i could not disagree more strongly with this... calling in advance "sometimes" results in things being set up correctly. it most certainly does not in all cases.

just search the BritishAir forums about repeated calls required to sort out simple issues and being provided with factually incorrect information.

in fact, why not ring up BritishAir and ask them if you can book seats in advance on the AA portion of a flight booked from say LHR to CUN via MIA on BritishAir to MIA...usually, you will be told computer says no but that is not true...

I guess reading my post you didn't see that I explain what I am doing, when I explained to the call center agent, I was put in contact with a supervisor who handled everything. Once again, _i_ never had a problem on BA...

I'm with flightnurse.... if you call and are willing to give up after the first (possibly junior agent) tells you that you cant do something then your issue is not really serious!

regarding AA flights, I wouldn't trust BA to lock in confirmed seats for me, regardless of whether BA says they can do it or not. I would be speaking directly with AA to ensure I got what I wanted...

sure, you and i would, or i would get the AA locator and then just go into the seat maps via AAdvantage and book them myself.

the problem is that you and others, flightnurse, included, seem to forget that the average person takes what BA or for that matter, what most airlines, say on its face versus those of us who seek more information or correctly do not believe what they say unless we have confirmed it with several people. i mean if junior agent says all is OK or you can not do X, if you do not have experience with three different junior agents telling you three separate things ALL THE TIME, why would you dispute the first saying things you have asked for can not be done?

in any case, you are missing the point.

Actually I believe you are missing the point.

It is easy to reiterate the problem the OP lamented as it applies as you say to most airlines. The harder part, I for some reason fail to see in your posts, is to provide a solution. Others attempt to provide information to avoid having the lighting strike again as that is really the only thing anyone on FT can do. Those posts are the reason I for one appreciate rant posts. It not only will help the OP in the future but also becomes a viable learning experience for others who in the future may find themselves in a similar situation.

We are talking about the OP who is has elite status....

my collegue has AC-SE status and had no idea that he could reserve "preferred" seats on AC nor that he could open up awards at the lowest redemption levels among many other benefits - in fact, this person would fly close to 160,000 miles a year but still selected the nominal bonus miles each year as part of the benefits even though it was a TOTAL was. another incorrect assumption that status means you know.

and sometimes people just need to vent and others to listen and not blame them.

I never thought of it this way, excellent post...

I agree to a point, however a 17 yr is not the person to send on a trip like this. The OP other rant was, that BA made his 17 yr old sign some paperwork. This is why a 17 yr old was not the person for the job, he cuold have gotten an ADULT to this role.

So some of his rant really is his fault and not the airlines.

I agree. This is one of those bizarre threads that I just cannot wrap my head around. What happens if, God forbid, the OP's wife passed away while in transit? Now you are not just dealing with a deceased person, but also with a minor with no legal guardian present. What would have happened if your wife had to be hospitalized during the trip. Who would be the one making medical decisions for your wife while she was incapacitated? What would happen to your daughter in that situation.

OP, if you take anything away from this thread, let it be this. Make sure your wife has paperwork (as in durable power of attorney, do not resuscitate orders, medical documentation and so forth) in order and realize that a minor will not be able to deal with any complications, whether they want to or not.
I cannot give you anymore support or advice as to how to deal with BA, but it is truly astounding that you claim that your wife is that sick, yet you send her halfway across the world with your minor daughter and not enough pain medication to last the journey.

as flight nurse says, the OP has elite status, and knows that FT is an avenue to seek advice.

unfortunately the one argument that goes against what you are saying is the response the OP got from British airways... namely that BA is unable to discuss his wife's case due to privacy laws.

now if what you said held true... that those less experienced don't know to persevere, then the OP would have accepted that reply from BA.

however, he did not. he came back to FT to seek advice and clarification because he was not happy with that answer.

so if he can do it for that, then he could have done the same for the pre allocation of seating etc etc.

OP and his 17 posts, most of which are in this thread, and prior to that, LAST ONE in feb 09, a few in 08...to suggest OP was aware of potential to go to FT to seek information/guidance initially is disingenuous.

he probably forgot FT even existed since he signed up in 08 and had not posted since 09...

However he didn't forget to come back to FT and complain, now did he!

For everyone that expressed concerns that everything in Denmark rested solely on the shoulders of a 17 year old, rest assured that my wife's sister was there also, but had traveled Brisbane to Nice on a pre-existing booking and added an onwards leg to Copenhagen. She and her partner were there until after my wife departed to return home.

My wife and daughter finished up taking a more direct route home, CPH-DXB-BNE, in first class with Emirates, and this included a transit hotel in the Dubai airport terminal. The original BA return trip has been re-scheduled to October, when she may make a return visit to the clinic.

For those who are interested, the treatments have resulted in a fairly significant drop in my wife's "tumor markers" from arrival to departure from the clinic, and she is now maintaining many of those treatments at home. She has advanced metastatic cancer, but there are some positive signs.

hey that is good news! all the best hoping your wife continues to improve ^