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
#3721
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: London
Programs: Mucci. Nothing else matters.
Posts: 38,644
LHR - GLA BA1364 Sun 26th June
I have an elderly aunt (92) travelling back home on this flight, and I'm slightly worried that BA plan to cancel it (Like many recent flights LHR-GLA).
It is completely zeroed on ExpFlyer. However the next flight seems 'normal'. Should i be trying to move her onto the latter flight or wait and hope original flight is ok - but if they DO cancel it, the seats on the BA1492 might be gone - and it is really important that she gets home on the sunday night.
I have an elderly aunt (92) travelling back home on this flight, and I'm slightly worried that BA plan to cancel it (Like many recent flights LHR-GLA).
It is completely zeroed on ExpFlyer. However the next flight seems 'normal'. Should i be trying to move her onto the latter flight or wait and hope original flight is ok - but if they DO cancel it, the seats on the BA1492 might be gone - and it is really important that she gets home on the sunday night.
From what I can see, it seems likely that the aircraft operating BA1364 on 26 June will be used to operate BA2511 GLA-LGW at 0645 on 27June. That flight is currently J4 C0 D0 R0 I0 Y4 B0 H0 K0 M0 L0 V0 N0 O0 Q0 S0 G0. I would be more concerned if the next flight for the BA1364 aircraft was also completely zeroed.
#3722
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: 63,836
It looks more like a full flight to me, rather than one being earmarked for cancellation. There are 2 later services, one of which isn't so full, so personally I would not be too concerned.
#3723
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: London
Posts: 18,405
#3724
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: London
Programs: KLM, BA Silver, Etihad
Posts: 918
Some time has now passed and the MMB didn't change to TFS.
Now this may sound crazy, after not being able to get hold of BA I went into MMB and changed the flights to the Sunday via Madrid.
It worked and I have chosen my seats on BA and Iberia.
Now I'm not sure if I am going to TFS or ACE......
Going to make the Villa and Car bookings interesting :-)
Now this may sound crazy, after not being able to get hold of BA I went into MMB and changed the flights to the Sunday via Madrid.
It worked and I have chosen my seats on BA and Iberia.
Now I'm not sure if I am going to TFS or ACE......
Going to make the Villa and Car bookings interesting :-)
Finally got confirmation on the telephone yesterday that our flights to Tenerife were not booked by the agent on the previous call! Not sure we can call that one a BA IT hitch
#3725
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: 63,836
In a funny way, that worked out, since it gave you more time to play with the options and see what turfs up.
#3726
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: London
Programs: KLM, BA Silver, Etihad
Posts: 918
#3727
Join Date: May 2020
Location: Doha
Programs: BA GGLFL/ VS GOLD/ WY GOLD/ SQ PPS/KL GOLD
Posts: 69
Hello,
Looking for some advice for a family friend, they booked a tier point run from AMS-LAX/JFK-NCE back in AUG21, it has had many changes along the way and most recently a cancellation of a flight last week, they rang BA and requested a change and the change was given however it now has transpired that BA are disputing that the original fare was not valid even tho they sold it! hence the reason why they are not re issuing the tickets. They are flying this week and I am baffled and thought maybe someone in the group could shed some light in what to do next?
Thanks as always!
Looking for some advice for a family friend, they booked a tier point run from AMS-LAX/JFK-NCE back in AUG21, it has had many changes along the way and most recently a cancellation of a flight last week, they rang BA and requested a change and the change was given however it now has transpired that BA are disputing that the original fare was not valid even tho they sold it! hence the reason why they are not re issuing the tickets. They are flying this week and I am baffled and thought maybe someone in the group could shed some light in what to do next?
Thanks as always!
#3728
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: SFO/SJC/OAK
Programs: OZ Diamond (*G), KQ Asante Gold (ST+), Hilton Diamond, IHG Diamond, Marriott Gold
Posts: 1,511
Has anyone gotten an email that their payment was "released" only not to see it arrive in your bank account for months?? I'm coming up on 10 weeks since the email that my payment was released and I'm seriously concerned that the bank account details got screwed up, but it's absolutely impossible to reach a real person that can work on claims, and whenever I send an email I just get a canned response that my payment was already released.
#3729
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Helvetia
Programs: AS; BA Silver; UA; HH Gold; Sprüngli Connaisseur
Posts: 2,912
Sent a DM on Twitter earlier in the week. And then a tweet to point out I'd sent the DM. Now waiting.
#3730
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Helvetia
Programs: AS; BA Silver; UA; HH Gold; Sprüngli Connaisseur
Posts: 2,912
It took a week, but now I'm rebooked on the flights and dates I requested. Still needs to be reticketed, so I can't change seats, but I'm not in horrible seats. On Twitter they tell you that you need to reconfirm within 24 hours, I was closer to 24 minutes. After my last trip though, where they didn't check one rebooking for over a week, I think that one doesn't need to freak out if they haven't got a reply from BA after confirming within 24 hours. So, Twitter still seems to be a good way to avoid having to waste time calling in, so long as you're willing to wait a week or so and have patience. But not nearly as good as it used to be.
#3731
Join Date: Dec 2018
Programs: BA Executive Club
Posts: 20
I have an avios redemption return to Dallas in October and BA have just cancelled the return flight (25 Oct) and are proposing to automatically rebook me onto a new flight a day later which doesn't work for me. The options BA are offering seem to be (i) Dallas - LHR on a different day; or (ii) cancel the whole trip. I was wondering would it be worth asking BA to replace the cancelled return flight with a flight from Austin or Houston on the original date as this would work much better than changing the date? Is this something that they would generally be willing to do or would I just be wasting my time phoning up and asking?
#3732
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,982
I have an avios redemption return to Dallas in October and BA have just cancelled the return flight (25 Oct) and are proposing to automatically rebook me onto a new flight a day later which doesn't work for me. The options BA are offering seem to be (i) Dallas - LHR on a different day; or (ii) cancel the whole trip. I was wondering would it be worth asking BA to replace the cancelled return flight with a flight from Austin or Houston on the original date as this would work much better than changing the date? Is this something that they would generally be willing to do or would I just be wasting my time phoning up and asking?
#3733
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: London
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 215
I have a LHR-JFK-LAX-SFO booking. The JFK-LAX has been cancelled. I just tried calling to change the flight to LHR-MIA-LAX-SFO, but the agent told me this wasn't possible due to the 300 mile and I couldn't change JFK as a connection point...
I thought the 300 mile rule was only on the start / end points, not on connecting points, and I just need to keep the start and end points the same?
Are they right, or is this a HUACA?
I thought the 300 mile rule was only on the start / end points, not on connecting points, and I just need to keep the start and end points the same?
Are they right, or is this a HUACA?
#3734
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: London
Programs: BAEC Gold
Posts: 215
I have a LHR-JFK-LAX-SFO booking. The JFK-LAX has been cancelled. I just tried calling to change the flight to LHR-MIA-LAX-SFO, but the agent told me this wasn't possible due to the 300 mile and I couldn't change JFK as a connection point...
I thought the 300 mile rule was only on the start / end points, not on connecting points, and I just need to keep the start and end points the same?
Are they right, or is this a HUACA?
I thought the 300 mile rule was only on the start / end points, not on connecting points, and I just need to keep the start and end points the same?
Are they right, or is this a HUACA?