changing a non-changeable flight

newnham

I had the same issue with BA a couple of years ago. They were spectacularly unhelpful. Three days before my travel insurance was due for renewal I was told both hips needed replacing which, with waiting time, recovery time and gap between ops would take the better part of a year. Both Cottages4U and Interhome agreed to keep my deposit aginst a future booking but got nowhere with BA.

mahoney

Thanks newnham. I've got the insurance form to complete. I need to get my gp to fill it in. I opened a new thread on the insurance board as this seems to have taken that route. I'd be more than happy for BA to move my flight to a later date, but they don't seem to want to entertain that.

Bob_the_Saver

I wonder why they call it a non-changeable flight?

greyteam1959

I was wondering the same thing myself...........

George_Michael

London to NYC on BA in November costs £524 for a non changeable ticket.
When booking you have the option to choose a flexible (changeable) ticket but this costs £1472 for the same flight.

As with most things you buy, you pay your money and make your choice, taking into account what you get for the item/service chosen.

photome

mahoney wrote: »

Thanks newnham. I've got the insurance form to complete. I need to get my gp to fill it in. I opened a new thread on the insurance board as this seems to have taken that route. I'd be more than happy for BA to move my flight to a later date, but they don't seem to want to entertain that.

As I said previously, your insurance wont cover you for the tax part of the ticket (biggest portion), you will have to pay an admin fee to BA to get those back, then there is your excess, then the fee to the doctor, you may end up only getting back about half of what you paid

mahoney

Thanks all, these are business class tickets though they were bought in a sale - hence the no changes bit. There is such a massive price difference between flexible and non flexible airfares. I went for the free cancellation hotel which was about a £20 difference - no problems there.

I wonder why taxes aren't reimbursable.

I got the no changes ticket as I had every intention of going and no intention of making any changes to the ticket. However, I had an accident which means I cannot fly hence the need to cancel the ticket.

photome

mahoney wrote: »

Thanks all, these are business class tickets though they were bought in a sale - hence the no changes bit. There is such a massive price difference between flexible and non flexible airfares. I went for the free cancellation hotel which was about a £20 difference - no problems there.

I wonder why taxes aren't reimbursable.

I got the no changes ticket as I had every intention of going and no intention of making any changes to the ticket. However, I had an accident which means I cannot fly hence the need to cancel the ticket.

You can get the tax back but not from the insurer, the airline will reclaim it for you for a fee!

shaun_from_Africa

I wonder why taxes aren't reimbursable.

They are, in fact the taxes are usually the only portion of the ticket cost that does get refunded. (which is why many insurance policies won't refund these).

However, when you apply to the airline for the tax refund, they are allowed to make an admin charge for processing this and with the budget airlines, the processing fee often equals or exceeds the actual amount of the taxes.

You will probably find something in BA's terms and conditions that will state how much they charge for doing the refund.

jpsartre

photome wrote: »

As I said previously, your insurance wont cover you for the tax part of the ticket (biggest portion)

It's not the biggest portion though. The refundable tax part of an economy flight from London to NYC is about £140. That's about 1/3 of the cost of the cheapest tickets BA offer.

Couldn't find anything about a fee on BA's website but judging by other sites it looks as if it's £15.