-
Hi all,
I’m flying back from ATH this morning in CE.
BA emailed me late last night to say that they will be using the middle seats in CE to help get more people on the flight after the disruption.
Clearly, the main selling point of CE is the extra space in the middle, which is now not being provided.
Is there a precedent for how this has been compensated for? To me it is an involuntary downgrade.
Thanks,
Ed W
Unfortunately not – try Customer Relations for a slug of Avios otherwise it’s more of a Consumer Rights Act not as described scenario
If they don’t offer anything, you could try S75 claim with credit card company and ask for a (partial) refund. Simply say that you have not received the service as you paid for. Middle seat free is still advertised by BA.
Unfortunately as @SamG says it’s not involuntary downgrade to qualify for UK/EU261 compensation. The legislation does not describe what business class looks like.
- This reply was modified 55 years, 4 months ago by .
Although the middle seat being free isn’t always a feature of Club Europe – LCY flights don’t have this feature. So perhaps it’s a “where possible” feature and they can not offer it if they want.
I would say it’s a standard 5000 Avios compo offer if you complain – I’ve had no meals loaded and this is what they offer, they can go up to 10,000 if you push.
When you purchase the ticket other than from LCY, it’s clearly advertised as middle seat free when you select Club Europe. Nowhere does it say subject to availability.
As SamG says ypu can only go for a Customer Service goodwill gesture. BA will say they haven’t downgraded you, this is exceptional.circumstances to assist as many passengers as possible and they will still offer you a “better meal”
I’d ask for 5000 Avios per passenger.
There is also a remote chance that you may still have an empty seat next to you.
As SamG says ypu can only go for a Customer Service goodwill gesture. BA will say they haven’t downgraded you, this is exceptional.circumstances to assist as many passengers as possible and they will still offer you a “better meal”
I’d ask for 5000 Avios per passenger.
There is also a remote chance that you may still have an empty seat next to you.
Personally, I would opt for S75 or MCOL. The price difference between Economy and CE is generally far more than £50 per person but it’s going to take you involving a third party to convince BA otherwise.
Exceptional circumstances are fine, but you shouldn’t be subsidising BA assistance to other passengers.
I certainly wouldn’t settle for 5000 Avios.- This reply was modified 55 years, 4 months ago by .
Thanks guys, that’s helpful.
No catering loaded either, what a shambles. Can’t do S75 as was an RFS.
With thanks,
Ed W
Had this on Monday. I’ve put in a claim via CS and still waiting. I suspect they are -understandably- completely overrun with claims at the moment.
I’ve gone in hard, based on this specific wording on ba.com.
We keep the middle seat free so you can always enjoy a guaranteed window or aisle seat and more personal space for working and relaxing.
If I get fobbed off, Amex is my next stop. However, I do have the name of the CSM (or whatever they are called these days) who said that the duty op manager who pushed this change through relayed that there is unspecified compensation to be given.
BA has historically refused to pay out without a fight when a flat bed plane was swapped for a normal one (Tel Aviv, Moscow, Cairo etc) so on that basis ….
The way I look at it is that BA significantly reduced the product I paid for on a four hour flight to avoid paying 8x eu261 compensation or rerouting others.
Added no catering on top, and basically all I paid for was a marginally faster check-in queue (I had lounge access already as a Silver).
The way I look at it is that BA significantly reduced the product I paid for on a four hour flight to avoid paying 8x eu261 compensation or rerouting others.
Well said Ed W.
Thanks guys, that’s helpful.
No catering loaded either, what a shambles. Can’t do S75 as was an RFS.
With thanks,
Ed W
You can do S75 claim as long as you paid the surcharges on a credit card.
For Avios portion, I would calculate 1.6p per Avios as BA uses this as basis for compensation. Given there was no catering either. I’d ask for at least half back if not more.
- This reply was modified 55 years, 4 months ago by .
Thanks guys, I’ll let you know how I get on.
The more I think about it, the more frustrated I am.
As a Silver using an RFS, there was zero differentiation between CE and ET (because I had lounge access, priority checkin and boarding anyway and no Avios/TPs generated) with the exception of being given a bottle of water and a Kelloggs nutri-grain bar.
The people making these decisions on the ground likely don’t give two hoots about how much compo BA has to pay – especially as they’ve been dumped in the sh*t on a busy weekend ! They’ll genuinely want to free up seats to get people home
If you also got no food then I really can’t see how BA can consider this any less than a downgrade – you should get 50% of the ticket cost back
Just got an offer of 10k avios for this. Not much else to say other than this is the difference between redeeming in Economy and CE in peak, so there’s a bit of logic in BA’s offer.
It feels like pittance, but all things considered, maybe I should consider myself lucky.
Thoughts?
Thanks guys, that’s helpful.
No catering loaded either, what a shambles. Can’t do S75 as was an RFS.
With thanks,
Ed W
You can do S75 claim as long as you paid the surcharges on a credit card.
How? S75 only applies if the product costs more than £100. Unless you try to put a value on the Avios portion, how can you argue that the flight costs more than that?
Just got an offer of 10k avios for this. Not much else to say other than this is the difference between redeeming in Economy and CE in peak, so there’s a bit of logic in BA’s offer.
It feels like pittance, but all things considered, maybe I should consider myself lucky.
Thoughts?
Seems and OK ish outcome, means you’re paying for what you got. But no compensation for the fact that you thought you would get something more and they pulled the rug from under you.
There’s also the £ difference in the RFS cost between CE and ET to consider as well as the Avios
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
Popular articles this week:
