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
#3946
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 2,659
I advised my friend on these rules, but the response from BA was that the rules are from Trade bookings only!!! I did raise this further up the thread, that given these are standard customer guidelines why BA agents seem to deny their existence / use for standard customers
Essentially you are referring a BA agent to a site that is for Travel agent use and are surprised when you are told (understandably) by the agent that its a site for travel agents.
#3947
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 2,659
https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb...mer-guidelines
Isn't this a simple case of following the rules for cancelled BA* codeshares?
I know, TravelTrade is for TAs, but those are the general rules, so they should apply.
Under option 1 it says the agent should contact the operating airline as they might offer alternative options.
Alternatively, option 5 allows for rebooking onto oneworld prime, if that flight is within 24 hours of the original one (but requires trade support to get involved).
Am I missing something here?
Isn't this a simple case of following the rules for cancelled BA* codeshares?
I know, TravelTrade is for TAs, but those are the general rules, so they should apply.
Under option 1 it says the agent should contact the operating airline as they might offer alternative options.
Alternatively, option 5 allows for rebooking onto oneworld prime, if that flight is within 24 hours of the original one (but requires trade support to get involved).
Am I missing something here?
#3948
Join Date: Oct 2018
Programs: BAEC Gold, Hilton Diamond, Avis PC
Posts: 261
FYI, this isn't my booking (I would never spend £8K with BA)
Last edited by thomasd21; Jul 27, 2022 at 10:06 am Reason: replaced route with channel to avoid confusion
#3949
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: 63,783
Sorry, crossed wires there I think. I meant that if my friend calls CX and asks them to sort him out, they will tell him to go speak to his agent (in this case BA). Interestingly, CX policies seem quite progressive on this, whether you can get BA to deal with CX on your behalf though is another story:
#3950
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,944
Ok so we're starting this again. Irrespective of these guidelines being on a travel agency site, they are the STANDARD customer guidelines, so they're surely the same (as we all agreed further up the thread, you included Anonba), so should be STANDARD for all customers irrespective of booking channel?
#3952
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 2,659
Ok so we're starting this again. Irrespective of these guidelines being on a travel agency site, they are the STANDARD customer guidelines, so they're surely the same (as we all agreed further up the thread, you included Anonba), so should be STANDARD for all customers irrespective of booking channel?
FYI, this isn't my booking (I would never spend £8K with BA)
FYI, this isn't my booking (I would never spend £8K with BA)
However my point was more that you are telling an agent to go to an unfamiliar site that is for travel agents, so i understand their reaction.
I would also point out that people on flyertalk do often misinterpret the policies from that site.
#3953
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: FRA, JFK
Programs: BAEC GGL, A3*S, Bonvoy Gold, HH Gold
Posts: 1,006
#3954
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: 63,783
#3955
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: LAX, SNA, LGB
Posts: 450
My inbound portion of BA marketed (125 ticket) in J from LHR-JFK-LAX flights has had the JFK-LAX cancelled for the original and rebooked option. The LHR-JFK portion has now completely disappeared on MMB. I do not have the option to Cancel Booking or Find a Different flight. I have not accepted any of the changes. Will I still be able to call and get it rebooked without any issue?
If it wasn't for CWS and Karfa, and others, this booking would have been on another airline/alliance.
Thanks!
If it wasn't for CWS and Karfa, and others, this booking would have been on another airline/alliance.
Thanks!
#3956
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: 63,783
No that's fine, there will be a semi-moribund coupon lurking around after all these changes, and you won't be the only one in this situation. But I'm sure you are pleased you have kept all your e-ticket emails safe. When you are comfortable to make the revised booking you just need to call up with your preferred options in mind, either direct or indirect if you want the Tier Points. If you can make a cash booking even at a silly fare you should be able to be rebooked into that, with a few date restrictions. If you see the flight is operating but appears to be sold out, there is a waiting list option potentially, and sometimes there is hidden availability that an agent can use.
#3957
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: LAX, SNA, LGB
Posts: 450
No that's fine, there will be a semi-moribund coupon lurking around after all these changes, and you won't be the only one in this situation. But I'm sure you are pleased you have kept all your e-ticket emails safe. When you are comfortable to make the revised booking you just need to call up with your preferred options in mind, either direct or indirect if you want the Tier Points. If you can make a cash booking even at a silly fare you should be able to be rebooked into that, with a few date restrictions. If you see the flight is operating but appears to be sold out, there is a waiting list option potentially, and sometimes there is hidden availability that an agent can use.
#3958
Join Date: Feb 2022
Posts: 81
Getting an absolute runaround trying to get a refund from BA. Tried calling and always too busy to answer and in the off-chance that I do get through, I get cut off when they go to speak to the refunds department. Anybody on here with a direct line to somebody who could at least let me know where my full refund is?
#3959
Join Date: Sep 2010
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 255
Tried searching to answer my question and getting a bit lost amongst all the changes happening at the moment with the end of certain policies, depending when the ticket was purchased and when the journey takes place etc.
To be as simple/blunt as possible, if I’m willing to make a speculative avios booking in F/J (new booking made in the next week) for a random date, and my ultimate goal is that some sort of flight cancellation on that booking allows me to change the avios booking to my desired dates (Xmas/new year), what’s my best strategy?
My desired route is MAN-LHR-MIA , so I think having the MAN-LHR leg in my speculative booking is helpful with many short haul changes happening at the moment.
If I make this speculative booking for say November, and there’s a leg cancelled, can I now only change it -3/+14 days or can I change it to Xmas?
Or would I be best off trying to book something for August in the hope the current very flexible changes for flight upto August 7th are soon extended (of course with an added chance the flights in August will be cancelled anyway).
I’m also looking at maybe booking LHR-ATL-MIA rather than LHR-MIA on the tatl sector in the calculated hope there’s gonna be further cuts on the ATL route, I assume in event of cancellations that would allow me to change to the more direct and preferred option.
Any help appreciated. Thanks
To be as simple/blunt as possible, if I’m willing to make a speculative avios booking in F/J (new booking made in the next week) for a random date, and my ultimate goal is that some sort of flight cancellation on that booking allows me to change the avios booking to my desired dates (Xmas/new year), what’s my best strategy?
My desired route is MAN-LHR-MIA , so I think having the MAN-LHR leg in my speculative booking is helpful with many short haul changes happening at the moment.
If I make this speculative booking for say November, and there’s a leg cancelled, can I now only change it -3/+14 days or can I change it to Xmas?
Or would I be best off trying to book something for August in the hope the current very flexible changes for flight upto August 7th are soon extended (of course with an added chance the flights in August will be cancelled anyway).
I’m also looking at maybe booking LHR-ATL-MIA rather than LHR-MIA on the tatl sector in the calculated hope there’s gonna be further cuts on the ATL route, I assume in event of cancellations that would allow me to change to the more direct and preferred option.
Any help appreciated. Thanks