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Anyone know why I am seemingly not able to change my flight for free back from Istanbul today? It’s currently 00:20 here and I’m on the 19:55 flight and trying to change to the 0830 flight and it wants to charge me £122 for the pleasure. It’s a revenue booking in CE.
I’ve always found it only allowed it after midnight UK time.
For times like these I’d always just call up
Just gone midnight in the UK so should be OK for Amy to do it online.
Phone agents are still subject to the midnight cut off.
Damn it. I paid it. I was thinking it had to be midnight in the country you’re in. Painful lesson learned. Got OH to try ringing from UK but lines closed.
The website suggests midnight in departure location but yes UK time. I had to sit awake in Venice last week for an extra hour for 1am to tick by.
I had a panic about this recently, mine wanted €400 to fly later otherwise I was facing a 7am flight out of Nice rather worse for wear !! It did let me do it about 00:55 local time.
Very good “trick” though, got on the flight I wanted for €70 that was selling for €300 in Econ when I booked
Is it only cash bookings, or with status, or in Club or F that this is available?
Hadn’t realised it’s UK time. That means the further East or West you go, harder to do?
As if East more of the local day (say, SIN say, 9 hrs ahead of GMT) is gone before 0001 GMT ticks over, so fewer flights departing locally same day to switch to?
And if West, you could theoretically call up, say, 8 hrs ahead, ie yesterday if in California (8hrs ahead, say), to switch flights to a different one today? But could you only switch in that case to a flight departing before 1600 PST local time, as would the new flight have to depart before midnight GMT so as to be same day?
Thinking this does not make sense, but could merit some exploration.
Is it only cash bookings, or with status, or in Club or F that this is available?
Not related to status
Short Haul only.
Cash bookings only (part pay with avios is OK)
Economy Plus and CE only
Simple point to points only
No change of airport allowed (though you can pay should you wish)
Just seen your reply BAFIS, Thank you.
So if SDC is limited to short haul only, then same problem might occasionally arise given time diff between, say, Spain/North Africa (or, as BA treats as short haul, Istanbul / Tel Aviv / Damascus etc), and Eastern Europe departure points, say Moscow in the extreme case when it returns as BA says Moscow is short haul), vs GMT
PS When you say Economy Plus, do you mean Economy fares are OK except HBO?
I have a dreaded 0700am flight coming up in a couple of months and am looking eagerly at this.
BA’s official titles are Economy Basic (HBO) and Economy Plus (checked bags). No SDC if HBO, OK with other Economy cash fares.
I had an open jaw (LON-EDI//GLA-LON) and via a phone call was able to apply the SDC for the return leg. Wouldn’t work online but the agent didn’t suggest I wasn’t allowed to do it.
If there is a code in the booking ref z2r from memory then the SDC is available – if not then you might have gotten lucky. don’t think the robot would have been able to do the SDC online – you might want to check the booking 🙃
This was really helpful.
Son is hoping to do this soon for return leg Economy plus (first family holiday not entirely funded by BoM&D so trying to get the 20+ “children” to book (and pay for) their own flights so of course he’s left it too late to get a reasonable price seat on the flight we’re all on) – he’s happy if it doesn’t work out but I’m determined not to stay up until 1am to help him!
He will only have his phone with him so within the app would someone kindly confirm what he will see?
Presumably within MMB he then has to scroll down to click on “change time or date” and he will see if it is changeable (provided he hasn’t checked in)?Yes that is right. After ~midnight UK time (mine worked at 23.50) you’ll see the change option and then when you click through the alternative flights will be €0 instead of chargeable
I believe it works even if you’re checked in now but with BA IT I try to keep things as simple as possible so I did not check in!
Well for the first time it failed me due to all flights AMS-LCY being full today so I had to catch the 07.45 as booked so missed out on an extra few hours in bed, the lovely breakfast at the de Witt and some extra shopping time as I needed to leave the hotel just after O5.00
Annoying but it was going to happen sooner or later.
@sudz74 / my preference is NOT to check inThanks! Will give him instructions.
By the way I don’t have 20+ children – the BoM&D would definitely have been emptied out a long time ago…
@BA Flyer IHG Stayer sorry it didn’t work out today
Little update on this.
Upon my return I felt it was maybe worth a shot in the dark complaining to BA about this. So I sent off an email fully expecting them to tell me to bugger off and it was because of the different time zones and that was that.
Yesterday afternoon my phone rang and a lovely BA gentleman informed me he was ringing about my complaint. I thought this is odd as they usually do everything by email. Anyway, he said, ‘I’ve been scratching my head over this for ten mins trying to work out why you couldn’t change for free but the answer was staring me in the face, it’s because of the different time zones’. He went on to explain that as I had booked the ticket in the UK the system still relates everything to the UK even though I was in Istanbul and that’s why I was charged. He was ringing because they aren’t allowed to refund to the card as it’s details aren’t kept and to refund me it would be much simpler to pay the money into my bank account. So I gave them the details and he assured me that it should show within 5 days. He added, “For future reference, this shouldn’t happen but when it does never be afraid to pay up and claim a refund afterwards as you’re in the right and the system hasn’t worked correctly”. I was very pleased indeed!
I do this all the time booking the lowest possible fare with a bag and changing after midnight. I have never encountered this issue with different time zones in Europe and IST is Europe. Sounds like a BA IT issue.
It always throws me when doing this that it states there will be a £100 charge plus fare difference but that becomes free when you click through. Again a BA IT issue
Good result though.
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