Really Frustrated - What would you do?
 

<BR>Here's the scenario<BR><BR>I booked two tickets on British Airways in Oct. for flights from DFW to Paris. I have asked several questions about our trip on this forum and one question was answered &quot;call your airline&quot;. So today I did. Good thing!!<BR>I was supposed to leave 3/10. Today on the off chance that I called they told me &quot;Oh by the way we have cancelled the flight on the 10th and now you have to leave on the 9th. Also the seats that you were assigned aren't available on the new flight.&quot; (I had specifically booked two aisle seats together for my mother and myself). They now say I will just have to go to the airport on the 9th and take what I can get! <BR><BR>O.k. Part of this is just venting. But really what can I do. They tell me I can't change my tickets without incurring a $200 per ticket charge. (Of course they can change anything anytime...and not even let you know) I obviously don't want to incur the big fees.<BR><BR>I guess I will have to leave on the 9th, but how do I not end up with 2 middle seats 14 rows apart!<BR><BR><BR>Argh! I am so frustrated. Any constructive ideas out there!!<BR><BR>Thanks,<BR>Sheryl

OMG, I would be livid if I were you. Keep calling and ask to speak to a supervisor. Stay calm and polite and they may help you.<BR>If that doesn't work, get to the airport extra early to get the best seats available. When you do, explain what happened and how dismayed you were to the counter agent. Hopefully they will find good seats for you.<BR>I wonder if they move your flight up a day, do they have to give you a hotel for the first night? I'm sure not.

I would be livid too...don't let this ruin your trip but don't take it lying down either...keep making it known and hopefully they will make the concessions you deserve for this inconvenience. Despite this, have a great trip!

Just curious, they never notified you of the schedule change until you called and had to ask? Were they planning on notifying you or were you just going to be SOL??

Oh! I would be boiling, too.<BR>I've have never had an airline change the time of my flight by even a few hours much less an entire day without their notifying me! But then I have never flown BA so I don't know what their policy is.<BR>However,would be an unconscionable policy for BA to reschedule you to an earlier flight and then count on the happenstance of your phoning them to learn that this had happened.<BR><BR>I would ask to speak to a supervisor ..if there is no way around your having to leave a day early , then the least BA could do would upgrade you to business class seats!

OMG I would be furious too. I had something similar, though not as lousy, happen with BA and it turned out fine, but only because my HUSBAND called and spoke with a supervisor and got it settled (and I'm not shy or unable to speak up for myself). So if you can't get it settled yourself, maybe have a male friend try for you.<BR><BR>Also, I hope they plan to put you up the extra night. Not fair for you to incure that expense.<BR><BR>And you might tell them you or your mother (or both) have medical issues that make it necessary for you to have aisle seats.<BR><BR>Good luck. Let us know how this is resolved.

Georgeanne,<BR><BR>I think you have a couple of options. You may be entitled to a full refund, since the airline cancelled your flight. Can you check this out through a travel agent or through BA itself? Also check the back of your tickets to see what they say about this situation.<BR><BR>We had a similar problem recently with a flight out of JFK. When I called to complain, the agent told me that the airline would honor my original seat assignments either on an earlier connecting flight, or a later flight when the seats again became available. Neither of these options were workable for us, so she suggested that I get to the airport very early ( at least the usual two hours ahead) and speak to the gate agent. We were glad we did, because we were able to get much better seats than the ones (two middle) that had been rea-assigned to us.<BR>Good luck-- and just keep your thoughts ocused on how great it will be once you get to Paris!

How were you supposed to know to get to the airport a day early? Something is fishy here.<BR><BR>I always fly with United and they always email me any flight changes.

we had a flight cancelled by AA a couple of years ago. But (at that time anyway) if the airline cancelled a flight, you were not obligated to go at another time and you could get your money back. We chose NOT to go at another time, and DID get our money back. (after a couple of months.) Check into this. Perhaps BA has the same rules as AA. I would think they all had the same rules?<BR><BR>Good luck...

I can see why are are annoyed - however I wouldn't worry too much about your seat allocation at the moment. BA don't pre-allocate 1/3 of their seats until check-in, so as long as you arrive 2-3 hours before the flight you should be OK.

The situation with the seat assignments is unfortunate, but honestly that can happen even on your original flight. You can arrive at the airport and your seats can still be given away, so I honestly would not stress too much about this. As another person said, at least a 1/3 of the plane (up front) is held for frequent flyers and airport checkin, so getting to the airport early would alleviate this problem. BUT, as for the cancelling of the flight. You DO NOT have to take the day before. There is a thing called the Passenger Bill of Rights. Call BA and request this. It explains exactly what your rights are. If they cancel your flight completely, you can either take the next best flight or they have to give you a refund. Unfortunately, I am none to fond of BA and we do not sell them here in my office (yes, im a travel agent), your situation is a prime example why. BA has terrible customer service and is impossible to deal with. I hope this information helps, if you need anything else let me know.

Hi Georgeanne<BR>You didn't mention which leg was cancelled, the DFW-LGW or the LGW-Paris leg. This wasn't a nonstop American Airlines codeshare flight was it? Well whatever good luck!<BR>Happy Travels<BR>Rick

I had TWA do that to me once, long time ago of course -- just cancelled a flight and never even told me, although it was domestic so didn't matter so much. Okay, America West did also and I was really steamed because it was Xmas Eve and I was going to miss Xmas with relatives. They did not notify me of my rights exactly, they wanted me to just wait around all day until they had another flight that evening that I &quot;might&quot; get one (late Xmas eve). I said no, that is unacceptable and I want my money back. I filled out some forms and eventually did get it back after some months (I didn't know at the time that I absolutely was allowed to to get a refund for that kind of cancellation, they were very secretive and acted like they were doing me a special favor). I just drove all day and got where I was going before the potential flight even took off. <BR><BR>Anyway, that may not help you if you can't get another flight, but I'd be really mad also. The seat thing isn't really solvable, though, because when I've flown BA (BWI to London) they wouldn't even give me a seat reservation at all, even though I booked well in advance. In fact, they claimed they never did (which I didn't really believe, but what could I do). I did get a pretty good one at checkin because I was there very early. <BR><BR>I won't fly them again unless I have to or they really have a fare a lot lower than anyone else. Their planes are really uncomfortable, anyway.<BR><BR>I don't know if passenger rights for US airlines apply for BA, but if you have to get there and can't buy another ticket at this point, I don't know what else you can do. Getting a refund isn't going to help much.

This is insane, so much so that I smell a fish or a rat or something unsavory. I find it hard to believe they would cancel a Monday flight this far in advance (never mind that they put you on another DAY without informing you) -- it suggests they are shuffling international schedules and you might be up against yet another change. Stay alert.<BR><BR>However, European airlines often won't release seat assignments ahead of time anyway, as a matter of security policy, so I'd be surprised if they knew that the seats you requested were available OR unavailable. <BR><BR>What I would do: <BR>1. Call, ask for supervisor (&quot;I think I need to speak to a supervisor about this&quot;) and raise a teeny bit of hell -- ask to make sure your reservation record shows that you were re-assigned against your will and without notification and that you and Mother are to be seated on aisle seats as close as possible to each other. <BR><BR>2. Get to the airport as early as possible to pursue the case with the ticketing/gate personnel -- the earliest check-ins have the best shot at shifting seating (if it's an afternoon flight, even consider going to airport in the morning and coming back later for the flight, assuming BA personnel are on the counter that early). If all else fails, ask the gate and boarding personnel to make an announcement on your behalf _explaining that the seat change wasn't your fault_ to ask for someone to change seats with you or Mom -- promise them free drinks or something. <BR><BR>Unfortunately, the more ruckus you make, the better chance you have of getting what you want (even though it will undoubtedly add to the lousy image of Americans who think they are &quot;entitled&quot; all the time). You don't need to scream and shout -- that's not what I mean about raising a little hell -- just be firmly insistant and don't take no for an answer. It's always worth making clear that you know this is not the fault of the person you are speaking to, but for various reasons (I'd highlight your mother's needs), the situation is unacceptable.<BR><BR>BTW: If you still want/have to leave the 10th, why can't you insist that they get you to Paris through some other connection (e.g., Boston, etc.)?

United did a similar thing to me and rebooked me on a round about alternate route I avoided in the first place because of significantly longer travel time. Now the worst part was that a month later, United restated almost identical flight back. Could I have gotten back my &quot;original&quot; flight? No way without having to pay the ticket change charge. What nerve!

This just happened to me on Airfrance. I am rebooke a day earlier then planned.<BR><BR> No fee for rebooking and I coould have cancelled the whole thing no penaltys.<BR><BR> It actually worked out better, I saved 100 dollar on each ticket. The price had gone down since I booked!! PJ

I definitely agree that you should be able to get something out of this... it is completely inequitable to cancel the flight without notification. Ask for a free night at the hotel, upgrade to business, or something similar. Their mistake should not be your tragedy. <BR><BR>Also, be careful about the fuss you raise if you are doing so at boarding... I've seen some people raise a ruckus, and been told they are being denied passage because they were considered dangerous!!!!

Georgeanne, I found the following on British Airway's website (http://www.britishairways.com/travel...public/en_us#9). I think moving your flight up 1 day constitutes &quot;a significant change to your scheduled departure time&quot;. <BR>3) If, after you buy your ticket: <BR><BR>we make a significant change to the scheduled departure time of your flight <BR>you find this change unacceptable and we or our authorised agents cannot book you on another flight which you are prepared to accept <BR>we will give you an involuntary fare refund. <BR><BR>b) Remedies for delays and cancellations <BR><BR>1) We will take all reasonable measures necessary to avoid delay in carrying you and your baggage. <BR><BR>2) These measures may, in exceptional circumstances and if necessary to prevent a flight being cancelled, include arranging for a flight to be operated: <BR><BR>by another aircraft <BR>by another airline or <BR>by both. <BR><BR>3) If we: <BR><BR>cancel a flight <BR>fail to operate a flight reasonably according to the schedule <BR>fail to stop at your place of stopover or destination or <BR>cause you to miss a connecting flight on which you hold a confirmed reservation <BR>you can choose one of the three remedies set out immediately below.<BR><BR>Remedy 1 - We will carry you as soon as we can on another of our scheduled services on which a seat is available. If we do this, we will not charge you extra and where necessary, will extend the validity period of your ticket. <BR><BR>Remedy 2 - We will re-route you within a reasonable period of time to the destination shown on your ticket using either our services or those of another airline, or by some other means which you have agreed with us can be used (for example, by rail). If you are re-routed, we will not charge you extra. If the fare, taxes, fees and charges for the re-routed journey are lower than the amount you have already paid, we will refund you the difference.<BR><BR>Remedy 3<BR>We will give you an involuntary fare refund. <BR><BR>The above three remedies will be the only remedies available to you and we will have no further liability to you except as may be provided by the convention. <BR>

Please let us know what happens, Georgeanne! (And GreenDragon, I emphatically did not mean the kind of ruckus that makes you an unacceptable passenger, just whatever is the civilized opposite of shrugging and walking away with an accepting, &quot;oh, well, guess there's nothing to be done.&quot;)

The thing that fries me is what if Georgeanne hadn't called. They would have arrived at the airport to find out there was not flight. How were they supposed to get this information, mental telepathy?<BR><BR>Then to top it off since she did call, now they are faced with the expense of another hotel hight that they weren't expecting.<BR><BR>This is the most inconsiderate thing I've ever heard. I'll never be flying BA, that's for sure.