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
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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*
#4786
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: London
Programs: BAEC Gold, Accor Live Limitless Gold, Hilton Honours Gold, Avis Preferred Plus
Posts: 1,807
I am 99% sure that I understand what my options are, but want to make sure that I don't do something stupid.
I have received a cancellation on LHR-LAX as part off a BA Holidays booking (flight + car). They have rebooked me on a flight just a few hours later, but I have not yet accepted this. If I leave it as it is, will this entitle me to rebook at a later date? I would like to leave it as late as possible to do anything to give a bit more flexibility in the booking so as to avoid a "maybe" booking.
I have received a cancellation on LHR-LAX as part off a BA Holidays booking (flight + car). They have rebooked me on a flight just a few hours later, but I have not yet accepted this. If I leave it as it is, will this entitle me to rebook at a later date? I would like to leave it as late as possible to do anything to give a bit more flexibility in the booking so as to avoid a "maybe" booking.
#4787
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: 63,850
I am 99% sure that I understand what my options are, but want to make sure that I don't do something stupid.
I have received a cancellation on LHR-LAX as part off a BA Holidays booking (flight + car). They have rebooked me on a flight just a few hours later, but I have not yet accepted this. If I leave it as it is, will this entitle me to rebook at a later date? I would like to leave it as late as possible to do anything to give a bit more flexibility in the booking so as to avoid a "maybe" booking.
I have received a cancellation on LHR-LAX as part off a BA Holidays booking (flight + car). They have rebooked me on a flight just a few hours later, but I have not yet accepted this. If I leave it as it is, will this entitle me to rebook at a later date? I would like to leave it as late as possible to do anything to give a bit more flexibility in the booking so as to avoid a "maybe" booking.
#4788
Join Date: Apr 2015
Posts: 148
Similar to the above, I have a flight from New Orleans to LHR in May which has been cancelled and I've been moved to the same flight 24hrs earlier. If I don't click 'Accept Flight', am I able to cancel the whole booking (includes an outward flight LHR to Atlanta) at a later date if needs be? It was booked with Avios and a BA companion voucher. I am thinking that the flights may well happen, given news about vaccines etc, but want the option to cancel if the Covid situation in the US is still bad by that point. Thanks
#4789
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: 63,850
Similar to the above, I have a flight from New Orleans to LHR in May which has been cancelled and I've been moved to the same flight 24hrs earlier. If I don't click 'Accept Flight', am I able to cancel the whole booking (includes an outward flight LHR to Atlanta) at a later date if needs be? It was booked with Avios and a BA companion voucher. I am thinking that the flights may well happen, given news about vaccines etc, but want the option to cancel if the Covid situation in the US is still bad by that point. Thanks
#4790
Join Date: Feb 2020
Programs: British Airways Executive Club Gold, Marriott Bonvoy Titanium Elite, Hilton Diamond, IHG Diamond Amb
Posts: 1,774
I am 99% sure that I understand what my options are, but want to make sure that I don't do something stupid.
I have received a cancellation on LHR-LAX as part off a BA Holidays booking (flight + car). They have rebooked me on a flight just a few hours later, but I have not yet accepted this. If I leave it as it is, will this entitle me to rebook at a later date? I would like to leave it as late as possible to do anything to give a bit more flexibility in the booking so as to avoid a "maybe" booking.
I have received a cancellation on LHR-LAX as part off a BA Holidays booking (flight + car). They have rebooked me on a flight just a few hours later, but I have not yet accepted this. If I leave it as it is, will this entitle me to rebook at a later date? I would like to leave it as late as possible to do anything to give a bit more flexibility in the booking so as to avoid a "maybe" booking.
#4791
Join Date: Jan 2017
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 99
Just had an equipment change on my LHR-TYO-LHR flights next May. From CWS on an A350 to old CW on a 787. Grrrrrr!!
#4792
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: 63,850
On a related note to this, I had two flights cancelled from my NCL-LHR-CPT-LHR-NCL booking. I called to speak to BA Holidays on 23rd November and we agreed I would take some time to think about it. At that time, the MMB page wouldn't let me see the booking, as it informed me the flights had been cancelled and I needed to accept the alternatives. However, I missed a call from BAH this weekend during to being at work, and now I notice that I can access the usual MMB page and the alternative flights to my cancelled flights are showing as confirmed. Does this mean BA have unilaterally changed my booking to the new flights without my permission? If so, what recourse do I have? Don't really have time to ring them today. Thanks in advance for any advice.
#4793
Join Date: Apr 2005
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 313
GGL India have just told me I need to rebook within 14 days of original date, or have the same booking class (not cabin) available.
That has not been the case with all my other cancellations so I said thanks, but no thanks. Before I call Manchester in the morning, was I correct?
That has not been the case with all my other cancellations so I said thanks, but no thanks. Before I call Manchester in the morning, was I correct?
#4794
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: 63,850
GGL India have just told me I need to rebook within 14 days of original date, or have the same booking class (not cabin) available.
That has not been the case with all my other cancellations so I said thanks, but no thanks. Before I call Manchester in the morning, was I correct?
That has not been the case with all my other cancellations so I said thanks, but no thanks. Before I call Manchester in the morning, was I correct?
#4795
Join Date: Apr 2005
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 313
Thanks CWS. It was a domestic, booked in August (for travel next week) as a cash fare but using 4000 avios to knock £40 off. Numerous cancellations by BA but I have never accepted any of the changes.
#4796
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: 63,850
That also suggests it was BA metal. You should be able to rebook until July 2021, or get a refund.
#4797
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,990
see this post which shows the policy, this is still current https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/32809399-post18.html
for a cancelled ba flight you can book on to a ba flight on the same route up to ticket validity. You don’t need same selling class availability and you should not be charged anything - so no fees and no fare difference.
for a cancelled ba flight you can book on to a ba flight on the same route up to ticket validity. You don’t need same selling class availability and you should not be charged anything - so no fees and no fare difference.
#4798
Join Date: Apr 2005
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 313
see this post which shows the policy, this is still current https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/32809399-post18.html
for a cancelled ba flight you can book on to a ba flight on the same route up to ticket validity. You don’t need same selling class availability and you should not be charged anything - so no fees and no fare difference.
for a cancelled ba flight you can book on to a ba flight on the same route up to ticket validity. You don’t need same selling class availability and you should not be charged anything - so no fees and no fare difference.
#4799
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 39
New 14 day rule?
Fwiw, I had two people at BA today independently confirming the 14-day window for Avios bookings that some mentioned above (Avios booking, made during the 50% off promo, BA cancelled my return), i e BA allows a booking in the same class within 14 days of the original booking but beyond that only if there are avios seats available. Having recently changed a similar booking to September after BA cancelled both outbound and return I tried to make my case but the Youfirst representative was dead certain and even confirmed with a colleague. Dialling the normal 0800 number shortly thereafter I was given the same message and an explanation including a "decision tree” they have all been given.
#4800
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: LAX, SNA, LGB
Posts: 453
Fwiw, I had two people at BA today independently confirming the 14-day window for Avios bookings that some mentioned above (Avios booking, made during the 50% off promo, BA cancelled my return), i e BA allows a booking in the same class within 14 days of the original booking but beyond that only if there are avios seats available. Having recently changed a similar booking to September after BA cancelled both outbound and return I tried to make my case but the Youfirst representative was dead certain and even confirmed with a colleague. Dialling the normal 0800 number shortly thereafter I was given the same message and an explanation including a "decision tree” they have all been given.