golfer20

Now that June 7 has passed, what is the standard flight change policy?
Example: Today I book LHR-LAX in CW for Jan 1 to Jan 10. A month later I decide I want to change my return to Jan 11. Do I pay just the fare difference, or is there an additional fee? If the new fare is lower, does BA keep the money?
For some reason, I can't find the answer online...

Globaliser

Typically, for tickets that are not fully flexible: There will be a change fee (usually £300 in CW, I think) plus fare difference. If the new fare is lower, then BA keeps the money, but you still pay the full amount of the change fee.

PGberkshire

and now we know why BWC has come to an end......

orbitmic

The whole point is that since the end of BWC there is no “standard” change policy. Anything can exist and will be noted in fare rules from totally inflexible (rate but has existed for some promo dates in the past) to no fee changes (but fare difference) and of course same day change for some short hall direct flight (no fare difference).

you need to check rules carefully remembering they may differ for outbound and inbound too.

golfer20

I made a couple dummy bookings in CW and F, and I couldn't see anything about the change fee cost. So, I would need to buy the ticket, then BA would tell me how much the change fee is?

And the service fee is separate from the change fee, right?

Assuming the above is correct, I feel like I'm better-off booking through AA codeshares.

scottishpoet

You select the flights you want out and back then click on 'about your flights'


i have attached a couple of examples, you can see the differences

corporate-wage-slave

The change fee is usually laid out just below the price box. I have long urged people to print or photo this area of the booking, along with the price breakdown, since it's the last time you get to see it easily.

Globaliser

Even better IMHO, if you are booking a published fare: use screenshots from ITA to record the price and full fare calculation and TFC breakdown and the full fare rules.

golfer20

Thanks all for the help. In my booking I get a link which directs to the fare rules (below). Is the cancellation fee of 125 Euro the same as the change fee?

Charges for changes and cancellations

From/to europe for anx1c8s6 type fares cancellations before departure charge eur 125.00. Note - before departure of journey charges apply per fare component to all passenger types. Infants without a seat are not charged the fee.

Waived for death of a passenger and passengers travelling companions.

In case of any no show within the fare component this fare component becomes non refundable.

Refund permitted within ticket validity.

When combining non-refundable fares with refundable fares 1. The amount paid on each refundable fare component is refunded 2. The amount paid on each non-refundable fare component will not be refunded. 3. When combining fares charge the sum of the cancellation fees of all cancelled fare components

Refund of unused taxes fees and charges paid to third parties permitted. Associated carrier imposed charges are refundable.

Any non-refundable amount from a previous ticket remains non-refundable following a change.

Ticket is not transferable to another person. After departure ticket is non-refundable. Note - after depature of journey fare component is non- refundable.

Waived for death of a passenger and passengers travelling companions.

When combining non-refundable fares with refundable fares 1. The amount paid on each refundable fare component is refunded. 2. The amount paid on each non-refundable fare component will not be refunded. 3. When combining fares charge the sum of the cancellation fees of all cancelled fare components.

Refund of unused taxes fees and charges paid to third parties permitted. Associated carrier imposed charges will not be refunded.

In case of any no show within the fare component this fare component becomes non refundable.

Refund permitted within ticket validity.

Any non-refundable amount from a previous ticket remains non-refundable following a change.

Ticket is not transferable to another person.



Cancellation repricing conditions

Reprice using any -m6/-p6/-r6/-d6/-q6/-s6/-y6 /-g6/-i6/-m8/-p8/-r8/-d8/-q8/-s8/-y8/-g8/-i8/-m0/- s0/-y0 fare. Flown coupons must be repriced using historical fares in effect on the previous ticketing date. The fare for the journey travelled must be capped at the total fare amount plus carrier imposed charge paid on the ticket being presented for refund. Fully flown fare components may be repriced using any booking code within the same cabin provided the new fare amount is equal or higher than original. Partially flown fare components must be repriced using the same or higher booking code. Changes any time changes permitted for reissue/revalidation. Note - a change is a date/flight/routing/booking code change. New reservation and reissue/ revalidation must be made on the same day.

Reissue must be made the same day as change of reservation but no later than scheduled departure time of flight being changed. Otherwise the ticket will only be valid for refund if applicable.

When more than one fare component is changed the highest penalty of all changed fare components within the journey applies.



Repricing conditions

Reprice using any -m6/-p6/-r6/-d6/-q6/-s6/-y6 /-g6/-i6/-m8/-p8/-r8/-d8/-q8/-s8/-y8/-g8/-i8/-m0/- s0/-y0 fare. A. Before departure of journey when the first fare component is changed the itinerary must be re-priced using current fares in effect on the date the ticket is reissued. B. Before departure of journey when changes are to booking code only in the first fare component and result in a higher fare the itinerary must be re-priced using historical fares in effect on the previous ticketing date or using current fares in effect on the date the ticket is reissued - whichever is lower. C. Before departure of journey when there are no changes to the first fare component but other fare components are changed the itinerary must be re-priced using historical fares in effect on the previous ticketing date or using current fares in effect on the date the ticket is reissued- whichever is lower. D. After departure of journey the itinerary must be re-priced using historical fares in effect on the previous ticketing date.

New ticket value must be equal or higher than previous and must comply with all provisions of the new fare being applied.

When the new itinerary results in a higher fare the difference will be collected. Any applicable change fee still applies.

Any non-refundable amount from a previous ticket remains non-refundable following a change.

No-shows for a flight are considered a cancellation after departure and changes are not permitted.

Ticket is not transferable to another person.

corporate-wage-slave

My reading of that fare, which is a First ticket for the Hungarian market, is that it's fairly flexible before departure. You can have a refund for the 125€ fee, or a rebook for the fare difference, which of course could be considerable or very little. After departure you can get a refund but changes are on a historical basis and thus likely to be moderate. This is only an extract of the fare rules, and it would be better to give the dates of travel so that we can look at the full fare basis for ANX1C8S6 so that we can check any gotchas elsewhere. Having said that, it's quite a lot of work to parse a full fare basis, and if you are looking to this level of detail you would best to get ExpertFlyer or similar and start getting familiar with fare rules.

golfer20

Very helpful, thanks - I do have ExpertFlyer and, although I couldn't pull the fare rules there, I did find them through ITA. Your interpretation is right.

Thanks all for the help and I think I'm good from here.

smartytravel

This is very nasty. Why did they make this change?

golfer20

For why BA got rid of BWC, that's probably a topic for another thread.
My issue is the lack of clarity - Why should I have to read the fare rules to confirm my ticket has no change fee?

Globaliser

Because the fare rules are always where you will find provisions about that particular fare, like whether or not there is a cancellation fee, and whether or not there is a change fee, and in either case, how much. The fare rules are where you'd expect them to be, and that's where they are.

cauchy

I think the poster is looking for a "Key Facts" style summary - something like "changes - £50 + fare difference, no refunds" - rather than a long, multi-paragraph jargon-infested rulebook. Of course the full rules should always be available.