British Airway - cant transfer flight tickets to another name - why not?

Neiliboy

My wife had to pull out of our weekend away to Prague tomorrow as our daughter is ill.

My cousin said he'll happily step in and pay any extra fees etc but BA dont allow this. Theres now about 28 hours till the flight but surly its just a case of changing a name on a computer somewhere isnt it?

I'm about to lose £200 if i cant chnage it.

Can anyone shed any light?

Neil

Andy_L

Airlines charge extra for fully flexible tickets.

Claim on your travel insurance.

WiseInvestor_2

My understanding is that all BA tickets are now eligible for name changes, for a small (£30?) admin fee.

Who told you otherwise?

Neiliboy

The woman at British Airways told me......once this morning and again just now.

grade15

why not check BA website somewhere..should say something about changing names..cos you can change flights..so i think names are just as easy!
:dance:

WiseInvestor_2

I've just found this on ba.com

From the price you've paid, my guess is you have Semi-flexible tickets. There's no longer any such thing as a non-changeable ticket for European/Shorthaul flights with British Airways

Please note: Changes to our Traveller fare structure for bookings made on or after 20 April 2006.
Traveller (Economy) fares have been amended, effective 20 April 2006, to simplify our fares rules.
These changes have removed many of the restrictions on tickets including advance purchase and maximum stay as well as making it easier for you, the customer, to change your bookings. With immediate effective there will only be three types of fare available:

Fully flexible (Y class)
Fully flexible fare rules: No minimum stay. Maximum stay 12 months. Fully refundable. Unlimited changes and upgrades permitted at no charge, except any difference in the cost of the fare.

World Traveller Semi flexible (B,H,K,M,R,V class)
Semi Flexible fare rules: Minimum stay Sat night. Maximum stay 12 months. Non-refundable. Unlimited changes and upgrades permitted at a charge of £50.00 per transaction, plus any difference in the cost of the fare. No changes may be made on the day of outbound or inbound departure. Cancellation charges for the original booking class will apply.

Euro Traveller Semi flexible ( B,H,K,M,R,V,L,S,N and Q class)
Semi Flexible fare rules: Maximum stay 12 months. Non-refundable. Unlimited changes and upgrades permitted at a charge of £30.00 per transaction, plus any difference in the cost of the fare, except on flights to/from Russia or Israel. No changes may be made on the day of outbound or inbound departure. Cancellation charges for the original booking class will apply.

World Traveller Restricted (N class).
Restricted fare rules: Minimum stay Sat night. Maximum stay 12 months. Non-refundable. No changes or upgrades permitted.

pin

The reason for not allowing name changes is a simple one. You could buy loads of plane tickets in advance, when they are cheap, and then when the prices become cheaper, you could sell them on. Airlines don't like this, so they restrict the ability to change names.

fuzed

I've got a friend who works at BA head office, just emailed her and will let you know the response...

fuzed

"if u got a cheap as peanuts ticket, they'll charge alot to
make changes. u can do it .. but charge alot"

thats what the response was - thats from a staff member at BA's head office near heathrow.

qwerty123456

Your friend from BA head office is wrong. Working at head office, they would have no involvement in fare rules or conditions of carriage. Names on British Airways tickets are comletely non-changeable regardless of how much you paid. Even names on fully-flex tickets are non-changeable. It is the same for any major carier. IATA recommends that airlines do not change names on tickets for reasons mentioned above. People can purchase cheap tickets, wait a few months until BA put their prices up, then undercut BA. People on here may be used to using low-cost airlines who couldn't care less who sell their tickets. A major carrier has a duty of care towards its passangers and would not want unauthorised and unqualified people selling their tickets without disclosing fare rules and all the legal info that is required when an airline ticket is sold.