the next flight. Skipping off to London without advising BA will lead to the rest of your itinerary being canceled.

nhila

Thanks for the response rapidex. So if I advise BA my intention, is it normal course of action for them to rebook me? If so is it best to do this over the phone in advance or wait until I land at LHR?

Beaulieu

BA don't really do standby in this fashion like US carriers, so if you want to change your flights your best bet is to phone in advance.

UKtravelbear

and pay the change fee and any fare difference.

rapidex

You need to do it in advance, and BA will re price your itinerary. It could possibly be rather expensive if you leave it til the last minute.

rockflyertalk

Would same-day-change work here for the LHR - BCN leg?

Probably very risky...!?!

What is the connection time?

Often1

OP - Take a look at your existing e-ticket fare rules. Those will tell you if there is a penalty (change fee).

You can then go online and do a "dummy" booking of your new itinerary and you will have an idea of roughly what all of this will cost, if anything.

Cost of new ticket less cost of original ticket plus change fee.

SK AAR

You will be required to rebook your ticket. Most likely it will be cheaper to do it in advance than on the day of departure. There is no way BA will let you postpone the LHR-BCN leg without rebooking your ticket. As stated above, if you no-show for the LHR-BCN leg, the rest of your ticket will be cancelled.

You could of course hope for a cancellation or material delay of your BCN flight which would allow you to rebook it to later for free, but that is like playing the lottery.

Cymro

This is one of those awkward situations where it's impossible to know... but if the fare rules are prohibitive now, it might be cheaper to wait until the day of departure. But it's risky! BA fare rules mean that the original fare applies after date of departure, as long as there is availabilty in the same fare class. Of course, there is more likely to be availabilty in the same fare class if the original booking was more flexible and, therefore, more expensive.

A change could be relatively inexpensive if the ticket is qutie fresh; could be outrageously expensive for travel tomorrow. There really is no way of knowing without knowing when the OP is travelling, in which class, and when the ticket was booked. Even then, it's quite a lot of work for anyone who isn't a BA agent. Regardless, missing the flight is a way to get the whole itinerary cancelled unless it was fully flexible to start with.

Beaulieu

No, as this is a through long haul ticket and the same day change from Plus fares are only available on simple short haul one way and returns.

HIDDY

Is attending the 'event' worth paying the extra for?

Cymro

And would there be time to fly back from Barcleona on the same plane? Barcelona has airside connections and is quite feasible to do a same plane turnaround if you have no checked bags.

RoyalSwazi

It might be cheaper to book a separate BCN-LON return ticket. Plenty of airlines on the route and as long as it’s not booked too close to departure or during school holidays you could find a very good deal. The risk is always that your inbound to BCN is delayed, hence plan enough time between connections unless you’re returning on the same plane.

PeaSouper

Is this true even if there are delays at LHR connections? What if you were on a domestic connecting flight, you could very easily be delayed at UK Immigration.