BA cancelled flight but rebooked me on a flight earlier the same day - can I claim a refund?

Rich2808

I have a return short haul flight with BA booked for mid April - obviously I cannot now travel as non essential trips remain banned until at least 17 May. I was advised recently that my outbound flight had been cancelled and they had rebooked me on another flight six hours earlier the same day. Return flight time has changed - but only by 20 mins.
Their refund guide suggests you can cancel and get a full refund for a cancelled flight - but when you try and do this online you get this message before you click 'Only use this form if your flight is cancelled. By continuing without confirmation of cancellation, you will not receive a full refund and your booking will become ineligible for a voucher.'
Can anyone confirm if a cancelled flight rebooked onto another on the same day meets the refund criteria (for both legs) - or do I risk not getting a refund and not being eligible for a voucher either as they have 'rebooked me' same day.

Thought I would try here first for any views/experience here first before I try and spend for ever getting through to them on the phone. I know BA for obvious reasons want people to take vouchers!
https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/delayed-or-cancelled-flights/rebook-and-refund-options

Sandtree

If the flight has been cancelled, ie the flight number has changed, then you are entitled to a refund if you want one. I suspect because they have already rebooked you their website is assuming you now want to cancel the new flight rather than attributing the refund request back to the cancelled flight hence the message.

Have spoken to BA a few times in the last 12 months and whilst March/April time it was very difficult to get through I havent had to wait more than 15 minutes since then. 

twopenny

"my outbound flight had been cancelled " is that the exact words they used and do you have those words in writing? Have you got a new flight code?

If yes then you are entitled to a refund.

However  airlines can change the time or even the date of your flights, according to their terms and conditions. British Airways states: "The flight times shown in our timetables may change between the date of publication and the date you actually travel"

In October last year they changed the rules.

Before this BA allowed refunds on any flight schedule changes over 2hrs. Now that's 4hrs I believe. However 6hrs is the magic number. Have a read of this

https://www.godsavethepoints.com/british-airways-makes-it-harder-to-get-a-refund-when-flights-change/

It does look like the 6hrs can get a refund. The return journey is just a change of time. Not sure about that. But I suspect the whole thing may be cancelled

Rich2808

twopenny said:

"my outbound flight had been cancelled " is that the exact words they used and do you have those words in writing? Have you got a new flight code?

If yes then you are entitled to a refund.

However  airlines can change the time or even the date of your flights, according to their terms and conditions. British Airways states: "The flight times shown in our timetables may change between the date of publication and the date you actually travel"

In October last year they changed the rules.

Before this BA allowed refunds on any flight schedule changes over 2hrs. Now that's 4hrs I believe. However 6hrs is the magic number. Have a read of this

https://www.godsavethepoints.com/british-airways-makes-it-harder-to-get-a-refund-when-flights-change/

It does look like the 6hrs can get a refund. The return journey is just a change of time. Not sure about that. But I suspect the whole thing may be cancelled

Thanks.
The price wording of the email (relevant extracts) are
"We're very sorry to let you know that the following flights on your booking have been cancelled. We apologise for the inconvenience this has caused. You have been rebooked onto the best alternative flights below:

Next Steps You need to confirm that you want to travel on the new flights. Please go onto Manage My Booking and select 'accept' if you wish to travel on your new flights. If you wish to book onto different flights, you can also review your alternative options." I haven't yet confirm that I want to travel on the new flights - you get the option to accept the new time, rebook or request a voucher online - but to 'discuss options for a refund' you must call them.

So on the basis my outgoing flight was cancelled, my proposed revised flight is departing more than four hours earlier and the flight number is difference I can therefore assume I should be entitled to a full refund for the booking. I already have another BA voucher and don't want another frankly - who knows when we can fly again (hopefully by autumn but it could easily be 2022)!

twopenny

Perfect! In writing is almost essential when wanting to establish your rights.

The words ' flights on your booking have been cancelled.' is what you need.

You are spot on

Totally agree about when. The whole dealing with the virus situation depends entirely with the way people behave. That doesn't inspire me with confidence.

Rich2808

twopenny said:

Perfect! In writing is almost essential when wanting to establish your rights.

The words ' flights on your booking have been cancelled.' is what you need.

You are spot on

Totally agree about when. The whole dealing with the virus situation depends entirely with the way people behave. That doesn't inspire me with confidence.

Thanks for all the advice - rang them, got through in 10 minutes and got my refund (well in 48 hours time anyway).

Thrugelmir

twopenny said:

Totally agree about when. The whole dealing with the virus situation depends entirely with the way people behave. That doesn't inspire me with confidence.

That's because people generally think of themselves first rather than look at the bigger picture.  Me first is a reoccurring theme.  As a customer that needed to fly you'd be hacked off if BA cancelled your flight and didn't provisionally book an alternative. Sometimes all that's required is a little patience. Particularly when an event is some weeks into the future. 

gettingtheresometime

We were due to go to the US at the end of the month with BA but our flight got cancelled & got rebooked automatically onto the later flight (they reduced the number of flights from 5 to 2).

The email that was sent out stated that if this wasn't acceptable (it wasn't but only because we couldn't enter the US even if our original flight had flown) we could get a refund, which we've applied for.

Do_Not_Book_With_MyTrip_com

It has become a joke with airlines when things are normal governments should properly sort them out and while they are at it ban OTAs.

Westin

Do_Not_Book_With_MyTrip_com said:

It has become a joke with airlines when things are normal governments should properly sort them out and while they are at it ban OTAs.

Nothing to suggest from the OP that they booked their flight with an OTA.  It also seems that upon contacting BA the problem was fairly quickly resolved.

Difficult, if not impossible for the U.K. Government to control or ban an overseas based OTA. MyTrip is part of the Etraveli Group which operates several travel brands but is Swedish owned.  A ‘ban’ would not work but as a consumer you however have the ability to chose who you spend money with on the internet and complete your own due diligence checks before purchase.  

Rich2808

Westin said:

Do_Not_Book_With_MyTrip_com said:

It has become a joke with airlines when things are normal governments should properly sort them out and while they are at it ban OTAs.

Nothing to suggest from the OP that they booked their flight with an OTA.  It also seems that upon contacting BA the problem was fairly quickly resolved.

Difficult, if not impossible for the U.K. Government to control or ban an overseas based OTA. MyTrip is part of the Etraveli Group which operates several travel brands but is Swedish owned.  A ‘ban’ would not work but as a consumer you however have the ability to chose who you spend money with on the internet and complete your own due diligence checks before purchase.  

I can confirm I booked with BA directly - indeed with flight only bookings I always book direct as its a lot easier if you need to cancel or make changes as well as manage the booking more easily (e.g. seats and API info etc). 
We were only going to Italy (club europe) - and could still have flown on the revised schedule but as the flights were before 17 May we couldn't have travelled legally (assuming Italy would even have let us in if we were able to fly). So the cancellation worked to our advantage as otherwise we would have had to take a voucher.