Virgin Atlantic moves Las Vegas flight to Heathrow, adds flights to Boston and Barbados

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• the real harry1 says:

  20 May20 May 17:15

  O/T You may remember that as I tend to organise our Avios redemptions T-355, I generally have nearly a year’s flights lined up for (school) holidays to our place in the sun, the reason we (you might think tediously) always go to the same place is not so much because the house abroad is a significant ongoing cost but because my mother in law loves both her daughter and her grandchildren and doesn’t otherwise get any time with them, she will clearly be pushing up the daisies soon so we are on borrowed time; I love it out there as well so sameness of holiday destination doesn’t bother me for now.

  This was the reason we had about 30 Avios flights lined up when BA withdrew the free drinks & snacks offering on European flights – despite me having paid for them at time of booking. You may remember they offered us 5x 1000 Avios compo, total, ie said it was a one off & you can’t get it twice (or 6×5 in our case). I appealed directly to Mr Cruz and on his instructions we were given 1000 Avios for each of these pre-booked flights, which I was happy about so did not feel the need to take it further or agitate.

  However, I am growing increasingly annoyed about the way BA has deliberately created a culture of turning down legitimate EC261 claims, basically obfuscating, denying facts and telling untruths several times until the claimant folds & goes away or tales it to CEDR/ MCOL. The whole way of their thinking seems immoral and not very different to dodgy parking penalty notices that make old people quake & pay up instead of standing their ground.

  But I have already got my fair compo. What about the other many thousands who should have had the same but got nothing, ie F&B withdrawn but no 1000 Avios compo?

  I have screenshots that clearly show BA’s offer at the time of ticket purchase. There is a 6 years limit for people disadvantaged to claim compo. Question: should I stick the screenshots on (say) FT so that people are motivated to get their compo? Or is it just poking a wasps’ nest?

  • the real harry1 says:

    20 May20 May 17:29

    Thinking about the numbers, we had 30 Avios flights lined up AFTER the end of free F&B c.11th January 2017, so would actually have had something like 40 flights lined up when it was announced. ISTR we were anticipating it in August 2016 here on HFP so that’s why I took the screenshots.

  • Anna says:

    20 May20 May 17:44

    It’s good to have you back Harry. I think there’s a lot to be said for going back to the same place – in our case we like that we know where we’re going when we’re driving, where everything is, which shops and restaurants we like. You can waste a few days in a new place just finding your way around.

    • the real harry1 says:

      20 May20 May 18:00

      In BC days (Before Cids, and I guess we did actually do some of this with toddlers) my wife & I wandered through Spain, Med coast, Sicily, NZ, Australia, Thailand. Plus when I was single I did a lot more. A helluva lot more.

      So I am actually looking forward to being set free, as is my wife – she has been making a few noises recently about holidays but 5 or us to (say) Thailand for a few weeks wouldn’t be cheap (& my parents never took me abroad for holidays so I don’t feel too mean 🙂 )

      • Crafty says:

        20 May20 May 19:06

        In my view Thailand is exceptionally cheap if you go to places that haven’t been taken over yet by Western tourists, and aren’t too snobby to stay in guesthouses.

        Other southeast Asian destinations even more so.

      • the real harry1 says:

        20 May20 May 22:59

        Actually I have lived a good % of my life outside the UK:
        Italy 1 year
        France 1 year
        Place in the sun 10 years
        others 3 years
        =25%

        So I am well qualified to say the UK is crap.

  • Thomas Howard says:

    20 May20 May 21:55

    Is there an independent register of weather related delays? I’ve had EC261 turned down on that basis but have no idea how I find out whether there was a weather issue at Heathrow that didn’t impact any other “London” airport.

    • the real harry1 says:

      21 May21 May 06:27

      Just ask on the EC261 thread on Flyertalk – there are some helpful people there who will look up your flightonce you give the details.

  • Anon says:

    21 May21 May 03:59

    BA are entitled to put people on a no fly list.
    They have had a dirty tricks department.
    They can identify you from the above.

    So I suggest that any fighting for fairness for such things should be done by a organisation which has significant defences itself, and can ensure anonymity (E.g. The Guardian, MSE, Select Committee)

  • TripRep says:

    21 May21 May 06:23

    TRH – completely agree with your view on BA approach to EU261, impressive getting the office of Snr Cruz to grant you compensation.

    Nice to see you back & firing on all cylinders.

• Go says:

  20 May20 May 23:00

  Bits – To get a reward saver fare with BA I understand you need to have “earned” 1 avios in the last 12 months. I have transferred Amex points in the last 12 months but my account is not giving me the standard RFS fares for domestic flights. For example a business class domestic is coming out at £87.13 plus miles. What do I need to do if an amex transfer doesn’t count. Never had this issue before

  • David says:

    20 May20 May 23:13

    Have you checked by trying another route or flight.
    My initial assumption is that your RFS could be on, but something about the flight in question is not setup properly. I.e. it is treating it as operated by an airline other than BA. click the flight number, see if it says who is operating.

  • Doug M says:

    20 May20 May 23:16

    I believe it’s fly on a OW flight and credit to BAEC, as in earn an Avios through flying.

    • Peter K says:

      20 May20 May 23:23

      It’s not through flying only add I’ve used it in the past with only non-flying avios in avios.com

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