Ba/ Gb Airways - Cancelled Flight - Help Please

JeNjEn_3

I booked a flight with BA from Manchester to Paphos returning on 4th Noevmber in order to attend my sisters wedding on 5th November. The booking was through BA although the flight is operated by one of their franchisees GB Airways.

I received an email today saying that the flight home on 4th November had been cancelled and that they had re-booked me on a flight coming home 2 days later, but as that would have meant I would miss the wedding, I called BA and asked for an alternative. I knew that they had availability on a flight from Larnaca to Heathrow on 2nd November, which although would have cut my hols short by two days and would have meant that I would have to hire a car to drive up to Manchester from Gatwick, I was prepared to do.

The officious customer service manager at BA said that If I wanted to transfer to that flight then I would have to pay £198 per person for myself, husband and daughter (almost £600 extra) and that if I didnt like it then I should just cancel the booking altogether. She gave me no further options and was very rude on the phone.

Does anyone know anything about my rights in this instance. I have offered to come home early at any time between 2nd and 4th to any UK airport?

Many thanks.

YorkshireBoy

JeNjEn wrote:

Does anyone know anything about my rights in this instance.

Here they are...

http://www.gbairways.com/legal/conditions/term9/?PHPSESSID=6c1ee3b85d908ad5a00c214da301342f

bazza1603

Hi,

Go back to BA and say that the new flight doesnot meet your requirements.

Ask to be rebooked

LCA - LHR - MAN

Since they have cancelled the flight they shoudl rebook you Free of charge.

Dont bother ringing GB, as BA look after all the bookings.

Best regards

Barry

PS I know its hard but try and be friendly with the sales people. You are more likely to get a result. You could always try ringing the Newcastle office if you can get a number as they are a friendly bunch in the business park

https://www.theairlineguide.co.uk

YorkshireBoy

bazza1603 wrote:

Go back to BA and say that the new flight doesnot meet your requirements.

Ask to be rebooked

LCA - LHR - MAN

Since they have cancelled the flight they shoudl rebook you Free of charge.

Dont bother ringing GB, as BA look after all the bookings.

This won't work bazza. BA have it covered when they say...

"General Conditions of Carriage
The General Conditions of Carriage applicable to flight booked on ba.com will depend upon the operator of your flight.

Franchisees
For flights operated by one of our franchisees, the franchisee's Conditions of Carriage will apply. These are almost identical to ours and you can find details of these either on their web site or by contacting the airline direct."

The link I gave earlier was to the GB Airways "Conditions of Carriage", ie those which apply to the OP.

pvsol

Go back to BA and say that the new flight doesnot meet your requirements.

Ask to be rebooked

LCA - LHR - MAN

Since they have cancelled the flight they shoudl rebook you Free of charge.

Dont bother ringing GB, as BA look after all the bookings.

Best regards

Barry



Thanks for this - I did try this, but they were totally unhelpful, they said they would get us from Larnaca to Heathrow at an additional cost of £198 per person.!!!! But they would not get us on the onward flight to Manchester. We cant afford that anyway!! Looks like we will lose the holiday and the deposit we paid to the hotel all cos they decided to cancel a flight and wont budge on the replacement they have offered

richardw

Would Paphos-Gatwick-Manchester be possible, its the same start and finish so they shouldn't charge you extra

The problem with flying to LGW is that the flight arrives very late and you would have to spend the night at Gatwick

3 Nov PFO-LGW BA6845 GB Airways Depart 22.15 Arrive 01:00 4 Nov

4 Nov LGW-MAN BA2902 British Airways
Depart 06:55 Arrive 08:00 4 Nov

The problem is that only club (business) class is currently available on PFO-LGW on or near 3rd Nov and they probably won't put you in club class.

pvsol

Would Paphos-Gatwick-Manchester be possible, its the same start and finish so they shouldn't charge you extra

The problem with flying to LGW is that the flight arrives very late and you would have to spend the night at Gatwick

3 Nov PFO-LGW BA6845 GB Airways Depart 22.15 Arrive 01:00 4 Nov

4 Nov LGW-MAN BA2902 British Airways
Depart 06:55 Arrive 08:00 4 Nov

The problem is that only club (business) class is currently available on PFO-LGW on or near 3rd Nov and they probably won't put you in club class

I would be delighted if they would do that !!! But they wouldnt entertain anything last night!!

richardw

Perhaps visiting a BA Travel shop and sorting it out eye to eye may help

Manchester
British Airways Travel Shops
41/43 Deansgate,
Manchester, M3 2AY.
Opening hours: Mon/Tues/Wed/Fri: 0900-1730.
Thurs: 1000-1730. Sat: 0900-1700.

They may offer a full refund, so a search for a charter flight may be a good back up.

If the hotel is part of a chain, they may transfer your deposit to another booking.

pvsol

They may offer a full refund, so a search for a charter flight may be a good back up.

They are willing to refund me , but the flights have gone up so much since I booked - eg Thomas Cook are £800 dearer than BA for the 3 flights!!!!

WiseInvestor_2

pvsol wrote:

They are willing to refund me , but the flights have gone up so much since I booked

This is exactly the reason you won't be rebooked on the dates you'd prefer - those seats can and will be sold at the higher price so the airline would be worse off than they already are from the loss of 150 seats!

BA/GB are legally required to offer you alternative flights or a full refund - unfortunately the passenger has no right to choose which alternative flight

pvsol

BA/GB are legally required to offer you alternative flights or a full refund - unfortunately the passenger has no right to choose which alternative flight

Thanks for this Wiseinvestor - I have been reading the jargon - do they not have to book me on the next available flight?? If I were to accept their offer of a flight 2 days later, are they liable to pay for my hotel????

Incidentally, the date I had originally booked , 4th November - Paphos to Manchester is a Friday, as far as I can see they have never flown that route on a Friday and they no longer seem to be offering it, I am starting to think that they put this on their website for the start of the winter season to see how many people would be interested and obviously not had enough interest in it to make it worthwhile !!!