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British Airways allowing outbound flight changes this week – but you can’t move your inbound

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With an eye on the weather and on strike action across the rail network, British Airways is offering free rebooking on all flights due to depart Heathrow up to 19th December.

What it is NOT doing is letting you change your return date. This means that the benefit is relatively small, unless you’d like to spend less time with your in-laws.

Full details are on the BA travel trade website here.

BA allowing free outbound flight changes this week

Here is a summary of what is possible, but do check the official guidelines too:

  • you must be flying from, or connecting in, Heathrow between 14th and 19th December
  • you must have booked your ticket by 12th December
  • you can rebook for dates between 20th and 26th December
  • you cannot change your destination, except where a city has two airports served by BA
  • no changes can be made to your return flight date
  • redemption flights are included – changes presumably do not require Avios availability
  • if your ticket involves a non-BA flight (excluding codeshares) then you may be subject to change fees for that leg

The inability to change your return flight – and the fact that you need to push out your departure until at least 20th December – means that very few people will see any benefit from this policy.

If BA is really concerned about the situation at Heathrow during the rest of the week – note that Gatwick is not included – then it really should be more flexible.

If you want to change a flight it must be done by telephone, not via Manage My Booking, on 0800 727 800 from the UK or +44 203 250 0145 from abroad.

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Category

British Airways and Avios

Comments (41)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Harry Holden says:
    14 Dec14 December 18:07

    “If BA is really concerned”

    I think you must be confusing British Airways with another BA. They are not concerned at all. Only their front line staff care and that is changing.

  • Paul says:
    14 Dec14 December 18:10

    It’s a ludicrous offer to cover up their own operational incompetence. You can move the outbound but you have to call taking up resources on the phones. You cannot change the inbound. Utterly pointless for me flying tomorrow to the Christmas markets and returning Sunday I could have moved a few days if they had allowed both sectors to change . BA-humbug!!

  • SG says:
    14 Dec14 December 18:14

    In fact, BA did allow me to change both the outbound and return legs of the trip I was due to take in the relevant time period. And – indeed – to dates after 26/12. So worth calling up if a free change suits you to see if they’ll agree it notwithstanding the very restrictive rules.

  • e14 says:
    14 Dec14 December 18:14

    Seems BA have zero’d out a lot of flights to LHR 20/12 – 28/12 as well, which isn’t helpful

  • Super Secret Stuff says:
    14 Dec14 December 18:26

    How very generous of them to offer a free way out of there costly obligations, caused by there sheer incompetence

  • Simon says:
    14 Dec14 December 19:27

    Anyone knows what the Amex Platinum covers if my BA flight is canceled and they only offer me a flight TWO DAYS later? Could I book a flight with other airline independent of the price for an earlier date?

    • babyg says:
      14 Dec14 December 19:35

      why dont you ring amex?

      • Simon says:
        14 Dec14 December 19:39

        They have told me to call tomorrow to AXA…

        • Ironside says:
          14 Dec14 December 21:17

          In my experience, AXA will say ‘no’ and then figure out what the question was afterwards.

          Read up on the policy carefully before calling them and be prepared to ask them to quote the part of the policy they think exists. It may not.

          AXA are not doing AMEX’s brand image any good at all.

          • QFFlyer says:
            15 Dec15 December 09:45

            Opposite experience from my POV, made a claim for rental car cover a couple of months ago, no further info requested and payment within a few days. I provided a big suite of documentation supporting it, but I was still impressed with how quick it went (and it’s not my first time claiming on Amex insurance sadly).

    • Paul says:
      14 Dec14 December 23:21

      Platinum will cover disruption as follows. Note comment on being offered alternative but I think in practice providing it saves a hotel for the nights they will pay. Good luck getting a flight anywhere for £300 one way!!

    • Tom gold says:
      15 Dec15 December 09:34

      I had a a BA flight yesterday afternoon from Manchester to Heathrow, to get me to a flight (separate booking) from Heathrow in the evening. BA emailed me 3 hours before the flight that it’s cancelled.
      I rang AMEX insurance (AXA) and they said that after what I get off BA, they will pay up to $250 (because I have the international dollar card) towards expenses that aren’t covered for pre flight (the second flight) purchases due to the disruption caused by the cancellation.

      I was very surprised that there was no cancelled flight coverage and that the payout is only up to £200.

      Should I expect BA to reimburse my taxi from Manchester to Heathrow? And can I claim compensation if they bogusly blame their incompetence on the weather?

      • Anna says:
        15 Dec15 December 09:53

        That’s bad luck, our 12pm to LHR did actually leave yesterday, albeit an hour late. What was the cause of the cancellation as things looked to be getting back to normal at both ends?
        BA was obliged to get you to LHR so if you can show that the taxi was the only means of getting there (weren’t there rail strikes?) I think you would be within your rights to claim the fare, although I don’t know how cooperative they are about paying out atm.

        • Anna says:
          15 Dec15 December 09:56

          You’d have to know what the reason was if it wasn’t the weather (but as I said, our flight yesterday wasn’t cancelled) for compo and possibly go to CEDR/MCOL – there is lots of info in the forum threads re this.

  • Dave says:
    14 Dec14 December 19:30

    Got moved from cancelled FRA-LHR to FRA-LCY. But with train strikes and this flight getting in so late, what costs/compensation is BA liable for? I can’t get home to Bath easily/anymore and will stay in a hotel to get the train tomorrow.

    • Rob says:
      14 Dec14 December 21:20

      Tricky. BA likes to claim that all London airports are the same (IATA treats them as one under the LON code) and I don’t think it is responsible if you can’t get home.

      • meta says:
        14 Dec14 December 23:41

        EC261/2004 Article 8 (3) stipulates that they are only liable to provide you with the transport costs between the airports or to another close-by destination as agreed with the passenger. Case law has confirmed this. Close-by destination remains ambiguous. Bath is pushing it, though.

        • Dave says:
          15 Dec15 December 10:47

          Thanks guys – I hoped there would be something I’d missed but this is what I suspected.

  • HH says:
    14 Dec14 December 19:37

    Why not Gatwick too?

    • BA Flyer IHG Stayer says:
      14 Dec14 December 19:55

      Indeed

      And why not a more extended rebooking period AND including return flights.

      It’s like BA said to itself ‘let’s help our customers but let’s not do anything that would really help them’

    • meta says:
      14 Dec14 December 23:41

      EC261/2004 Article 8 (3) stipulates that they are only liable to provide you with the transport costs between the airports or to another close-by destination as agreed with the passenger. Case law has confirmed this. Close-by destination remains ambiguous. Bath is pushing it, though.

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