Last edit by: corporate-wage-slave
01 - 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 2023 (now extended from April 2022 including existing FTVs), 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. If you us,ed an FTV to pay for this now cancelled service then you can have a refund back to the FTV's original booking.
Online forms: manual process which may take many weeks
link to webform to claim a refund (UK) or link to webform to claim a refund (US)
Paid Seating Refund:
link to webform to claim a refund (UK)
02 - If your flight is not cancelled but you no longer wish to travel
Commercial booking: If you are eligible for Buy with Confidence, you can have an FTV valid until 31 August 2022 (this has been extended several times). Rebooking may lead to a fare recalculation but no change fee. Travel must be fully completed by this date.
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 30 April 2022, 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: https://ba.com/confidence
Bookings made using Lloyds Upgrade Voucher
You should expect to receive:
A full refund of Avios and money paid plus 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
03 - How to find out the status of your voucher and the amount it contains
Use the Qantas website and look back to your original PNR. Step by step guide by corporate-wage-slave
04 - Future Travel Vouchers versus eVouchers
FTVs cannot be used online (and are not really vouchers), whereas eVouchers, issued for simple bookings, can be used online.
BA are now issuing eVouchers directly in simple cases, and also proactively replacing existing FTVs with new eVouchers. These are usable online. Complex cases still get FTVs, which require a phone call to book. In both cases, you need to apply online through the Cancellation Options in MMB, and both will generate an email typically within a few minutes. This is how to tell the difference
1) eVouchers will get an email entitled "Your British Airways eVoucher"
This will then have a line like this and the online ability is mentioned in the email text:
Your eVoucher details
125-1234567890 / GBP48.87 / WAGE-SLAVE /
2) FTVs will get an email entitled "Your British Airways Future Travel Voucher"
The relevant line then shows:
Voucher code(s)
125-1234567890
It doesn't take much, by FT standards, to turn a booking too complicated for the automated eVoucher. POUGs, flight changes, TCP, seat payment, pay payment with Avios, UuA. 48 and 72 hour Hold bookings all stop it. But if you made a simple single or return booking, point to point, on BA.com and didn't change it, then you should get an eVoucher.
If you obtain an FTV, deploy it on a new booking which BA then cancels, then you can get a refund of the cash from the first booking that led to the FTV. Or an Avios refund without redeposit fees if it was a redemption.
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 2023 (now extended from April 2022 including existing FTVs), 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. If you us,ed an FTV to pay for this now cancelled service then you can have a refund back to the FTV's original booking.
Online forms: manual process which may take many weeks
link to webform to claim a refund (UK) or link to webform to claim a refund (US)
Paid Seating Refund:
link to webform to claim a refund (UK)
02 - If your flight is not cancelled but you no longer wish to travel
Commercial booking: If you are eligible for Buy with Confidence, you can have an FTV valid until 31 August 2022 (this has been extended several times). Rebooking may lead to a fare recalculation but no change fee. Travel must be fully completed by this date.
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 30 April 2022, 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: https://ba.com/confidence
Bookings made using Lloyds Upgrade Voucher
You should expect to receive:
A full refund of Avios and money paid plus 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.
03 - How to find out the status of your voucher and the amount it contains
Use the Qantas website and look back to your original PNR. Step by step guide by corporate-wage-slave
04 - Future Travel Vouchers versus eVouchers
FTVs cannot be used online (and are not really vouchers), whereas eVouchers, issued for simple bookings, can be used online.
BA are now issuing eVouchers directly in simple cases, and also proactively replacing existing FTVs with new eVouchers. These are usable online. Complex cases still get FTVs, which require a phone call to book. In both cases, you need to apply online through the Cancellation Options in MMB, and both will generate an email typically within a few minutes. This is how to tell the difference
1) eVouchers will get an email entitled "Your British Airways eVoucher"
This will then have a line like this and the online ability is mentioned in the email text:
Your eVoucher details
125-1234567890 / GBP48.87 / WAGE-SLAVE /
2) FTVs will get an email entitled "Your British Airways Future Travel Voucher"
The relevant line then shows:
Voucher code(s)
125-1234567890
It doesn't take much, by FT standards, to turn a booking too complicated for the automated eVoucher. POUGs, flight changes, TCP, seat payment, pay payment with Avios, UuA. 48 and 72 hour Hold bookings all stop it. But if you made a simple single or return booking, point to point, on BA.com and didn't change it, then you should get an eVoucher.
If you obtain an FTV, deploy it on a new booking which BA then cancels, then you can get a refund of the cash from the first booking that led to the FTV. Or an Avios refund without redeposit fees if it was a redemption.
BA Covid-19 Flight cancellations, rebooking, and refunds | Help and advice thread
#2476
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,977
I think your actual question is having got an FTV under such circumstances is there any possibility BA may allow you to rebook as if it was an involuntary cancellation with no reward space - and the answer is that would be extremely unlikely, and I haven't seen any examples of that.
#2477
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: LAX
Programs: AA EP, MUCCI, Proudly BA Blue,.
Posts: 888
I think your actual question is having got an FTV under such circumstances is there any possibility BA may allow you to rebook as if it was an involuntary cancellation with no reward space - and the answer is that would be extremely unlikely, and I haven't seen any examples of that.
#2478
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,977
Hi Karfa - no that's not my question - I have a current booking and according to what you said in your previous post, one must call the call centre to get a voluntary refund, which is what I'm seeking. My flight is this friday. So I'm sitting on hold. I went through the steps online to cancel the flight, and stopped just short of the last 'button" as I thought I might involuntarily get stuck with a FTV which I don't want. With all these stories of interminable hold times, I then wondered if there are others who might have been in the same situation as I - just unable to get through to the call centre so are then forced into canceling online and ending up with an FTV.
For a booking with a flight cancellation there is sometimes shown an option to cancel online. I used it myself the other day and I have already got the refund within a week. As long as you are not being directed to the "Apply for a voucher" page (i.e. this one https://www.britishairways.com/trave...1&wfpId=covidn) then you should get a refund. It should be clear that the form is for a refund.
Last edited by KARFA; Sep 13, 2021 at 10:18 am
#2479
Join Date: Jul 2009
Programs: BAEC Silver, IHG Diamond
Posts: 7,775
Would BA likely allow a couple of days gap in a rebooked itinerary?
i.e.
Fly into LHR on the Wednesday morning from JFK.
Supposed to be connecting to a SOF flight the same day but that's been cancelled and next one is Friday.
Added: Got an excellent agent on the phone who sorted things out.
i.e.
Fly into LHR on the Wednesday morning from JFK.
Supposed to be connecting to a SOF flight the same day but that's been cancelled and next one is Friday.
Added: Got an excellent agent on the phone who sorted things out.
Last edited by xenole; Sep 13, 2021 at 3:17 pm
#2480
Join Date: May 2018
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 320
I have a BA Holiday (flights and hotel). My Newark to London inbound flight in October has been cancelled and I’ve been rebooked on a JFK to London flight (provisionally, I am yet to accept it in MMB).
I presume I am eligible for a cash refund of my deposit now. If I don’t accept the new flight and leave it hanging, does my holiday remain fully refundable up until the outbound departure date, and if I pay the balance 3 weeks ahead, but still don’t accept the new flight - does it still remain a refundable booking?
I guess what I am hoping for is to be able to have flexibility after the balance is due at 3 weeks before travel, as we are still waiting to hear if USA will allow UK citizens to travel!
I presume I am eligible for a cash refund of my deposit now. If I don’t accept the new flight and leave it hanging, does my holiday remain fully refundable up until the outbound departure date, and if I pay the balance 3 weeks ahead, but still don’t accept the new flight - does it still remain a refundable booking?
I guess what I am hoping for is to be able to have flexibility after the balance is due at 3 weeks before travel, as we are still waiting to hear if USA will allow UK citizens to travel!
#2481
Join Date: Jan 2015
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 1,630
I purchased a WT+ fare to BGI for the end of November and then UUA to J. The covid situation in Barbados is not looking good so was thinking of caneclling and using the refund to get double TP's with BAH to the Canary Islands.
Is there a single point of contact at BA where I can cancel and rebook, or is it 2 seperate processes?
Is there a single point of contact at BA where I can cancel and rebook, or is it 2 seperate processes?
#2482
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 158
The answer I got from the BA live chat when I asked what happens if we pay the balance and the restrictions aren't lifted was that we would be eligible for a refund right up to before the date of departure.
Others have said they didn't think this was correct and I checked again and I was told the same thing again.
We are not going to get that far tbh unless there's any potnetial dates given and we are going to cancel before balance is due but its useful info to have. We've canceled one trip already just waiting on this one before rebooking.
Others have said they didn't think this was correct and I checked again and I was told the same thing again.
We are not going to get that far tbh unless there's any potnetial dates given and we are going to cancel before balance is due but its useful info to have. We've canceled one trip already just waiting on this one before rebooking.
#2483
Join Date: Aug 2015
Programs: BA Gold/ Star Alliance Gold
Posts: 401
Quick question to the experts here:
- Have booked a MUC-FCO-MUC via lastminute.com
- They booked LH out and Al Italia back
- However, was sold as one package, not two separate one-ways
-> Al Italia MUC-FCO canceled, not re-booking possible (Lastminute.com not willing to make any rebooking/ Al Italia busted)
-> Lastminute not willing to refund the entire ticket as they say it is something we have to discuss with Al Italia
-> Lufthansa of couse saying they are not involved and they fly
Lastminute.com offering a voucher or refund of the Al Italia segment with 80 Euro handling fee
What is the legal situation here?
1. Do these two seperate tickets count as one tiicket if not sold as seperate flights but as a return
2. Who is our legal contact?
3. Would Lastminute have to refund the entire ticket?
4. If not, who has to pay for the new ticket ?
Thanks for your thoughts!
- Have booked a MUC-FCO-MUC via lastminute.com
- They booked LH out and Al Italia back
- However, was sold as one package, not two separate one-ways
-> Al Italia MUC-FCO canceled, not re-booking possible (Lastminute.com not willing to make any rebooking/ Al Italia busted)
-> Lastminute not willing to refund the entire ticket as they say it is something we have to discuss with Al Italia
-> Lufthansa of couse saying they are not involved and they fly
Lastminute.com offering a voucher or refund of the Al Italia segment with 80 Euro handling fee
What is the legal situation here?
1. Do these two seperate tickets count as one tiicket if not sold as seperate flights but as a return
2. Who is our legal contact?
3. Would Lastminute have to refund the entire ticket?
4. If not, who has to pay for the new ticket ?
Thanks for your thoughts!
#2484
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
Programs: TK Elite Plus,BAEC GGL,ITA Executive, AFKL Gold,QR Gold,HH Diamond,Bonvoy Gold,ALL Gold
Posts: 14,186
Quick question to the experts here:
- Have booked a MUC-FCO-MUC via lastminute.com
- They booked LH out and Al Italia back
- However, was sold as one package, not two separate one-ways
-> Al Italia MUC-FCO canceled, not re-booking possible (Lastminute.com not willing to make any rebooking/ Al Italia busted)
-> Lastminute not willing to refund the entire ticket as they say it is something we have to discuss with Al Italia
-> Lufthansa of couse saying they are not involved and they fly
Lastminute.com offering a voucher or refund of the Al Italia segment with 80 Euro handling fee
What is the legal situation here?
1. Do these two seperate tickets count as one tiicket if not sold as seperate flights but as a return
2. Who is our legal contact?
3. Would Lastminute have to refund the entire ticket?
4. If not, who has to pay for the new ticket ?
Thanks for your thoughts!
- Have booked a MUC-FCO-MUC via lastminute.com
- They booked LH out and Al Italia back
- However, was sold as one package, not two separate one-ways
-> Al Italia MUC-FCO canceled, not re-booking possible (Lastminute.com not willing to make any rebooking/ Al Italia busted)
-> Lastminute not willing to refund the entire ticket as they say it is something we have to discuss with Al Italia
-> Lufthansa of couse saying they are not involved and they fly
Lastminute.com offering a voucher or refund of the Al Italia segment with 80 Euro handling fee
What is the legal situation here?
1. Do these two seperate tickets count as one tiicket if not sold as seperate flights but as a return
2. Who is our legal contact?
3. Would Lastminute have to refund the entire ticket?
4. If not, who has to pay for the new ticket ?
Thanks for your thoughts!
If Lastminute.com has booked this has one package and didn't warn that you would have two separate contracts during the booking process, it's their responsibility in this case to process an entire refund of both of the tickets.
LH and AZ is not obligated to do anything in this case as you bought your ticket from a third party and your contact on this issue needs to be Lastminute.com
#2485
Join Date: Aug 2015
Programs: BA Gold/ Star Alliance Gold
Posts: 401
Although this has zero relevance to British Airways, I'll answer your query. You're in the wrong forum.
If Lastminute.com has booked this has one package and didn't warn that you would have two separate contracts during the booking process, it's their responsibility in this case to process an entire refund of both of the tickets.
LH and AZ is not obligated to do anything in this case as you bought your ticket from a third party and your contact on this issue needs to be Lastminute.com
If Lastminute.com has booked this has one package and didn't warn that you would have two separate contracts during the booking process, it's their responsibility in this case to process an entire refund of both of the tickets.
LH and AZ is not obligated to do anything in this case as you bought your ticket from a third party and your contact on this issue needs to be Lastminute.com
Also saw, that this is the BA Covid forum, not the general one.
Sorry for posting at the wrong location.
#2487
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA GGL, A3 Gold, M&M SEN, FlyingBlue Gold, AS MVP Gold, Hilton Diamond, IHG Spire Amb
Posts: 902
Apparently there is now update 16 to BA onto Lufthansa guideline that excludes avios bookings from the rebooking policy. Has anyone seen it or have a copy?
#2488
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: London
Programs: BAEC Gold, Accor Live Limitless Gold, Hilton Honours Gold, Avis Preferred Plus
Posts: 1,807
It's almost certainly correct that the original ticket wasn't refundable, at best flexible, and right now all tickets have a degree of flexibility thanks to BWC. So unfortunately you can't get a refund if BA operate the service(s), and you really don't want a refund since it would be taxes only. So your realistic options are eVoucher or a third booking. And of these the eVoucher should give you more transparency with a new booking, you can capture the fare conditions online at the point of purchase. I'm not sure from the above whether you have lost any money in the process, if it went via an eVoucher then the value should be maintained.
#2489
Just wanted to check if I was given wrong information or ...
I had a ticket which had lots of cancellation starting earlier this Sept. Called to change it to 2022 (since it was to the US).
I was informed that because I am changing it 1 year out, there is no changes allowed on the starting and end point - so I can't change it within the 350miles radius.
Is this correct or I was given the wrong information?
Thanks in advance,
Cheers!
I had a ticket which had lots of cancellation starting earlier this Sept. Called to change it to 2022 (since it was to the US).
I was informed that because I am changing it 1 year out, there is no changes allowed on the starting and end point - so I can't change it within the 350miles radius.
Is this correct or I was given the wrong information?
Thanks in advance,
Cheers!