Hopeless British Airways
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at 08:56 by CathayLoyalist2.
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DanielVParticipantBritish Airways flew my son out to Tel Aviv and then cancelled the return flight. They refuse to offer any alternative flight back to the UK. They will only offer a refund. They simply do not care that they have a stranded British student overseas. What can I do?
16 Feb 2021
at 13:00
ASK1945ParticipantTo be able to suggest what to do we need more information. Had he booked a return flight? When were the two flights? How much notice of the cancellation etc etc.
He will have rights under EU261 (which still applies) – so what to do depends upon the answers you give.
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16 Feb 2021
at 13:16
BullfrogParticipantWith a little more information, we may be able to give you some advice or help.
When did your son fly to Tel Aviv ? What sort of ticket did he have ? on what fare basis ? and was it booked directly with British Airways or through a third party ? When was he due to return ?
16 Feb 2021
at 13:33
ASK1945ParticipantYou still haven’t told us how much notice they gave of the cancellation. This info is very important for EU261 claims. Also, what reason did they give for not offering alternative flights? They are still flying Monday to Friday, one flight each day. Why would they not offer the alternative flights?
Have you actually read through the EU261 info online before asking the Foruum what you should do?
16 Feb 2021
at 14:10
ASK1945ParticipantThanks DanielIV. To answer your question, I believe that EU261 still applies for flights on BA heading back to the UK. If he was on El Al, with one month’s notice, his options would have been much more limited.
You said that he has been offered a refund, which will be a return of the Avios and cash. However, a flight through (say) Madrid or another EU airport with flights to the UK, obviously with a different airline, will be considerably more and I don’t know whether BA would be legally obliged to compensate him. Hang on a bit – there will be others on the Forum much more knowledgeable than me who will be along soon to explain your options further.
In the meanwhile, please read through EU261 to see what rights he has (if any).
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16 Feb 2021
at 14:46
FrDougalParticipantI think its a little unfair to blame BA in this situation. It’s a global pandemic, the situation is fluid and change is dynamic. BA must comply with government regulations at both ends and it would appear that the Israeli government have simply made it too restrictive for BA to operate a schedule. They are still operating the occasional freight service.
You have admitted that BA have offered a refund, I would be very surprised if they were in a position to shift the booking to another carrier considering the situation. The only reasonable options now are to find a carrier that actually is operating and book a new ticket or wait in TLV until the flights resume and he can change his ticket to one.
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16 Feb 2021
at 15:14
SwissdiverParticipantA little BA bashing. I was missing this…
EU261 (to my understanding BA still applies it), article 5 “Cancellation”: there is no right when passengers “are informed of the cancellation at least two weeks before the scheduled time of departure.” Given the situation, I presume your son was notified ahead of time of the cancellation. Of course this is inconvenient. But BA is not at fault here.
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16 Feb 2021
at 15:25
BullfrogParticipantTel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport is currently closed to all passenger traffic except emergencies.
If as you are saying BA are not showing any flights, they have temporarily stopped the route.
The situation for March 15 is likely to change closer to the time. With more vaccinated people in the UK & Israel, & cases on a decline, flights are bound to start operating by mid March.
Frustrating yes, but not really the fault of British Airways.
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16 Feb 2021
at 15:50
ASK1945Participant[quote quote=1092837]Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport is currently closed to all passenger traffic except emergencies.[/quote]
Bullfrog: today’s BA flight 164 from TLV is actually on the way back to LHR as I write this. The morning Vigin flight also arrived back.
Notwithstanding this, I agree with your expressed view.
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16 Feb 2021
at 16:37
DanielVParticipantThere are plenty of available flights to the UK on March 15th including a direct EL AL flight. British Airways will not rebook my son on that flight as “they have no agreement” with that airline. There are also plenty of flights available via Frankfurt, Zurich and so on. My feeling is that they had very few passengers on the flight and it was less expensive for them to cancel the flight. The onus (and expense) is then on the passenger to find another way home. My issue is with British Airways high handed approach.
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16 Feb 2021
at 16:41
SwissdiverParticipant[postquote quote=1092839]
You’re right, Daniel: The onus (and expense) is then on the passenger to find another way home. These is the rule set by the EU and in force in Europe at large.
Travelling during these Covid times is more hazardous. Passengers therefore must be ready to face potential complications.
16 Feb 2021
at 16:54
ASK1945Participant[quote quote=1092839]There are plenty of available flights to the UK on March 15th including a direct EL AL flight.[/quote]
Daniel – we still haven’t heard from you why BA didn’t offer one of their 20 flights between now and March 15th. Did they say it was because there were no Avios flights available? It would have still been cheaper for him to pay them in cash, than go to another airline.
16 Feb 2021
at 17:04 -
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