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JDB 5,591 posts

@meta – I know the BAH example doesn’t exactly work; it was merely an attempt to illustrate in simplistic terms how erroneous the notion of the fact one can see a booking in MMB and manage it is – it means nothing in terms of being good to fly. Similarly, a business travel agency booking will work in MMB but not be valid for travel until ticketed.

You must use a different rail company to me! On GWR, you can no longer pick up app booked tickets at a counter (also most now closed or short hours) or ticket machines, neither of which was anyway very satisfactory when it was theoretically possible. As I might have done in the old days, I check whether I have any train, theatre tickets etc. in whatever format with me before leaving the house.

I hear what you say re BA’s lack of care/responsibility but I find that’s a pretty widespread issue in many sectors and that, as a customer, one needs to make up for the shortcomings of many organisations these days.

I certainly don’t endorse what’s happening, but merely suggest one should look out for problems, use some self-help and thereby protect one’s interests. BA’s failure to ticket at all or correctly most commonly arises following changes when one needs to be particularly alert. It’s a combination of poor staff training and IT. I recently had a BA booking cancelled and rerouted on QR who cancelled it because BA hadn’t re-ticketed within the required 72 hours. I picked this up immediately (via alerts) and waited on the telephone while BA rebooked the seats and re-ticketed the booking there and then. I have experienced these issues with Qantas, China Eastern, (the now nearly deceased) Grand China Air, Aerolíneas Argentinas and probably others. AR is a largely Sabre based airline but still has (re)ticketing issues mostly on rescheduled flights with a number change.

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