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Hello all, i’d like to book LHR-PHX return for two people using a 241. We’d both be flying out on the same flight, but chances are one of us would have to fly back later… what would be the best way of doing this?
can the one person still check-in for the first return flight, even if the second doesn’t? i’m assuming the second person would have to book a completely new flight, and wouldn’t be able to rebook?
Yes, you can travel on the return without issue particularly if it’s your voucher, but you won’t get any refund of Avios (or voucher) and probably no or little cash and a full ticket would need to be bought for the subsequent return. If the non-voucher holder were to travel alone, it would probably be OK, but could create difficulty if there were any disruption. It ends up not being a very effective use of the 241.
it will be the non-voucher holder who’ll be flying using the 241 on the way back. Me (the voucher holder) will be staying longer in PHX. My concern is that he won’t be allowed to fly, unless I check-in alongside him. Although I could in fact check-in, but then not board… but that’s a rabbit hole I don’t think would be wise to go down
i have 3x 241 and i don’t use them precisely for things like this… my plans are always different than other people (and I fly solo 99.9% of the time anyway)
for 120000 avios + £600, I can get two people return to PHX (Eco out, Business back). A one way eco PHX-LHR is 30000+£64.07, so even if i do take a later flight, for 150000+£664.07, I can get five flights, which I don’t think is too bad considering the schedule
it will be the non-voucher holder who’ll be flying using the 241 on the way back. Me (the voucher holder) will be staying longer in PHX. My concern is that he won’t be allowed to fly, unless I check-in alongside him. Although I could in fact check-in, but then not board… but that’s a rabbit hole I don’t think would be wise to go down
i have 3x 241 and i don’t use them precisely for things like this… my plans are always different than other people (and I fly solo 99.9% of the time anyway)
for 120000 avios + £600, I can get two people return to PHX (Eco out, Business back). A one way eco PHX-LHR is 30000+£64.07, so even if i do take a later flight, for 150000+£664.07, I can get five flights, which I don’t think is too bad considering the schedule
If you know that it is you that wants to take the later flight and you are at all anxious about the non-voucher holder being on the return flight alone, why not book the return to include your planned flight and book a separate ticket home for the non-voucher holder?
unfortunately i do not know the exact date when I’ll be travelling back. My plans are fluid, where as he is definitely going to be returning on a set date.
then there is the matter of if indeed i will actually be returning from PHX, and it all gets a bit more complicated.
i guess i was hoping that someone had experience of only one person on a 241 flying, and it being ok…
Could you use the voucher for 2 of you, one-way, then book a separate inbound for the 2nd person? As stated, it’s not the best use of a voucher but if it’s that or have it expire, it’s better than losing it altogether. You then still have the other “half” of the voucher if you wanted to undertake another trip with that person, within the rule of the voucher.
My feeling is that if you turned up alone for the inbound flight it would be fine as you’re the voucher holder, but if it was the other person it could potentially cause issues if they pick up on this.
Could you use the voucher for 2 of you, one-way, then book a separate inbound for the 2nd person? As stated, it’s not the best use of a voucher but if it’s that or have it expire, it’s better than losing it altogether. You then still have the other “half” of the voucher if you wanted to undertake another trip with that person, within the rule of the voucher.
My feeling is that if you turned up alone for the inbound flight it would be fine as you’re the voucher holder, but if it was the other person it could potentially cause issues if they pick up on this.
i had considered that, and according to my maths, it actually works out the same approx cost… but the ability to use the 241 “again” for half a trip does sweeten the pot
thank you for that additional information, which i wasn’t aware of
Yes – it would need to be within the rules if you’re not doing the exact same journey in reverse, and the same person would have to travel with you. So it depends on how likely you are to take another trip with them.
This is an example of how this works, which I’m doing in the next year or so:
Outbound is BA DUB-LHR-MEX, then home on VS from ATL. A few months later I am going to use the other half of my VS voucher to do MAN-ATL and the other half of the 241 to return something like GCM-LHR-MAN or MIA-LHR-MAN. Both these routings conform to the 241 and open jaw rules (and of course I need to have the same travel partner!)
ahh so essentially, as long as it’s the same person, and in this case i’d be flying from somewhere in Americas back to UK, I could use the ‘second half’ of the 241 on a completely different trip… but does it need to be booked at the same time, or would it be case of booking the second half, and then asking for 50% avios back?
It doesn’t need to be booked at the same time – quite often this isn’t possible anyway as the outbound may need to be booked before the inbound is even released.
To avoid potential uncooperativeness from BA CS, book the inbound as soon as possible after it’s released, and ask for the 50% avios asap after that. Make sure you pick the same ratio of avios to cash and use the same Amex to pay the surcharges (it doesn’t have to be the one which earned the voucher, but they can be funny about it needing to be the same for both halves of a 241 booking).
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