[ConstantFlyer]

Surely this is what travel insurance is for.

[MrDarwin]

BA used to have a cut off time for security at LHR as well as check in, I think it was around 40 mins before departure. I arrived once breathless at check in having had some misadventures on the way, the agent began checking me in and even printed a boarding card and bag tag. She then realised the time had just ticked over by 1 minute for the security cut off and said even though I was checked in they wouldn’t let me through. I’m still fairly nimble so would have made the flight to the US but she was adamant that she couldn’t check me in any more and sent me to the services desk. They argued with the people down the phone that I wasn’t a no show and I was moved free of charge to the next flight a few hours later resulting in an unplanned overnight stay (at my own cost) before catching an onward connection the following morning.

I sometimes do split tickets for ex-EU fare advantages and always position the day prior with plenty of alternative options up my sleeve in case of issues. I enjoy the random city stays along the way. On the way home I’m ok with a tighter connection because if it goes wrong I haven’t lost much. But I am sympathetic to the ‘computer says no’ experience the poster had.

[FaroFlyer]

On my return flight the boarding card, issued in Fuzhou, China, the third sector LHR > LIS stated Be at boarding gate 30 minutes prior to departure, boarding time 08:35, Departure 09:15, gate closes 10 mins before departure.

[BackOfThePlane]

@ConstantFlyer – I would say no, that is absolutely not what travel insurance is for. The poster simply didn’t arrive in time for his flight. If travel insurance policies paid out every time a passenger missed their flight, premiums would have to increase significantly.

[TimFitzgeraldTC]

Yes that is why you can tick “missed connection” as an additional purchase option on travel insurance on most policies – for an instance like this. However wherever they’ll wiggle out in some hidden T&C’s is another question so couldn’t answer whether this would have been covered or not.

Opens this question as well. Many airlines like EK/QR/EY and other Asian carriers allow changes on a No-Show for a fee (higher than standard change fees – plus any applicable fare difference), whereas many European / US carriers see a “no show” as forfeiture of ticket.

[Author]

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