Horrible experience with British Airways

[notalandlover]

I booked airfare on British Airways last June in their website. My cruise on May 1st got cancelled to the British Isles by the cruise line.  I booked lots of side trips and all the vendors provided a full refund.  British Airways reimbursed me the taxes only. As a result I lose 1400.00.     This airline is horrible and hope everyone reads this before deciding to book any airfare with them in the future. 

[CruiserBruce]

According to this BA website,  https://www.britishairways.com/en-us/information/incident/coronavirus/latest-information

BA is doing essentially what most other airlines are doing...allowing changes, but not cancellations. Did you talk direct to them?

 

My experience is that talking to them direct usually helps get a full refund, but can't vouch for every situation.

 

[FlyerTalker]

Let's see.

 

1) You booked a non-refundable ticket

2) You chose not to purchase travel insurance for your flights

3) Your cruise was canceled by the cruiseline

4) You want BA, who was not involved in the cruise cancellation, to give you are refund

 

Of course they are in the wrong.

 

[em-sk]

6 hours ago, notalandlover said:

I booked airfare on British Airways last June in their website. My cruise on May 1st got cancelled to the British Isles by the cruise line.  I booked lots of side trips and all the vendors provided a full refund.  British Airways reimbursed me the taxes only. As a result I lose 1400.00.     This airline is horrible and hope everyone reads this before deciding to book any airfare with them in the future. 

 

Well $1,400 for a return flight to Europe is a fairly good discounted flight.  Nearly every airline these days is doing the same thing.  They will give you a credit you can use in the future but not a cash refund on a discounted ticket. 

 

If getting a "Y" class ticket that was fully refundable your would probably would have been paying 50-100 % more.   Same on all the other airlines.  That is trade-off with discounted tickets.  

[sverigecruiser]

9 hours ago, notalandlover said:

I booked airfare on British Airways last June in their website. My cruise on May 1st got cancelled to the British Isles by the cruise line.  I booked lots of side trips and all the vendors provided a full refund.  British Airways reimbursed me the taxes only. As a result I lose 1400.00.     This airline is horrible and hope everyone reads this before deciding to book any airfare with them in the future. 

 

Why didn't you buy a refundable ticket?

[SelectSys]

15 hours ago, notalandlover said:

... This airline is horrible and hope everyone reads this before deciding to book any airfare with them in the future. 

 

Well, I am no great fan of BA either.  The split in service between the front of the plane and back (where I happen to reside) has never been greater and I find other carriers to provide much better value.   But I really don't understand why you are upset with BA over this issue.   Be optimistic and hopeful that you'll be able to use your future BA credit for another trip soon.

 

BTW - Like you, I am possibly out one ticket to Europe due to the COVID-19 crisis.  I am almost certainly going to lose $430 on Norwegian Air for a RT between LAX and CDG.   I made a bet that Norwegian wouldn't fail as a carrier before I flew.  It now looks like I was wrong.  Am I upset at Norwegian over my personal loss?  Of course not.  I actually feel much worse for all the effected employees across the travel industry.

 

 

 

[notalandlover]

Then please explain to me why people who booked airfare through the cruise line are receiving a full refund

[em-sk]

48 minutes ago, notalandlover said:

Then please explain to me why people who booked airfare through the cruise line are receiving a full refund

 

The reason is they are buying the flight from the cruise line not the airline.   The cruise line cancelled the cruise and now they have to undo everything else.

 

Those tickets were purchased by the cruise line at wholesale under some special unpublished terms.  Since the terms of that agreement are confidential we don't know if BA is giving the cruise line its money back or a future credit.   Perhaps the cruise line has a contractually commitment to spend so much each month at BA. 

 

Some thing with everything else on the cruise.  The cruise line has likely already ordered food for the next month and charted buses.  It has given its passengers refunds but may still be on the hock for paying for all of those tings. 

 

Edited March 15, 2020 by em-sk

[Roger88]

Its a safety precaution. Noone wants to pay. The cruiser companies basicly destroyed their business. Airline companies dont feel responsible, so they can deny you to your refund. I am sure there is a clause in the air rules or smth that states directly that the company is not responsible for such occasions what so ever. I would maximum try taking this case to the court but who will waste his time doing this? 99 out of 100 will just ignore and live with the loss of 1400 $ or whatever the sum was

[waterbug123]

18 hours ago, Roger88 said:

Its a safety precaution. Noone wants to pay. The cruiser companies basicly destroyed their business. Airline companies dont feel responsible, so they can deny you to your refund. I am sure there is a clause in the air rules or smth that states directly that the company is not responsible for such occasions what so ever. I would maximum try taking this case to the court but who will waste his time doing this? 99 out of 100 will just ignore and live with the loss of 1400 $ or whatever the sum was

 

BA doesn't feel responsible because they aren't.  The flight hasn't been canceled; the pax simply changed their mind.  Granted it was due to a pretty unique situation but the flight is still scheduled and the pax chose not to go.  If they had purchased a refundable fare they would get a refund.  They didn't so they don't. 

[ducklite]

Have you tried a claim with your travel insurance?

[notalandlover]

On 3/14/2020 at 7:52 PM, FlyerTalker said:

Let's see.

 

1) You booked a non-refundable ticket

2) You chose not to purchase travel insurance for your flights

3) Your cruise was canceled by the cruiseline

4) You want BA, who was not involved in the cruise cancellation, to give you are refund

 

Of course they are in the wrong.

 

Thank you for your email. 

 

We've checked your policy and it does include Cancel For Any Reason cover, subject to specific criteria being met, as confirmed in your policy.  If covered you would receive 75% of any prepaid non-refundable trip costs claimed.

 

Trip Cancellation benefits are not available due to travel warnings, travel advisories, or fear or concerns regarding COVID-19.  Please refer your Policy of Insurance, Trip Cancellation provision to review the cancellation covered reasons.

 

We suggest contacting your travel supplier to discuss your options of refund.  Many travel suppliers are allowing guests to cancel their reservation without penalty and issuing a refund or future travel credit because of the Coronavirus (COVD-19).  Each travel supplier has their own policies and procedures surrounding this cancellation process; therefore, we cannot guarantee how your refund will be handled by them.

 

Please click https://www.imglobal.com/coronavirus  (or type in URL) and review the FAQ section for further clarification and updates.

 

You can download a claim from at https://www.itravelinsured.com/customer-service/claim-forms

 

If you wish to claim, please send us your completed claim form and all evidence by return of email, and our claims team will assess your claim and confirm any cover available.  Please quote your policy number upon submission.

 

We look forward to hearing from you.

 

Customer Care Department / lb

iTravelInsured®

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P.O. Box 3231, Farmington Hills,

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[johnjen]

Sorry for the loss of money, OP, but this thread certainly has a ton of lessons learned on it.

 

"We've checked your policy and it does include Cancel For Any Reason cover, subject to specific criteria being met, as confirmed in your policy." Okay, "cancel for any reason" means you should be okay and get this taken care of....you paid for TI. They should cover it, as confirmed in your policy.