Jan 1, 2021, 8:29 am
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
Feb 5, 2021, 12:28 pm
#586
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: 63,804
If I leave the booking alone and don't accept the downgrade, will my options improve? Will the cancellation be a cancellation of my First ticket (even though that service no longer exists on that route) because they've cancelled it before I have accepted a downgrade? It's a bit complicated but just wondering if anyone has had a similar experience. What I'm hoping for is that they cancel the flight and I am then able to rebook at a later date without having to worry about reward availability. Am I being overly optimistic or is this effectively what would happen? I realise that rebooking for a later date still won't allow travel in First but I wouldn't mind so much if that allows me to book onto the a350 service. Bit long winded but thank you again for reading and for any help!
Yes, just wait. So long as you have not agreed to any other course of action you have a lot more flexibility if the flight is cancelled, including the refund without the £35 and rebooking to within 1 year of when you initially booked the flight. More information in the WIki at the top of the thread. I would not hold much hope of First returning to YVR, equally I would not assume that traditional CW seating will remain on it either, this looks like another A350 route to me, but that's crystal ball stuff. Equipment changes very rapidly at the moment, so I wouldn't take much for granted. But for many queries in this space you best wait until things get clearer. However there is a one year expiry date on ticketing which is difficult to get around.
Feb 5, 2021, 12:28 pm
#587
Join Date: Feb 2021
Posts: 2
Thank you for your reply. Strangely, minutes after posting this message I checked MMB and the flight has now been cancelled altogether. Hopefully now makes things simpler! Guess I'll call YouFirst to see what they have to say! Good luck with your predicament and here's hoping for a positive outcome!
Feb 5, 2021, 12:30 pm
#588
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: 63,804
Basically you are allowed one free change per irrop, thereafter things get sticky. Hence the advice to leave things until the situation gets clearer. So in additional to my advice on "maybe" bookings, I now add "don't rush".
Feb 5, 2021, 1:24 pm
#589
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Small town near RNO
Programs: Delta 1MM/PM, BAEC GGL, Asiana Diamond Plus(Lifetime), AC *Tangerine
Posts: 899
C-W-S,
Thanks, I kind of figured that.
No IRROPs involved (until my bag missed the connection at LHR coming home). Trip was in January, booked in July, and the first cancellation (LAX-LHR) was in August and the start of the hot mess with LHR-DXB started in November.
Issue is the CS supervisor at LHR said that the second cancellation/reinstatement (LHR-DXB-LHR) mess should have opened things up again due to the first (of three) cancellation on those legs. We looked at the whole history from the app (and their system) and it looked like they rebooked me to the earlier flight and then rebooked me again on the original flight numbers with a more couple sets of cancellation/rebooking in between with no action from me besides looking at things with MMB.
Thanks, I kind of figured that.
No IRROPs involved (until my bag missed the connection at LHR coming home). Trip was in January, booked in July, and the first cancellation (LAX-LHR) was in August and the start of the hot mess with LHR-DXB started in November.
Issue is the CS supervisor at LHR said that the second cancellation/reinstatement (LHR-DXB-LHR) mess should have opened things up again due to the first (of three) cancellation on those legs. We looked at the whole history from the app (and their system) and it looked like they rebooked me to the earlier flight and then rebooked me again on the original flight numbers with a more couple sets of cancellation/rebooking in between with no action from me besides looking at things with MMB.
Feb 5, 2021, 2:36 pm
#590
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Kent, UK
Posts: 28
Please can I ask for "put my mind at rest" confirmation on the following:
My outbound LHR - JNB on 16 April was cancelled earlier this week with the message that I had been rebooked on to the same flight on 17 April. Can I just confirm that despite it saying that I have already been booked on to the 17 April flight, as long as I don't click to "Accept" the change, or anything else for that matter, then it does still leave all of my options open i.e. either refund, change dates, or FTV?
I'm uncertain what I want to do with this particular outbound/return so would prefer to leave it for as long as possible before having to make a decision. Having read all threads, is my understanding correct that I can leave it right though until just before the departure date to make a choice? I don't actually intend to do that, but retaining all options until the end of March would be useful. If that is correct, I presume that I just ignore all communications from BA on the subject until then?
Thank you in advance.
My outbound LHR - JNB on 16 April was cancelled earlier this week with the message that I had been rebooked on to the same flight on 17 April. Can I just confirm that despite it saying that I have already been booked on to the 17 April flight, as long as I don't click to "Accept" the change, or anything else for that matter, then it does still leave all of my options open i.e. either refund, change dates, or FTV?
I'm uncertain what I want to do with this particular outbound/return so would prefer to leave it for as long as possible before having to make a decision. Having read all threads, is my understanding correct that I can leave it right though until just before the departure date to make a choice? I don't actually intend to do that, but retaining all options until the end of March would be useful. If that is correct, I presume that I just ignore all communications from BA on the subject until then?
Thank you in advance.
Feb 5, 2021, 2:41 pm
#591
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: 63,804
Yes,you are just seeing Reaccom in action, where BA's robots have put you on the next available flight. So long as you do nothing then you keep your options open and I would leave the matter at least a month before taking any action. In the meantime there will probably be further cancellations and at some point Reaccom will give up.
Feb 5, 2021, 2:49 pm
#592
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Kent, UK
Posts: 28
Thank you very much for the ever swift reply C-W-S. Much appreciated and very glad to know that my interpretation is correct. Yes, I am unlikely to touch it until almost the end of March and realistically doubt that I will be seeing JNB for some considerable time. It depends what happens with a couple of other non African bookings as to what I want to do with this one. I will follow your advice and ignore anything that comes my way from the BA bots.
Thank you once again.
Thank you once again.
Feb 6, 2021, 5:31 am
#593
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA Gold, VS Gold
Posts: 398
I used an FTV to book flights a couple of weeks ago. Those flights have now been cancelled but BA had not issued the e-ticket at the time the flight was cancelled so they are now saying that because they had not issued the tickets I can't get a refund only another FTV. Seems a little unfair since they could delay issuing etickets until the last minute while cancelling flights. Any thoughts?
This just seems wrong otherwise BA could delay ticketing all flights until a couple of weeks before departure and cancel them 3-4 weeks out and if you aren't ticketed tough luck!
UPDATE - I PUSHED BACK HARD AND THEY HAVE NOW AGREED A FULL REFUND BUT WILL TAKE 2-3 WEEKS
This just seems wrong otherwise BA could delay ticketing all flights until a couple of weeks before departure and cancel them 3-4 weeks out and if you aren't ticketed tough luck!
UPDATE - I PUSHED BACK HARD AND THEY HAVE NOW AGREED A FULL REFUND BUT WILL TAKE 2-3 WEEKS
Last edited by Waggy; Feb 6, 2021 at 6:27 am
Feb 6, 2021, 6:05 am
#594
Join Date: Apr 2020
Posts: 48
Hi all
I now have both flights in a LHR>KUL & SIN>LHR booking cancelled. These were for April 21. As per advice here I am leaving them untouched.
But do I have to do something with them before a certain date e.g. the outbound original flight date, or can I leave them in their current state until the end of 1 year ticket validity (Oct 21)?
Secretly I'm hoping that BA extend their policy so I can force a rebooking over the 1 year ticket expiry, but I'm thinking of leaving them until May time just sitting there as cancelled so I can try and go for a voucher and avios rebook for April 22. However, I don't want them to be refunded or auto-converted into a voucher at some point.
Many thanks!
I now have both flights in a LHR>KUL & SIN>LHR booking cancelled. These were for April 21. As per advice here I am leaving them untouched.
But do I have to do something with them before a certain date e.g. the outbound original flight date, or can I leave them in their current state until the end of 1 year ticket validity (Oct 21)?
Secretly I'm hoping that BA extend their policy so I can force a rebooking over the 1 year ticket expiry, but I'm thinking of leaving them until May time just sitting there as cancelled so I can try and go for a voucher and avios rebook for April 22. However, I don't want them to be refunded or auto-converted into a voucher at some point.
Many thanks!
Feb 6, 2021, 6:20 am
#595
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: Scotland, Spain
Programs: Skywards Gold, Amex Plat, SkyTeam Silver
Posts: 1,165
Just as a point of reference.
Phoned BA today (normal line) to change my flight only booking.
On and off the phone in under 5 minutes!
Very impressed, and BA app and website has only my new flights.
Phoned BA today (normal line) to change my flight only booking.
On and off the phone in under 5 minutes!
Very impressed, and BA app and website has only my new flights.
Feb 6, 2021, 6:48 am
#596
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Leicestershire UK
Programs: BA, AMEX PP
Posts: 301
What is the time limit for rebooking or requesting a full refund on a cancelled flight?
I have 2 cancelled flights to Dubai.
The first one is late February which is an Avios 241 booking in CW.
The second is early April which is a cash WT+ booking with UUA on the return leg.
Do I need to make a rebook/refund request on these before the original travel dates, or can I leave them and make a decision later?
I have 2 cancelled flights to Dubai.
The first one is late February which is an Avios 241 booking in CW.
The second is early April which is a cash WT+ booking with UUA on the return leg.
Do I need to make a rebook/refund request on these before the original travel dates, or can I leave them and make a decision later?
Feb 6, 2021, 7:34 am
#597
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: 63,804
So long as the first flight on the booking is one of those cancelled, you can leave it until you are ready. There isn't a time limit per se, but the ticket expires after 1 year from issue (not travel), you have 6 years to claim the refund, and the longer you leave it, the more tricky it is for the agent to find the booking. Best retain the ticket number as well as the PNR, to assist with the process. There arre some reports of when the return leg is not cancelled that this results in a no-show on that leg. This is nonsensical since the first cancellation should invalidate the rest of the travel, but it then means the ticket may have to go to the back office to get repayment, whereas a clean cancellation can be repaid by the contact centre agent, if it is not too complex. Your other option is to ask to be removed from the flights concerned without specifying new flights / refunds but it prevents the no-show issue.
Feb 6, 2021, 7:37 am
#598
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: 63,804
Secretly I'm hoping that BA extend their policy so I can force a rebooking over the 1 year ticket expiry, but I'm thinking of leaving them until May time just sitting there as cancelled so I can try and go for a voucher and avios rebook for April 22. However, I don't want them to be refunded or auto-converted into a voucher at some point.
Feb 6, 2021, 7:43 am
#599
Join Date: Apr 2020
Posts: 48
See my reply above. I don't think you can count on going over the ticket expiry, there are IATA protocols on that one such that it is not supposed to happen. Refunds are good! We are heading into a buyers' market and having cash is better than not having cash.
I booked during the Avios sale and one flight is to KUL so I was hoping for an extension for those reasons (and Ben put in Malaysia air)
If I have to do a voucher it will mean twice the Avios and a stop somewhere, but not the end of the world
Feb 6, 2021, 9:37 am
#600
Join Date: Apr 2011
Posts: 104
I’ve got a F 2 for 1 avios booking to Dubai in May which was booked during the redemption sale.
The return has been changed to an A350 so we have been downgraded. I’m struggling to work out what refund on avios and fees apply. Ba have said 9000 avios but shouldn’t it be 75% of the return fare?
The return has been changed to an A350 so we have been downgraded. I’m struggling to work out what refund on avios and fees apply. Ba have said 9000 avios but shouldn’t it be 75% of the return fare?