Currently there is a policy that allows rebooking on EI as extra flexibility for cancellations during covid 19. However before this policy in normal times it wasnt possible other than the exceptions i noted.

Very confusing indeed, and very inconsistent in terms of their willingness to follow the guidelines. I think in your examples 1 and 3, they did the right thing rebooking you onto QR, (even went above and beyond rebooking you to BRU instead of FRA). Also, I guess staff manning the airport desks have a different mindset as they are used to more urgent cases that need flexibility and quick solutions, whereas call center staff deal with guidelines (the less experienced ones invent reasons when a rebooking is outside their comfort zone and their understanding of the guidelines is quite poor to begin with judging from the inconsistency of data points being offered here on FT). In your 2nd example, I think you should have had the right to be rebooked onto AF/AZ, even if there are no specific arrangement for these airlines. Option 10 of the standard guidelines for cancelled BA/IB flights allows for rebooking onto any other carrier, if they can't get you onto BA or a partner flight.
https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb...mer-guidelines
Only restrictions I can see is that rebooked flight(s) have to be within 1 day of cancelled flight, they have to have an interline agreement with the airline, has to be Prime (non-codeshare) flight number and you can only switch airports in the same city (i.e. LHR/LGW, JFK/EWR, NRT/HND etc) but not move the city within 300 miles.
By now I feel like a broken record having posted this link to the guidelines on the travel agents resource website, but I really feel that there is not even awareness of this option and there have been numerous data points of pax being denied rebookings that would actually be allowed...?
Can someone explain why this option to rebook is so often overlooked/denied when its mentioned in the standard guidelines? It would save so much time spent HUCA for the pax and also free up the lines of the call center...

Was there previously a policy that expired? Last year I had 2 holiday bookings with the DUB-LHR rebooked on EI

Same here. Also had BHD-LHR rebooked onto EI (connecting to BA) as recently as September and October when the BA sectors were cancelled

That would be two of us. As mentioned previously and more so in the main rebook thread, the IATA OAL provision (Other Airline) is only for cancellations notified within 24 hours of departure. And that used to be the main form of cancellations until a few painful months ago. This was the old Airport Control policy, which was given to Contact Centres a year or two back when BA removed the main Ticketing Agent grade at LHR, LGW (LCY never had this option) and the main USA locations. Though non ticketing staff can operate Option 10 via the FLY App, during mass irrops you would need the Contact Centres to do some of the heavy lifting, hence it's a fairly new provision.

I know from the outside it looks like the luck of the draw as to what policies apply, and how it works. But there are the policies in place which can allow some of us to accurately predict what will happen in a given set of circumstances. Look at the main Rebook thread and you will see we mostly get it right. The two things that happen are that some Contact Centre agents, particularly the South African one, often stick to the overarching guideline and don't look at the recent updates, and secondly yes some agents - particularly in airports - simply stretch the policy some of the tme. This then provides the inconsistency which many complain about, but sticking to consistency won't always improve human happiness.

AZ/AF arent covered under policy unless a flight is cancelled within 24 hours of travel. So as much as you think rebooking should have happened it wouldnt because its not covered under policy! I think its harsh to say contact centre staff invent restrictions, when your idea about this is based around your incorrect understanding of the restrictions.

Thanks for the explanation, I really appreciate the intricate details outlined here, and I am sure many, including myself, will benefit from this deeper understanding of how things work when under airport control etc.
Would have been nice to have this detailed explanation before, when I was screaming from the hills about option 10.

Yes, now that cws explained the ins and outs of cancellations within 24 hrs. I stand corrected. However the assertion that some call center agents invent restrictions when faced with a challenge is not harsh, IMHO, evidenced by the many data points of people being denied certain types of rebookings, and then magically being approved once that HUCA or escalate to a supervisor. My (lack) knowledge of the process and the inconsistent way things have been handled are 2 separate issues.

While I agree it's about understanding the policy, you can also forgive people for not understanding the policy because it's not exactly the most accessible document to refer to - and not should it be, it's commercially sensitive IMO. Rules also change relatively frequently at the moment and it's therefore quite understandable that some contact centre staff will have different interpretations over what's in policy - they are only human after all.

Part of this has to do with there being so many INVOL GUIDELINES and many of them can be used for one booking. so whilst some may allow QR, others allow only BA codes on joint venture routes, some allow only if you are flying within 24 hours, etc.... Many times if you know exact published guideline it's easier to ask the agent to load that one, read it and apply on your rebooking.

People dont invent restrictions, they simply arent always up to date with policies or dont understand them. The other thing to understand is that people misunderstand policies and rebook onto carriers that arent permitted in the scenario they have. So just because one agent says no and the next says yes does not mean that the person who said no was wrong.

The wonderful world of human error haha.

Try calling AA - a hundred ways to interpret a sentence!

M

Why were you expecting a grilling?

I think that's a cop out. There's a distinct difference between not understanding something, and not understanding something yet insisting that you do. The latter irrefutably happens in BA call centres (as anywhere - it's a very human trait), and I don't think it's materially different to "inventing restrictions". I've experienced this countless times when calling BA and have heard colleagues do exactly that countless times during my previous job in a (non-airline) call centre.

As I said, people not being willing to entertain the possibility that they may have made a mistake is a very human trait and not remotely restricted to BA call centres (or call centres in general - I'd wager this applies to customers far more than it does to agents), but it is absolutely not a trait that should be excused.

Someone not understanding a policy is different from someone deliberately inventing restrictions, which is what was implied.