BA.com Pricing madness
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at 21:08 by NTarrant.
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NTarrantParticipantYou need to remember that if you do not complete your journey, particularly on cheaper tickets you risk having the fare recalculated and your debit/credit card debited for any difference. This is perfectly legal and does happen.
Don’t forget that you don’t have to travel through LHR on the same day, as we did we had a weekend and then continued our journey a week later.
Eurotunnel caught out a lot of people a few years ago who were booking cheap day tickets each way to avoid paying the correct price, but ended up paying the full price.
3 Mar 2011
at 20:11
MartynSinclairParticipantIn answer to the questions and queries about managing your bags, when using ex-Europe tickets on BA long haul, I am happy to share my protocol.
All boarding cards for the 3 flights I am taking on my travel day are printed out the night before. On the morning of my trip, I head for T3 to check my bag in for the evening’s BA longhaul flight. I enter the system in T3, head for the BA lounge and have breakfast. 90 minutes before the first sector to Europe (which is the last sector of my previous ticket) I use flight connections, to transfer to T5, having left my hand luggage with left luggage in the lounge, who are OK with this, as they have seen my boarding pass for that evenings flight.
I do hold an airside pass for BAA airports and on the basis that I do not ever want to be caught playing the system causing my pass to be withdrawn (especially when travelling as a passenger), I have checked with both BAA security and British Airways, who both have confirmed that I am able to enter the system in T3, even though my first flight of the day is from T5. The explanation being that a boarding card allows airside access on the day of departure into the relevant terminal. To further cover myself, I have both boarding cards in my hand to show the security staff in case any rules have changed. Before anybody asks, I do not carry my airport pass when travelling as a passenger.
I fly to Europe to close my previous ticket and start my new ticket on the same aircraft, back to London. There is generally at least one crew member who is returning with the aircraft from the outbound flight and I always mention to them, that I will be returning, but I have never had a time issue, mainly because these 2 sectors are being flown without any hand baggage except for a mobile and iPAD or Samsung tablet.
On arrival into London, reverse, back through flight connections and straight back to the superb lounge facilities in T3.Before I return from Asia, I change the final sector of my ticket, from Lon back to my European starting point, which can be a hassle and does sometimes cost £20-£30 for admin/tax/duty etc.
At the airport, I specifically make sure my bag is only checked through to London. There are some occasions when I do go straight over to Europe to complete the ticket and back to London, in which case I will ask for my bag to be offloaded in London and I will leave it in left luggage, landside, before flying the final sector(s).
I do recognise the hassle factor but when I am saving at least £1500 per trip when using ex-Europe BA fares and the fact I am doing this up to 10 times a year, it makes perfectly good sense to me. Other advantages are that the ex-Europe fares are flexible as oppose to the rigidity of the London based cheaper fares and I also accumulate more BA miles to be used quicker either on BA or partner airlines. I work on the basis that 1 in every 4 long haul flights becomes a reward flight using One World (not all my reward flights are with BA, but when the ticket is free and in business/first, who cares)?
I also have the added advantage that my UK home is close to Heathrow; I have a totally paperless office system and can work with a blackberry and iPAD or Samsung from anywhere. I often use the larger BA lounges for private meetings and having worked like this for over 7 years, I have the system down to a fine art and it works very efficiently for me.
“ba.com Pricing madness” – is it?
If you are a corporate or big name TV star (or even a “has been”, big name TV star, who possibly is deluded they are still a BIG name TV star) where cost isn’t a priority ex-Europe fares will never be attractive. If however, you can benefit from the price madness, by using the system to your advantage, in a perfectly legal and effective manner, then overall, it really isn’t the madness it’s made out to be!!
The world of aviation pricing, can indeed be a strange strange place…………..
3 Mar 2011
at 23:39
CallMeIshmaelParticipantSuperb post Martyn thank you, I wonder if the ex senior media manger for BA Jamie Bowden now an airline and leisure specialist commentator or VK would concur ?
3 Mar 2011
at 23:59
MartynSinclairParticipantOnce I have my schedule, I check kayak.com from various points in France, Germany, Italy and Belguim – I recall it was Senator who also suggested Sweden. Tel Aviv works, but 4 1/2 hours is too far to start an ex Europe ticket for me. Then I try to book via ba.com as it affords me a little more protection in terms of buying a ticket directly from the airline rather than a thrid party.
The only time a delay will cause a problem, is my first flight out of Heathrow to Europe. I cover this by:
1. always flying back from Europe (start of new ticket) on the same aircraft, i.e. the returning outbound.
2. try where possible to use European airports, outside the influence of the Americans, i.e. where you exit directly into boarding area, therefore not having to go landside to return airside. Otherwise I use airports which have transit facilties otherwise, I run………….
3. If the first European flight is cancelled, such as happened in December in the snow, BA understood that it was physically impossible to use that first ticket and will change it out of sequence, after all I have paid for 4 sectors. When this did happen, the UK ticket office were being difficult, but the American office could not have been nicer changed the sector to an open sector and in that instance I used the first sector as an open Lon – Europe ticket.
Incidentally, BA did not deny me boarding when the first sector was cancelled.
4. Certainly not wishing to tempt fate, but I have never missed a sector due to a delay ot security Q.
Just a comment to Sparepocket, I know of other systems, for example a grey market in airmiles which can reduce ticket prices further. I stay well away from these sorts of tickets as there is a big question over the legality of selling airmiles.
When I was previously using a travel agent in Germany, BA did take exception to my ex-Europe travel and arranged with the travel agent, not to supply me with any further ex-Europe tickets, but I took a legal opinion, (from a friend) who at the time advised that common market = open trade borders and resrticting ticket sales based in residency was extremely questionable. Now though, most, if not all, all ex Europe ticket prices are loaded onto ba.com and they can be bought using UK credit cards.
Hope this helps.
4 Mar 2011
at 09:54
MartynSinclairParticipantMay be a strange question, but has anyone had any problems with back to back tickets and are there any T & C’s within the BA contract that makes the use of back to backs problematical if caught.
My concern like ex-Europe tickets is that the airline can become ‘ackward’ if they know you are starting a new ticket prior to completing the old ticket. I may be off base here, hence why I am asking the question.
5 Mar 2011
at 13:08
UKFly79ParticipantAs far as I’m aware there is no issue in starting a new ticket before you complete the old one, so long as you do complete the old one using all coupons/sectors in their booked sequence as originally intended. After all it’s quite plausible you needed to return to your original start point, perhaps with another airline. A new ticket is a new contract so to speak.
However, not completing the old one, leaving open unused sectors, could prompt contact from the audit or revenues department if done on a regular basis – but I get the impression you use all your sectors so it’s no problem. Perhaps if you were concerned with potential awkwardness or denied boarding you could omit your EC number for a particular booking and once the other ticket was complete submit a retrospective mileage claim for the other……. But risk forfeiting lounge access or if lucky an upgrade!!
If an EC member they are tracking us all and can easily get to know our habits……. if they have reason to take a look!
5 Mar 2011
at 16:19
Binman62ParticipantMartyn…how did you get BA to take bags at T3 for a flight more than 3 hours later????
Has anyone else noticed the chage to ex Europe fares?….seems new to me but I may be mistaken.
The new fare rule for semi flexible ex EU fares states…..( incidently so does fully flexible)
“”Unlimited stopovers permitted in each direction in United Kingdom at eur 200.00 each. Child/infant discounts apply. A stopover may not exceed 10 days.”””
Looks like a concerted effort to block the use of ex EU fares by Brits and certainly kills off using last sector as a first sector next trip unless flying very frequently.
Thoughts please…comments??
6 Mar 2011
at 19:27
DisgustedofSwieqiParticipant“Thoughts please…comments??”
Maybe best to keep stum about loopholes?
Or just accept that your airline wishes to rip you off.
Next time, fly Star.
6 Mar 2011
at 20:11
MartynSinclairParticipantBinman – I just go to check in and show my boarding pass and the bag is accepted. Occasionally, someone makes a phone call, but its never not been accepted.
I wish I could check the bag in at T5, for a BA T3 flight. Would give me an extra 90 minutes in bed on a travel day.
If what you post is correct Binman, it just means that you have to use the final sector when you arrive and not at the start of the next trip. Having to fly 2 extra sectors of an hour thirty, really doesnt bother me, when its saving me money long term.
As long as I can pick up emails between flights, its rather nice to be watered and fed by sometimes attentive staff, whilst being able to work at the same time.
6 Mar 2011
at 20:28
UKFly79ParticipantMartyn I am firmly with you on that one, an extra half or whole day of face time out the office is of no consequence to me when I am saving up to £1,400 on a CW ticket.
Perhaps I should recalculate my savings now being that I save on lunch and dinner at the expense of BA!
6 Mar 2011
at 20:45 -
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