Frequent Flyer-B.A., Aer Lingus and A.A.
Nov 16th, 2003, 11:30 AM
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Frequent Flyer-B.A., Aer Lingus and A.A.
One of those fairly specialised queries but I'm sure someone out there knows the answer........
We booked return flights from Manchester to Boston on Aer Lingus intending to earn B.A. miles.
When we tried to check in in Manchester we were told there was an Aer Lingus strike and we were re-routed on B.A. to Heathrow and then A.A. to Boston. We returned on Aer Lingus.
We had to check in in Heathrow and were told that we couldn't have B.A. miles as B.A. also flies the route we were flying- to Boston.
Is there anything I can do about this?We have had the miles from Manchester to Heathrow(B.A.) and Dublin to Manchester(Aer Lingus)and await the credit for Boston to Dublin(Aer Lingus).
I have no complaint at all about Aer Lingus as they had sorted out all the re-routing before we arrived at Manchester- in fact we arrived in Boston 2 hours sooner than we would have on Aer Lingus!
We booked return flights from Manchester to Boston on Aer Lingus intending to earn B.A. miles.
When we tried to check in in Manchester we were told there was an Aer Lingus strike and we were re-routed on B.A. to Heathrow and then A.A. to Boston. We returned on Aer Lingus.
We had to check in in Heathrow and were told that we couldn't have B.A. miles as B.A. also flies the route we were flying- to Boston.
Is there anything I can do about this?We have had the miles from Manchester to Heathrow(B.A.) and Dublin to Manchester(Aer Lingus)and await the credit for Boston to Dublin(Aer Lingus).
I have no complaint at all about Aer Lingus as they had sorted out all the re-routing before we arrived at Manchester- in fact we arrived in Boston 2 hours sooner than we would have on Aer Lingus!
Nov 17th, 2003, 10:47 AM
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Hi, Frances -
Sorry that I'm unable to answer your question but since there have been no other responses so far, you might want to try posting this on the Fodor's Airline forum or try www.flyertalk.com. The folks at Flyertalk are very knowledgeable and helpful.
Sorry that I'm unable to answer your question but since there have been no other responses so far, you might want to try posting this on the Fodor's Airline forum or try www.flyertalk.com. The folks at Flyertalk are very knowledgeable and helpful.
Nov 17th, 2003, 10:56 AM
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Frances..I have not had a similar experience.However, I have always been told that you get credit for what was actully flown,not what was intended to fly.I'm not sure I understand what your question is.
Nov 17th, 2003, 02:04 PM
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BeachBoi-thank you for pointing out that my query was not clear, I'll try again
Because B.A., Aer Lingus and A.A. are all part of the same group,normally miles flown on one will be credited to a F.F. account with another.So the fact that we were rerouted on to B.A. and A.A. shouldn't matter.
However because B.A. also flew Heathrow-Boston in competition with A.A., and we were on A.A.then we can't get miles for that leg.
If we had flown the whole journey with Aer Lingus as booked then we would have been credited miles on to our B.A. account.
My question is Can I persuade someone to let us have these miles?
Because B.A., Aer Lingus and A.A. are all part of the same group,normally miles flown on one will be credited to a F.F. account with another.So the fact that we were rerouted on to B.A. and A.A. shouldn't matter.
However because B.A. also flew Heathrow-Boston in competition with A.A., and we were on A.A.then we can't get miles for that leg.
If we had flown the whole journey with Aer Lingus as booked then we would have been credited miles on to our B.A. account.
My question is Can I persuade someone to let us have these miles?
Nov 17th, 2003, 02:08 PM
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I don't know if you can..they can be hard-nosed on the "rules"..but since it wasn't your fault that you were rerouted, I think I would "whine and whimper" and "bitch and moan" at least to give myself some satisfaction!That's the least they can do for altering your plans.
Nov 17th, 2003, 10:45 PM
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You booked on Aer Lingus and Aer Lingus messed you around? So you're expecting some kind of reward from BA?
I'm sure there must be a million things more worth expending energy on. BA is pretty hard-nosed about these things (unlike the US major airlines, they don't get billions in government handouts).
Try the airline board. Or www.flyertalk.com. But don't build your hopes up. Miles cost airlines money, and you haven't paid BA a cent. Why do you expect them to pay you for Aer Lingus' incompetence?
I'm sure there must be a million things more worth expending energy on. BA is pretty hard-nosed about these things (unlike the US major airlines, they don't get billions in government handouts).
Try the airline board. Or www.flyertalk.com. But don't build your hopes up. Miles cost airlines money, and you haven't paid BA a cent. Why do you expect them to pay you for Aer Lingus' incompetence?
Nov 18th, 2003, 01:48 AM
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oh but flanneruk, they did pay AA...Aer Lingus did for the tickets.
Frances,
1) is AA giving you any miles at all even as AA ff miles? Because they should even if BA doesn't recognize them. Even if you were not an AA member you can apply and have them back credit you. That ticket was paid for, even if Aer Lingus was the one who bought it 2nd party.
Here's my point. Frances you start by saying that AA, BA, and Aer Lingus all belong to same ff group. You should earn miles with all three. But from what I am hearing, you are not getting AA miles for that last leg of your journey. And if you do, BA won't recognize them because they are in competition for that leg of the journey?
Frances, I think your fight should begin with Aer Lingus not BA, and flanneruk is right in that respect.
They are the ones that you originally had your flight scheduled with and had paid tickets with. Part of your deal with them when you bought the tickets was for flight and miles as a FF member, to use in the same pool. their strike caused them to have to contract out for your flight. but it does not let them out of your original contract and promise, unless the fine print states so.
Now here is the key. Does the fine print say that if a strike occurs they will fund another ticket thru another airline and that fulfills the obligation? To me the contract was for both, flight and miles.
I would begin by contacting Aer Lingus. They should credit your account for the AA miles as Aer Lingus miles. This would make those miles recognizable to BA.
As to BA not recognizing AA miles when they fly the same routes? This kind of negates the whole same group of ff miles thing. Are you sure that is in the fine print for the group?
Some things to think about.
Frances,
1) is AA giving you any miles at all even as AA ff miles? Because they should even if BA doesn't recognize them. Even if you were not an AA member you can apply and have them back credit you. That ticket was paid for, even if Aer Lingus was the one who bought it 2nd party.
Here's my point. Frances you start by saying that AA, BA, and Aer Lingus all belong to same ff group. You should earn miles with all three. But from what I am hearing, you are not getting AA miles for that last leg of your journey. And if you do, BA won't recognize them because they are in competition for that leg of the journey?
Frances, I think your fight should begin with Aer Lingus not BA, and flanneruk is right in that respect.
They are the ones that you originally had your flight scheduled with and had paid tickets with. Part of your deal with them when you bought the tickets was for flight and miles as a FF member, to use in the same pool. their strike caused them to have to contract out for your flight. but it does not let them out of your original contract and promise, unless the fine print states so.
Now here is the key. Does the fine print say that if a strike occurs they will fund another ticket thru another airline and that fulfills the obligation? To me the contract was for both, flight and miles.
I would begin by contacting Aer Lingus. They should credit your account for the AA miles as Aer Lingus miles. This would make those miles recognizable to BA.
As to BA not recognizing AA miles when they fly the same routes? This kind of negates the whole same group of ff miles thing. Are you sure that is in the fine print for the group?
Some things to think about.
Nov 18th, 2003, 03:34 AM
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Blame the governments on this one.
BA, AA are members of OneWorld Alliance. Since BA and AA have so many slots from/to London and from/to same cities in US, the air agreements between both countries make it impossible to earn miles for one program while flying the other airline. It's something to do with anti-trust laws. You could earn BA miles flying AA anywhere else exept any flight between UK and US, and in vice-versa, you could earn AA miles flying BA everywhere BA flies except between US and UK.
This also applies to using miles which makes me mad as I can't experience BA first class using my AA miles, unless I fly to Canada or the Caribbean first and connect there to a BA flight.
Frances,
You could cry and moan, and even though it wasn't your choice to do this, you will not be able to get the miles. The best you could do is to sign up for AAdvantage and get your miles posted with AA.
It's early, so I'm not sure if I made myself clear here, if you still have some questions please post.
BA, AA are members of OneWorld Alliance. Since BA and AA have so many slots from/to London and from/to same cities in US, the air agreements between both countries make it impossible to earn miles for one program while flying the other airline. It's something to do with anti-trust laws. You could earn BA miles flying AA anywhere else exept any flight between UK and US, and in vice-versa, you could earn AA miles flying BA everywhere BA flies except between US and UK.
This also applies to using miles which makes me mad as I can't experience BA first class using my AA miles, unless I fly to Canada or the Caribbean first and connect there to a BA flight.
Frances,
You could cry and moan, and even though it wasn't your choice to do this, you will not be able to get the miles. The best you could do is to sign up for AAdvantage and get your miles posted with AA.
It's early, so I'm not sure if I made myself clear here, if you still have some questions please post.
Nov 18th, 2003, 04:00 AM
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Just so I make myself clear for everybody that's interested in this issue.
This only applies for flights between US and UK. Even though BA and AA are alliance partners, try to remember the following: if you collect BA miles DO NOT fly AA across the big pond, and the same applies in reverse, if you collect AA miles DO NOT fly BA across the pond.
Again this applies to BA and AA ONLY, you are allowed to collect your miles while flying the other airline on every other route except over the pond routes between US and UK.
This only applies for flights between US and UK. Even though BA and AA are alliance partners, try to remember the following: if you collect BA miles DO NOT fly AA across the big pond, and the same applies in reverse, if you collect AA miles DO NOT fly BA across the pond.
Again this applies to BA and AA ONLY, you are allowed to collect your miles while flying the other airline on every other route except over the pond routes between US and UK.
Nov 18th, 2003, 02:19 PM
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O.K. so first port of call is Aer Lingus and I'll try that.
I'm interested to see that it's just B.A. /A.A. who do this because I wasn't aware of that before.
I am only a leisure traveller and because of that I actually belong to B.A. ,Delta and Air Canada schemes.I only recently found out that you can earn miles from another airline in the same group-hence my question.I used to have A.A. miles but used them and decided to try and concentrate on the airlines I now have. I am far more likely to fly B.A.or Delta to the States as both fly out of my local airport to destinations that are of use to me. As a result I don't think there's a lot of point joining A.A. even to get these miles as I probably won't earn many more.
Anyway thank you all very much for your help.I think you've given me the courage to approach Aer Lingus as up to now I was just so grateful that they got us to Boston so efficiently that I didn't want to make waves.Let's see what happens.
I'm interested to see that it's just B.A. /A.A. who do this because I wasn't aware of that before.
I am only a leisure traveller and because of that I actually belong to B.A. ,Delta and Air Canada schemes.I only recently found out that you can earn miles from another airline in the same group-hence my question.I used to have A.A. miles but used them and decided to try and concentrate on the airlines I now have. I am far more likely to fly B.A.or Delta to the States as both fly out of my local airport to destinations that are of use to me. As a result I don't think there's a lot of point joining A.A. even to get these miles as I probably won't earn many more.
Anyway thank you all very much for your help.I think you've given me the courage to approach Aer Lingus as up to now I was just so grateful that they got us to Boston so efficiently that I didn't want to make waves.Let's see what happens.
Nov 18th, 2003, 02:53 PM
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Here is the official info from BA and AA sites:
BA -
As an Executive Club member, earning free* flights with BA Miles will make flying much more rewarding.
You will be credited with 1 BA Mile for every mile you fly on an eligible British Airways economy ticket. Once you have saved up enough BA Miles you can redeem them for free* flights.
On flights which are less than 500 miles, members earn a minimum of 500 BA Miles. On discount economy fares this will be a reward of 125 BA Miles.
You can earn BA Miles with our oneworld(TM) partner airlines**, other partner airlines and when you use our network of hotels, car rental, business and financial services.
To make sure your BA Miles are credited directly into your account, simply quote your Executive Club number whenever you book a flight, check in at a hotel or use any of our other partners.
For information on earning Miles with our air partners click here.
*Subject to applicable taxes, fees, charges and surcharges.
**Excluding American Airlines direct services between Europe and the Americas.
AA -
Earn a minimum of 500 AAdvantage® miles each time you purchase and fly on a published eligible fare ticket on British Airways, a member of the oneworld alliance. British Airways' transatlantic flights between the U.S and the U.K. do not accrue AAdvantage miles. Qualifying mileage counts toward AAdvantage Executive Platinum®, AAdvantage Platinum® and AAdvantage Gold® status and bonuses. To attain AAdvantage elite status, you must fly at least four American Airlines or American Eagle flights within the qualifying year. Mileage accrual may not be eligible on routes operated by other carriers.
Effective July 1, 2003, AAdvantage members may earn and use miles on British Airways transatlantic flights to/from Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean. British Airways transatlantic flights to/from the U.S. are not eligible for mileage accrual or redemption.
Also effective July 1, 2003, worldwide members will earn 100% of flight miles on Economy Class Fares in Y, B or H booking class and 25% of flight miles on all other Economy Class fares. The following chart shows how you can earn miles when you fly on British Airways.
BA -
As an Executive Club member, earning free* flights with BA Miles will make flying much more rewarding.
You will be credited with 1 BA Mile for every mile you fly on an eligible British Airways economy ticket. Once you have saved up enough BA Miles you can redeem them for free* flights.
On flights which are less than 500 miles, members earn a minimum of 500 BA Miles. On discount economy fares this will be a reward of 125 BA Miles.
You can earn BA Miles with our oneworld(TM) partner airlines**, other partner airlines and when you use our network of hotels, car rental, business and financial services.
To make sure your BA Miles are credited directly into your account, simply quote your Executive Club number whenever you book a flight, check in at a hotel or use any of our other partners.
For information on earning Miles with our air partners click here.
*Subject to applicable taxes, fees, charges and surcharges.
**Excluding American Airlines direct services between Europe and the Americas.
AA -
Earn a minimum of 500 AAdvantage® miles each time you purchase and fly on a published eligible fare ticket on British Airways, a member of the oneworld alliance. British Airways' transatlantic flights between the U.S and the U.K. do not accrue AAdvantage miles. Qualifying mileage counts toward AAdvantage Executive Platinum®, AAdvantage Platinum® and AAdvantage Gold® status and bonuses. To attain AAdvantage elite status, you must fly at least four American Airlines or American Eagle flights within the qualifying year. Mileage accrual may not be eligible on routes operated by other carriers.
Effective July 1, 2003, AAdvantage members may earn and use miles on British Airways transatlantic flights to/from Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean. British Airways transatlantic flights to/from the U.S. are not eligible for mileage accrual or redemption.
Also effective July 1, 2003, worldwide members will earn 100% of flight miles on Economy Class Fares in Y, B or H booking class and 25% of flight miles on all other Economy Class fares. The following chart shows how you can earn miles when you fly on British Airways.
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