Will you be getting Avios and tier points if your flight was impacted by the British Airways strike?

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• GRIMZ says:

  13 Sep13 September 09:03

  So if BA try and cancel a reward flight in Business what is the best way of dealing with that? Only accept an alternative flight in Business class.

  • AJA says:

    13 Sep13 September 09:19

    Or accept a downgrade and get a refund of 75% of the difference in Avios between biz and the class you end up flying. Possibly doubled up if you used a 2-4-1 voucher.

  • Anna says:

    13 Sep13 September 09:26

    Your legal rights are the same whether you are on an award or cash booking.

    Incidentally, has it been established that pax will get delay compensation due to the strikes? I thought that one was still waiting for a definitive court ruling.

    • Rob says:

      13 Sep13 September 09:37

      All cancellations were done more than 14 days out, so not applicable.

      • Gibooo says:

        13 Sep13 September 09:47

        Hi Rob,
        Due to fly to Barcelona on the 27th and havent heard a peep from BA.

        Anyone else in a similar situation? – flight is BA484.

        • Shoestring says:

          13 Sep13 September 10:00

          it’s not going to be ‘total’ shutdown this time, BA are planning on running a much-reduced service

        • Shoestring says:

          13 Sep13 September 11:28

          but check MMB online

        • APPL says:

          13 Sep13 September 11:54

          Looks like it will operate. I was on a later flight back from BCN on the 27th which was cancelled , and just got rebooked on BA485 (inbound for which is 484).

        • SWWT says:

          13 Sep13 September 12:11

          From TXL to LHR on the 27th. Marked in red in MMB but no strikethrough. As yet. have until 14.35 then the clock ticks over to 14 days minus….

        • gibooo says:

          13 Sep13 September 15:06

          sweet – looks like it is going ahead. Thanks for the insights.

          Who’d of thought I would get some luck with BA (FOR ONCE!)

• Anna says:

  13 Sep13 September 11:24

  They probably couldn’t let him go anyway while the Channel 5 documentary series on BA is showing anyway! (It’s quite entertaining, by the way)

  • LewisB says:

    13 Sep13 September 12:27

    Did you watch last nights episode? I found it massively patronising for the female Cabin Crew member who got a round of applause for correctly using the tongs in the new first class service training.

• Alastair Teague says:

  13 Sep13 September 12:37

  Cancelled flight on the 27th September. Was a points trip to keep current tier. BA confirmed I would get nothing if took refund. No alternative similar airline options. They will honour tie points as if I flew in September for alternative flight booked in October even after my renewal date Ie will keep my tier.

  • Lady London says:

    13 Sep13 September 14:53

    Silly question @Alistair but have you got it in writing from them?

• Zac says:

  13 Sep13 September 12:45

  Sorry, OT here. I’m on BA249 tomorrow LHR-GIG. Booked into WTP but all seats greyed out before OLCI opened.
  Shall I click Check In now as OLCI has now opened? Will that ruin my chance of an upgrade?
  Is there a chance I may be downgraded?

  The return from GIG-LHR shows availability in WTP which makes me wonder WTP cabin has been overbooked.

  • AJA says:

    13 Sep13 September 13:54

    Hi Zac, Check in but don’t print boarding pass. That way you get your chosen seat but then possibly at check in when you do bag drop you may get an upgrade. Have you checked how full WT is? They may upgrade you to CW to free up room for WT to WTP. Enjoy the trip to Rio.

    • Zac says:

      13 Sep13 September 15:04

      Thanks AJA

• 3742 says:

  13 Sep13 September 12:59

  Regarding BA not giving points for cancelled bookings, under what circumstances does that relate to? I could understand them being suspicious, for example, if the booking was cancelled and no attempt at the booked trip was made in lieu, and the customer then made contact without evidence of flying and said give me points…which is what I was contemplating trying, and I would have been disappointed for it not to work, but certainly not aggrieved as I’d have not really lost anything having taken a willing £15 throw of the dice hoping for about £750 of Avios and over 600 TPs with no ethical or legal right to them.

  However, for those who had to cancel in order to be able to travel, and have proof of travelling, how can they tar such genuine customers with the same brush? I also just realised there is even a subtle variation of the first scenario which is genuine too. There are probably quite a few who did genuinely want to travel, but when faced with the BA chaos decided it wasn’t worth going afterall, and/or genuinely couldn’t make alternative arrangements work due to very limited schedules. I would think they deserve to be looked after too, as but for the chaos they would truly have flown.

  It would seem BA really are going to risk alienating a large number of genuine customers to try to catch out a handful of brave souls that went through with what, in the end, I thought was too risky and inconvenient a game. Very stupid approach. Will lose much more this way. Reminds me of that internet phenomenon, can’t remember the name, where a company fixates on defending a negative online customer feedback report to their own detriment, as the feedback ends up being seen by millions instead of hundreds or thousands.

  • sloth says:

    13 Sep13 September 13:09

    because the few always spoil it for the many…

    • 3742 says:

      13 Sep13 September 13:28

      I expected a few comments like that, but this isn’t a case of a few spoiling it for the many. This isn’t like the people who keep talking publicly in detail about loopholes which results in them getting shutdown. This is seemingly a case of BA trying to squash one ant in a swarm by pouring boiling water over all of them. They are the ones who have taken a stupid commercial decision.

      I myself only stated that I was considering it, but to you is that enough to be judged guilty? Is it the thought or the deed that matters?

  • Chuck says:

    13 Sep13 September 13:24

    What was your routing for 600 TP and £750 ?

    • marcw says:

      13 Sep13 September 13:30

      Some flexible first class ticket, with some stops on the way to, Australia? Hawai? West coast?

    • 3742 says:

      13 Sep13 September 13:32

      LHR to SYD in first. £11k at the time. Plan was to cancel and suffer the small hit if it didn’t ‘strike out’. I didn’t go through with it because I considered the risk too high that I’d forget or otherwise be prevented somehow from cancelling in time and losing the money.

      • 3742 says:

        13 Sep13 September 13:33

        Oh sorry, I left out the routing bit. I can’t quite remember now, but I think it was 4 lots of 160.

    • Lady London says:

      13 Sep13 September 14:45

      🙂
      The rapidity of this question just goes to show….
      You’ve made me chuckle, Chuck! 🙂

      • Chuck says:

        13 Sep13 September 17:00

        Ha ha .. I read it as £1.25 per TP, which gave me a frisson of excitement … sad indeed ; )

• Lady London says:

  13 Sep13 September 14:43

  Just seen some coverage that British Airways has cut the pilots travel benefits “suspended them for 3 years”.

  can BA even do that ?

  I hope this lets the pilots know to ensure to include all existing benefits in their negotiations and not just the return of concessions made to help the airline in more financially difficult years.

  Sneaky, sneaky, mean and nasty airline, British Airways, in my view, for doing this.
  Does it just go to show British Airways can’t be trusted, to behave decently unless they are forced to by law.

  I hope the pilots take them out for billions…. Although I am absolutely sure the pilots just want a fair deal that might also benefit some other staff, and are not trying to cause this.

  • Rob says:

    13 Sep13 September 14:50

    It can, because the benefits are not contractual.

    • Lady London says:

      13 Sep13 September 15:16

      Then the pilots had better add “keeping existing benefits and making them contractual” into their negotiations then, now that they’ve seen what British Airways can do.

      The loss of travel benefits will hit a number of pilots harder than any loss of pay.
      It’s somehow not sporting to victimize people who are only exercising their legitimate right to strike, who have for the sake of goodwill given away a lot of negotiating power by not striking at peak time in August, and who I believe are genuinely trying to right some wrongs with British Airways (BA’s non- return of the 5000 given in bad times, that was promised to be returned in good times) as well as just trying to reach an agreement which means that pilots don’t just share in bad news but get some limited participation in any good news.

      Plus, those benefits may not be “contractual” but they are longstanding “custom and practice” Which is near to as good, legally.

• PeterCW9 says:

  13 Sep13 September 21:32

  I accepted a refund for a cancelled BA flight for 9th September and called the Gold help line to ask for avios snd tier points to be credited.
  I was told that I was not eligible for this BUT the customer service agent did say that if on my anniversary date I was short of retaining my gold status by the amount of tier points that I had been entitled to then they would credit them then. Not entirely satisfactory but I have retained detailed notes from the call in case I do need to discuss this next August when my annual anniversary occurs.
  This may be helpful for other HFP members.

  • Lady London says:

    13 Sep13 September 21:37

    Hum. Original routing credit forms part of BA’s ts and cs.

    It doesnt seen to specify if that covers avios or tier points so I think it fair to think that getting both credited is covered by “original routing credit”.

    I think I’d call them back, mention this and say you’d feel far more comfort if the tier points and avios were credited now as it’s part of the t’s and c’s and it;s a long time till August and all sorts of things might happen.

• Rjb says:

  13 Sep13 September 23:03

  Since when does BA give a hoot about what passengers think? Let them fly Ryan Air

  • Lady London says:

    14 Sep14 September 20:52

    ….Was an English way of saying it. The intent is of course much stronger.

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