British Airways Flight Cancelled

MeTV

Shot this e-mail off to BA the other day, which contains all the relevant background:

To whom it may concern,

Upon logging into your website yesterday to update some information for booking number <snip>, I was greeted with a message that our flight from Larnaca to London Gatwick on the 15th of June had been changed from 1700 to 2050.

My first issue with this is that I received absolutely no notification of this pretty major change. Had I not happened to log in for another reason, I would still be completely unaware of it.

My next issue, and the crux of this complaint, is that you still had us booked from London Gatwick to Dublin at 2130, which, obviously, would be impossible if we are only arriving from Larnaca at 2340. So I rang your customer service department to ask them to switch us back to the 1700 flight from Larnaca that we had originally booked but was informed that said flight had been cancelled and your colleague could not provide me with a reason.

After pointing out to her the impossibility of catching our connecting flight, I was then informed that that was the last flight from Gatwick to Dublin and our "only" options would be to depart Larnaca the day before or wait overnight in Gatwick for the first flight the next day. Neither of these options were acceptable as we need to be in Cyprus on the Saturday for our post wedding party and in Dublin on the Monday for work, which is why we booked to travel on the Sunday in the first place. When I informed your colleague that these alternatives were not satisfactory, I was simply told there was nothing she could do and that I should look into travelling with alternative airlines. However, with all the Irish operators recently cancelling their flights to and from Cyprus, British Airways are now the only ones offering flights between Dublin and Larnaca (albeit with a connection in London), as I'm sure you're aware.

I should also, as a related side note, mention that, as of this writing, I am aware of at least 3 other couples attending our wedding who were booked on the same 1700 flight and who, I'm sure, are going to be similarly upset with this drastic change to their itinerary and may even now decide against attending our wedding. I have also been informed by my mother that her flight the following day, the 16th of June has been similarly affected. She & my sister will be travelling with a 2 year old toddler, a 2 month old baby and an invalided pensioner and this change is going to cause them no end of inconvenience and stress - something to consider before you decide to arbitrarily cancel flights without providing a suitable alternative in the future.

With all that said, I would like to ask how you propose to get us back to Dublin on the date we have booked and paid you to do so or, failing that, how you would propose to compensate us for either cancelling our after wedding party, for which we would lose our venue deposit, and travelling on the 14th of June, thus ending our wedding week on a very sour note, or for the day's work we would lose and the discomfort we would suffer by waiting in Gatwick airport for you to fly us back to Dublin the next day, as well as the inconvenience of the entire situation.

Please note that stock replies and legalese will not be deemed to be acceptable responses in this matter.

Yours irritably,
<snip>

And this was their unsatisfactory response:

Dear <snip>

Thank you for your email dated 18 December 2013. I am sorry to learn that there have been changes in your flight timings. I understand how annoying it must have been for you and your family. Please accept my sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused to you.

As your query is about an issue prior to travelling, I would be grateful if you could contact your local Reservation centre on 1 890 626 747. Their number can also be found on ba.com. Please give them your booking reference when you speak to them.

This will ensure a speedy response to your issues.

Once again, thank you for contacting us. I hope things get resolved swiftly for you.

Best regards
<snip>

It's as if he didn't even bother reading my e-mail at all! Any suggestions as to what my next course of action should be?

killbillvol2

Ring the number maybe?

veetwin

MeTV wrote: »

Any suggestions as to what my next course of action should be?

Obvious answer would be to ring the number they advised you to ring?

MeTV

I had already done that prior to e-mailing them. One of the reasons for my e-mail was them not providing an adequate solution over the phone.

Canis Lupus

You should probably write them another snippy email. I'm sure the person on the other end will be more than happy to rustle you up a personal boeing 747 to take you where you need to go.

MeTV

Canis Lupus wrote: »

You should probably write them another snippy email. I'm sure the person on the other end will be more than happy to rustle you up a personal boeing 747 to take you where you need to go.

And where exactly did I ask for that, you fool? All I ask for is that they provide the service we've paid for - getting us home here on the Sunday - or compensate us in some way failing that. If you've got nothing helpful to contribute then please keep your trolling to yourself.

billie1b

Your flight isn't cancelled, its rescheduled i'd think, if the times dont suit you your better off just cancelling yourself and rebooking with someone else, due to BA rescheduling the flight you should get a refund on your deposit and full fare, if its paid in full by now. Unfortunately BA cant change the flight times back, it could of been changed for numerous of reasons, slot times being the most common

cml387

BA have changed the flights. They are not going to chnge them back. I would presume they'll pay for a hotel acc. for you. As for any compensation further compensation, I'd doubt it..but no harm trying.

Derek Zoolander

MeTV wrote: »

I had already done that prior to e-mailing them. One of the reasons for my e-mail was them not providing an adequate solution over the phone.

they are covered in the T&C's - not much you can do, cancellation may be nothing to do with BA - luthansa via Frankfurt would be my advice.

P_1

Not a lot you can do really save for cancelling the BA LGW-DUB flight and seeing if another airline will have a LGW-DUB flight after the BA from Cyprus lands

MeTV

billie1b wrote: »

Your flight isn't cancelled, its rescheduled i'd think,

No, it was actually cancelled and we were put on a later flight.

billie1b wrote: »

if the times dont suit you your better off just cancelling yourself and rebooking with someone else,

Not an option, unfortunately. As it stands, BA are the only ones offering flights within our budget between here and Cyprus. Flying with anyone else would mean making our own way to London, running the risk of missing the flight from there if there were any delays and the hassles of dragging the dresses, suits, etc. around with us.

billie1b wrote: »

Unfortunately BA cant change the flight times back, it could of been changed for numerous of reasons, slot times being the most common

I understand that, although begrudgingly so, but they still have a responsibility to provide us with the service paid for; to ensure we can get a flight from London to Dublin on the Sunday.

cml387 wrote: »

I would presume they'll pay for a hotel acc. for you.

Interesting. Will investigate this.

Derek Zoolander wrote: »

luthansa via Frankfurt would be my advice.

Looked into that option when originally booking and it was too expensive, more than twice the price of BA. Also, most of their flights were Dublin-Frankfurt-Athens-Larnaca - the single stopover in London was a tough enough sell to the OH!

billie1b

MeTV wrote: »

No, it was actually cancelled and we were put on a later flight.



Not an option, unfortunately. As it stands, BA are the only ones offering flights within our budget between here and Cyprus. Flying with anyone else would mean making our own way to London, running the risk of missing the flight from there if there were any delays and the hassles of dragging the dresses, suits, etc. around with us.



I understand that, although begrudgingly so, but they still have a responsibility to provide us with the service paid for; to ensure we can get a flight from London to Dublin on the Sunday.



Interesting. Will investigate this.



Looked into that option when originally booking and it was too expensive, more than twice the price of BA. Also, most of their flights were Dublin-Frankfurt-Athens-Larnaca - the single stopover in London was a tough enough sell to the OH!

Have you tried Ryanair from Dub-Stn and Stn-Lca / Stn-Pfo - Dub-Crl Crl-Lca/Pfo, not the greatest but its a couple of options, its how my Aunt gets home to Dublin for xmas from Cyprus

MeTV

billie1b wrote: »

Have you tried Ryanair from Dub-Stn and Stn-Lca / Stn-Pfo - Dub-Crl Crl-Lca/Pfo, not the greatest but its a couple of options, its how my Aunt gets home to Dublin for xmas from Cyprus

Might be going blind but I don't see any flights between Dublin and Cyprus on their site.

billie1b

MeTV wrote: »

Might be going blind but I don't see any flights between Dublin and Cyprus on their site.

No you'd have to go through Stansted or Brussels, I think Barcelona too

MeTV

Ah, I see it now. We'd have to make our own way to Stansted, though, which comes with additional risks and hassles.

billie1b

MeTV wrote: »

Ah, I see it now. We'd have to make our own way to Stansted, though, which comes with additional risks and hassles.

Fly Dublin to STN with Ryanair, if BA are cancelling your flights and not offering anything in return cancel your flights with them, its in the terms and conditions that if the new flight times don't suit you your entitled to a full refund. Take your money away from them, let them suffer, not you and your wife to be. Its a stress free wedding you want for everyone, dont let one airline ruin it for you

cml387

I understand that, although begrudgingly so, but they still have a responsibility to provide us with the service paid for

They are saying they are unable to provide the service.They have fulfilled their responsiblity in that regard. I'm afraid you will have to think of an alternative.
Also, BA do not consider a change of less than 12 hours as a "significant" change which will reduce any compensation due to you.

Yamanoto

I flew LHR-LCA with Aegean last year OP. They're a Star Alliance member, so may be able to ticket you ex-DUB on a single itinerary.

BA also operate on that route, if I remember correctly.

youcancallmeal

MeTV wrote: »

Ah, I see it now. We'd have to make our own way to Stansted, though, which comes with additional risks and hassles.

Doesn't look like you have much choice? BA are only going to give you an apology and a refund. Just fly to Stansted a couple of hours before hand and you should be grand.

delricyo

It looks like you will miss your LGW-DUB flight. Therefore, they have to give you a hotel near LGW as you have booked a through journey with them. Or you can get a refund and see if you can work out a different route.
As you probably know, Ryanair dont book your bags through to the destination. So you have to pick up your bags and check in again at STN when you land there.

Unfortunately, BA do not have to get you back on the Sunday. On the day, the flight could have been delayed a few hours and you would be in the same position. If I were you, id stick with the existing booking. See if they put you up in a decent enough hotel for the night. And take the Monday morning off work

But thats just me !

kerry4sam

I have closed this thread MeTV.

MeTV wrote: »

And where exactly did I ask for that, you fool? All I ask for is that they provide the service we've paid for - getting us home here on the Sunday - or compensate us in some way failing that. If you've got nothing helpful to contribute then please keep your trolling to yourself.

The part above really was the deciding factor. Personal attacks are not tolerated by anyone.
You have received several options above with advice and assistance.

NO more personal attacks on posters! Report the post if you have issues with a post.

Thanks,
kerry4sam