Wonder if the wonderful CL community (on its better behaviour) can help me with this one, please?
Back in January I booked and paid for (Avios and cash) return flights GLA-LHR-USA return with BA for a trip in the autumn and received an e-ticket on email.
In early July, my husband received an automated email advising of a time change on the return from USA-LHR. We checked and it was still within the minimum connection time at LHR for the final leg to GLA, so did nothing. The email itself made no reference to the connection and simply said, "We hope you are happy to travel at the new flight time. If so, you don’t need to do anything else – we have taken care of everything."
At the weekend we were doing some planning of other arrangements so I went into the BA booking to check the return flight departure time. The booking only showed the outbound flights: GLA-LHR and LHR-USA. Nothing there at all for the return. We looked on the app and online. Nothing.
Neither of us had received any further communication from BA re this. After about five calls with BA over the last few days, we now have return flights reinstated. However, it was only by chance that we noticed the issue. BA have admitted it happens from time to time when the system deems the connection too tight and therefore cancels the journey. I am totally gobsmacked by this. As far as I'm concerned, they broke the contract in doing this. Despite repeated attempts at suggestions for gestures they could use to make up for my distress eg discount off a different flight or even reserving seats for us now on the outbound transatlantic leg (which would cost £38 per person otherwise), they refuse to do anything at all in the way of compensation or goodwill gesture.
I intend to take this up further with them - for me it is a pretty serious issue that we could have been abandoned with no return flights.
I'd be very grateful for any advice/ input from the knowledgeable ones in such matters on here. Also interested to know if anything similar has happened to anyone else?
Thanks in advance.
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The reality is that there was a possibility of breach of contract rather than a breach itself - that possibility has been removed. Now if you hadn't spotted it and you were left stranded with no return flight it would have been a very different matter!
Doesn't stop you putting a strongly worded complaint in writing, seeking a gesture of goodwill on their part for the stress and inconvenience - and address it to the Chairman of BA, Alex Cruz. You never know but they have no legal responsibility to do anything.
If they get a letter complaining about the service, the way you always use BA and how you feel let down now and want to make sure they change their processes to make sure it doesn't happen again to annoy other currently loyal customers, you may have more luck.
We had a flight from LAS to LAX (on Delta) with a connection to the Virgin flight from LAX to LHR. The Virgin leg was on Upper Class. We knew the connection was tight (the whole journey was booked through Virgin, non-transferable ticket) as there was a transfer from Terminal 5 to 2 at the huge LAX. So we arrived early at LAS and asked if Delta could get us on to the earlier flight to LAX. They said they could but it would cost. I said, it was their choice but if we missed the connection, they'd be paying our hotel and business class flights to the UK. We got on the earlier flight.
Arrived at the Virgin check-ins with our pre-printed boarding cards. But we no longer existed! Delta, (which owns 49% of Virgin and code-shares) in changing the first bit had cancelled the trans-Atlantic flights. Fortunately, Virgin re-instated us.
It was annoying but there was no actual loss. But I did complain to Virgin - because I thought this could easily happen to others who might not be so lucky with seat allocation - and they said they'd look into it to see if they could improve the systems. I think they also bunged in some freebie miles to my account.
In my opinion, that's what you should try for by way of compensation as it's pretty much a no-cost option for the airline.
BTW, I hate BA, their club world class is dreadful with odd seat formations and backwards seats which means you have to climb over people to get to out of your seat. Designed by an idiot. We're using them to get to Cancun in December - you pay a fortune and you can't even pre-book your seat without paying more. I do generally try to avoid them if I can.
Also, Terminal 5 at Heathrow is truly magnificent - a more relaxing Terminal in the world there isn't.
I always travel BA when possible, even to the extent of paying a little bit more - which in some instances isn't that much more than the likes of Easyjet(to Nice for example).
@Bournemouth Addick doesn't deserve a complaint against him.