Reply To: HELP! Avios redemption with Finnair cancelled

[Lady London]

(1) what is the exact timng dep and arr of your existing cash flights to from lon and hel. What will you lose if you cancel them. Are they changeable for a fee. I can’t remember if flights can still be FTV’d it will depend on yr purchase date but we might be looking at this

(2) highly likely that whatever you switch to now gets changed again. Esp BA cos BA is a mess and Finnair cos of Ukraine impact their whole business.

(3) You have a flight cancellation on your booking or a flight number changed which counts as same thing. This means you get to choose when you travel including different date. No doubt about that.

(4) keep detailed notes of all your requests, their refusals time and date ideally who you spoke to. If you’ve tried 3 times it’s time to send a Letter Before Action after 1 more time stating very specifically what you want and I would give them 30 days to provide.

(5) you can book your own flight on anyone you choose since you tried seriously 3 times. Then you’d have to claim, then LBA, then MCOL (or CEDR if you’re feeling cheap, and like risk). However if you want to give BA one more chance work out your own preferred itinerary using airline timetables (forget pricing, only timing matters) and put together about 3 alternatives you could live with. Then talk to BA

(6) in order: look first for which flights you want to be on, on the UK/Europe to BKK sector. Then work out how to reach the longhaul flight to BKK (eg by FTVing your current cash tix then using FTV to buy to posiion for new flight to BKK.) So you could use 300 mile rule.

(7) basically, in order, BA is going to be most willing to ticket you on their own flights, then other Oneworld where they have a deal (such as : QR comes and goes and so did Finnair but Finnair can’t be counted on now),other Oneworld, anyone else BA has an arrangement with, then Star Alliance if they have a deal (they have had the odd deal with LH), then rest of Star, then Skyteam, then Virgin.

Basically BA’s willngness to ticket you, currently prob stops somewhere around QR and Finnair on that list. Them not having a deal is not your problem they are acting illegally by refusing to ticket you on an airline that can get you where you need to go. So you try to find a flight they will ticket you on. Then any flight(but illegally they will refuse and you will have to pay out, claim and sue or CEDR.)

(8) Does AA fly to Bangkok? Lon-US-Bkk might be a long way round but prob the most reliable way of getting ticketed and getting there. CX may have issues too although in the past I’d have leaped for them first on this and gone via Hongkong.

(9) Stockholm Arlanda is within 300 miles you could see if they would reroute you from there instead.
IIRC BA’s legal obligation is to get you from HEL to BKK and back, the 300 mile thing is a concession by them so be nice if asking to switch to ARN instead if you can get there to meet a flight sequence from ARN you’ve identified.

(10) no don’t let them push you into a refund they absolutely are liable for rerouting you.

(11) no there does not have to be award seat available on yr chosen new flight. You are entitled to any seat available in same cabin. This might help, make sure you remind them.