Some news in brief:
Free Luxury Travel Fair tickets
The Luxury Travel Fair is back at Olympia in London from 3rd-6th November.
To be honest, this is not a hugely exciting event. It is essentially just a lot of high-end hotels and travel agents in booths – you don’t, for example, get airlines bringing along their latest business class seats to try out.
The last time I went was especially poor, with torrential rain and a fire at South Kensington tube station making for a particularly wet and depressing journey!
The fact that they actually charge for tickets is a bit cheeky. However, until 8th September you can order free tickets via their website using code LT4E in return for a £2.50 handling fee. If you live nearby then it is worth popping in on the basis. I don’t recommend it at the standard price of £14.50 in advance or £15.50 on the door.
BA ending Westjet codeshare – and cancelling flights!
British Airways is ending its codeshare relationship with Canadian airline Westjet on 15th October. You will no longer be able to book tickets to smaller cities in Canada with a BA flight number on a Westjet service.
What is surprising is that BA is cancelling existing Westjet tickets even though the flights are still operating. If you have a ticket with a BA flight number on a Westjet service after 16th October, your flight will have been cancelled.
If seats are still available, you will be rebooked under a Westjet flight number on the same flight.
However, 24 hours after initially telling travel agents to do this, BA changed its guidance. It has now told travel agents not to rebook passengers if the flight would be too expensive (!) – ie in the H, W or K economy ticket buckets. You will be encouraged to take a different flight instead even though seats are available on the flight on which you were originally booked ……
(Want to earn more Avios? Click here to visit our home page for the latest articles on earning and spending your Avios points and click here to see how to earn more Avios from current offers and promotions.)
About Head for Points
Wait, what?!
Is that even legal?
Is that that with it’s current product it has no chance of becoming the World’s Favourite Airline again, so it’s decided to go for least favourite instead?
🙂
When the British Airways’ “World’s favourite airline” claim was challenged before the Advertising Standards Authority, BA successfully defended the claim based on some research. Can’t imagine that same research would be valid.
Nothing surprises me anymore with BA. I was rebooked several times when flights were cancelled out of London City airport last week. Two ground staff tried to handle rebookings for 100s of people. Frustrating to find out that your rebooked flight was cancelled the next day at 6:30am and to queue again to rebook yet another time. This airline is so disorganised it isn’t even funny. Been flying BA for 12 years mostly exclusively including heavy user of their Avios scheme via Amex cards but I will not cancel my cards and move over to Lufthansa which seem to manage flights back to Germany more efficient. Sad days ahead for sure for BA.
At BA we don’t care about our passengers we just care about our profits, is the message
they are giving out. Well if everyone stops flying BA there will be no profits.
Total boycott. As I don’t live in London, not a problem.
And presumably passenger luggage is no longer checked through, as British Airways will have succeeded in ‘breaking’ the ticket? So that protection is lost for passengers by BA’s action here.
This is really a bit scabby and embarrassing that British Airways would do this.
Being able to fly to the smaller Canadian cities I need to visit in the next couple of years to support an old friend would have been a really good reason to choose British Airways over the excellent Air Canada.
I can’t see how anyone gains here from BAs stupidity and meaness except for Air Canada who in my limited experience are superior to BA anyway
ba cancelled then rebooked my xmas/new year trip to valencia. I’m actually not out of pocket hilton agreed to move my booking (advanced no change) free of charge and the airbnb didn’t charge.
is it worth complaining?
interesting since hilton did the Good thing I plan to book my trip to Paris at the hilton opera.
for BA I’ll be booking my trip to NYC virgin UC rather than BA.
Having experienced a connecting flight from Ottawa to London via Toronto with WestJet and BA, I can say I am not surprised. Rumors of disquiet at Toronto, and luggage going missing.
I myself had a cancelled connecting flight, the subsequent flight was delayed on the tarmac at Toronto resulting in missing the flight home. I was delayed 20 hours till the next BA flight home. BA then told me in no uncertain terms, that it is WestJets fault and they have to accommodate me etc, common issue I ask, oh yes she told me.
Add to that my suitcase goes missing 20 days and counting……..
BA doesn’t want competition since Westjet now operates from major Canadian cities to Gatwick
No surprises as WS are now using 767s transatlantic, serving LGW, DUB and GLA, from East and West Canada. I did $350 one way YYC to LGW and it was fine. Sour grapes that BA don’t honour tickets after Oct.
Should we assume that WS’s codeshare with AA will remain in place?