Budget air / BA

cfcjamiesmith

Hi I wondered if anyone can help!!

I have a booking with budgetair.co.uk and BA for flights booked on the 14th October 2014. Unfortunately the person I was travelling with cannot travel. I called the booking agent budgetair.co.uk who immediately informed me cancellation was possible but I would only receive £107.00 in return for the tax paid – a disgrace when I paid £1747.09 less than a week previously to the amendment change by BA. I then went on to explain that I would be happy to name change my friends flight to a new name of a different friend who would take her place which I was then told was impossible; however they could sell me another ticket. Which basically means, for the price of a new ticket they can name change. I asked what my rights were with regards the changes made to which I was bluntly told that there was nothing more they could do, and my options were to purchase another ticket or ”get BA to give me a one line disclaimer on the booking to allow refund” – which we know wont happen.
This booking was then amended by BA and sent out by budgetair.co.uk as an airline change on the 18th which to me is a change from the original booking I made and therefore as my statutory rights I should be given the chance to either review and accept or cancel as its not as per what I paid for.
I called BA and they said as the ticket was purchased via Budgetair.co.uk my contract was with them, and nothing BA could do would allow them to change the ticket as it was down to budgetair. I explained if the ticket could be sanctioned to be cancelled and then another repurchased with a new name could this be done for free and they said to contact budgetair.co.uk and ask.

Is this true or am i being forced into a corner, I wouldnt want to loose a ticket, we only booked last week and obviously wouldnt have booked for NYE if we thought she couldnt go. I would be happy for a full refund or to simply change the ticket name for another. We havent checked in, we havent stipulated passport numbers, we simply booked two flights, I am the main traveller and she is the other passenger. Surely this can be changed? Surely we have rights to ammend? Surely we have rights after purchase as we do with other items????

Can anyone out there help me??

Thanks!

SW17

I don't know budgetair.co.uk, looks like they are a subsidiary of a Dutch online travel agency.

If you are cancelling because of a change made by the airline, you can often get a refund, but it can also depend on how extreme the change is, they have some flexibility to change times within a few hours etc without liability.

The refund of taxes only is normal if you have bought a non-refundable fare (the cheapest fares usually fall under this category). Does look like BA are hiding a little here. Correct that you have to deal with the agency if you didn't book direct, and the agency can impose their own terms, but the cancellation terms for each ticket are generally set by the airline according to fare rules (which can be extremely complex) and merely followed by the agency. Sorry not to be more help, but there are quite a few variables here and it depends on the nature of the change made by BA. I would say that it's worth continuing to push if the change BA made does genuinely give you right of cancellation.

NiftyDigits

cfcjamiesmith wrote: »

Hi I wondered if anyone can help!!

I have a booking with budgetair.co.uk and BA for flights booked on the 14th October 2014, this booking was then amended by BA and sent out by budgetair.co.uk as an airline change on the 18th which to me is a change from the original booking I made and therefore as my statutory rights I should be given the chance to either review and accept or cancel as its not as per what I paid for.
Unfortunately the person I was travelling with cannot travel.. I called the booking agent budgetair.co.uk who immediately informed me cancellation was possible but I would only receive £107.00 in return for the tax paid – a disgrace when I paid £1747.09 less than a week previously to the amendment change by BA. I then went on to explain that I would be happy to name change my friends flight to a new name of a different friend who would take her place which I was then told was impossible; however they could sell me another ticket. Which basically means, for the price of a new ticket they can name change. I asked what my rights were with regards the changes made to which I was bluntly told that there was nothing more they could do, and my options were to purchase another ticket or ”get BA to my a one line disclaimer on the booking to allow refund” – which we know wont happen.
I called BA and they said as the ticket was purchased via Budgetair.co.uk my contract was with them, and nothing BA could do would allow them to change the ticket as it was down to budgetair. I explained if the ticket could be sanctioned to be cancelled and then another repurchased with a new name could this be done for free and they said to contact budgetair.co.uk and ask.

Is this true or am i being forced into a corner, I wouldnt want to loose a ticket, we only booked last week and obviously wouldnt have booked for NYE if we thought she couldnt go. I would be happy for a full refund or to simply change the ticket name for another. We havent checked in, we havent stipulated passport numbers, we simply booked two flights, I am the main traveller and she is the other passenger. Surely this can be changed? Surely we have rights to ammend? Surely we have rights after purchase as we do with other items????

Can anyone out there help me??

Thanks!

You appear to be mixing things up rather. You mention an amendment, as if that is the reason why you need to cancel the ticket.
Was it such a major change that it became the reason why the other person cannot travel? I am inclined to think not.
It appears that you are trying to use it as an excuse to cancel the ticket. In this case, you need to study the booking conditions. Was it stated as a non-refundable/non transferable ticket? If not, what are you expecting?

cfcjamiesmith

NiftyDigits wrote: »

You appear to be mixing things up rather. You mention an amendment, as if that is the reason why you need to cancel the ticket.
Was it such a major change that it became the reason why the other person cannot travel? I am inclined to think not.
It appears that you are trying to use it as an excuse to cancel the ticket. In this case, you need to study the booking conditions. Was it stated as a non-refundable/non transferable ticket? If not, what are you expecting?

I was merely pointing out that while they say they cannot change anything on the ticket for me, its ok for them to change things and not give me any slack.

The other person cannot travel due to persoanl reasons. All I want is to change the name on the ticket, or be refunded. its unusual to have this issue one week after booking but under circumstances it cant be helped and is sad, howeever if they change the name on the ticket then everyone wins. They keep their booking, BA get their seats paid for and I get a holiday I booked.

Even easyjet can change names on tickets so why cant BA? The price of the ticket shouldnt reflect if the name can be changed. Whats the big issue behind not being able to change it? Its not like the new passenger is going to pose as the person who cannot fly.

I was in honesty asking for advice, I was wondering if we get X ammount of days to get your money back etc like you do with clothing or cars, phones etc.

I have never had to change a flight before these are extreme circumstances, was hoping someone could help, adivse or offer insight into past experieces.

Although they are saying its no refundable I cant find it anywhere in the contract.

Thanks for the reply.

SW17

If it was a non-refundable ticket and the airline change is not the reason for the cancellation, you're highly unlikely to get a refund. Airlines don't allow name changes on non-refundable tickets partly to avoid travel agencies blocking seats under false names (and partly because cancellation charges are good earners). They would likely just suggest that your companion tries to claim through travel insurance, if they have it and the reason is eligible.

Tickets that allow name/date changes are usually a lot more expensive. Your tickets weren't cheap, but of course cheap is relative depending where and when you are flying.

callum9999

cfcjamiesmith wrote: »

I was merely pointing out that while they say they cannot change anything on the ticket for me, its ok for them to change things and not give me any slack.

The other person cannot travel due to persoanl reasons. All I want is to change the name on the ticket, or be refunded. its unusual to have this issue one week after booking but under circumstances it cant be helped and is sad, howeever if they change the name on the ticket then everyone wins. They keep their booking, BA get their seats paid for and I get a holiday I booked.

Even easyjet can change names on tickets so why cant BA? The price of the ticket shouldnt reflect if the name can be changed. Whats the big issue behind not being able to change it? Its not like the new passenger is going to pose as the person who cannot fly.

I was in honesty asking for advice, I was wondering if we get X ammount of days to get your money back etc like you do with clothing or cars, phones etc.

I have never had to change a flight before these are extreme circumstances, was hoping someone could help, adivse or offer insight into past experieces.

Although they are saying its no refundable I cant find it anywhere in the contract.

Thanks for the reply.

That's how the airline industry works - and they are the terms you agreed to when buying the ticket.

No, if they change the name on the ticket then you win and BA lose - they can't resell the seat. BA could change the name but they choose not to, like the majority of airlines around the world.

Your post is really unclear though - what exactly happened without the waffle? It sounds like BA rearranged your flights - have you accepted the change? If not and it is significant than you can get a refund. If you have accepted it then it's completely irrelevant. Your ticket is non-refundable and non-changeable so you wont get a refund and can't change it. If you wanted the ability to do so then you should have spent the multiple times extra on a flexible fare.

I don't know what "contract" you're referring to but budgetair gives you a link at the booking stage listing the conditions of the fare - which includes whether you can refund it or not and how much the fees would be.

cfcjamiesmith

callum9999 wrote: »

That's how the airline industry works - and they are the terms you agreed to when buying the ticket.

No, if they change the name on the ticket then you win and BA lose - they can't resell the seat. BA could change the name but they choose not to, like the majority of airlines around the world.

Your post is really unclear though - what exactly happened without the waffle? It sounds like BA rearranged your flights - have you accepted the change? If not and it is significant than you can get a refund. If you have accepted it then it's completely irrelevant. Your ticket is non-refundable and non-changeable so you wont get a refund and can't change it. If you wanted the ability to do so then you should have spent the multiple times extra on a flexible fare.

I don't know what "contract" you're referring to but budgetair gives you a link at the booking stage listing the conditions of the fare - which includes whether you can refund it or not and how much the fees would be.

First, I didnt accept changes or I wouldnt be asking. How do BA loose? If they change the ticket nothing changes to if I just dont show up ie they cant resell anyway - so its ridiculous to think its a win/loose fight as I wouldnt aloow them to resell, I would just tell my friend to no show.

Second, I didnt pay the multiple extras as you cant forsee things happening days after making bookings.

Third and finally I dont want to tell you exactly what happened without the waffle, I wanted advice from someone who had expeirence with this same situation not an agony aunt. The changes were to flight times and numbers and were reissues two days after purchase.

But thanks.

Are people on here always so condescending?

Any people with actual experience with budget air got any info?

Caz3121

cfcjamiesmith wrote: »

we simply booked two flights, I am the main traveller and she is the other passenger. Surely this can be changed? Surely we have rights to ammend? Surely we have rights after purchase as we do with other items????

The rights you have are linked to the T&Cs that you agreed to when you purchased the ticket
BA do not allow name changes. (the fact that some low cost carriers do, for a fee, is not relevant)
BA (as do most airlines) sell different types of tickets. There are tickets that are fully flexible and refundable (that you would pay a premium for) there are tickets that are semi-flexible where you can pay a fee and fare difference to change flights and there are the cheapest tickets that are non-changeable and non-refundable (with the exception of the Government taxes) The rules of your particular booking are dictated by what you selected during the booking process
Most people would check that all parties are able to travel before booking non-changeable tickets or, if there was doubt, book a refundable ticket (although this can easily be 4x the price of non-changeable)

What was the amendment made by BA on the 18th that you have not accepted? unless this is a minor change then you should indeed have the option to reject and receive refund

alanrowell

cfcjamiesmith wrote: »

Even easyjet can change names on tickets so why cant BA?

EasyJet will charge you a fee for making the change and the difference in fares.

It's also not "changing the name", it's "changing the person".

They do so to stop people buying tickets when cheap and then selling them to other people.

BA is like all the legacy airlines - they don't allow changes or refunds on NON-REFUNDABLE, NON-CHANGEABLE tickets

richardw

"....as my statutory rights I should be given the chance to either review and accept or cancel as its not as per what I paid for..."

Have you asked them why you weren't given this opportunity?

Takecareofthepennies

cfcjamiesmith wrote: »

... I dont want to tell you exactly what happened without the waffle, I wanted advice from someone who had expeirence with this same situation not an agony aunt. ...

Reading the above, I would think you got the advice you asked for. You just didn't like it.

cfcjamiesmith wrote: »

... The changes were to flight times and numbers and were reissues two days after purchase. ...

If your flight times were changed substantially (i.e. not just by ten minutes or so), you can refuse to accept the change. Your options then are a) a full refund or b) a re-booking that suits you.


Once you have accepted the change (have you?) it once again becomes binding in the same way that your original (non-flexible) booking was.


Hope this helps.