More evidence of British Airways prioritising Avios bookings for downgrades?

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• Stu R says:

  25 Feb25 February 08:26

  We are booked on a 241 BAPP in first to Tokyo next January. I’m pretty certain that in the event of any downgrading attempts, I’d end up on some kind of no fly list, or worse still in jail. If you want somebody to take BA to court, it might just be me, as I would not suffer any such behaviour!

  • JamesW says:

    25 Feb25 February 08:46

    Yeah, I very seriously could end up in jail for losing my sh*t. I completely understand this.
    I would be panicking about the pain I know a long haul flight without a bed leaves me in 🙁

    • Thomas says:

      25 Feb25 February 08:54

      Keep calm, and don’t fly BA!

      • the real harry1 says:

        25 Feb25 February 09:15

        keep it rational, folks 🙂

        seats get overbooked, people get bumped or downgraded, that is undeniable fact

        ergo you stand a chance of being bumped or downgraded on every flight you take

        it doesn’t warrant biffing the check-in agent on the nose 🙂

        • James67 says:

          25 Feb25 February 09:47

          Agree, and we have to remember upgrades happen too although when was the last time BA gave somebody one of those? The actual chances of a downgrade on most routes most of the time is likely very small, it has not happened to me ever in over 35 years of flying on any airline but I’ve had many upgrades mostly from UA, AA and LH. Despite this, peoples concerns about this are real and justified, these concerns run deeper than just the disappointment of a poorer seat than they paid for which requires huge efforts for many readers. More fundamentally it is about BAs strategies and their relationship with their customers and how this makes their passengers feel. For years Ryanair were subjected to scorn, ridicule and bad front page press for what, seems to me a least, to be of lesser concern than the policies and practuces of BA these days. I agree too that we should refrain from abusing BA staff for the shortcomings of their employer because that is so unfair, it is fine to make concerns known to them but it should never be disrecpectful or abusive to them personally. At the end of the day these staff are our best chance of a satisfatory resolution and honey always works better than vinegar.

• Anna says:

  25 Feb25 February 08:28

  I have had all three trips I have booked with BA this year either changed or cancelled. I’ve started to get a feeling of despair each time I’m connected to a “customer service” operator 5,000 miles away who can seemingly only read answers from a set list.

  I think the main problem is lack of accessible information about passenger rights. With my most recent complaint (cancelled flights from Manchester to Bremen), fortunately someone on HFP made me aware of the distinction between the right to compensation and the right to re-routing. When I pressed the latter, Sun Air (the airline involved) agreed to a few concessions I had asked for in respect of our alternative flights.

  Similarly I have read posters on Flyertalk arguing about whether BA are legally obliged to ask for volunteers before downgrading a passenger (though this would seem to only apply to bumping off), and also quoting passenger rights which actually only apply in the US.

  I posted yesterday that it would be a good idea to draft a standard letter to Amex about the concerns raised by these recent downgradings and have as many Amex customers as possible send it to their head office.It would be useful to clarify, for a start, whether BA are contractually obliged to provide those avios and 2 4 1 seats, as this may be a viable area of challenge.

  • Crafty says:

    25 Feb25 February 09:11

    Agreed. Would you like to do the first draft and we can all build on it?

    • Anna says:

      25 Feb25 February 09:47

      Happy to, I’m just not brilliant at uploading these things!

• Alan says:

  25 Feb25 February 08:30

  Sorry, just for my understanding, do BA refund 75% of the taxes & fees payment that you have to pay for redemptions when they downgrade you?

  • Nigel says:

    25 Feb25 February 09:01

    It definitely seems like they should owe a refund of taxes if the taxes are higher in the premium cabin (you don’t get to fly in).

• Disillusioned says:

  25 Feb25 February 08:34

  Another reason why I’m personally cancelling all cards that collect avios. It’s simply not worth it.

  Recently been trying to use avios for a booking and the availability / hassle factor is huge.

  Also I priced up 2 full price tickets. Then re priced using my 241 and although the “ticket cost ” was reduced the “tax potion went up nearly £300!!!

  How on earth does the tax increase when the ticket cost half.
  What a racket!

  In the end just bought 2 bus class tickets Oslo to Melbourne for £1790 each with Qatar. Way better value than even with 241 and a squillion avios.

• Bryan Celentano says:

  25 Feb25 February 08:38

  Are we not learning something yet about BA? Stop flying BA! I would suggest that you burn through your avios and 2-4-1s ASAP and pick any of the other budget airlines.

  • James67 says:

    25 Feb25 February 10:03

    I’ve done exactly that, trying out Easyjet for shorthaul and KLM for business longhaul for the first time this year exEDI. If it works out ok I’ll use AY for summer seasonal and KLM for winter. BA reduced to a single z7 CW avios redemption each year but now that I reckon I’m only getting about 1.28p per clubcard point value out of that without a 241 or Lloyds voucher that now looks under threat too. I may continue collecting avios though for regional flights on CX and MH.

  • Ro says:

    25 Feb25 February 14:19

    For me the best use of avios is actually europe short haul in economy. Off peak only 4k and 17 quid each way in taxes. Great for positioning or just for cheap flights to europe.

    Otherwise i use mainly qatar and singapore for long haul… really enjoy flying with them.

• JamesW says:

  25 Feb25 February 08:42

  I completely agree.
  I have a 2-4-1 to use up and if this happens to me I will HATE the company with a vengeance.
  I have a serious back & neck chronic pain condition and if I’ve booked to fly club or higher on a long haul flight its because I know from experience that a couple of hours into the flight being unable to lie down and do some stretches and change positions around I will be in serious pain, pain that will last days.
  It would screw my entire trip up and have me in absolute agony.
  I would HATE the company for that and would probably not take the flight because of it.
  I think I would need serious counselling to talk me out of hunting down some BA Execs and shooting them in the face with a crossbow.

  • Ramones says:

    25 Feb25 February 09:17

    Wow…I think you are ready for the counselling sessions now

  • Phil G says:

    25 Feb25 February 09:20

    Maybe book airport assistance at both ends of the journey. This may deter them from downgrading you.
    I too have a chronic back & neck condition and long haul in economy is a no go. Search Qatar flights from other european airports for great bargains and use avios to get from the Uk to the european airport. We are flying to the Maldives from Rome in business for £900 each. It is an extra flight but Qatar is a superior product and treat you like royalty on board. (and it was about £3500 each from the UK)

• Andy says:

  25 Feb25 February 08:42

  Anybody out there that can do the equivalent for BA. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo

• Matthew says:

  25 Feb25 February 08:42

  I agree…vote with your feet and avoid BA long haul. There are far better frequent flyer schemes that charge almost half the miles as BA and therefore negate the need of a 2 for 1. You just need to collect in flexible currencies such as Amex MR or SPG.

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