Cancelled flight, rebooked now 9 hrs layover at LHR. Earlier connection help!
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Hi there,
Silver BA Executive Member. Business Class booking.
Original return flight was Nashville (BNA) > LHR (arrive around 10.40am), then LHR > MAN at around 3pm.
My return flight from Nashville (BNA) to LHR next week got cancelled. I rebooked the same journey for 24 hrs later but only option to connect to Manchester is at 8pm departure with a 9 hour layover at LHR. All other, earlier LHR>MAN flights are full. I called BA Executive Club to see if I can go standby or waiting list on the earlier flights but they declined.Any helpful tips on my best chances to try and get on an earlier flight?
A few thoughts I had:
1) Try to get standby or rebook at check-in desk at BA in BNA?2) Could I try and make use of BA’s same day free change policy (providing 1: a business class seat comes free on earlier flight 2: attempt to make flight change before I board BNA (8.30pm flight local flight so would be 2.30am UK time; ie same day as my connecting flight? Not sure if the free change policy applies to connecting flights?
3) if the above fail, would it be best I only check my luggage to LHR and get it off the belt and try my luck again at check-in to see I can get one an earlier flight last-minute once at LHR?
4) any other helpful tips are welcome!!!
PS: I will have already had a 6 hour layover at LHR Terminal 5 on my way to BNA, so 9 hrs at LHR is the last thing I want/need after transatlantic red-eye return flight.
Via CLT with AA maybe? Check on Google flights for OW flights only on the day you need and BA should move you to that if there is room.
Or go crazy and take -ORD-MAD-MAN with Iberia.
I don’t know the day so just checked Thursday next week.m and those two options appeared.
BA doesn’t do standby or wait listing.
BAs same day change does not apply to connecting flights.
Check in staff won’t short check your bags.
Via CLT with AA maybe? Check on Google flights for OW flights only on the day you need and BA should move you to that if there is room.
Or go crazy and take -ORD-MAD-MAN with Iberia.
I don’t know the day so just checked Thursday next week.m and those two options appeared.
Since @miss_asm has already been rebooked none of those other reroutings are available to her.
Just to clarify whist same day change doesn’t apply there is no harm in asking at BNA and LHR. Baggage isn’t an issue as it can soon be diverted to the new flight.
Indeed, and it’s especially unfortunate as the 8 pm MAN departure is often delayed (like it was last week when we were on it!) Someone posted the delay stats for this service the other day and it was shocking.
Some people might suggest going into London for the day but I’d be too knackered after an overnight flight for that. I think I’d hope that the T5 lounges aren’t too rammed and plan to have a long shower then eat/drink/read/watch stuff on the internet/do a bit of work till the MAN flight.
Though – cancellation seems to be within 2 weeks so it might be worth OP looking into eligibility for compo, which might take the sting out of it a bit.
Indeed, and it’s especially unfortunate as the 8 pm MAN departure is often delayed (like it was last week when we were on it!) Someone posted the delay stats for this service the other day and it was shocking.
Some people might suggest going into London for the day but I’d be too knackered after an overnight flight for that. I think I’d hope that the T5 lounges aren’t too rammed and plan to have a long shower then eat/drink/read/watch stuff on the internet/do a bit of work till the MAN flight.
Had similar issue on MIA-LHR-MAN recently, earlier flights full, had to make the best of a day of it at LHR as Northern Lass said. And yes, the 8pm flight was delayed. Good luck.
Our flight last week was full of really hacked off exhausted pax who’d been bumped off their earlier connections and moved to the (delayed) last flight of the day!
*Also happened to my in-laws last month as it took them so long to get from T3 to T5 due to massive queues that they missed the MAN connection they were booked on.
I think once you’ve checked in you won’t find anyone willing to put you on standby, BA doesn’t really do it. The only time I’ve known it is disruption day of travel due to a misconnection etc.
Best bet is hopefully you didn’t accept the new interary yet. Take out a expertflyer subscription and set alerts on all the earlier flights. Highly likely a seat would come up and you can call in and get it swapped in advance of travel.
Or get them to refund the LHR-MAN segment (should get a few quid) and go back on the train. If you take Elizabeth line to Tottenham Court Road and then Northern Line it’s not too bad, especially that time of day.
OP says she has already rebooked. Train just isn’t feasible if you have a lot of luggage, though, and I imagine BA wouldn’t cover the cost if the alternative LHR-MAN flight has already been accepted.
Thanks everyone, this is all really useful information and helps me manage my expectations of what is to come!
OP says she has already rebooked. Train just isn’t feasible if you have a lot of luggage, though, and I imagine BA wouldn’t cover the cost if the alternative LHR-MAN flight has already been accepted.
Yes my response assumed (hoped) that the OP hasn’t accepted the replacement. You’d have to pay for the train (minus the few quid BA would refund you for LHR-MAN)
It is a shame that BA is so inflexible/capacity restricted/unreliable on their domestics, seems to be a frequent source of pain for many !
The problem with the 8pm flight to anywhere from Heathrow is there’s a good chance it’s the last flight of the day.
So it suits BA to always book anyone delayed onto it, leaving a massive massive connection time of poor people exhausted after longhaul travel, of people waiting many more hours in Heathrow than they should have had to when there were intervening flights to get them home on that last leg domestically.
And to cap it all, as it’s the last flight of the day, of course it’s going to very, very frequently be very late or delayed. For 2 reasons, at least:-
1. Accumulated delays running through the day build up towards the last flight
2. If BA doesn’t get people onto that last plane of the day, BA is on the hook for accommodation and meals charges, and rebooking people, so they will delay everyone else on that flight quite severely to avoid themselves, BA, these costs.Making it all a horrible, horrible journey for anyone connecting in Heathrow to domestic coming off a longhaul flight as reschedules, irrops or misconnects rapidly turn into a return-from-longhaul journey from hell.
And BA clearly knows this, which is why when they cancel a domestic, say, one departing in the morning, there’s daily reports on here form people being told no intervening flight is available out of all the other domestics running on their route home before that last flight of the day, as they’re all full, do you really believe this? : I’m struggling to. The clue is how many people are being rebooked onto these later connections, long, long before their flight dates now, which we’re also beginning to hear, when the original flight gap in Heathrow did meet the airport’s official required Minimum Connection Time.
Hi all,
an earlier flight in Business class from LHR > MAN has just become available. But they wont let me change it online and over the phone they are saying they need to change the entire booking BNA > LHR > MAN, although the BNA>LHR leg is the same, just the connecting flight to MAN is earlier and are quoting £3,400 change/fare fee. This is insane. The operator on the Executive line said some legs can usually be partially rebooked, but this booking (ie the rescheduled one caused by BA’s cancellation) doesn’t seem to allow for it. I’ve asked for a manager to call me back to escalate (I am still waiting 2 hrs later). I am furious at the situation. Any tips on how to escalate this?Return flight this relates to is Sat 12 Aug and hoping to get this resolved as I am sure those seats on the connecting flight disappear soon. They are £616 each so not cheap otherwise I would risk just booking it, and hoping to claim for the delay compensation under EU rights as the cancellation was issued by BA within 14 days of travel, thus £520 should be due (although the reason for their cancellation is currenly unclear).
@miss_asm – you are reliant on BA’s goodwill here. As people identified when you first posted, you only get one chance to rebook following a cancellation and you have used that chance. It’s possible you will find someone who will bend the rules for you but there isn’t any entitlement.
Thanks @JDB. So would it have been better to rebook the BNA > LHR leg only via phone then doing so online? as waiting for the earlier connection flight to come avail was risky as i could’ve lost my Business seat for BNA>LHR which is the long-haul and important one.
Update here: the lovely staff at BA Lounge on my outbound flight have been able to rebook me onto earlier connecting flight without charge. Hurrah!! My faith in BA has been restored.
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