Last edit by: corporate-wage-slave
BA Covid-19 Rebooking / Cancellation / Refund Help & Advice
If your flight is cancelled by BA:
Commercial booking: Your options are: cash refund OR Future Travel Voucher (FTV) OR rebooking OR Avios credit
Redemption booking: Your options are: full refund of cash and Avios OR FTV OR rebooking.
BA Holidays booking: You should be given a refund pro-actively.
If your flight is cancelled by BA - any flight in the PNR - you can get a full refund so long as you booked directly with BA. You can only get a refund by telephoning BA. Refunds are taking between a few hours to a few weeks to be repaid, depending on the sort of booking made. If you don't wish to travel you can opt for an FTV or eVoucher valid for travel until 30 April 2022, though flights more than 355 days away are not currently bookable - flights are enabled at 355 days before departure. Vouchers such as 2-4-1 are also thereby extended. You can do this even if the flight is operating. The best advice we can give is to delay opting for an eVoucher options until the last moment, since if BA cancel your flight you have more options. BA have also adjusted the Standard Customer Guidelines so that if BA cancel the flight you can be rebooked to anytime in 12 months after you originally bought the ticket, so long as there is space in the cabin - there is no need to have a fare bucket available or Avios availability. If you choose the Avios credit you will get between 108 to 126 Avios per GBP of your fare. Note older posts in this thread may now be inaccuarate since the current policy has been amended several times.
===
If your flight is not cancelled but you don't wish to travel
Commercial booking: If you are eligible for Buy with Confidence, you can have an FTV valid until April 2022. Rebooking may lead to a fare recalculation but no change fee.
Redemption booking: Your can do the normal Avios refund, with the redeposit fee capped at GBP 35 per person. Alternatively for the same fee you can rebook to new dates subject to availability. Alternatively you can have an FTV.
BA Holidays booking: You may be get a refund proactively, otherwise you are looking at an FTV for at least the flight component of your trip, maybe for all components.
If all of the flights in your booking are still scheduled and you don't wish to travel then you best wait until a few days before departure in case there is a cancellation. As you can see above, a cancellation gives you better options. You are in scope with Buy with Confidence if you are flying between now and completing travel before 31 August 2021, also if you bought your ticket after 3 March and due to complete all flights before September 2021. The BA web page on this is:
ba.com/confidence
===
Below are some of the options / workarounds being suggested in order to obtain a refund as opposed to a Future Travel Voucher, but they probably no longer work:
Refund of Cancelled Flights:
Paid Seating Refund:
Bookings made using Lloyds Upgrade Voucher
You should expect to receive:
Lloyds Upgrade Voucher Notes
If your flight is cancelled by BA:
Commercial booking: Your options are: cash refund OR Future Travel Voucher (FTV) OR rebooking OR Avios credit
Redemption booking: Your options are: full refund of cash and Avios OR FTV OR rebooking.
BA Holidays booking: You should be given a refund pro-actively.
If your flight is cancelled by BA - any flight in the PNR - you can get a full refund so long as you booked directly with BA. You can only get a refund by telephoning BA. Refunds are taking between a few hours to a few weeks to be repaid, depending on the sort of booking made. If you don't wish to travel you can opt for an FTV or eVoucher valid for travel until 30 April 2022, though flights more than 355 days away are not currently bookable - flights are enabled at 355 days before departure. Vouchers such as 2-4-1 are also thereby extended. You can do this even if the flight is operating. The best advice we can give is to delay opting for an eVoucher options until the last moment, since if BA cancel your flight you have more options. BA have also adjusted the Standard Customer Guidelines so that if BA cancel the flight you can be rebooked to anytime in 12 months after you originally bought the ticket, so long as there is space in the cabin - there is no need to have a fare bucket available or Avios availability. If you choose the Avios credit you will get between 108 to 126 Avios per GBP of your fare. Note older posts in this thread may now be inaccuarate since the current policy has been amended several times.
===
If your flight is not cancelled but you don't wish to travel
Commercial booking: If you are eligible for Buy with Confidence, you can have an FTV valid until April 2022. Rebooking may lead to a fare recalculation but no change fee.
Redemption booking: Your can do the normal Avios refund, with the redeposit fee capped at GBP 35 per person. Alternatively for the same fee you can rebook to new dates subject to availability. Alternatively you can have an FTV.
BA Holidays booking: You may be get a refund proactively, otherwise you are looking at an FTV for at least the flight component of your trip, maybe for all components.
If all of the flights in your booking are still scheduled and you don't wish to travel then you best wait until a few days before departure in case there is a cancellation. As you can see above, a cancellation gives you better options. You are in scope with Buy with Confidence if you are flying between now and completing travel before 31 August 2021, also if you bought your ticket after 3 March and due to complete all flights before September 2021. The BA web page on this is:
ba.com/confidence
===
Below are some of the options / workarounds being suggested in order to obtain a refund as opposed to a Future Travel Voucher, but they probably no longer work:
Refund of Cancelled Flights:
- Call BA (no longer a requirement to be travelling in the next 72 hours, you may need to make repeated calls to get through). Telephone numbers are in this thread, but you can also find them on BA.com at the bottom left of the website, under Help and Contacts.
- Online forms (Post #435 - corporate-wage-slave) - manual process which may take many weeks
Paid Seating Refund:
- https://www.britishairways.com/trave...ing_claim_form (Post #765 - travelhappypair)
Bookings made using Lloyds Upgrade Voucher
You should expect to receive:
- Full refund of Avios and money paid
- A new voucher issued, which has validity for 6 months (from the date of issue, i.e. when you request the 'refund')
Lloyds Upgrade Voucher Notes
- Flights can be used within 12 months, so it will be good for travel up until the end 6 months plus 12 months if you book just before the new expiry
- It's been advised to take the voucher instead of rebooking as it gives me more flexibility.
- The original expiry date of the voucher was irrelevant because the booking was cancelled.
- You must book within 6 months of the voucher being issued and the ticket has 12 months validity so you can change flights after, provided the new flights are within the 12 month window.
- You won't receive any email, only the refund and the miles.
- Use the Qantas website and look back to your original PNR. Step by step guide in post 954
Covid-19 BA Rebooking/Cancellation/Refund HELP & ADVICE *No Speculation etc*
#2806
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,990
EDIT: just had a further read and under those circumstances you wouldn't have to go via a FTV. If you do a change under BWC and the new fare is lower then a new voucher will be issued for the difference which can then be used as part payment for further travel.
Last edited by KARFA; Jun 23, 2020 at 6:33 am
#2807
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Newcastle UK
Posts: 1,114
So, forget change fees, as I know there are none. If I change dates to flights that are more I have to pay the fare difference, but if the new fare is less than I paid, they don't refund the difference? Seems very one sided.
#2809
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,990
it's presumably a non-refundable fare tho so i don't see any justification for a refund (unless flights are cancelled). at the end of the day BA are providing a mechanism via FTV which at least means you don't lose out. that seems fair to me.
#2810
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: UK
Programs: BA Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 805
Yes, you can get FTV and if you use it for the new booking that is cheaper, you will get another voucher for the difference for a future booking.
#2812
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: London
Programs: Hilton, IHG - BA, GA, LH, QR, SV, TK
Posts: 17,008
#2813
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: UK
Posts: 1,736
Just had Houston on 4th August cancelled which doesn't bode well for flights resuming to the USA
And a bit cheeky- BA have automatically cancelled and refunded a BA holiday for Geneva in September with flights from LBA- with no option to change to MAN- rebooking from MAN is almost double the price.
And a bit cheeky- BA have automatically cancelled and refunded a BA holiday for Geneva in September with flights from LBA- with no option to change to MAN- rebooking from MAN is almost double the price.
Last edited by Barnaby100; Jun 23, 2020 at 8:50 am
#2814
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: UK
Programs: BA Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 805
Just had Houston on 4th August cancelled which doesn't bode well for flights resuming to the USA
And a bit cheeky- BA have automatically cancelled and refunded a BA holiday for Geneva in September with flights from LBA- with no option to change to MAN- rebooking from MAN is almost double the price.
And a bit cheeky- BA have automatically cancelled and refunded a BA holiday for Geneva in September with flights from LBA- with no option to change to MAN- rebooking from MAN is almost double the price.
Is that not the case anymore?
#2815
Join Date: Jan 2014
Posts: 104
Just had LHR-HND for 11 Aug cancelled in BA First. Asked to change date to 3 Jan as that’s the next convenient time I can do this trip and BA aren’t flying a first cabin to HND during winter schedule. Asked to fly JAL instead in First and agent refused and said I can only switch to JAL if -3/+14 days of original flight.
Can I insist on JAL first in Jan or is that option not allowed in the rules. Jan is within the year of ticket validity. Wondering if HUACA is my best option or the agent is right and I cannot switch to JAL.
Can I insist on JAL first in Jan or is that option not allowed in the rules. Jan is within the year of ticket validity. Wondering if HUACA is my best option or the agent is right and I cannot switch to JAL.
#2816
Join Date: May 2012
Location: London
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 291
Hi,
i just had my flight to JNB (in August) cancelled by BA. It is an Amex companion voucher booking.
There are 2 flights to JNB per day and i was on the earlyier flight (both outbound and return). The later flight is still flying though but i don't wish to travel to JNB in August anymore.
I am trying to change the dates for a trip in November. MMB doesn't allow it and says that there is no availability. However, there is availability in November if i try to do a new Amex 241 booking.
is calling BA the only way to get this changed?
thanks for your advice.
i just had my flight to JNB (in August) cancelled by BA. It is an Amex companion voucher booking.
There are 2 flights to JNB per day and i was on the earlyier flight (both outbound and return). The later flight is still flying though but i don't wish to travel to JNB in August anymore.
I am trying to change the dates for a trip in November. MMB doesn't allow it and says that there is no availability. However, there is availability in November if i try to do a new Amex 241 booking.
is calling BA the only way to get this changed?
thanks for your advice.
#2817
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: 63,847
Just had LHR-HND for 11 Aug cancelled in BA First. Asked to change date to 3 Jan as that’s the next convenient time I can do this trip and BA aren’t flying a first cabin to HND during winter schedule. Asked to fly JAL instead in First and agent refused and said I can only switch to JAL if -3/+14 days of original flight.
Can I insist on JAL first in Jan or is that option not allowed in the rules. Jan is within the year of ticket validity. Wondering if HUACA is my best option or the agent is right and I cannot switch to JAL.
Can I insist on JAL first in Jan or is that option not allowed in the rules. Jan is within the year of ticket validity. Wondering if HUACA is my best option or the agent is right and I cannot switch to JAL.
#2818
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: 63,847
Yes, there isn't much by way of waiting time. Provided you didn't book it too long ago you won't necessarily need availability but you need an agent to clear space for that. MMB rebooking is in any event a bit flakey so it's always best to call if the right option doesn't show up or work.
#2819
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: 63,847
It's a BA Holidays booking, which works differently to flight only bookings. BA probably felt they did the OP a service since they are proactively pushing refunds on both cancelled services and unviable services (e.g. travel bans), but if they ring up they should be able to help out.
#2820
Join Date: Apr 2016
Location: San Diego
Programs: Plat Pro AAdvantage, but defected to BAEC
Posts: 1,222
LHR-SAN flights for all of Aug are showing zeros across the board on EF. Looks like my SIL’s flight back home is about to be officially cancelled and my flight for the end of the month in the opposite direction is about to meet the same fate.