guytp

I was caught up in the chaos yesterday at LHR on an odd-routing.

I had some meetings in Bucharest a few days apart and twinned this with a tier point run. So on one booking I had EDI-LHR-OTP // OTP-LHR-EDI and then on another booking I had the tier point run OTP-HNL. All of it in business. My inbound was HNL-LAX-JFK-LHR-OTP. The JFK-LHR flight was late and the LHR-OTP was delayed meaning I'd miss the meeting I had with someone at 16:30 yesterday and couldn't reschedule it sensibly. I had a choice of get to OTP super-late last night and risk not getting there at all - or just give up and see if I could re-route straight to EDI. BA were super helpful and I did manage to go straight from LCY-EDI in the end last night.

This means I've missed 160 TPs and the Avios on a LHR-OTP // OTP-LHR flight. One member of customer services said I should contact them to try for a cash refund and put a note on my ticket about it.

I'm considering asking whether I can have the 160 TP / Avios as a form of compensation rather than chasing cash which I feel they may be less likely? Ultimately I'm down a hotel in OTP, a missed meeting I have to reschedule and ~£40 to get from LHR-LCY yesterday and due to no baggage connecting had to buy some new T-Shirts today. I wondered if anybody felt this was reasonable or if TPs as compensation was an absolute no-no for BA.

Very close to gold - this would tip me over the edge, otherwise it won't be until March. Any thoughts would be welcome.

T8191

That’s a bad trip!

Regardless of all the various aspects you raise, I doubt very much if BA will credit you for TPs on sectors you haven’t flown. I can’t think of any case here where that has happened.

The rest is usual claim procedures.

golfmad

TPs by way of compensation are unheard of in my experience. You are entitled to Original Routing Credit (ORC) but in this case it's across two separate tickets where you had no protection so I think you could only make an ORC claim for the flights you missed on the return from HNL. If I read it right, that would mean you could claim for LHR-OTP (80 points) whereas you flew LCY-EDI (40 points). You could realistically argue that you are due an extra 40 points.

For the other ticket, you are responsible for the fact that you missed the return from OTP. The ticket will be cancelled if you don't show up for the next sector and BA is not responsible for that.

LondonElite

I doubt you'll get the TPs. These were separate booking, with all the good and back that comes with them. As far as BA is concerned, they would you have gotten you to OTP eventually, if you wanted that, but you didn't (sensibly). The fact that the outside nested return ticket couldn't be flown is not their, but ultimately your fault (on separate tickets). You may get ORC, but I doubt even that.

guytp

Thanks folks - had a feeling that may be the case. I also think the agent was wrong when she said I'd be eligible for a refund on missing the OTP-LHR-EDI return part of the trip as ultimately - as you say - they could have got me there eventually and done their part of it. I'll drop them a message and see what turns up - even if its a few Avios it's better than nothing but won't hold out for any TPs. Ultimately they got me home yesterday. Considering how I saw many passengers were treating staff and the situation they were placed in (with the IT failure at the same time) I felt all BA's staff actually did a really good job yesterday.

Prospero

I agree with the opinions posted above. It appears you are down 160 tier points but since you rejected the option that would have allowed you to use the OTP-EDI ticket, as painful as that might have been, I think it is unlikely you’ll receive a credit for the lost TPs. For everything else, contact your insurer, if you have one.

Joshm300

Only on FT would someone decide a trip to Hawaii was the best way to fill a gap between meetings in Romania! Brilliant! 👍

Sorry to hear of your lost points and hassle, hopefully you get at least 80 TPS back!

Often1

Have to break this down by ticket. BA would have sent you onwards to OTP, taken care of you during the delay, and if applicable, paid delay compensation. Presuming that this allowed you to catch your second ticket's return from OTP, you could have flown that too.

It's not even clear that BA will fork over ORC in this situation.

HIDDY

I'd give you Gold for the way you've accepted the way things didn't work out for you without resorting to ranting.

bafan

This used to be the accepted thinking, until BA broke its own rule and gave TP compensation/status upgrades when it had the major IT meltdown a year or two ago. It can be done, when BA wants it...

alex67500

It's a bit cheeky but you could try ORC (Original Routing Credit). If I remember well there's a thread in the dashboard about it. Getting to OTP would have meant a trip in vain since you'd missed your meeting, so you could argue it, but it'll be luck of the draw as to whether it's accepted or not. And I'm sure we'd all be interested to hear the outcome.

</serious>
Start by something like "I'm the curator of the 'Vlad the Impaler' expo in Honolulu" or something like that

navylad

I wasn’t aware of anyone getting TPs, many were giving waivers on status to retain status for a year without needing the TPs, but this doesn’t obviously help with lifetime status.

As for the OP’s situation, as I understand it, you voluntarily re-routed to EDI, and that was great customer service from BA. Whilst there is no harm in asking, I’d be prepared to be disappointed; this wasn’t an involuntary re-route in which ORC would apply and the events were arguable outside of BA’s control so outside EC261/04. You may be able to get the refund of the unused segments at best I’d suggest.

Personally I would chalk this up to experience and a risk of booking TP runs on separate tickets, indeed it was a far better outcome than you having to take your OTP flight and then being stuck there and having to buy a new car ticket back from OTP.

_nate

From the perspective of someone who has never used the process, just looking at what you've said: given that you missed out on the entire purpose (aside from TP running) of your trip, credit for the original routing doesn't seem too much of an ask.

golfmad

As far as I am aware no-one received tier points, no-one was closer to status by virtue of crossing a tier point threshold be it yearly or lifetime.

HIDDY

Probably not relevant in the OP's case but might BAEC be more sympathetic if all of ones TP earning flights have actually been earned on BA metal?

It would be nice to think so.