Rebooking beyond the 12 month validity - should I bother?
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2013
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Rebooking beyond the 12 month validity - should I bother?
I have an itinerary that was cancelled months ago. Flights were for May but it was booked about 12 months ago or so.
I might be able to rebook now for new dates on October, but clearly BA won't let me without a fight.
Can I be bothered with fighting? New flights are definitely more expensive, so the change would go at my advantage.
That said, there is always the risk that those flights are going to be cancelled as well as they'll be last few rotations from LGW to CAG. My other option is to fly with LH via MUC or FRA.
I might be able to rebook now for new dates on October, but clearly BA won't let me without a fight.
Can I be bothered with fighting? New flights are definitely more expensive, so the change would go at my advantage.
That said, there is always the risk that those flights are going to be cancelled as well as they'll be last few rotations from LGW to CAG. My other option is to fly with LH via MUC or FRA.
#2
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It's happened to quite a few of my bookings this year, and in recent months, BA have been inflexible with me on this (GGL, GfL, etc) so unless you really, really care, I personally won't even try any more. I need to pick my fights.
#3
Join Date: Feb 2007
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If you only spoke one or two agents then you should try to call them back perhaps different time, etc. some agents still willing to change the ticket whilst others wont.
mid BA still refuses then you can take them to MCOL which will take about 8 months at least. So you need to buy a new ticket and claim that through the court. Kind of low effort but you have to make sure you keep the deadlines. If its a few hundred pounds maybe (big maybe) BA wont defend it and could settle before the first hearing. So its up to you how you value your effort and time.
mid BA still refuses then you can take them to MCOL which will take about 8 months at least. So you need to buy a new ticket and claim that through the court. Kind of low effort but you have to make sure you keep the deadlines. If its a few hundred pounds maybe (big maybe) BA wont defend it and could settle before the first hearing. So its up to you how you value your effort and time.
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2013
Location: London, UK
Programs: BAEC Silver, ITA Club Executive, Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold
Posts: 3,586
If you only spoke one or two agents then you should try to call them back perhaps different time, etc. some agents still willing to change the ticket whilst others wont.
mid BA still refuses then you can take them to MCOL which will take about 8 months at least. So you need to buy a new ticket and claim that through the court. Kind of low effort but you have to make sure you keep the deadlines. If its a few hundred pounds maybe (big maybe) BA wont defend it and could settle before the first hearing. So its up to you how you value your effort and time.
mid BA still refuses then you can take them to MCOL which will take about 8 months at least. So you need to buy a new ticket and claim that through the court. Kind of low effort but you have to make sure you keep the deadlines. If its a few hundred pounds maybe (big maybe) BA wont defend it and could settle before the first hearing. So its up to you how you value your effort and time.
Itll be a couple of hundred pounds - the original ticket was booked with a pay with avios promo. I think I used 10k avios for quite a lot of value. Itd be a shame to lose that.
#5
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No, not guaranteed, a lot depends on very precise aspects of the Regulation and the precise details and chain of events in your case. BA have to offer a rebooking option, if they never did that at all then they would have a difficult time to convince the court. But if they cancelled and did offer some alternative(s) in the rebooking area then it gets more murky. If you are inclined to go this route, you must not ask for a refund, or accept one if offered, since that's a legitimate remedy and alternative to a rebooking option.
#6
Join Date: Jul 2018
Posts: 1,260
I have an itinerary that was cancelled months ago. Flights were for May but it was booked about 12 months ago or so.
I might be able to rebook now for new dates on October, but clearly BA won't let me without a fight.
Can I be bothered with fighting? New flights are definitely more expensive, so the change would go at my advantage.
That said, there is always the risk that those flights are going to be cancelled as well as they'll be last few rotations from LGW to CAG. My other option is to fly with LH via MUC or FRA.
I might be able to rebook now for new dates on October, but clearly BA won't let me without a fight.
Can I be bothered with fighting? New flights are definitely more expensive, so the change would go at my advantage.
That said, there is always the risk that those flights are going to be cancelled as well as they'll be last few rotations from LGW to CAG. My other option is to fly with LH via MUC or FRA.
1. Where reference is made to this Article, passengers shall be offered the choice between:
(a) - reimbursement within seven days, by the means provided for in Article 7(3), of the full cost of the ticket at the price at which it was bought, for the part or parts of the journey not made, and for the part or parts already made if the flight is no longer serving any purpose in relation to the passenger's original travel plan, together with, when relevant,
- a return flight to the first point of departure, at the earliest opportunity;
(b) re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at the earliest opportunity; or
(c) re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at a later date at the passenger's convenience, subject to availability of seats.
(a) - reimbursement within seven days, by the means provided for in Article 7(3), of the full cost of the ticket at the price at which it was bought, for the part or parts of the journey not made, and for the part or parts already made if the flight is no longer serving any purpose in relation to the passenger's original travel plan, together with, when relevant,
- a return flight to the first point of departure, at the earliest opportunity;
(b) re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at the earliest opportunity; or
(c) re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at a later date at the passenger's convenience, subject to availability of seats.
There's a world where you book e.g. EasyJet to CAG, paying what you would be happy to spend out-of-pocket. Then any successful legal action against BA is a bonus.