The HfP chat thread – Tuesday 9th March

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• Neil Donoghue says:

  9 Mar9 March 12:03

  OT – Does anyone know if the Virgin 241 voucher can be used on someone else or must the card holder travel?

  • Sarah says:

    9 Mar9 March 12:24

    I replied to your other post – I used one for my partner with no problem. I booked our flights at different times so our bookings are separate

    • Neil Donoghue says:

      9 Mar9 March 13:17

      Thanks Sarah, great to know! Sorry I missed your other comment

    • Chas says:

      9 Mar9 March 19:09

      I also replied – you can use it for someone else, but you must travel too.

• Mco says:

  9 Mar9 March 12:06

  In regards to my post from yesterday. BA is refusing to move my flights from Dec 20 to Dec 21. These were cancelled by Finnair. I have tried 7-8 times now. Each time the reply is ticket validity only one year. What proof should I keep before booking new tickets? Can I record the phone call? Should I email customer relations so I have email trail and proof?

  • Super Secret Stuff says:

    9 Mar9 March 12:43

    I’m fairly sure there is an IATA rule about maximum ticket validity of 365 days.

    When did you book? Depending on this it might be a losing battle.

    • Mco says:

      9 Mar9 March 13:41

      I was advised yesterday on here that the 365 day rule doesn’t matter if the airline has cancelled your ticket. Ticket booked September 20.

      • Super Secret Stuff says:

        9 Mar9 March 14:52

        I would trust LL on this one over me, I am by no means an EU261 expert

  • Lady London says:

    9 Mar9 March 13:48

    @Charlieface has mentioned several times now IATA rule about 12 months from ticket issue date does *not* apply to involuntary changes which this is.

    Even if BA not trained or agent interface to systems does not provide this, IATA instructions as per @Charlieface are to endorse ticket “INVOL” – and provide ticket with passenger choice of date. Issuing a new ticket is not difficult.

    It’s perfectly reasonable to still need to travel on your booked travel date or only when a perhaps annual event happens or when a family event can be organized or only at a certain time of year etc.

    Assuming you’ve tried to change it online yourself (for some, computer said yes even when BA agent said no) then I would advise raising a formal complaint with BA giving them 30 days to provide a ticket for the date you need to travel in accordance with your cancellation rights under EU261. You can mention the above and cc Finnair in but I wouldn’t delay going formal.

    Later after the 30 days you can give then 30 more days after which failing their provision of the reroute you are entitled to under EU261 you will be forced to purchase an expensive cash ticket after which you will sue them for cash costs, duty of carw, interest and your time spent trying to obtain your legal right to a reroute, in full.

    • Mco says:

      9 Mar9 March 14:10

      Thank you so much for the detailed reply LL. You are a great asset to this website. .

      • Lady London says:

        10 Mar10 March 01:17

        Hum. though I did assume you only wanted to travel 1 day later. I read it as cancelled flight December 20th and you being denied reroute onto December 21st.

        In which case BA’s systems ans most other airlines wont open till near or after December 20th 2020 to rebook you.

        Do you have your reason ready why this far ahead, you are unable to rearrange your plans to travel even on another carrier around the time and date you had booked? I can imagine there would be reasons but I think you need to explain, for instance, why you haven’t simply asked to exercise your other right : to be rebooked on another airline(s) around the same timing as your original flight.

        @Jonathan does have a point and this far ahead, with you wanting to book that much further ahead ( nearly 2 years) on short-haul, BA may be thinking they’ve found the perfect case to make the point about the one year if it does go any further.

        So for now, I think you might be on a loser, as you seem to have made no effort to request the alternative travel at nearly the same time that could be available to you.

        BA possibly also has in mind that reticketing you a day or two later on another Finnair flight would be cheap for them as they have interline pricing within OneWorld avaikableto them.

        Apologies for my initial misread that you were being denied a move of 1 day later rather than a year this far ahead and on shorthaul.

    • Charlieface says:

      9 Mar9 March 14:29

      I would love someone to give me the relevant quote from the IATA Ticketing Handbook Chapter 7, can’t seem to find a copy of it anywhere online, it’s for airline eyes only

    • Charlieface says:

      9 Mar9 March 14:32

      After your first complaint is rejected, follow that up with a letter by registered post titled LETTER BEFORE ACTION detailing the case, and saying you are prepared to go to small claims after 14 days to get your costs for an alternative ticket refunded. Do not get emotional, just state the facts.

      Then buy new tickets, and follow that up with a court case online through MCOL.

      Make sure you keep a copy of every letter, and phone call times.

      • Mco says:

        9 Mar9 March 15:39

        Will do. Thanks.

      • Maria says:

        9 Mar9 March 15:57

        @Charlieface. I was just writing an email to the Customer Relations department about a similar case. I have phone BA a few times and I’m not getting anywhere re. ticket validity of a year. Do you think I can use the above text if my flight was booked with a 2-4-1 and the 50% offer? Thank you

        • Charlieface says:

          9 Mar9 March 23:16

          Yes, you can.

          The 50% off you have no recourse to other than a rebooking.

          If you want a refund, calculate the cost of the 2 for 1 based on the amount of Avios you paid for the first ticket x 1.6p per Avios, which is the full price they sell at. If doing a court case, claim the money, not the Avios, and don’t forget court fees and statutory interest at 8%.

      • Mco says:

        9 Mar9 March 16:18

        So customer services have just replied rejecting my request. They basically say that I have been advised correctly “multiple times” by their team and they have met all their obligations and the case is closed as far as they are concerned.

    • Jonathan says:

      9 Mar9 March 15:58

      Just as a slight word of caution, there isn’t binding precedent on what constitutes “at passengers convenience, subject to availability”.

      It’s widely held on here that you should be able to shift beyond 365 days & moving to same dates a year later would certainly seem reasonable but I wouldn’t be confident a judge would find in your favour if you bought eg. a Saturday-Saturday flight to Barbados over Xmas to replace a Tuesday-Tuesday in October.

      Essentially be prepared to justify why you need to extend beyond a year & be vaguely in the same ballpark in terms of peak/off peak dates for destination.

      • Lady London says:

        10 Mar10 March 01:19

        I agree with you @Jonathan and have added a further reply above accordingly.

• Aston100 says:

  9 Mar9 March 12:08

  Thanks to Pauldb for pointing out the decent BA fares for Feb half term 2022.
  Am I right in thinking Barcelona would be a better experience than Madrid at that time of year?

  Those two seem to be the ‘warmest’ places in late Feb with reasonable activity for fares well under £100pp (inc checked baggage) as far as I can tell, but happy to be corrected (Marrakech can get lost – never going back to that hole ever again).

  Thanks.

  • AJA says:

    9 Mar9 March 12:16

    Spain in Feb can be cold. Even BCN. It has been known to snow there in Feb. I’d be looking elsewhere if you are after winter sunshine and a bit of warmth.

    • kitten says:

      9 Mar9 March 13:23

      +1 South more reliable.
      Depending what you want to see, if you will have a car, etc.

      I believe Madeira or other islands relatively reliable.

  • Louise K says:

    9 Mar9 March 12:18

    I’ve been to Barcelona twice in early Feb and had fantastic weather both times. Chilly in the evening but very pleasant.

    • Aston100 says:

      9 Mar9 March 13:55

      Thats good to know thanks.
      Think I’ll go ahead with 5 nights in Barcelona.
      Just hope the Kimpton dynamic pricing kicks in soon.

  • Anna says:

    9 Mar9 March 12:19

    Andalusia is the best bet for weather – we’ve been in February and temperatures were around 20 C with plenty of sunshine. There’s plenty to do around Malaga, far removed from the “Costa del Sol” experience!

    • Anna says:

      9 Mar9 March 12:20

      If you’re a real culture vulture, you could squeeze in day trips to Granada, Cordoba and Seville!

      • Rhys says:

        9 Mar9 March 12:25

        Did Granada and Malaga last Feb, warm in the sunshine but can get chilly at night – you’ll want a coat, but around midday you’ll be walking around in a tshirt!

      • kitten says:

        9 Mar9 March 13:25

        Toledo too for Museo Santa Cruz / El Greco’s ?

    • Aston100 says:

      9 Mar9 March 14:00

      Hi Anna.
      I’ve done Malaga and a lot of Andalusia.
      Agreed, there is a lot to do, lot of cultural stuff up towards and within Granada.
      However, I want to go somewhere different, where the weather isn’t too bad and there is a lot of things to see and do. Somewhere during the Feb half term in 2022 and which BA are flying to on these rather cheap flights.
      This rules out all the beach destinations. As far as I can tell, Barcelona and Madrid seem to tick the boxes.
      I’ve not actually been to either!

      Will likely go Barcelona unless anyone knows somewhere more appropriate. Has to be on a BA direct flight in Feb half term. 5 – 7 nights at most, hence ruling out anything beyond Europe and North Africa.

  • Chris Heyes says:

    9 Mar9 March 13:04

    Aston100, Years ago we used to spend around a Month, in the Canaries around 6/7th Jan was never cold but one of the Island (can’t remember which now) always had a heavy Shower around 3 oclock only last half hour then back to sunshine
    We used to swap islands, but after you’ve been a few years it gets boring
    Plus with a Month in the sun I always got a cold within a few days of arriving home

  • pauldb says:

    9 Mar9 March 13:33

    I believe the area around Valencia is actually a couple of degrees warmer than BCN and Malaga in Feb. And cheap flights. PMI might also be pleasant.

    If you wait until tomorrow the Sunday flights will be available and I’d guess you can get Lanzarote for £110 return. The weather should be much better. I’d be going back to RAK if it wasn’t our last holiday in Feb20.

    • Aston100 says:

      9 Mar9 March 13:53

      Thanks Paul. I’m always amazed when I hear about people voluntarily returning to Marrakech, of their own free will. I guess everyone has different experiences.

  • Anna says:

    9 Mar9 March 15:57

    Gibraltar? Loads to do for a small place and there’s even a Holiday Inn now!

• Sarah says:

  9 Mar9 March 12:12

  I have received an email for my Kos flights in June with the inbound now flying into Heathrow. The outbound is still from Gatwick. I haven’t accepted the new flight yet but was wondering if I can expect the outbound to change to Heathrow at some point. Am a bit out of touch with travel information at the moment!

  • Sarah says:

    9 Mar9 March 12:24

    These are BA flights

  • Peggerz says:

    9 Mar9 March 12:43

    Hi @Sarah.
    I have flights from EDI-LHR-CHQ, return HER-LGW-EDI booked. They’ve moved the return now to HER-LGW—->LHR-EDI and I have not accepted, hoping they may re-instate the LGW-EDI before October. I have a friend who has a return to the USA with a similar change of London airports.
    If not re-instated, I’m going to argue with BA about inconvenience of travel and baggage etc and don’t accept LGW and LHR are treated as ‘London’ for transferring flights with no compo/costs paid.

    • Lady London says:

      9 Mar9 March 13:26

      No LHR and LGW are not the same even if BA likes to claim otherwise.

      • Aston100 says:

        9 Mar9 March 14:11

        Amazingly, BA did not even put up an argument last month when I asked for a refund after they changed my flights to depart from LHR instead of LGW.
        I was so surprised.

      • pauldb says:

        9 Mar9 March 15:14

        That’s true but BA still fulfil their obligation to reroute you if they send you -LGW-LHR- and all they really have to do is pay for the bus. You can, as Aston says, get a refund without BA putting up a fight, but no compensation so it’s not really a fight you get to win.

        If your journey ends at LHR instead of LGW theoretically you can claim the costs of getting to LGW or into town.

        • Charlieface says:

          9 Mar9 March 23:18

          But it does give you a right to a refund also.

• JamesH says:

  9 Mar9 March 12:30

  Flying from Manchester to Sydney Mon 15th March. 2 economy tickets at the mo. Flights with Etihad and offered bid for upgrade or pay for upgrade outright. It’s priced per leg, with the lowest bid for AUH-SYD at $1200 pp or $1580 pp outright.

  Wondering if anyone has experience of likelihood of lowest bid being accepted? Plus, if its not accepted, is there a second chance to bid/purchase outright? Thanks 🙂

• Suck My Points says:

  9 Mar9 March 12:30

  Oh, I see. In the terms and conditions it says there are two “campaign periods”, March and April, which seems to be a very roundabout way of saying the offer only works for 2 months.

  Rather naughty to send an email talking about “spend per month” and not be up front about it only lasting for 2 months. When they try to sneak something past you like that it makes me instantly dismiss the offer even if it would still be worth it.

• Lee says:

  9 Mar9 March 12:38

  Just noticed that NECTAR Amex disappeared from list of cards you can refer from platinum card

  • TGLoyalty says:

    9 Mar9 March 13:28

    Must be an issue as it’s gone from all federal links.

    Applied for a nectar using a boosted gold link just two days ago.

    • Anna says:

      9 Mar9 March 13:35

      +1 – I wonder if they are pulling fee free cards from the system as they cab end up not generating any income for Amex if they then go unused?

• Numpty says:

  9 Mar9 March 12:50

  anyone any experience in the following situation:

  I had a BA flight to KUL booked (in the avios 50% sale and using a 241 voucher, result!), but BA have cancelled the route, after a long phonecall to BA call centre they booked me on to Qatar (it should have been Malaysia, but they insisted there was no option. Hmm). Its the same BA booking reference, but the fare class has changed from that for a redemption booking to Fare Class I, which is for a revenue fare. Anyone ever been in such a situation and lucked out and earned avios?

  Qatar have changed their lounged access rules, but i am booked on using BA codeshare flight no., so i assume will be ok for Al Moujarn lounge access, although Qatar have already refused to provide seat allocation.

  • Lady London says:

    9 Mar9 March 13:30

    I would suggest Qatar are the safer outcome from more than one p.o.v. Si despite the tedious change in DOH, I would be happy. The only potential extra issue is Qatar potential extra Covid requirements.

  • Lady London says:

    9 Mar9 March 13:31

    Talk to BA about seat allocation if you had it with BA as you are meant to be transported under comparable transport conditions.

  • RT says:

    9 Mar9 March 15:20

    Yes I had a seat moved (due to cancellation) from an Avios fare (with Lloyds Voucher) to a commercial seat and ended up with the Tier points and Avios. The only tier points I’ve earned this year! Pity it was only a Club Europe seat and not a Club World!

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