BA cancelled First Class Avios Booking, what are my rights

[cafbrooks]

I had booked London-Doha in January and it looks like BA have decided to no longer offer first class on those seats, as the flight still is operating with economy, PE, Business. BA emailed me sayig my flights had beeen ‘cancelled’ and advised me to rebook online – there are no flights that I can book to, and I am suprised they didn’t just put me down to business class, what are my options/compensation rights. I used a 241 Amex voucher too (as a solo traveller).

[JDB]

cafbrooks wrote:

I had booked London-Doha in January and it looks like BA have decided to no longer offer first class on those seats, as the flight still is operating with economy, PE, Business. BA emailed me sayig my flights had beeen ‘cancelled’ and advised me to rebook online – there are no flights that I can book to, and I am suprised they didn’t just put me down to business class, what are my options/compensation rights. I used a 241 Amex voucher too (as a solo traveller).

If the flight is still operating, it isn’t ‘cancelled’ per UK261 regulations, so it is your reservation that is cancelled which is different and a bit disingenuous as it doesn’t directly give rise to your usual rights and in order to receive downgrade reimbursement, you actually need to travel. You should look in MMB to see what options it might offer, or otherwise you will need to call BA once you have identified what flights you would like them to rebook for you.

[Lady London]

It sounds as if BA has begun to note downgrade reimbursements can be very costly for them, what with the 75% downgrade reimbursement of cash plus any avios paid for the seat (plus same for any 241 seat based on the first seat) EU261 / UK261 entitle the passenger on whose aircraft they are stopping offering First, to.

So now we’re hearing they’ve just stopped issuing downgrades to Business as a first move. As they have worked out how very much an aware passenger who knows their rights is entitled to receive from them and should receive from BA for being downgraded.

So I guess BA hopes to wriggle out of paying the due compensation and try to manoeuvre the passenger into choosing himself, something that gets BA out of this liability.

What about.. if we take the ‘offload’ received at face value, someone might claim for flight cancellation compensation. That’s max £520 though and worth a lot less than many downgrade reimbursements will be.

If the passenger finds out that the flight he was cancelled off has in fact departed (or will still depart?) and passenger has not travelled a replacement flight, does this count as Denied Boarding? though I am guessing no more than the amount as for cancellation, applies.

If passenger is rerouted on Qatar or another non-Europe based airline, and that airline then delays downgrades or cancels them, can they still go back to BA for right to care costs, rerouting and compensation? I am thinking if BA can succeed in rerouting onto QR or other non EU airline, then the passenger loses the rights he had, this could turn out very costly for the passenger, but BA is off the hook.

How can the passenger try to stay in First on a UK or EU based airline to keep his rights, if BA has removed the First Class cabin the passenger had booked?

Or, if passenger whose First Class seat has been taken away by BA, phones BA and says, say:”I still need to travel as reasonably close to same booked time and as per my EU261 rights in similar conditions, ie in same First cabin class, BA please arrange this”, the passenger will have to be much more clever than if BA had simply downgraded them, in dealing with BA, to ensure that a downgrade to Business is suggested by BA, not the passenger, and to keep crystal that the passenger only accepts Business downgrade because of lack of other options provided by BA to travel when he still needs to.

Devilish, indeed.