The HfP chat thread – Wednesday 30th June

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• s879 says:

  30 Jun30 June 19:00

  Can you apply for an ESTA at the moment. I know travel is not allowed unless you meet certain conditions but are people able to apply and get approval?

  • s879 says:

    30 Jun30 June 19:01

    Sorry, forgot to mention ESTA visa to travel to the USA from the UK.

    • Jonathan says:

      30 Jun30 June 19:35

      You can apply for an ESTA (& it will be granted) but it’ll be cancelled as soon as the US CBP/DHS spot you on the APIS data for a flight departing the U.K.

      If using it for entry via Mexico etc then it’s fine.

  • MattB says:

    30 Jun30 June 19:15

    I believe so yes

  • Sukes says:

    30 Jun30 June 19:23

    Haven’t tried it myself but logic implies that there should be no barrier to applying for an ESTA given that the Proclamation against entry from UK/ Ireland /Schengen etc only applies when you have directly been in these areas 14D prior. However if you tried to travel in violation of the Proclamation using an ESTA the ESTA will be cancelled without refund.

  • Liam says:

    30 Jun30 June 20:26

    I believe you can apply and it will be granted (except in the case of obvious reasons that would prevent you from getting one at any time, not just now). Reading around, as I’ve been researching this for family members, it seems like a) only booking the flight to the US once you’re in the ‘third country’, e.g. Mexico, is much less likely to result in a cancelled ESTA, and b) checking in online is not advised, as the system might cancel your ESTA but if you check in at the airport they’ll know what to do.

    The ESTA is also valid for two years (unless your passport expires before then) so even if you don’t get to use it in the short term, there’s still value in doing it if you think you’ll travel to the US in that time.

  • SimonP says:

    30 Jun30 June 20:34

    Well I have just applied and been granted an ESTA. I am a UK national and married to a US passport holder so I should be allowed in to the US. Having seen the advice on this page (and assuming that the flight to LAX is not cancelled) I will check in at the airport in September and hope that I can fly. Fingers crossed.

    • Sam G says:

      30 Jun30 June 20:49

      If it is as now then you don’t actually need an ESTA, your travel will be authorised by the DHS at the airport on the day

    • Will in SFO says:

      30 Jun30 June 21:17

      Yes you will be. The proclamation doesn’t apply to spouses of US passport holders. Also doesn’t apply to parents or siblings (if u18) of US passport holders. FAQ on US embassy confirms this.

    • Liam says:

      30 Jun30 June 22:34

      If you’re married to a US citizen then I wouldn’t be too worried. Just make sure you have a copy of your marriage certificate (and read the thread on FT about this situation).

      When I flew LHR-LAX in March (with an NIE; I also have an L visa, not an ESTA), I actually wasn’t able to check in online and had to do it at the airport. At that point someone from the US DHS, who was stationed in the check-in area, looked me up and then gave me the all clear when he confirmed I was eligible to fly. You’ll probably have a similar experience.

  • hcme says:

    1 Jul1 July 07:50

    Yes, ESTAs are being approved as normal at the moment and UK citizens can use them for entry as long as they have not been in the list of prohibited countries (which, of course, includes the UK at the moment) in the previous 14 days. I’m a UK citizen but live in the middle east and have just had my ESTA approved and will be travelling to the States next week.

• Maximus says:

  30 Jun30 June 19:54

  Has anyone got an award wallet referral link to share please?

  • 747_Brat says:

    30 Jun30 June 20:02

    free-gqosv8ed83

• meta says:

  30 Jun30 June 20:05

  Not sure if this was posted before, but ECA did a report yesterday on air passengers rights during pandemic.

  https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/Pages/NewsItem.aspx?nid=15493

  “Among its many consequences, the pandemic has had a harmful effect on EU air passenger rights”, said Annemie Turtelboom, the member of the European Court of Auditors responsible for the report. “While every effort has been made to support airlines and package-tour operators, far too little has been done to secure the rights of millions of people in the EU.”

  I hope that some action will be taken based on this.

• Travel Strong says:

  30 Jun30 June 20:05

  LGW Aspire North lounge appears to now only be open for “7am – 9:15am” tomorrow! (an impressively short opening and a bit suprised they are bothering at all).

  Assume there is nothing else to do for a later flight except get reacquanited with wetherspoons? I do enjoy the newsletter.

• Jillian Cameron says:

  30 Jun30 June 20:45

  Hi just had our flights end of September to Dominican Republic cancelled. We booked using our avios and a companion voucher for flights from GLA to LGW to PC return, online it does not say what exactly will be refunded and will our companion voucher have an extended date. I guess I will have to call BA but hoping someone may know where we stand.

  • Anna says:

    30 Jun30 June 21:08

    Your voucher will only get an extended date if you take a FTV, so think carefully before you decide what to do. You are entitled to re-routing if you want to move the trip to a later date and think you might struggle to get award seats. lots of discussions on this scenario over the past few months on here!

  • Jill ( Kinkell) says:

    30 Jun30 June 21:13

    I expect it’s a call to BA. . All Avios should be returned as well as the cash outlay for taxes, fees , carrier charges etc, and voucher will have original expiry date . That’s when you can then book a cheap 241 domestic trip using a few Avios,then cancel that for a FTV ,This ‘wraps up ‘ all of it and extends validity of 241 until April 2023. Mind you, if BA cancelled, then you could get them to re-route you . Perhaps try searching the HfPsite as I’m sure there are articles on this scenario

    • Anna says:

      30 Jun30 June 21:18

      Yes I forgot about re-booking for a FTV, even though I did it myself recently! The same passengers need to be travelling though which is another consideration.
      You could argue for re-routing on your original travel date but there probably won’t be any other direct flights from the UK which would cause issues. People have used the opportunity to rebook at peak times like Christmas when otherwise there would be no avios seats or cash prices would be astronomical.
      NB – there do NOT need to be avios seats available for re-routing so if the BA CSA tries to fob you off with that stand your ground and insist on your rights!

• will says:

  30 Jun30 June 22:22

  2 adults Flying with an infant (1 year old) BA short haul business class. Have booked 2 seats and just added an infant to the booking so no seat. Is there any chance of getting BA to remove the centre table and having the infant sit there rather than on one of our laps?

  I’m actually thinking 3 economy seats might be a better bet having thought about it.

  • TGLoyalty says:

    30 Jun30 June 22:28

    If you’re lucky you’ll get a cabin crew that knows how to do or some newer and refurbished planes no longer have tray tables in the middle.

    You would have to have the infant on your lap any time the fasten seat belt sign is on though.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      30 Jun30 June 22:31

      I should’ve added and is willing to do.

      Basically is purely luck and in no way guaranteed like it would be if you booked 3 eco seats. can you even book a seat for an under 2 lap infant?

      Booking a 3rd for a fictitious passenger that doesn’t turn up doesn’t guarantee the seat will be free because they have to physically check in and board otherwise the seat can be given to someone that’s on a wait list for example.

      • will says:

        30 Jun30 June 22:36

        I’m not sure if you can book them now you mention it, you’d need to add them as a child over 2 or adult and hope the DOB doesn’t make the system throw a wobbly.

        They’re missing a trick there actually, allowing a child to book into the middle seat in business with another 2 adults seems like an obvious thing to market to me.

        • AndyW says:

          30 Jun30 June 22:53

          Always used to be able to book that on the phone

        • TGLoyalty says:

          30 Jun30 June 23:27

          There will be something about certification (thinking pay load and balancing and all that) which will mean they can’t officially do that without lots of paperwork and probably IT changes?

      • Erico1875 says:

        30 Jun30 June 23:17

        You could book as a fat person that requires an extra seat

        • roberto says:

          30 Jun30 June 23:33

          Many of the planes don’t have tray tables anymore anyways so that would be a big help with your plan. Other “tables” actually are part of the seat and can be pushed back simply, often if the crew don’t know how to sort it another club passenger will have seen it done and can help out.

          If the club section goes a long way back then choose as far back as you can to increase your chance of having just an empty seat. Often the tables are only in the first 5 or 6 rows allowing for the curtain to move quickly during the turnaround.

          If you are gold/silver then yes booking the aisle and window seats usually gets the centre one blocked in ecomony unless the plane is very full.

          Have a great trip

        • Rob says:

          1 Jul1 July 09:25

          Friend of mine used to do this. Until BA changed the rules you only paid base fare. On a short haul, the base fare can be as low as £2.

      • Genghis says:

        1 Jul1 July 05:13

        Booking a 2-11 ticket or whatever it is for <2 yo doesn’t cause problems. Just need to pay vs 10%.

  • TheInsiderFly says:

    30 Jun30 June 23:39

    If you can, get to the gate early and ask that the turnaround manager remove the tray table in the middle seat for your row. If you are selecting seats prior to check in, I would suggest the further back the row you choose the better.

• Josh says:

  30 Jun30 June 23:48

  So what’s the actual benefits of curve fronted now that the main use case is being cracked down across the few options we have?

  Can we get a pro rata refund for metal subs?

• AJA says:

  1 Jul1 July 00:16

  MyWimbledon has just released tickets for Court1 for day 4 Thursday 1 July. I’d book again but you are limited to 2 tickets for the entire championship

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