Mar 14, 20, 4:58 pm
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*
Mar 25, 20, 2:32 pm
#1006
Join Date: Dec 2011
Programs: delta skymiles, BAEC
Posts: 131
I just want to report that I used the link to the refund form which I found upthread....successfully I hope.
My MIA-LHR flight in April was canceled by BA. i wanted to request a refund on MMB, but all I could get was the voucher page.
The JavaScript workaround didn’t work for me.
After I submitted this form, I got a pop up message that said “Your request to cancel and refund your flights has been sent.” So it appears this form does work.
The message also indicated I would receive an email confirming the cancellation and refund details. I’m assuming under the present circumstances this email with details could be months away. But at least I know this form did work and I did get some sort of confirmation message. I have screen shots of everything.
Thanks to those who posted the link to the refund form and to everyone for their generous time and advice.
My MIA-LHR flight in April was canceled by BA. i wanted to request a refund on MMB, but all I could get was the voucher page.
The JavaScript workaround didn’t work for me.
After I submitted this form, I got a pop up message that said “Your request to cancel and refund your flights has been sent.” So it appears this form does work.
The message also indicated I would receive an email confirming the cancellation and refund details. I’m assuming under the present circumstances this email with details could be months away. But at least I know this form did work and I did get some sort of confirmation message. I have screen shots of everything.
Thanks to those who posted the link to the refund form and to everyone for their generous time and advice.
Mar 25, 20, 2:46 pm
#1007
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 4,589
I just want to report that I used the link to the refund form which I found upthread....successfully I hope.
My MIA-LHR flight in April was canceled by BA. i wanted to request a refund on MMB, but all I could get was the voucher page.
The JavaScript workaround didn’t work for me.
After I submitted this form, I got a pop up message that said “Your request to cancel and refund your flights has been sent.” So it appears this form does work.
The message also indicated I would receive an email confirming the cancellation and refund details. I’m assuming under the present circumstances this email with details could be months away. But at least I know this form did work and I did get some sort of confirmation message. I have screen shots of everything.
Thanks to those who posted the link to the refund form and to everyone for their generous time and advice.
My MIA-LHR flight in April was canceled by BA. i wanted to request a refund on MMB, but all I could get was the voucher page.
The JavaScript workaround didn’t work for me.
After I submitted this form, I got a pop up message that said “Your request to cancel and refund your flights has been sent.” So it appears this form does work.
The message also indicated I would receive an email confirming the cancellation and refund details. I’m assuming under the present circumstances this email with details could be months away. But at least I know this form did work and I did get some sort of confirmation message. I have screen shots of everything.
Thanks to those who posted the link to the refund form and to everyone for their generous time and advice.
Mar 25, 20, 2:58 pm
#1008
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: near to SFO and LHR
Programs: BA Gold, B6 Mosiac, VS, AA, DL (and a legacy UA 2MM)
Posts: 2,236
Voucher applied for 10 days ago - no reply, no change
Hello-
It's now been 10 days since I applied for a voucher using the on-line form (the screen said up to 7 days) - I have not received an acknowledgement of any kind (other than the screen message) - not even a "we've received your request" email.
Since then the first flight in the itinerary has been cancelled. I imagine that I can now just cancel everything and get a refund to my credit card instead of the voucher? In the reservation, it shows the first cancellation, the other flights in the itinerary show as running - it seems the voucher has not been processed. I'm worried if I cancel on-line now - neither the cancellation nor the voucher will be processed!
Recommendations please?
Thanks
It's now been 10 days since I applied for a voucher using the on-line form (the screen said up to 7 days) - I have not received an acknowledgement of any kind (other than the screen message) - not even a "we've received your request" email.
Since then the first flight in the itinerary has been cancelled. I imagine that I can now just cancel everything and get a refund to my credit card instead of the voucher? In the reservation, it shows the first cancellation, the other flights in the itinerary show as running - it seems the voucher has not been processed. I'm worried if I cancel on-line now - neither the cancellation nor the voucher will be processed!
Recommendations please?
Thanks
Last edited by StingWest; Mar 25, 20 at 3:24 pm
Mar 25, 20, 3:09 pm
#1009
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 68
If I cancel a flight where I part paid with Avios, then booked a POUG, will I get an e-voucher to the value of the total? Or will the Avios be returned instead of the additional amount on the e-voucher?
Mar 25, 20, 3:09 pm
#1010
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: UK/Australia
Programs: BAEC Gold, UA2MM, QF Platinum, VA Platinum.
Posts: 2,409
I just cancelled a booking (ATH-LHR) for tomorrow, as the flight doesn't appear to have been cancelled.
I tried the JavaScript method using Firefox, but it didn't want to play nicely. I then tried it in Chrome and it worked beautifully. Received a confirmation email within minutes.
Many thanks to willmatt for the heads up.
I tried the JavaScript method using Firefox, but it didn't want to play nicely. I then tried it in Chrome and it worked beautifully. Received a confirmation email within minutes.
Many thanks to willmatt for the heads up.
Mar 25, 20, 3:17 pm
#1011
Suspended
Join Date: Dec 2019
Posts: 629
full amount in cash and avios value in terms of cash reduction applied to voucher
Mar 25, 20, 3:22 pm
#1012
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 4,589
Mar 25, 20, 3:24 pm
#1013
Join Date: Oct 2016
Programs: British Airways
Posts: 62
Good evening all. Apologies if this has been covered before - I've taken a very brief look through some of the pages here but I think it may be best simply to ask the experts on here!
I have a BA holidays Flight+Hotel package from Glasgow to London (flying into LCY) on 9-13 April which we booked in October last year. Unsurprisingly I would like to cancel due to the current COVID-19 situation, however my understanding is that BA is trying to give vouchers instead of a refund. While I'd prefer getting cash rather than vouchers, would I lose out on much on cancellation fees if I requested a cash refund over a voucher? I can see there is a workaround for requesting a cash refund for flights, but would this apply to BA holidays too? I'd rather not phone just now given that I'm not due to fly for two weeks, so I'm in no rush at the moment.
Many thanks in advance.
I have a BA holidays Flight+Hotel package from Glasgow to London (flying into LCY) on 9-13 April which we booked in October last year. Unsurprisingly I would like to cancel due to the current COVID-19 situation, however my understanding is that BA is trying to give vouchers instead of a refund. While I'd prefer getting cash rather than vouchers, would I lose out on much on cancellation fees if I requested a cash refund over a voucher? I can see there is a workaround for requesting a cash refund for flights, but would this apply to BA holidays too? I'd rather not phone just now given that I'm not due to fly for two weeks, so I'm in no rush at the moment.
Many thanks in advance.
Mar 25, 20, 3:48 pm
#1014
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: London UK
Programs: BAEC Silver, IHG Diamond Ambassador
Posts: 2,037
I just cancelled a booking (ATH-LHR) for tomorrow, as the flight doesn't appear to have been cancelled.
I tried the JavaScript method using Firefox, but it didn't want to play nicely. I then tried it in Chrome and it worked beautifully. Received a confirmation email within minutes.
Many thanks to willmatt for the heads up.
I tried the JavaScript method using Firefox, but it didn't want to play nicely. I then tried it in Chrome and it worked beautifully. Received a confirmation email within minutes.
Many thanks to willmatt for the heads up.
Mar 25, 20, 4:07 pm
#1015
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: 61,109
LCY is closing down for a month so that flight will be cancelled if it is not already. You may get a proactive refund email from BAH, if not call them three days before departure for a full refund.
Mar 25, 20, 6:28 pm
#1016
Join Date: Feb 2005
Posts: 73
BA just cancelled my MAY 3 flight, how do I re book another flight ?
Hello,
I am looking for advise: British Airways email me that my flight of May 3 Los Angeles to Milan is cancelled.
When I follow the link to "manage my booking" it only shows that is cancelled, no option to book another flight. It states that I should talk to an agent call but when I try is shows I should call only if I am departing in the next 72 hours. I understand I might need to wait a bit but I would like a suggestion on best way to proceed.
My ticket was issued last year, it is for a business class seat Los Angeles to Milan, May 3.
I would like to book the first open date. I have family in Italy and I am looking forward to travel there as soon as they open up and as close as possible to my original date. Any suggestions on how to proceed will be appreciated: do I need to call and stay on hold ? do I email
Thank you
I am looking for advise: British Airways email me that my flight of May 3 Los Angeles to Milan is cancelled.
When I follow the link to "manage my booking" it only shows that is cancelled, no option to book another flight. It states that I should talk to an agent call but when I try is shows I should call only if I am departing in the next 72 hours. I understand I might need to wait a bit but I would like a suggestion on best way to proceed.
My ticket was issued last year, it is for a business class seat Los Angeles to Milan, May 3.
I would like to book the first open date. I have family in Italy and I am looking forward to travel there as soon as they open up and as close as possible to my original date. Any suggestions on how to proceed will be appreciated: do I need to call and stay on hold ? do I email
Thank you
Mar 25, 20, 6:42 pm
#1017
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,524
Just for anyone this may help - so this was booked thru an OTA, and advice here and on the AA forum was to go back to them now a leg has been canx by BA.
OTA tonight got the go ahead from AA, but tried to charge me for airline tax (!!!) and Canc fee - total of £90. I queried both, especially tax as the flight isn't going anywhere! He said he'd question that too, and then relented on the Canc fee. In the end, sent me an email while we were on the online chat that confirmed full refund for the fare. Flight is Apr 28 and full refund due 4-5 weekdays.
Assuming all ends well, I'd say a well-done to the OTA.
Last edited by PAL62V; Mar 26, 20 at 3:59 am Reason: Changed 4-5 weeks to 4-5 weekdays
Mar 25, 20, 7:46 pm
#1018
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: 61,109
The queues at Contact Centres have come down. I would think in terms of ringing the USA number very early your time, perhaps early next week if the workload continues to slacken off. In a real sense, though, you are best just to leave it until 3 days before travel, and here is the reason why: because of the cancellation you are entitled to a full cash refund, and that right doesn't go away anytime soon. Whereas if you book on to another service, it then operates but you can't make it (e.g. Italy bans American visitors) then you would be potentially left holding a voucher instead. There is no risk of alternative services filling up in the near future. So the best advice must surely be to wait, you have nothing to gain by sorting it out now.
Mar 26, 20, 1:43 am
#1019
Join Date: Jul 2019
Programs: British Airways
Posts: 48
Hello-
It's now been 10 days since I applied for a voucher using the on-line form (the screen said up to 7 days) - I have not received an acknowledgement of any kind (other than the screen message) - not even a "we've received your request" email.
Since then the first flight in the itinerary has been cancelled. I imagine that I can now just cancel everything and get a refund to my credit card instead of the voucher? In the reservation, it shows the first cancellation, the other flights in the itinerary show as running - it seems the voucher has not been processed. I'm worried if I cancel on-line now - neither the cancellation nor the voucher will be processed!
Recommendations please?
Thanks
It's now been 10 days since I applied for a voucher using the on-line form (the screen said up to 7 days) - I have not received an acknowledgement of any kind (other than the screen message) - not even a "we've received your request" email.
Since then the first flight in the itinerary has been cancelled. I imagine that I can now just cancel everything and get a refund to my credit card instead of the voucher? In the reservation, it shows the first cancellation, the other flights in the itinerary show as running - it seems the voucher has not been processed. I'm worried if I cancel on-line now - neither the cancellation nor the voucher will be processed!
Recommendations please?
Thanks
But what BA really need to improve is the information they provide. If they need 21 days instead of 7 days, fine then so be it but they should put this on their website.
From an IT perspective : the challenges the airlines are facing at the moment to get this right are unimaginable...so there are countless flaws in the system which will not be get sorted out so quickly.
Mar 26, 20, 1:59 am
#1020
Join Date: May 2012
Programs: BA Gold, HHonors Diamond, IHG Platinum, Senior Railcard & Bus Pass
Posts: 970
just wait: I have applied for 3 Vouchers 8 days ago and got only the confirmation that all are being processed. One of the vouchers was then in a later info refused for no reasons. You have all the booking numbers, you know how much you paid and as long as BA isn't filing bankruptcy or you haven't paid by credit card there is no need to worry.
But what BA really need to improve is the information they provide. If they need 21 days instead of 7 days, fine then so be it but they should put this on their website.
From an IT perspective : the challenges the airlines are facing at the moment to get this right are unimaginable...so there are countless flaws in the system which will not be get sorted out so quickly.
But what BA really need to improve is the information they provide. If they need 21 days instead of 7 days, fine then so be it but they should put this on their website.
From an IT perspective : the challenges the airlines are facing at the moment to get this right are unimaginable...so there are countless flaws in the system which will not be get sorted out so quickly.
I would also be interested in the answer to that question. The husband of a friend of mine had a flight to the US booked for April. I told her to tell him to hold his nerve and wait for the flight to be cancelled, but it turns out he has already applied for the voucher. If the flight is indeed cancelled before the voucher is processed can he try to get the money back instead?
Last edited by WickedStepMother; Mar 26, 20 at 2:02 am Reason: Spelling
