On our return flight from Rome to Newark we were downgraded from Premium Economy to Economy. Not only was the flight overbooked but the First Class seats were broken so first class customers were downgraded to Business, some Business customers were downgraded to PE, and I was downgraded to Economy.
Apparently British Airways’ policy in this circumstance is to refund you only 75% of the difference between the cost of an Economy ticket and the cost of a Premium Economy ticket plus a $75 gift card. I (and indeed all the people affected) found that ludicrous feeling that if anything we should be refunded more than the difference but the full difference at a minimum. They said it was because part of that was tax which they don’t get back.
Do I have any recourse on this? They’ve contacted me about the downgrade and I’m not sure what to say.
They should eat any non-refundable taxes and fees. They gave you a broken plane and should compensate you for full refund plus something for your trouble.
We just flew from Denver to London on BA and the 747 was just barely useable. Seats were badly compressed. The touch screens were so faded, they were almost useless. Armrests wobbly. One of the worst condition planes I’ve been on. In comparison, our connecting flight on Air Lingus was on what seemed like a completely new plane. What is happening to British Air?
So BA is in violation of EU law when they say they are only reimbursing for 75% of the difference between PE and E rather than the price of the flight?
"If you are downgraded, your airline must reimburse you within seven days. The amount you receive is calculated as a percentage of what you paid for your ticket, and depends on the length of your flight:
For long haul flights of more than 3,500km, you will receive 75% of the price of the flight."
A quick read suggests it is 75% of the ticket price, but only for the downgraded leg , i.e. the refund should be 75% if you paid for that leg separately, or 37.5% of the overall ticket price if that was priced as a whole.
Push them on this - airlines have legal responsibilities, but many seem keen to weasel themselves out of them.
It was a lost cause. Since I made the reservation through Expedia BA told me I had to work through them. I called Expedia and they said they’d call back. They finally called back several hours later (it took them a long time to get through to BA) when I was on my way out to dinner and were very upset when I wouldn’t stay on the line.
I figured I’d better call early morning so it took me 2 weeks to try again as work got really busy. A new person tried to contact BA and got back to me after several hours of trying to reach BA. BA told them that I had to submit the request. But they submitted it for me and I got a new reference number. I’m told it will be 6-8 weeks before I might get a refund. At this point I’ll just take whatever I can get.
Wow, surprised to hear that this is still not settled satisfactorily. I’m guessing that maybe b/c the itinerary was booked thru Expedia rather than directly with BA, you’re not being given the same level of treatment and response? Not saying it’s right, but BA may feel less invested in making the customer happy if the perception is you’ll book with their competitors if the price is right.
My own experience in dealing with BA customer service in 2016 was stellar. I’d booked a trip for myself and family to go from SJC-LHR-HND, with our departure in late May. This was our first time flying BA, and my wife and I wanted to book Business class using points and the TravelTogether vouchers we’d amassed based on annual spend with our BA Chase Visa cards. I mention that b/c BA was getting zero revenue from our booking, except for us paying the taxes and fees on the tickets. There was a problem getting my wife and younger son confirmed in Business class immediately for the SJC-LHR leg, and it took BA about 48 hours to rectify this. When they called to confirm everything was set, they offered to upgrade us from Business to First for the LHR-HND leg if we were willing to depart 4 hours earlier than our originally schedule flight the day of our departure. We happily accepted, and made sure to get to Heathrow with plenty of time to spare, as we wanted to leisurely enjoy our access to the BA Concorde First Class lounge.
Jay, I hope this gets resolved to your satisfaction shortly.
thanks, but that mostly covers the amount received and I’ve already given up on getting anything more than they offered. I’m just trying to get that now and not getting anywhere.