Sealink

I've never had a truly bad experience with BA.

Issues tend to be at the airport, and I tend to find the crew consistently excellent.

Zephyrous

FWIW and not the OP. I booked BA LHR-ATH for June in CE last week. Slightly more expensive than A3 (in business again).

BA has cancelled my return flight and rebooked me on a flight that’s essentially 30 hours earlier than my original one.

i managed to get through to someone after 1 hour and 20 minutes of waiting. To accept a rebook in economy on the same date of my flight would cost Ł600 on top per person of an already expensive CE ticket. Otherwise they can only keep me on the flight they rebooked me on and which I didn’t consent to. Or I can accept a refund, which is not a refund in cash but a voucher.

If we have reached the point where BA is deemed to be as reliable as Ryanair or the other low cost carriers then fine, duly noted and will be taken into account when making future bookings. The prices however are not in any way shape or form (even in economy) competitive by any sense of the word. In fact they carry a significant premium.

Globaliser

This seems wrong on both counts. If there's space on another flight on the same day as your original flight, you should be rebooked to it at no cost to you, although you'd probably be accepting the downgrade. And if you opt for a refund, you're entitled to a refund in cash.

Anyway, as your flight is so far away, one option might be to leave it and wait for space to open up on a more acceptable flight before you rebook.

Definitas

surely by flying BA we are supporting a Spanish Company

JAXBA

Well, for me, my relationship with BA is pretty close to a lot of people's relationship with their football club… I don't like football. I do like flying... It's a reasonable analogy for me.

No, BA isn't my parent, but with my grandmother, both of my parents, myself, and my father in law having worked for them with over 90 years combined service, it is a family thing...

So some weirdos, like me, have a deeper emotional connection to BA than is sensible...

nigelw

If this is less than T - 14 then refuse all options,ask them to book you into the class and flight you want to go on, and if they refuse book and pay for it yourself and CEDR the cost back plus some extra for your time and trouble. Make sure you don't agree even inadvertently to an option you don't want.

JessicaB

I have finally given up on BA but have to say I have thought long and hard about it. Travelling long haul to a third world country on my own for business is always a bit stressful. Will I forget something? Will I get stuck somewhere? Will my bags turn up? So any part of that journey which is familiar and known I tend to stick with. I think that's the reason I have stuck with BA despite the service getting worse and the prices getting sky high.

But after one too many times on hold and after one too many disgusting meals on board and one too many apologies and nothing changes I finally have decided I am out. Interestingly I spoke to Amex about this this week and the lady said she was aware of many customers moving away from BA as they are so unhappy.

HIDDY

A wise decision...I've noticed you haven't been happy with BA for many years.

matinicus rock

I’m still trying to get the image of all of Mrs Hiddy’s luggage at the carousel out of my head from a few years ago - anyone besides me remember that?

Tobias-UK

You do realise there is no legal basis for this under EC261?

JessicaB

Club Class on the Gatwick bucket and spade routes has always been a different level of naffness to more upmarket destinations from Heathrow. So we were starting from a pretty low base

subject2load

Your sense of seemingly-endless frustration with the unfit-for-purpose call centres, low grade catering, constant cancellations, empty apologies et al, is not hard to understand. You clearly gave it a really good go, making lots of allowance for circumstances …… but it sounds like any lingering optimism of meaningful imminent improvement eventually ran out …… ?

I’m just wondering whether your despair ever reached the point where you found yourself saying “Come back Alex, all is (almost) forgiven” Or was it never quite that bad for you …….

MatJarosz

But the vast majority of its employees are UK nationals or residents, large parts of its supply chain are set in the UK and BA is headquartered in the UK. The main airport hub is in the UK, all aircraft are registered in the UK and IAG is also listed on the LSE. If we were to be pedantic, 25% of IAG is owned by Qatar Airways anyway.

I don't think it's wrong to consider BA (and VS or EZY for that matter) as a British airline.

TTmex

The holding company is Spanish but BA is still in the UK creating jobs and wealth, not just through employment but all the services and products from local suppliers etc. Many people rely on BA for their family income and it is good that it prospers rather than declines, at least for the local economy. If all the slots were owned by Emirates, Qatar, AA and Delta, I'd be sure to predict that the head offices and associated jobs would not be in the UK. While I'm not suggesting that you are actually saying don't use BA because it's Spanish, the Spanish company argument is, IMO, a really weak reason for not flying BA. What next, stop using a laptop because Microsoft is American and stop driving a car because VW is German? BA has a lot to answer for indeed and they need to get back to being an employer of choice with better pay and benefits, but if they fail and fold I'm sure people would look back at what's been lost and regret it.

nivsy

I think the op said at the outset that the aircraft was not busy and he was actually the only one with someone next to him? I think that would annoy me also as Gold.....even with Qantas the other day..flight pretty rammed (domestic) but they blocked the middle seat in my row.