Delayed and missed BA flight...
May 6, 2017, 9:54 am
#1
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Join Date: Dec 2015
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Delayed and missed BA flight...
SO a few weeks ago I was flying from KUL to LHR, in J. The flight ended up being around 13hrs delayed (was due to arrive at 0535hrs), with some really poor communication to business class passengers (got sent to gate room twice and no announcements about the delays there - only found out from listening over the balcony to the PA for economy passengers downstairs). Ended up having to sleep in the lounge overnight!
Anyway... I digress... I had another flight, made entirely separately with BA leaving LHR that evening (1820hrs), which I realised that there was no way for me to make when they announced the (12hr, which turned into 12hr 50min) delay. I spoke to the member of staff in the gate room and explained my situation and he told me, twice, that there was nothing they could do to help... So off I went back to the lounge as directed and made the relevant changes to my BA flight (at quite an unreasonable cost, but there we go)! Throughout this I'd been chatting to another guy who was in exactly the same position as me who was flying up to Scotland - moments after I'd paid for my BA changes he came rushing up to me telling me that a member of staff had arrived at the front of hte lounge and was saying she could change his BA flight free of charge to the following day... I went up to speak to her, explained my situation and she said yes, she would be able to change my flight even though it was a different PNR and booked completely separately to my Malaysia AIrlines flights - it was too late by this point as I'd already paid.
So, I complained to Malaysia Airlines that due to their long delay (it was a technical fault requiring a part to be changed) and being told incorrect information by their staff (ie, their staff at the gate were poorly trained and the lady who specialised in disruption was the only one who knew my flight could be changed) along with the fact that they managed the communication absolutely terribly throughout I was out of pocket quite a bit and would like some form of compensation...
Customer Service have replied to me saying that no, they couldn't have changed my flights as they were a different PNR (although as I said, the sottish bloke DID have his flights changed and I saw his confirmation print outs of this) and that as a gesture of good will they will give me 3000 enrich points if I open an account. As an AA Platinum member there's clearly no reason why I'd want 3000 enrich points, so that's completely worthless to me as far as I can tell.
Can anyone give any advice on what I should go back to them with?
It's really frustrating because if they'd have been even a little bit proactive with customer service when the delay happened then the situation would never have arisen and instead I'd likely have been singing their praises about how well they dealt with it (sorting out my other fights etc). I've flown quite a few times with MH in J before and always really liked the product and service from the crew but this has obviously put me off a lot now!
Anyway... I digress... I had another flight, made entirely separately with BA leaving LHR that evening (1820hrs), which I realised that there was no way for me to make when they announced the (12hr, which turned into 12hr 50min) delay. I spoke to the member of staff in the gate room and explained my situation and he told me, twice, that there was nothing they could do to help... So off I went back to the lounge as directed and made the relevant changes to my BA flight (at quite an unreasonable cost, but there we go)! Throughout this I'd been chatting to another guy who was in exactly the same position as me who was flying up to Scotland - moments after I'd paid for my BA changes he came rushing up to me telling me that a member of staff had arrived at the front of hte lounge and was saying she could change his BA flight free of charge to the following day... I went up to speak to her, explained my situation and she said yes, she would be able to change my flight even though it was a different PNR and booked completely separately to my Malaysia AIrlines flights - it was too late by this point as I'd already paid.
So, I complained to Malaysia Airlines that due to their long delay (it was a technical fault requiring a part to be changed) and being told incorrect information by their staff (ie, their staff at the gate were poorly trained and the lady who specialised in disruption was the only one who knew my flight could be changed) along with the fact that they managed the communication absolutely terribly throughout I was out of pocket quite a bit and would like some form of compensation...
Customer Service have replied to me saying that no, they couldn't have changed my flights as they were a different PNR (although as I said, the sottish bloke DID have his flights changed and I saw his confirmation print outs of this) and that as a gesture of good will they will give me 3000 enrich points if I open an account. As an AA Platinum member there's clearly no reason why I'd want 3000 enrich points, so that's completely worthless to me as far as I can tell.
Can anyone give any advice on what I should go back to them with?
It's really frustrating because if they'd have been even a little bit proactive with customer service when the delay happened then the situation would never have arisen and instead I'd likely have been singing their praises about how well they dealt with it (sorting out my other fights etc). I've flown quite a few times with MH in J before and always really liked the product and service from the crew but this has obviously put me off a lot now!
May 6, 2017, 10:44 am
#2
Join Date: Nov 2014
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Did said Scottish bloke have his on one PNR, or or different ones like yours?
I can't really say I have sympathy for you since you decided to take the risk to book your flights on two separate PNRs to start with. You bet, and you lost.
I can't really say I have sympathy for you since you decided to take the risk to book your flights on two separate PNRs to start with. You bet, and you lost.
May 6, 2017, 11:25 am
#3
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Those are the risk you take when you booked flights separately, not on the same ticket. Malaysian was responsible to get you from KUL to LHR in the class of service that you booked, that is it. You mentioned the delay was due to technical, I presume mechanical, did they provided meal or hotel for the 12hr delay? Typically that is what other carriers do and you should have gotten, that is the only thing you can complain about.
The extra cost to change the BA is on you. That is the cost of booking separate reservations. Sometimes is cheaper as long as it works, other times is a bit complicated and expensive.
The extra cost to change the BA is on you. That is the cost of booking separate reservations. Sometimes is cheaper as long as it works, other times is a bit complicated and expensive.
May 6, 2017, 11:58 am
#4
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Different PNRs. He booked one lot of tickets direct with MH and the other with BA directly. He had to give the full ticket number to get the changes made.
My trips were completely separate, booked at different times, it wasn't a case that I booked them individually for a better price or something - it just happened that I arrived back at Heathrow first thing in the morning (in theory) and then left on another trip that evening.
My issue isn't so much that I had to pay, it's more that their customer service was so useless at the time and that paying would apparently have been completely avoidable if they'd actually made an effort to proactively speak to us instead of us having to run around trying to find staff who knew what was going on and what they could do for us, etc.
Last edited by DangerM55; May 6, 2017 at 12:13 pm
May 6, 2017, 12:25 pm
#5
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Forget about PNR's, bookings and the like. All that matters are "tickets".
OP had two tickets and BA required him to pay a change fee to change his BA ticket. I presume because OP has not provided any further information that the fee was in accordance with the fare rules for the ticket which OP chose to purchase.
The other passenger apparently purchased something else. We have no idea and apparently OP has no idea and never will. Without that information, we may only infer that the other passenger either purchased some kind of flexible ticket or that the agent who handled the change made an error in his favor.
Whatever the circumstance, it does not appear that OP's onward situation was handled poorly. The fact that he arrived in the morning from KUL and departed in the evening to his destination should not have prevented him from booking a single ticket.
OP had two tickets and BA required him to pay a change fee to change his BA ticket. I presume because OP has not provided any further information that the fee was in accordance with the fare rules for the ticket which OP chose to purchase.
The other passenger apparently purchased something else. We have no idea and apparently OP has no idea and never will. Without that information, we may only infer that the other passenger either purchased some kind of flexible ticket or that the agent who handled the change made an error in his favor.
Whatever the circumstance, it does not appear that OP's onward situation was handled poorly. The fact that he arrived in the morning from KUL and departed in the evening to his destination should not have prevented him from booking a single ticket.
May 6, 2017, 12:29 pm
#6
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Forget about PNR's, bookings and the like. All that matters are "tickets".
OP had two tickets and BA required him to pay a change fee to change his BA ticket. I presume because OP has not provided any further information that the fee was in accordance with the fare rules for the ticket which OP chose to purchase.
The other passenger apparently purchased something else. We have no idea and apparently OP has no idea and never will. Without that information, we may only infer that the other passenger either purchased some kind of flexible ticket or that the agent who handled the change made an error in his favor.
Whatever the circumstance, it does not appear that OP's onward situation was handled poorly. The fact that he arrived in the morning from KUL and departed in the evening to his destination should not have prevented him from booking a single ticket.
OP had two tickets and BA required him to pay a change fee to change his BA ticket. I presume because OP has not provided any further information that the fee was in accordance with the fare rules for the ticket which OP chose to purchase.
The other passenger apparently purchased something else. We have no idea and apparently OP has no idea and never will. Without that information, we may only infer that the other passenger either purchased some kind of flexible ticket or that the agent who handled the change made an error in his favor.
Whatever the circumstance, it does not appear that OP's onward situation was handled poorly. The fact that he arrived in the morning from KUL and departed in the evening to his destination should not have prevented him from booking a single ticket.
May 6, 2017, 12:37 pm
#7
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Forget about PNR's, bookings and the like. All that matters are "tickets".
OP had two tickets and BA required him to pay a change fee to change his BA ticket. I presume because OP has not provided any further information that the fee was in accordance with the fare rules for the ticket which OP chose to purchase.
OP had two tickets and BA required him to pay a change fee to change his BA ticket. I presume because OP has not provided any further information that the fee was in accordance with the fare rules for the ticket which OP chose to purchase.
The other passenger apparently purchased something else. We have no idea and apparently OP has no idea and never will. Without that information, we may only infer that the other passenger either purchased some kind of flexible ticket or that the agent who handled the change made an error in his favor.
Malaysia Airlines staff from some sort of team that dealt with disruptions (I can't remember the proper title for the team that she said - it was along the lines of 'disruption team') took that passenger's BA ticket number - which was completely unrelated to his other MH ticket number - and made changes to it free of charge. She very clearly explained that she could have and would have done the same for me.
When I asked why the staff in the Gate Room told me they couldn't help in this way she informed me that only staff from her team would be trained that it was possible to do this... I remarked that perhaps any staff involved in telling passengers that their flights were delayed by 12+hrs might want to have been trained to help passengers with the issues this causes.
Whatever the circumstance, it does not appear that OP's onward situation was handled poorly. The fact that he arrived in the morning from KUL and departed in the evening to his destination should not have prevented him from booking a single ticket.
May 6, 2017, 12:45 pm
#8
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As Often1 correctly says, MH was under no obligation to help either of you on separate tickets. That they helped the other fellow and not you is an 'anecdote' and doesn't constitute a policy or rule. Complaining loudly to MH won't achieve anything. Think along the lines of 'no good deed goes unpunished'.
Without meaning to sound aloof, these are the risks that you take when booking separate tickets. MH should, however, compensate you along with their delay policies. Then there is your travel insurance.
Without meaning to sound aloof, these are the risks that you take when booking separate tickets. MH should, however, compensate you along with their delay policies. Then there is your travel insurance.
May 6, 2017, 9:24 pm
#9
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In the end the other guy got lucky and you (OP) jumped the gun.
It is a crap situation but it is what it is, on the spot they found a way to help (which was too late for you) but once you made the change they had no responsibility or option to help you anymore, especially since you probably want them to pay you the difference. That answer will always be no.
Lesson learned, never decide to change a ticket until you are about to board. Consider if booking a new ticket once you land would have been that much more expensive. You could have tried it with BA after landing as well and plead with them that your delay was so massive you could have never seen this coming. They might have been able to make the change or offer you the same change fees as you saw before.
Globalist
It is a crap situation but it is what it is, on the spot they found a way to help (which was too late for you) but once you made the change they had no responsibility or option to help you anymore, especially since you probably want them to pay you the difference. That answer will always be no.
Lesson learned, never decide to change a ticket until you are about to board. Consider if booking a new ticket once you land would have been that much more expensive. You could have tried it with BA after landing as well and plead with them that your delay was so massive you could have never seen this coming. They might have been able to make the change or offer you the same change fees as you saw before.
Globalist
Last edited by Globalist; May 7, 2017 at 7:09 am
May 6, 2017, 10:53 pm
#11
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 6,338
It might NOT have been "exactly" the same situation.... as already mentioned the other guy MIGHT have had a more flexible BA booking..... of course he may just have got very, very lucky.
That unfortunately doesn't mean you have any traction...
That unfortunately doesn't mean you have any traction...
May 7, 2017, 9:51 am
#12
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Different PNRs. He booked one lot of tickets direct with MH and the other with BA directly. He had to give the full ticket number to get the changes made.
My trips were completely separate, booked at different times, it wasn't a case that I booked them individually for a better price or something - it just happened that I arrived back at Heathrow first thing in the morning (in theory) and then left on another trip that evening.
My issue isn't so much that I had to pay, it's more that their customer service was so useless at the time and that paying would apparently have been completely avoidable if they'd actually made an effort to proactively speak to us instead of us having to run around trying to find staff who knew what was going on and what they could do for us, etc.
My trips were completely separate, booked at different times, it wasn't a case that I booked them individually for a better price or something - it just happened that I arrived back at Heathrow first thing in the morning (in theory) and then left on another trip that evening.
My issue isn't so much that I had to pay, it's more that their customer service was so useless at the time and that paying would apparently have been completely avoidable if they'd actually made an effort to proactively speak to us instead of us having to run around trying to find staff who knew what was going on and what they could do for us, etc.
That being said, two points:
1) no chance you'll get any joy after the fact. Customer service will not comprehend your annoyance nor be empowered to do anything about it. A shame but that's what it is. 3000 is their standard "go away" amount (which I've also received before when complaining about a similar situation, in fact, now that I recall)
2) travel insurance is for just these types of things. Eases the sting a whole lot
And, the inevitable "next time" advice: Since you had lots and lots of time to solve this, you can always be "that guy" who refuses to accept the first answer from the staff. After all, it's not like the BA price would probably have gone up much a couple of hours later, while the odds of finding a supervisor or somebody like that may have increased as the flight was further delayed (at least, that is what actually happened, though no guarantee it would be the same next time). As long as you're not making a total ... of yourself, no reason not to politely but firmly continue to ask for what you believe is right, along the lines of "that doesn't solve my problem, is there anybody else I can talk to who might be able to help?"
May 7, 2017, 7:39 pm
#13
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 71
Not a lot of sympathy from folks here, apparently! I would be annoyed/gutted as well if I'd just shelled out $$$$ moments before finding out that somebody else had a similar/same situation and had gotten resolution for free--and I'd imagine that most of the "too bad, you bet and you lost" crowd would as well were they in an airport instead of in front of a keyboard.
That being said, two points:
1) no chance you'll get any joy after the fact. Customer service will not comprehend your annoyance nor be empowered to do anything about it. A shame but that's what it is. 3000 is their standard "go away" amount (which I've also received before when complaining about a similar situation, in fact, now that I recall)
2) travel insurance is for just these types of things. Eases the sting a whole lot
And, the inevitable "next time" advice: Since you had lots and lots of time to solve this, you can always be "that guy" who refuses to accept the first answer from the staff. After all, it's not like the BA price would probably have gone up much a couple of hours later, while the odds of finding a supervisor or somebody like that may have increased as the flight was further delayed (at least, that is what actually happened, though no guarantee it would be the same next time). As long as you're not making a total ... of yourself, no reason not to politely but firmly continue to ask for what you believe is right, along the lines of "that doesn't solve my problem, is there anybody else I can talk to who might be able to help?"
That being said, two points:
1) no chance you'll get any joy after the fact. Customer service will not comprehend your annoyance nor be empowered to do anything about it. A shame but that's what it is. 3000 is their standard "go away" amount (which I've also received before when complaining about a similar situation, in fact, now that I recall)
2) travel insurance is for just these types of things. Eases the sting a whole lot
And, the inevitable "next time" advice: Since you had lots and lots of time to solve this, you can always be "that guy" who refuses to accept the first answer from the staff. After all, it's not like the BA price would probably have gone up much a couple of hours later, while the odds of finding a supervisor or somebody like that may have increased as the flight was further delayed (at least, that is what actually happened, though no guarantee it would be the same next time). As long as you're not making a total ... of yourself, no reason not to politely but firmly continue to ask for what you believe is right, along the lines of "that doesn't solve my problem, is there anybody else I can talk to who might be able to help?"
did you mange to claim your Travel insurance's misconnection benefit?
May 8, 2017, 4:12 am
#14
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Massively surprised they didn't stick J class passengers up in Sama Sama for the night? First time i've heard of a good SE Asian carrier washing their hands of responsibility - and you won't even get EU 261.
Anyway - my point is this - MH cannot change a BA ticket on a separate PNR themselves unless booked under the MH Codeshare.
My only thought is that they either
a) Rebooked a completely new flight for them
b) Spoke to BA ticketing staff at KLIA and rebooked (after all BA 34 was leaving within 5 minutes of you)
or
c) there was some confusion as MH actually common rates most Scottish Airports with LHR using BA connecting flights, therefore the connecting flight was actually booked on the same PNR, and could be amended. I mean, there is no advantage to booking an ex-LHR flight on MH if you are starting in Glasgow, just costs you more money and puts you at greater risk of misconnect.
But MH cannot jump into a BA PNR and make changes and re-ticket.
Sorry for the rubbish treatment though.
Anyway - my point is this - MH cannot change a BA ticket on a separate PNR themselves unless booked under the MH Codeshare.
My only thought is that they either
a) Rebooked a completely new flight for them
b) Spoke to BA ticketing staff at KLIA and rebooked (after all BA 34 was leaving within 5 minutes of you)
or
c) there was some confusion as MH actually common rates most Scottish Airports with LHR using BA connecting flights, therefore the connecting flight was actually booked on the same PNR, and could be amended. I mean, there is no advantage to booking an ex-LHR flight on MH if you are starting in Glasgow, just costs you more money and puts you at greater risk of misconnect.
But MH cannot jump into a BA PNR and make changes and re-ticket.
Sorry for the rubbish treatment though.