Missed connection in barajas, lost all avios.
Oct 20, 2018, 6:07 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 19
Missed connection in barajas, lost all avios.
Me and my wife missed a mad-nrt flight in J , that we paid in avios due to delayed connection alc-mad. Iberia said that as the connecting flight was on separate ticket, tuff titty, lost it all. Military parade on departue date , 12/10 mucked things up in barajas, flyovers i assume, so they say not their fault.
After several hours arguing the toss with them we managed to get the only pleasant member of staff to reverse the no-show status of the flight so we could get back in biz if we made our own way there on new tickets BUT she couldn’t guarantee it 😲
We bought new returns in Y .
We now have, in theory 2 tix for the same return flight back, 1 in each class.
I,m going to be the first person in the queue on the morning of our return, wondered if anyone experienced anything similar and what was the outcome
After several hours arguing the toss with them we managed to get the only pleasant member of staff to reverse the no-show status of the flight so we could get back in biz if we made our own way there on new tickets BUT she couldn’t guarantee it 😲
We bought new returns in Y .
We now have, in theory 2 tix for the same return flight back, 1 in each class.
I,m going to be the first person in the queue on the morning of our return, wondered if anyone experienced anything similar and what was the outcome
Oct 20, 2018, 8:27 am
#2
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First of all I am sorry to hear about this.
You should know however that you were not on a connection. Two tickets, two bookings, two itineraries, two contracts and in IB (and most airlines)' view, two passengers. Hence the importance of planning sufficient time between flights to deal with any unexpected delays or cancellations (e.g. a night in MAD).
I would also keep an eye on your bookings for your return, as what you have done may well trigger a duplicate booking warning. IB should call if they catch this, but more likely than not one of your two bookings (or both
) would be cancelled.
You should know however that you were not on a connection. Two tickets, two bookings, two itineraries, two contracts and in IB (and most airlines)' view, two passengers. Hence the importance of planning sufficient time between flights to deal with any unexpected delays or cancellations (e.g. a night in MAD).
I would also keep an eye on your bookings for your return, as what you have done may well trigger a duplicate booking warning. IB should call if they catch this, but more likely than not one of your two bookings (or both
) would be cancelled.
Oct 20, 2018, 8:30 am
#3
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This is an expensive lesson learned. You never had a connection, you no-showed for your second flight of the day. I’m not surprised the airline is showing no sympathy. I hope your return has been protected, but I would not be surprised if she merely told you this to make you feel less bad.
Oct 20, 2018, 8:30 am
#4
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100% your fault. Separate tickets come with risk and you chose to ignore that risk by not leaving enough time for delays. I doubt you'll find much sympathy here on Flyertalk.
I can't recall the last time I didn't fly in the day before when I'm "positioning". Especially in advance of a long haul when the consequences of missing your flight are substantial.
I also book one-way rewards whenever feasible, so that missing the outgoing flight for whatever reason doesn't cancel the return.
As for two bookings on the same flight. Usually an airline's IT systems will kick in at some point and automatically cancel the older reservation. You are quite unlikely to be returning in J but maybe, just maybe, you might get lucky and receive a partial Avios refund.
I can't recall the last time I didn't fly in the day before when I'm "positioning". Especially in advance of a long haul when the consequences of missing your flight are substantial.
I also book one-way rewards whenever feasible, so that missing the outgoing flight for whatever reason doesn't cancel the return.
As for two bookings on the same flight. Usually an airline's IT systems will kick in at some point and automatically cancel the older reservation. You are quite unlikely to be returning in J but maybe, just maybe, you might get lucky and receive a partial Avios refund.
Oct 20, 2018, 9:59 am
#5
Join Date: Mar 2016
Programs: BAEC, Ib+, Accor, HHonors
Posts: 609
Well this is not a connection. So mods please change title.
What do you want us to say? Very expensive lesson. Plan a good gap between your two itineraries. Good luck with your return, but expect to travel in Y. If it´s in C, you can consider yourself lucky.
What do you want us to say? Very expensive lesson. Plan a good gap between your two itineraries. Good luck with your return, but expect to travel in Y. If it´s in C, you can consider yourself lucky.
Last edited by tobsw; Oct 20, 2018 at 12:19 pm
Oct 20, 2018, 10:43 am
#6
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It would surprise me if the return on the original avios ticket has not been or shortly will be cancelled as well. IB, just like most carriers, requires that all segments be flown in the order ticketed and thus remaining segments are cancelled when you skip one as you did.
Even if the delay into MAD had been IB's "fault" you would have still lost your onward ticket, so don't let that issue dominate your thoughts.
You should, however, keep a close eye on your return to make certain that you hold proper tickets.
For the sake of others, in this situation, make certain to allow sufficient time for a transfer between two tickets. All delays are at your own risk and when the onwards tickets are expensive as these were, an intervening night is a good idea.
Even if the delay into MAD had been IB's "fault" you would have still lost your onward ticket, so don't let that issue dominate your thoughts.
You should, however, keep a close eye on your return to make certain that you hold proper tickets.
For the sake of others, in this situation, make certain to allow sufficient time for a transfer between two tickets. All delays are at your own risk and when the onwards tickets are expensive as these were, an intervening night is a good idea.
Oct 20, 2018, 2:45 pm
#7
Join Date: Jun 2008
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I had a similar issue due to a delayed flight and schedule change. I risked it and missed the connection. The IB airport staff said they cannot help and would not help. They let me call the IB Avios team. The agent said that my flight leaving the next day doesn’t have Avios availability but she’ll try to convert an I class seat into U for me and call me back once she talked to her supervisor.
Less than five minutes after the call I had an email and was rebooked into revenue business. I rushed to get my boarding pass on the app because the agent at the airport could not believe it and started arguing with me and a colleague. She proceeded to ask series of annoying questions like ‘do you have a visa? Show me the visa. Do you have a health insurance? Show me the paperwork.’ Unfortunately for her I had everything printed and just dumped a stack of paper on the counter.
I thanked her and told her to just leave everything the way it is. She was still typing away and proposed I spend the 23 hours until me next flight in the T4S lounge.
Less than five minutes after the call I had an email and was rebooked into revenue business. I rushed to get my boarding pass on the app because the agent at the airport could not believe it and started arguing with me and a colleague. She proceeded to ask series of annoying questions like ‘do you have a visa? Show me the visa. Do you have a health insurance? Show me the paperwork.’ Unfortunately for her I had everything printed and just dumped a stack of paper on the counter.
I thanked her and told her to just leave everything the way it is. She was still typing away and proposed I spend the 23 hours until me next flight in the T4S lounge.
Oct 20, 2018, 3:18 pm
#8
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I had a similar issue due to a delayed flight and schedule change. I risked it and missed the connection. The IB airport staff said they cannot help and would not help. They let me call the IB Avios team. The agent said that my flight leaving the next day doesn’t have Avios availability but she’ll try to convert an I class seat into U for me and call me back once she talked to her supervisor.
Less than five minutes after the call I had an email and was rebooked into revenue business. I rushed to get my boarding pass on the app because the agent at the airport could not believe it and started arguing with me and a colleague. She proceeded to ask series of annoying questions like ‘do you have a visa? Show me the visa. Do you have a health insurance? Show me the paperwork.’ Unfortunately for her I had everything printed and just dumped a stack of paper on the counter.
I thanked her and told her to just leave everything the way it is. She was still typing away and proposed I spend the 23 hours until me next flight in the T4S lounge.
Less than five minutes after the call I had an email and was rebooked into revenue business. I rushed to get my boarding pass on the app because the agent at the airport could not believe it and started arguing with me and a colleague. She proceeded to ask series of annoying questions like ‘do you have a visa? Show me the visa. Do you have a health insurance? Show me the paperwork.’ Unfortunately for her I had everything printed and just dumped a stack of paper on the counter.
I thanked her and told her to just leave everything the way it is. She was still typing away and proposed I spend the 23 hours until me next flight in the T4S lounge.
OP failed to show up for a ticket originating in MAD. He was flying into MAD on another ticket. You, on the other hand, say that you were connecting on a ticket in MAD. That is completely dissimilar.
Oct 20, 2018, 3:50 pm
#9
Join Date: Jun 2008
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I should have written it. I was on separate tickets. But due to schedule change the connection time went down to 80min. Adding the delay ... well, I got lucky with the rebooking.
Oct 20, 2018, 4:22 pm
#10
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You were lucky. But, once again, you did not have a "connection time." It confuses other travelers who then needlessly worry about what might happen to them. The essence of a connection is that you will be rebooked.
Oct 21, 2018, 2:25 am
#11
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+1 on "connecting". (even though I've been getting a hard time on FT lately for being pedantic on vocabulary...)
Taking a separately-booked flight is exactly the same as going to that airport via bus, taxi, car, train, etc. You show up late and it is a matter for travel insurance, NOT the airline to sort out.
FWIW you cannot call an airline and "link" two separate e-tickets. If you want to be protected, you book a flight from your starting point to your final destination on a single ticket.
Taking a separately-booked flight is exactly the same as going to that airport via bus, taxi, car, train, etc. You show up late and it is a matter for travel insurance, NOT the airline to sort out.
FWIW you cannot call an airline and "link" two separate e-tickets. If you want to be protected, you book a flight from your starting point to your final destination on a single ticket.
Oct 21, 2018, 2:48 am
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2016
Posts: 19
Of course you are right, i never had a connection as such, apologies for the bad wording in the title.
I still appear to have access thru manage my booking to the original booking so thinking of doing online checkin for those seats,
but not for the seats in Y and getting to nrt nice and early to be first in the biz queue.
obviously this could go tits-up but what i really wanted to know is if there is any way, without calling iberia, to know the real status
of the original booking.
its all my fault and a lesson learned....am a newbie with avios, my 2nd ever redemption ��
I still appear to have access thru manage my booking to the original booking so thinking of doing online checkin for those seats,
but not for the seats in Y and getting to nrt nice and early to be first in the biz queue.
obviously this could go tits-up but what i really wanted to know is if there is any way, without calling iberia, to know the real status
of the original booking.
its all my fault and a lesson learned....am a newbie with avios, my 2nd ever redemption ��
Oct 21, 2018, 2:03 pm
#14
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It probably won't help much if at some point pre-departure IB cancel the duplicate booking.