BA customer service, what a joke!!
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Oh the airline is most definitely in breach. The question is whether their latest proposals are an acceptable remedy. I would say not, and would also say that any reasonable additional costs the original poster incurs in getting to his destination are recoverable from the airline. A court would decide, and as has been mentioned, they tend to look favourably on the consumer with what appears to be a genuine complaint against a large company who has pulled out of a deal where they took the cash up front.
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I am very surprised that BA will not allow you to go to MIA instead - its low season so the plane will be empty.
Wait to see what the supervisor says - if not good then speak to a manager and take the full refund, then book to MIA yourself if its the same price.
Better still - book through a travel agent that has a good relationship with BA and save yourself the time and trouble of trying to sort tit yourself
Wait to see what the supervisor says - if not good then speak to a manager and take the full refund, then book to MIA yourself if its the same price.
Better still - book through a travel agent that has a good relationship with BA and save yourself the time and trouble of trying to sort tit yourself
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Bealine
How about selling a ticket London-Sydney and then offering London-Paris (passengers own arrangements) Brisbane - Sydney?
The OP has bought a ticket for the whole trip so why must he make his own arrangements for part of it?
How about selling a ticket London-Sydney and then offering London-Paris (passengers own arrangements) Brisbane - Sydney?
The OP has bought a ticket for the whole trip so why must he make his own arrangements for part of it?
Last edited by ManAtTheBack; 1st Jul 2009 at 16:00. Reason: spelling
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Bealine
How about selling a ticket London-Sydney and then offering London-Paris (passengers own arrangements) Brisbane - Sydney?
The OP has bought a ticket for the whole trip so why must he make his own arrangements for part of it?
How about selling a ticket London-Sydney and then offering London-Paris (passengers own arrangements) Brisbane - Sydney?
The OP has bought a ticket for the whole trip so why must he make his own arrangements for part of it?
I rather suspect it may have something ro do with the fact that tickets may be sold as "valid on BA only", but couldn't say for certain. (In some special circumstances, BA will permit "BA Only" tickets to be used on QF, but only because QF and BA have a bi-lateral agreement on the Australia run!)
Ticketing Agents (and Customer Service Agents) are not frightened to exercise discretion as everything we do is accountable and if we fail to collect Additional Charges, Excess Baggage payments, Change of Res Fees or Additional Taxes, the computer system will generate a report and questions will nbe asked!
That is one reason Man Friday had so muxh grief - a reason, but it doesn't excuse the fact that, IMHO, he has been treated rather shabbily!
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Whilst still waiting for customer services to call back
i checked my reservation on line and found that i now have 6 flights confirmed!
Gib-Lhr
Lhr-Mia
Lgw-Mco
Mco-Lgw
Mia-Lhr
Lhr-Gib
WTF!
on contacting BA Customer services, and getting transfered between two departments, BA Customer services dont know whats happening.
but not to worry they will call me back tomorrow !
i checked my reservation on line and found that i now have 6 flights confirmed!
Gib-Lhr
Lhr-Mia
Lgw-Mco
Mco-Lgw
Mia-Lhr
Lhr-Gib
WTF!
on contacting BA Customer services, and getting transfered between two departments, BA Customer services dont know whats happening.
but not to worry they will call me back tomorrow !
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Finally been called back by customer services........
to go via lhr to mia i've only got to pay them £140 per pax......
The worlds favorite airline...................Don't think so
to go via lhr to mia i've only got to pay them £140 per pax......
The worlds favorite airline...................Don't think so
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At last BA have conceeded and are willing to pick up the cost of the Lhr Lgw transfer.
Monkey Tennis thank you for the steer to AUC, all it took in the end was for me to cut and paste EU reg 261/2004 and they folded !
Thanks to all for their sugestions
MF
Monkey Tennis thank you for the steer to AUC, all it took in the end was for me to cut and paste EU reg 261/2004 and they folded !
Thanks to all for their sugestions
MF
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Man Friday
I am pleased you managed to resolve something. Last year I had a similar episode with BA - eventually after proving that Customer Services were idiots (I had it in writing from them also) they elected to put 10000 BA Miles in my account not giving me any choice to refuse them. The net result of their many years of exceedingly poor customer service is that I will now only fly BA if I have no alternative.
If Willie wants to know why his business is in the doldrums then he needs to remember he needs to take off his wall the picture of O'Leary I imagine he uses as a role model.
regards
Oiler
I am pleased you managed to resolve something. Last year I had a similar episode with BA - eventually after proving that Customer Services were idiots (I had it in writing from them also) they elected to put 10000 BA Miles in my account not giving me any choice to refuse them. The net result of their many years of exceedingly poor customer service is that I will now only fly BA if I have no alternative.
If Willie wants to know why his business is in the doldrums then he needs to remember he needs to take off his wall the picture of O'Leary I imagine he uses as a role model.
regards
Oiler
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I can only hang my head and apologise! Unfortunately for us all, in the interests of the bean counters and "consistency", our managers have removed most of our ability to use discretion, initiative or diplomacy in situations.
Sorry - in the good old days we had a wee bit of leeway to do things in the "interests of Customer Service". Not any more!
Sorry - in the good old days we had a wee bit of leeway to do things in the "interests of Customer Service". Not any more!
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"Bealine",
I thought something like that had happened. In the past I'd receive compensation in terms of BA Miles which was, in my opinion, reasonable and went a long way towards obliterating the memory of what had gone wrong.
More recently, though, I've felt highly disappointed by the customer service response. BA's senior management may think they've achieved something as a result of this meanness but it's made me less loyal towards, and much more critical of, the airline.
A textbook example of how not to treat "valued" customers, I'd have said.
P.S. Do you recall the emphasis that BA put on "service recovery" all those years ago, bealine?
I thought something like that had happened. In the past I'd receive compensation in terms of BA Miles which was, in my opinion, reasonable and went a long way towards obliterating the memory of what had gone wrong.
More recently, though, I've felt highly disappointed by the customer service response. BA's senior management may think they've achieved something as a result of this meanness but it's made me less loyal towards, and much more critical of, the airline.
A textbook example of how not to treat "valued" customers, I'd have said.
P.S. Do you recall the emphasis that BA put on "service recovery" all those years ago, bealine?
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Do you recall the emphasis that BA put on "service recovery" all those years ago, bealine?
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I couldn't agree more.
I too have given up on the World's favourite airline. Although I am still gold - until October - I haven't had a paid flight on BA for almost 18 months. I've been burning my miles and with my Christmas trip I will have exhausted all of my miles.
The latest fiasco is my attempt to book with miles an 'open jaw' - out to Vancouver and back from Los Angeles over the Christmas break. I also hoped to close the open jaw with Alaska airlines from Vancouver to Los Angeles. Couldn't book that online so I called the Executive Club No. (in Bremen).
After explaining what I wanted I was told that I would have to pay for talking to them. Why I said, I can't book an open jaw on-line. Oh, but you can book two one ways!
But I can't book Alaska on-line either. Oh, OK then ...
Even 7 months out Alaska had no seats within 3 days of the days I wanted to travel so I gave up (I'll have to buy 2 seats at $400 apiece) and asked him to book my open-jaw. I had checked on-line just before I called that flights were available to Vancouver and from Los Angeles.
Oh, I'm only seeing two first class seats on the flight to Vancouver. I told him I had just checked and there were two seats in economy. Well, he said, I can't access them - why don't you book them on-line yourself? He explained that although he was the Executive Club dealing with Gold Members he didn't have the same access as I did on-line. WTF?
In the end I booked the outbound, he booked the return and the total cost (taxes fees and F* surcharges) was over 500 pounds - for a free ticket!
Never again BA ...
The latest fiasco is my attempt to book with miles an 'open jaw' - out to Vancouver and back from Los Angeles over the Christmas break. I also hoped to close the open jaw with Alaska airlines from Vancouver to Los Angeles. Couldn't book that online so I called the Executive Club No. (in Bremen).
After explaining what I wanted I was told that I would have to pay for talking to them. Why I said, I can't book an open jaw on-line. Oh, but you can book two one ways!
But I can't book Alaska on-line either. Oh, OK then ...
Even 7 months out Alaska had no seats within 3 days of the days I wanted to travel so I gave up (I'll have to buy 2 seats at $400 apiece) and asked him to book my open-jaw. I had checked on-line just before I called that flights were available to Vancouver and from Los Angeles.
Oh, I'm only seeing two first class seats on the flight to Vancouver. I told him I had just checked and there were two seats in economy. Well, he said, I can't access them - why don't you book them on-line yourself? He explained that although he was the Executive Club dealing with Gold Members he didn't have the same access as I did on-line. WTF?
In the end I booked the outbound, he booked the return and the total cost (taxes fees and F* surcharges) was over 500 pounds - for a free ticket!
Never again BA ...
Last edited by ExXB; 9th Jul 2009 at 21:27. Reason: typo
