[TiredOldHack]

Double-check: it should indicate on the Iberia site. It certainly will if you book the flights via the BA website (which you should be able to, now that the BA site has integrated a lot of the Iberia flight info).

[Carajillo2Sugar]

I have a Business Class booking with Iberia flight numbers for:

LGW-BCN-AGP (Vueling-operated)
AGP-LCY (BA-operated)

Looking at the details on ba.com indicates 100 Tier Points for these three sectors, so sounds like you should escape the beating…

[PhilipHart]

OK, Google has identified the definitive statement on the subject from British Airways: Executive Club Members cannot collect Avios or Tier Points on Vueling operated flights unless booked under a BA flight number.

[MartynSinclair]

Colleague (BAEC- Gold) had been re routed IBZ-LCY due to cancelled BA flight on 28th June.

Went through Barcelona for a Vueling flight back to UK next day. BA/IB flight number.

No fast track and denied lounge access

[Carajillo2Sugar]

Yep, lack of fast track & lounge access is one down-side of flying with Vueling!

Will I actually receive the Tier Points indicated at ba.com?

[FaroFlyer]

I have booked flights on Iberia website with IB flight numbers, but operated by Vueling. Neither TPs nor Avios have been awarded. Same situation this week on a couple of IB codes but Vueling metal. You may have to phone Iberia to get the Vueling booking ref to be able to check in online, for some flight.

[Carajillo2Sugar]

FaroFlyer – Good point. I also managed to book seat numbers for both of us on the Vueling website for LON-BCN-AGP. I’m BA Silver but, ironically, as my partner is on a separate booking, I am unable to reserve a seat number for her on the BA-operated AGP-LCY sector without paying GBP22. If we had been on the same booking, I would have had free selection but, when I contacted the Exec Club, they were adamant there was nothing they could do to assist; “You should have booked together.” Meh!

Edited to add: The AGP-LON sector is Business Class, which makes having to pay for a seat number even more annoying!

[PeterCoultas]

booked on the Vueling website assuming some (at least) BA connection…as usual my assumption was wrong – no avios, no Tier points – why bother…in future will treat all so called partners as LCC’s

[AnthonyDunn]

Back to the OP, I have just been pricing up an end of year itinerary out to the Asia-Pacific region and have been astonished at the disparities in J-class pricing between different O&D points across Europe. For exactly the same dates and with the same onward connecting flights to the same destination and with the same fare T&Cs, taking the ex-London price as 1.00, then (in descending order) I obtained:

ex-ZRH: 0.64, ex-FRA: 0.42, ex-CDG: 0.38, ex-DUS: 0.36 and finally, ex-AMS: 0.29.

No prizes for guessing where we are using for our transit point and the fare saving over travelling direct from LHR will more than pay for the rest of the trip. But this goes way beyond any issues around APD to just how on earth can airlines justify charging what they do departing from London?

EDITED: to add that since doing this exercise, I now see that CX have reduced their starter fares ex-LHR by some 55% – but for the days immediately either side of when we planned to go.

[Carajillo2Sugar]

AnthonyDunn – it’s all about competition and it’s not just a BA thing. One of the main reasons for the disparity in pricing is that BA/AF/KL/LH/IB/CX/QF etc etc are all ‘The Daddy’ in their home market, offering the vast majority of direct non-stop flights to more destinations than any of their competitors. Therefore, in order to attract customers to fly indirectly (ie via their own hubs), they need to offer some very eye-catching deals. And they all do!

[LuganoPirate]

I always worry that with all this public discussion on cheap ex Europe fares, the airlines will react by increasing theirs prices ex AMS etc.

[Alexthegreat]

@LuganoPirate
Interesting that you say that. Just now was checking fares to book with AA DUB/LAX/DUB in OCT/NOV and the fares are now considerably higher (£1893) than when I travelled last month (£1125). It looks also that they have made some changes to their website.

[MartynSinclair]

The prices are higher as there is no BA ‘sale’ currently.

I will end up in Barcelona in the summer and trying to get another week in Florida.

BCN-MIA-MCO-MIA-BCN + avios ticket back to LON =£1,499

BCN-LON (avios) + LGW-MCO-LGW = £2,600

**price via kayak.com

[TiredOldHack]

@LuganoPirate

Well, it’s still a long way from common knowledge and I don’t think this forum really shows up on the radar with the general public.

And they hadn’t yesterday. Doctor TOH and myself, end of April 2016, AMS -> LHR -> JNB return in CW, and the return flight to AMS delayed until 23 May because I have to attend the Private Label Manufacturers’ Association show there on 24th and 25th (anyone else here going?)…

…5077 euros for both, or £1,800 per head. Going straight from Heathrow to Jo’Burg worked out at £7,155 for the two of us. Double.

Oh, and I made certain we were booked on the A380 flights, not the rattly old 747s.

Frankly, if the airlines are going to create these fare structures, they shouldn’t be narked if people use them properly.

[AnthonyDunn]

@LP

Hmm… Well, that is always a risk but, as far as I can see, that would also require wide scale collusion between carriers to come about. And we both remember the £$€ millions in fines that were levied by British, US and EU regulators the last time that this was attempted.

Even when the ex-EU dogleg ploy is known about (as at Snr Management’s company), they still take the direct (and twice the price) routing even as the CEO is spouting to the investor community about “we’re all now acting as if we’re the owners of the business…”

But, as an indicator of just how sensitive airline pricing systems are to those of us attempting to game them, the ex-AMS availability HKG-BKK altered immediately we had made our two bookings. Airlines know exactly what they are doing, so we shouldn’t feel too sorry for them.

[Author]

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