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*
#3466
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: 63,828
Yes, you can in theory rebook to new dates, but it may prove tricky to do it, given the way that BAH bookings are priced up. Unlike with flight-only bookings, you can simply require BA to offer the next possible date, though you may get lucky in that respect. It may be easier to do this before the automated cancellation halppens.
#3467
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2014
Location: UK
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 12,262
You’ll need to call Bremen or similar, BAH will only touch exUK and exUS and have got very strict on this
#3468
Join Date: Aug 2019
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 46
I am booked on a Dec 18 2020 BA278 flight from SJC to LHR. Last week, however, this flight was cancelled, as BA shifted to any every-other-day schedule.
As I understand it, due to the cancellation, I can choose between a refund or I can choose to be rebooked on another service where a seat is available. In the case of being rebooked, as I understand it, the passenger is not required to pay any difference in fare or fees. Do I have this correct?
I still wish to travel, so I want to be rebooked onto either the service on the 17th or 19th. However, when I contact JustFly (the OTA through whom I booked the ticket - a mistake that I won't be making again for future travel), they are advising me that I will have to pay a difference in fair. That, in order to be rebooked, I will be issued a voucher for the value of my original ticket which will then be applied to any new booking. This to me seems completely incorrect, but is this how this in fact works?
I have contacted BA directly, but they tell me they're unable to take control of the booking. and I have escalated with JustFly to no avail. I don't seem to know who or how to escalate it to, or what words to say.
Does anyone have any advice on how to handle this situation? Many thanks!
As I understand it, due to the cancellation, I can choose between a refund or I can choose to be rebooked on another service where a seat is available. In the case of being rebooked, as I understand it, the passenger is not required to pay any difference in fare or fees. Do I have this correct?
I still wish to travel, so I want to be rebooked onto either the service on the 17th or 19th. However, when I contact JustFly (the OTA through whom I booked the ticket - a mistake that I won't be making again for future travel), they are advising me that I will have to pay a difference in fair. That, in order to be rebooked, I will be issued a voucher for the value of my original ticket which will then be applied to any new booking. This to me seems completely incorrect, but is this how this in fact works?
I have contacted BA directly, but they tell me they're unable to take control of the booking. and I have escalated with JustFly to no avail. I don't seem to know who or how to escalate it to, or what words to say.
Does anyone have any advice on how to handle this situation? Many thanks!
#3469
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,976
I am booked on a Dec 18 2020 BA278 flight from SJC to LHR. Last week, however, this flight was cancelled, as BA shifted to any every-other-day schedule.
As I understand it, due to the cancellation, I can choose between a refund or I can choose to be rebooked on another service where a seat is available. In the case of being rebooked, as I understand it, the passenger is not required to pay any difference in fare or fees. Do I have this correct?
As I understand it, due to the cancellation, I can choose between a refund or I can choose to be rebooked on another service where a seat is available. In the case of being rebooked, as I understand it, the passenger is not required to pay any difference in fare or fees. Do I have this correct?
I still wish to travel, so I want to be rebooked onto either the service on the 17th or 19th. However, when I contact JustFly (the OTA through whom I booked the ticket - a mistake that I won't be making again for future travel), they are advising me that I will have to pay a difference in fair. That, in order to be rebooked, I will be issued a voucher for the value of my original ticket which will then be applied to any new booking. This to me seems completely incorrect, but is this how this in fact works?
I have contacted BA directly, but they tell me they're unable to take control of the booking. and I have escalated with JustFly to no avail. I don't seem to know who or how to escalate it to, or what words to say.
Does anyone have any advice on how to handle this situation? Many thanks!
I have contacted BA directly, but they tell me they're unable to take control of the booking. and I have escalated with JustFly to no avail. I don't seem to know who or how to escalate it to, or what words to say.
Does anyone have any advice on how to handle this situation? Many thanks!
Unfortunately you are stuck with dealing with the TA, so try again and specifically refer them to Update 7 of 25 July 2020 & Guideline 1 for BA-125 ticketed customers whose BA flight is cancelled.
#3470
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: 63,828
I still wish to travel, so I want to be rebooked onto either the service on the 17th or 19th. However, when I contact JustFly (the OTA through whom I booked the ticket - a mistake that I won't be making again for future travel), they are advising me that I will have to pay a difference in fair. That, in order to be rebooked, I will be issued a voucher for the value of my original ticket which will then be applied to any new booking. This to me seems completely incorrect, but is this how this in fact works?
#3472
Join Date: May 2009
Location: UK
Programs: BA GGL For Life: Hilton Diamond: IHG Platinum
Posts: 263
Invol return from different point after first flight taken
Hi all
As ever if there is an obvious link to answer this specific question then just point me in that direction - I did do a quick search but didn’t come up with the specific answer.
(On the other hand if you ask my wife how good I am at looking for anything she would not give me a glowing report 😀
A friend and his family flew to Gothenburg from LHR a few days ago and were due to fly back in 10 days time, but have just been advised by BA that the flight is cancelled and he has been rerouted to leave from Stockholm.
(There are no flights ex GOT within a timescale that would work for him - his is aware that he will have to self isolate on his return from Sweden regardless).
Question is will BA cover the reasonable cost of him getting himself and family to Stockholm and if so what is the process for claiming this?
Again if there is a quick link to answer the above then point me in that direction and all will be good.
As ever if there is an obvious link to answer this specific question then just point me in that direction - I did do a quick search but didn’t come up with the specific answer.
(On the other hand if you ask my wife how good I am at looking for anything she would not give me a glowing report 😀
A friend and his family flew to Gothenburg from LHR a few days ago and were due to fly back in 10 days time, but have just been advised by BA that the flight is cancelled and he has been rerouted to leave from Stockholm.
(There are no flights ex GOT within a timescale that would work for him - his is aware that he will have to self isolate on his return from Sweden regardless).
Question is will BA cover the reasonable cost of him getting himself and family to Stockholm and if so what is the process for claiming this?
Again if there is a quick link to answer the above then point me in that direction and all will be good.
#3473
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: 63,828
There is a provision in EC261 for reclaiming the cost of getting to another airport in this sort of scenario. However when he calls to rebook he will be told that the additional travel cost will be for his own expense and this will be recorded on his PNR. BA will not agree to pay for this before travel. I don't think this gets BA off the EC261 entitlement, particularly after travelling to GOT and now returning on what I guess is a straightforward return ticket. One option - which probably works better for a single traveller ok to accept the hassle - is to leave until the day before travel and then get BA to reroute via other airlines from GOT, probably indirectly. But in this particular scenario I would simply take the train to ARN and hfter travelling send the receipts to BA and invite them to pay it. If they don't then CEDR would probably work for this one, more details in the main EC261 thread.
#3474
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 122
Hi all,
Is it worthwhile persevering with attempting to contact BA? I have a flight which they have cancelled and need to contact them to request a refund (as per their email to me, due to the cancellation there is no viable alternative flight) but every time I ring through on 0800 727 8000, I get the message that they are too busy.
Having worked in a call centre I totally agree with having the minimum staff in the buildings as they can be breeding grounds for disease at the best of times!
Is it worthwhile persevering with attempting to contact BA? I have a flight which they have cancelled and need to contact them to request a refund (as per their email to me, due to the cancellation there is no viable alternative flight) but every time I ring through on 0800 727 8000, I get the message that they are too busy.
Having worked in a call centre I totally agree with having the minimum staff in the buildings as they can be breeding grounds for disease at the best of times!
#3475
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,976
Hi all,
Is it worthwhile persevering with attempting to contact BA? I have a flight which they have cancelled and need to contact them to request a refund (as per their email to me, due to the cancellation there is no viable alternative flight) but every time I ring through on 0800 727 8000, I get the message that they are too busy.
Having worked in a call centre I totally agree with having the minimum staff in the buildings as they can be breeding grounds for disease at the best of times!
Is it worthwhile persevering with attempting to contact BA? I have a flight which they have cancelled and need to contact them to request a refund (as per their email to me, due to the cancellation there is no viable alternative flight) but every time I ring through on 0800 727 8000, I get the message that they are too busy.
Having worked in a call centre I totally agree with having the minimum staff in the buildings as they can be breeding grounds for disease at the best of times!
#3476
Join Date: May 2009
Location: UK
Programs: BA GGL For Life: Hilton Diamond: IHG Platinum
Posts: 263
There is a provision in EC261 for reclaiming the cost of getting to another airport in this sort of scenario. However when he calls to rebook he will be told that the additional travel cost will be for his own expense and this will be recorded on his PNR. BA will not agree to pay for this before travel. I don't think this gets BA off the EC261 entitlement, particularly after travelling to GOT and now returning on what I guess is a straightforward return ticket. One option - which probably works better for a single traveller ok to accept the hassle - is to leave until the day before travel and then get BA to reroute via other airlines from GOT, probably indirectly. But in this particular scenario I would simply take the train to ARN and hfter travelling send the receipts to BA and invite them to pay it. If they don't then CEDR would probably work for this one, more details in the main EC261 thread.
#3477
Join Date: Aug 2016
Posts: 81
I’ve got a club europe avios booking to Spain this Saturday morning that I’d like to cancel. It’s for 2 people and I paid £161+16,000 avios. I booked in February, what are my options if I take cash vs if I take a voucher? Can I amend it to a later date?
Thanks!
Thanks!
#3478
Join Date: Sep 2014
Posts: 122
try this number https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/32593666-post307.html
#3479
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,976
You can also either change or cancel under normal reward booking rules, £35 change fee per person to pay or £35 cancellation per person depending on which you choose. Any cancellation changes would have to be done no later than 24 hours before the flight departure time, whereas a FTV can be applied for online up to 2 hours before departure.
#3480
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: London
Programs: KLM, BA Silver, Etihad
Posts: 918
Just had our flights to Vienna cancelled.
The number in the email to call tells me that the number is not valid and I have to ring another number. This number intern says that they are too busy.
Such poor standards to send out a mail with a number in it they are not responding to.
Do I just spend all day re-trying the 0800 727 800 number until I melt with service?
The number in the email to call tells me that the number is not valid and I have to ring another number. This number intern says that they are too busy.
Such poor standards to send out a mail with a number in it they are not responding to.
Do I just spend all day re-trying the 0800 727 800 number until I melt with service?