British Airways pilots strike – what you need to know for Monday, Tuesday and 27th September

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• SImon says:

  24 Aug24 August 12:44

  Got through after an hour and fifteen on hold to be told my flight on the 11th (VCE to LHR) IS still going ahead despite the email saying cancelled. BA could not guarantee that it would still be going ahead in say 10 days time. The rostering/positioning of aircraft and availbility of staff could well be a problem. Was offered 3 different flights on the same day to LGW or LHR – opted not to change. Have found flights with RA and will be booking at requesting a refund which they will give.

  Extended opening hours until midnight tonight, re-open at 0730 tomorrow.

• Tom Robinson says:

  24 Aug24 August 12:53

  I have return flights from seychelles bookedon BA62 on 12 Sept. Booked with Ba Amex 2-4-1 and Avios in CW. I’ve had an email saying flight is cancelled but when I log in to MMB it is not completely clear….. there’s a large red warning at the top explaining about the strikes but it appears to be generic as it states: “will result in a large number of delays or cancellations”

  Then when I scroll down to see the two legs of the trip, the outward leg (31 Aug) is black text as normal, but the return leg is bold red. When I expand the return leg section, it still shows as:
  “0 stops, 10 hrs 15 mins, Club World, Confirmed”.

  It’s rather unhelpful…..obviously BA Exec club line is permanently engaged to the extent that you can’t even wait in a queue, it just disconnects you straight away after a message saying they’re incredible busy.

  Theres flights with Qatar same day via Doha, but I think the second leg is actually a BA from Doha to LGW, so the BA leg could be effected too.
  Any advice/comments would be really appreciated.

  Also annoying, AmEx Platinum travel insurance are also closed on the weekends and BH Monday so I can’t speak to them to ask them what I would be covered for until Tuesday. Very frustrating.

  • Simon says:

    24 Aug24 August 13:15

    The BA helpine lady said that the BOLD RED is a ‘warning’ that there could be delays and if the flight was to be cancelled there would be a flight number would struck through in red.

    • Lady London says:

      24 Aug24 August 13:23

      So this would not count as your getting 14 days notice of your flight cancellation then. which opens the gateway to EU261 compensation. If I had bookings like that I’d watch very carefully for when BA actually notifies me (or my travel agent) of the cancellation.

  • Andrew says:

    24 Aug24 August 14:34

    BA don’t fly Doha to LGW. They have one flight a day to LHR.

    • guesswho2000 says:

      25 Aug25 August 11:05

      Correct, it’s a BA codeshare operated by QR, and won’t be affected by the strikes (I’ve been put on to one myself).

  • guesswho2000 says:

    25 Aug25 August 11:06

    The second leg is a codeshare, it’s operated by QR, so you’ll be fine.

• Waddle says:

  24 Aug24 August 13:12

  I have a flight to DXB on 27 Sept in CW booked during the £2019 luxury sale. No email on cancellation and flight showing red in MMB. I appreciate it is still early days for me but would appreciate any pointers from readers on what the best course of action is for me. Would it be best to hold off for a few days? Plans are not really moveable.

• Yen says:

  24 Aug24 August 13:23

  What is the best strategy if the flight may be affected (email received but flight is currently still scheduled to operate)?

  1. Change to partner airline now (transit/longer journey/worst timings)

  2. Wait out to see if flight actually gets cancelled. If so, change flights to best available then.

  3. Other options?

• Anna says:

  24 Aug24 August 15:08

  What a nightmare, I feel as though we’ve got off lightly this year!

  For anyone who’s getting the response that BA don’t use other airlines, a CSA at MAN tried this on but I told him (and the rest of the queue) that that was rubbish and indeed when we got to the front of the queue, the desk agent was perfectly prepared to re-ticket pax on Virgin, AA etc, the problem being that there were very few seats left on any airline so late in the day. So stick to your guns and try to speak to someone else (easier said than done, I know).

  In respect of EU261, where this is payable, again be prepared to fight your corner. BA finally agreed to pay ours for the delayed arrival on June 2nd at the end of July, however despite 2 emails they still haven’t paid up or even acknowledged the communication. And this is a really bad time to be chasing them just now!

  • Lady London says:

    24 Aug24 August 18:55

    I think they are required to pay within 15 days? I think current statutory rate of interest is around 8% so you could calculate and ask for the interest. Proper legal eagles on here may tell me I’m wrong.

    • Shoestring says:

      24 Aug24 August 19:03

      still waiting for my £500 for winning the share of the week

      Daily Mail – get your act together!

      far more important than Anna’s compo

• JL says:

  24 Aug24 August 15:10

  Have I understood correctly that if I change my flights to be e.g. a day later because they’ve been cancelled, BA has to pay me £200 per night? How do I claim the £200? Does anyone have a link to a site describing the rules (e.g. a government one etc.)?

  • Jill (Kinkell) says:

    24 Aug24 August 15:35

    BA can pay for accommodation up to £200, but you must keep all receipts etc. and claim on return. afterwards.. I clarified this with a CS rep as we might hVe to take flights 24 hours later, necessitating an overnight stay.

  • Rob says:

    24 Aug24 August 16:29

    No, you can book a hotel up to £200 per night and BA will repay you when you send in the receipt.

  • Jay H says:

    24 Aug24 August 16:48

    Can be more than that however… no limit is defined in the legislation. Just needs to be ‘reasonable’ which depending where you are and how busy the area is could be more.

• Denise F says:

  24 Aug24 August 15:27

  Received email saying 8th Sept flight to Kiev cancelled. When finally got through to BA this afternoon, was told flight was still on schedule and email sent in error. Relieved that all ok, but irritated that I spent all morning hanging on line to BA and researching alternatives. Guess I’m one of the fortunate ones, but feel for others whose plans could be ruined.

• Jill (Kinkell) says:

  24 Aug24 August 15:51

  Continuing the saga of our trip (posted info at 0930 ish ts morning) You First CS rep did phone back ( I take back my ‘fob off’ words). It appears that dodgy emails have been sent out in error causing mass panic stating flights are cancelled, when they aren’t and are still operating.. She confirmed that ALL of our flights on 11,12 and 28 are still running and there was no requirement to do anything . She would reissue the booking receipt confirming all is well.. The fact that 3 of our flights are in red is an error and we should not have received the block emails stating cancellations. She couldn’t apologise enough. So, at the moment, somewhat relieved.

  • Doug M says:

    24 Aug24 August 16:42

    Yes indeed. A very knowledgable FT poster is saying that if MMB has the flights in place and not cancelled the emails can be ignored. I have sympathy for BA in a difficult situation, you can’t just magic up hundreds of extra trained phone staff, but you can do something about the IT mistakes. Their wounds are so often self-inflicted.

    • Stu P. says:

      24 Aug24 August 17:11

      Agree, however why not send out an email saying that emails were sent in error, apologise etc. Or maybe this is a cynical effort to get more capacity around strike days? It would have worked with me if the website had worked!

      • Doug M says:

        24 Aug24 August 17:30

        Not sure what’s right thing to do with this. Once the initial email is sent the confusion is there and further emails don’t undo that. Also, if you mess up the initial send how much faith can you have in the same process/team to email the right people the right details?
        BA need a full rethink on how they handle these situations, because they get it wrong a lot.

      • Stu p says:

        24 Aug24 August 17:43

        And as if by magic the said email arrives! Must be reading HFP!

  • Cynic says:

    24 Aug24 August 16:44

    but if any flight is eventually cancelled for whatever reason, might they attempt to deny EU261 based on fact they have pre-advised you >14 days beforehand?

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