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Forums Frequent flyer programs British Airways Executive Club Skip first leg of flight different airports, different days

  • redgar7 6 posts

    Hello,

    I know this has likely been discussed many times before, however I have conflicting information from BA Executive Club Support.

    Outbound Flight:
    EDI-LHR, then self transfer to Gatwick for next flight the following day.
    LGW-MCO (Orlando)

    One traveller might meet us at LGW instead of getting the EDI-LHR flight. I can’t cancel them off the flight as the whole booking has been done for 4 people with 2 companion vouchers, therefore to cancel them off the first leg I can only use 1 companion voucher for 3 people.

    I spoke with BA Executive Club Support and was told it wouldn’t be an issue just say at EDI one of the passengers is making their own way to LGW. However, I called again a few days later for a second opinion and was advised if the first flight is missed the entire trip would be cancelled as it’s a no show. The no show cancellation makes sense for a connecting flight arriving and departing from the same airport, but surely if we’re arriving into LHR then departing LGW the following day, this wouldn’t be the case. I’m not sure if it makes a difference but the passenger that might skip the first leg is only 14 years old.

    Does anyone have any experience of this?

    Thanks

    AJA 1,319 posts

    I think the fact that you arrive at LHR but then depart from LGW doesn’t help your case. The issue is that the entire itinerary is on one PNR starting in EDI and if the passenger doesn’t check in and fly this first sector then I think their entire booking will be cancelled as a no show.

    I hope that they are not the one passenger who has the companion vouchers as their no show would cause problems for everyone else

    Personally I wouldn’t want to chance it and I’d recommend all 4 passengers start in EDI.

    JDB 5,581 posts

    As @AJA says, the fact that the flights arrive / leave from different London airports is irrelevant. If a pax doesn’t fly the first flight of the itinerary, standard practice would be to cancel the remainder of the itinerary without any fare refund. This is provided for in the Conditions of Carriage.

    3c2) Your ticket is no longer valid if you do not use all the coupons in the sequence provided in the ticket.

    NorthernLass 9,388 posts

    I definitely wouldn’t risk it, as conditions of carriage will trump anything you’re told by a phone agent; there are plenty of examples on this site of them giving out inaccurate information.

    Can you get the 14 year old up to EDI on a cash or avios booking before your main departure? It’s a faff, agreed, but better than taking the risk.

    Is it one PNR with 2 companion vouchers issued to the same person – so cancelling and rebooking for 2 not an option?

    SamG 1,852 posts

    Amazes me what gets said on the phone sometimes! Barring some weird system error the booking of that person will be cancelled once they do not board in Edinburgh.

    The only thing I am thinking is can they split the booking into two and then they drop EDI-LHR off of both passengers and you buy one separate ticket. But if it’s one booking using 2 vouchers from one person then likely not possible.

    One positive thing is Edinburgh is easy peasy for a back to back so the traveller could fly up on the flight and then immediately reboard with you to fly to London if they can’t spare the time to travel earlier. Note BAs requirements for a 14 yr old to travel alone https://www.britishairways.com/content/information/family-travel/tickets-and-travel-documents

    Andrew. 592 posts

    A 14yo doesn’t need to show ID when travelling.

    Do you have any family friends with a savvy 14yo, who could pretend to be your 14yo?

    Then, with enough time to spare, drop them off at Kings Cross/Euston and witness them boarding a service northbound back to Edinburgh?

    JDB 5,581 posts

    A 14yo doesn’t need to show ID when travelling.

    Do you have any family friends with a savvy 14yo, who could pretend to be your 14yo?

    Then, with enough time to spare, drop them off at Kings Cross/Euston and witness them boarding a service northbound back to Edinburgh?

    Even Baldrick wouldn’t have come up with that one! The accompanying adult is required to vouch for the identity of the child so needs to perjure themselves. What parent is going to allow their 14 year to be used to impersonate someone in an air travel environment? It would be beyond irresponsible and probably incredibly stressful. It would seem a safer option to start the ticket in London and for the one person to pay the small extra cost of the domestic flight from EDI.

    Andrew. 592 posts

    Children across Scotland board flights, buses, trains and ferries day-in day-out simply to go to school.

    In the scope of domestic travel, no normal person is worried about “perjury”. Why would any parent really worry about a simple travel arrangement like this to help out their friend’s family?

    It’s Scotland in July, the forecast for the first two weeks of the school holidays is monsoon. It’s a nice day out, instead of being stuck indoors, and ticks all the boxes for trust, experience and skill building.

    ed_fly 346 posts

    A trip for 4 to orlando sounds like it’s potentially quite an expensive trip. Is it really worth risking someone’s flight be cancelled as a no-show. Or potentially worse if found to be deliberately trying to circumvent BA’s rules? Surely you either get the 14 year old to Edinburgh, or try and see whether BA would allow you to drop the first leg from Edi-LHR from the booking, rebooking 3xEdi-lhr on a seperate booking? (Not sure if they’d allow that or not).

    NorthernLass 9,388 posts

    Ethical considerations aside, would the 14 year old’s photo would be taken at some point passing through the airports, and then found not to match on subsequent trips? (Though maybe I’m over-estimating our security capabilities!)

    But in any case, surely it would be as much hassle to send another teenager on this convoluted route as the one who is actually travelling to MCO?

    OP still hasn’t confirmed about the booking, but if both 241s belong to the same person, the trip usually has to be on one PNR, otherwise the account holder would have to be a passenger on both.

    LD27 292 posts

    I don’t think I’d risk skipping the first leg of a flight for all the reasons given above.

    Not sure what time your flight leaves EDI, but could your 14 year old not get an overnight bus from London to Edinburgh? From age 13 onwards on exeat weekends my son used to travel from school to London on Friday evening. He took the overnight bus to Edinburgh so he could watch the rugby at Murrayfield on Saturday. He’d then get the overnight bus back to London, train back to school and be back in time for supper. Some of his fellow boarders thought he was mad. He thought it was a great adventure with the added bonus of supporting Scotland.

    StanTheMan 251 posts

    It’s great to see a nice first time posting troll keeping people busy.

    BA Flyer IHG Stayer 2,743 posts

    I don’t see BA splitting the PNR due to the use of the 2-4-1 and especially on a trip starting EDI using the additional availability BA offers from the regions. They’d also have to pay the full price as they won’t be in a 2-4-1 anymore.

    And then what happens if there is no availability for the LGW-MCO leg?

    Remember as this would be a voluntary change there does need to be availability for the new booking.

    Cancelling the original trip doesn’t automatically mean LGW-MCO availability opens up should there be none already available.

    As to sending some other teen to fly the EDI-LHR that won’t work as well as being a preposterous idea from the start.

    EDI staff would do the documentation check for the entire trip even though the TATL isn’t until the next day. And that means checking and scanning passports which would immediately flag up a name mismatch.

    The real Swiss Tony 845 posts

    Whilst I agree that the passenger really needs to start the journey in Edinburgh, I do wonder how this would map out at Gatwick when the BP gets rejected.

    BA: You didn’t travel down from Edinburgh so your booking has been cancelled
    PAX: (lying) yes I did
    BA: No you didn’t
    PAX: OK prove I wasn’t on your plane….
    BA: We can’t. You prove you were
    PAX: Here’s the boarding pass
    BA: ……

    BA Flyer IHG Stayer 2,743 posts

    BPs don’t prove you boarded the plane just that you checked in.

    BAs proof is their gate scan record of you having boarded and then not immediately deboarding yourself as that would be recorded as well.

    The real Swiss Tony 845 posts

    Yes, but it’s not beyond the wit of man to think that BA’s IT isn’t up to the job here.

    On the basis BA can board passengers onto entirely the wrong plane (this happened on a GVA-LHR flight I took last year) it would be a bold call when three of the party were showing as boarded but the 4th wasn’t to try and declare this based simply on “computer says no”.

    As I say, I believe the passenger should take the flight. I’m just speculating how the conversation might map out.

    AndrewT 351 posts

    I think we can be pretty sure the conversation would map out as you’ve already said – ‘your booking has been cancelled’.

    Cancelled booking = no ticket = not going anywhere, with by then no time to change anything.

    redgar7 6 posts

    I believe the trip is all one booking as it’s one reference number and itinerary. Again not sure if it makes a difference that all flights are in business.
    I find it strange they would cancel the next flights when you make a point of telling them ‘oh sorry one of the passengers can’t make it and is making their own way to LGW for the next flight’ which is on a different day at a different airport from the first leg.
    Assuming you can’t checkin online and just not board.

    NorthernLass 9,388 posts

    It might be strange, but it’s the Ts & Cs, which BA are sticklers for. There are plenty of sorry stories online about people who have been denied boarding for various reasons.

    So then, can we take it you are not the voucher holder? Ultimately the person who’s booked this is going to have to decide how to resolve this, I think.

    AJA 1,319 posts

    The point is that BA will cancel the rest of a reservation if you do not turn up for the first flight.

    It does not matter whether you tell BA that the passenger will make their way to the second airport. It is not like missing a departure of a cruise and making your way to the second port.

    The fact that the flights are in business class is irrelevant and does not make it more likely BA will let the passenger start in LGW instead of EDI.

    The reason BA is likely to cancel the rest of the reservation is precisely because the conditions of carriage state that you must take all the flights in sequence as @JDB pointed out yesterday:

    3c2) Your ticket is no longer valid if you do not use all the coupons in the sequence provided in the ticket.

    I’m sorry that is not what you want to hear. I would not try missing the 1st flight. I strongly advise all 4 passengers start in EDI.

    AJA 1,319 posts

    And to clarify – checking in online but not turning up at EDI is still classed as a no-show. So that won’t work.

    Ihar 368 posts

    <quote>
    Even Baldrick wouldn’t have come up with that one!

    😁 Does the plan involve turnips?? I have had instances in the old days when CS/ticketing have changed non-changeable tickets or allowed segments to be missed, but only as I had “competing” BA tickets and couldn’t fly on 2 aircraft at the same time. I used to fly a LOT! Not sure if that flexibility is still there…?

    As for impersonating someone else, you might as well pretend to be a turnip. Passengers are routinely photographed/facial recognition (last time out of Boston facial recognition was used for boarding instead of boarding card or passport). Just because they don’t tell you they’re doing it, doesn’t mean they’re not doing it!

    As you’re flying to the USA, would not your passport be required for check-in at EDI to confirm your ESTA and API??

    BA Flyer IHG Stayer 2,743 posts

    As you’re flying to the USA, would not your passport be required for check-in at EDI to confirm your ESTA and API??

    Precisely and I mentioned the docs check above.

    I’ve done numerous trips where Ive flown e.g. ARN-LHR on day 1 and then to the US the day after.

    Each time they’ve done the docs check at the start and the US flight being the next day cut no mustard with them.

    Ihar 368 posts

    People not to mess with:
    1. GOD
    2. HMRC
    3. US Border Force
    😁 (4. Staff at lounge entry!)

    redgar7 6 posts

    It’s my wife’s Avios and BA account. All points were merged with myself and wife on household sharing. Both companion vouchers were on my wife’s account.

    Seems like the no show cancellation is pretty conclusive from the responses.

    Thank you

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