Below are the pertinent excerpts from a conversation with
British Airways Customer Services when requesting reimbursement of hotel costs
caused by BA’s flight arriving late into Miami, leading to a missed connection
out of Miami.
It’s not difficult to spot the (non-customer oriented) policies
that BA are hiding behind, but also the EU Law on delayed flights, which according
to BA, doesn’t apply to this case.
First submission made online on the 26th April 2018:
As you know BA207 was delayed by 2.5 hrs leaving LHR on 4 Apr 2018
which left insufficient time at MIA to connect to AA2699, to Havana. BA ground
staff were insufficient to cope with the 100+ passengers who had missed
connections. When I eventually got to speak with a BA Rep they were unaware I
had a connection because it was a separate booking. They had solely dealt with
same booking connections. I was told " BA had delivered me to Miami &
therefore had met it's requirements". The Rep said we didn't qualify for
any support because the connection was a separate booking. This is unacceptable. BA's contract is to
deliver passengers on time, & if it fails, it is responsible for re-booking
all connections & providing accommodation, if required. The attitude from the Rep was very
disappointing; it clearly said: "We're not taking responsibility, or any
costs, for your situation which we have caused".
I would like to see BA's policy clarified / updated to state that ALL
passengers with onward connections that are missed, whether part of the
booking, or not, will be re-booked at no additional cost, plus accommodation
provided where necessary.
The BA Rep at MIA said we didn't qualify for an accommodation voucher
but phoned the airport hotel and confirmed they had rooms and what the hotel's
distressed passenger rate was. We were given a yellow "voucher" which
turned out to be meaningless when we went to the hotel. In other words, a fob
off, which is very unimpressive.
Consequently I attach the MIA Hotel bill for US$190.97, which came
through as £140.63, for reimbursement from yourselves. A cheque …would be
ideal.
First BA Customer Services response email on 19th May 2018:
Thanks for contacting
us about your and your wife’s delayed flight to Miami on 4 April. I apologise for the delay in my response.
On 1 June 2016,
British Airways amended its policy on allowing customers to check their bags
through to their final destination on separate tickets. Only customers travelling on a single ticket,
or separate tickets included in the same booking, will now be accepted. I’m afraid we no longer accept separate
tickets on different bookings. British
Airways enforce this worldwide.
Any customer with a
separate ticket will now only be checked in to the destination on that ticket,
even if the customer has a connecting flight on another ticket with British
Airways or another oneworld carrier.
Legally speaking, two separate tickets have two separate contracts. British Airways is only responsible for
carrying a customer’s baggage to the destination stated on their ticket. This policy change means the first carrier
isn’t liable for any rebooking or extra costs a customer may have if any of
their flights are disrupted.
This means I’m unable
to reimburse you for your hotel accommodation or any other out of pocket
expenses. I know this isn’t the answer
you were hoping for and I apologise. I
hope you’ll understand we have to be consistent so we’re fair to all of our
customers. This means we can’t make an
exception this time and I’m sorry to let you down. You may be able to make a claim through your
travel insurance. If you need any
documentation to support your claim, please reply to this email using the blue
link below and I’ll happily provide this for you.
Customers who have
booked a through ticket will continue to receive the full benefits, which
include their bags being tagged to their final destination and full assistance
should their journey be disrupted.
British Airways
originally offered to check customers’ bags to their final destination around
10 years ago, when airlines were changing from paper to electronic
tickets. The policy was put in place
because technical limitations at the time were much greater than they are
now. We know some of our customers are
used to interlining on separate bookings.
Unfortunately, British Airways and other oneworld member airlines have
no obligation to provide any services or benefits beyond those specified in the
customer’s ticket rules.
We continually look
for ways to improve manage my booking, and most of the changes we’ve made
happened as a direct result of what our customers told us about. So we’re really grateful you’ve taken the
time to let us know about your experience.
To make sure we can
help you, we have a contact centre set up to deal with your queries. Our team are available from Monday to Friday
08:00 to 20:00 and Saturday and Sunday, 09:00 to 17:15. You can reach them on 0344 493 0787. I understand you feel you should be able to
make all changes online so you don’t have to call our contact centre. Please be assured I have fed this back to our
Web team.
I understand you need
help with your refund query, but I’m afraid our Customer Relations team are
unable to assist you with this. Our
Refunds team are in the best position to help you, as they deal with all refund
queries.
Please call our
Refunds team on 0344 493 0787 (option 3, option 3). Our agents are available 06:00-20:00 and
they’ll be happy to assist you with your refund query. It would be helpful if you could have your
booking reference ready when you call.
I’ve sent a copy of
your email to our Customer Experience team to make them aware of your
feedback. We’re grateful you’ve taken
the time to give us your comments. I
know they’ll value your feedback as it’s only through your comments we’re able
to focus on areas where we need to improve and tailor any changes required.
Thanks again for
getting in touch. We appreciate your
support as Bronze and Blue members of our Executive Club. If there’s anything else I can help you with,
please don’t hesitate to get in touch by using the blue link below. We look forward to welcoming you on board
again soon.
Best regards
NAME WITHELD
British Airways
Customer Relations
Second submission made online on 22nd May 2018:
BA Customer Service email response on 19th May 2018:
"This means I'm unable to reimburse you for your hotel
accommodation or any other out of pocket expenses."
It would appear BA is not aware of the EU Law on delayed &
cancelled flights?
On the 4th April 2018 flight BA207 left Heathrow 2.5 hrs late &
arrived in Miami 2.5 hrs late. In legal
terms BA has not fulfilled its contractual obligations and under EU Law,
"the passenger should keep receipts for expenses and claim from the
airline later."
The late arrival into Miami caused us to miss our connecting flight to
Havana necessitating an overnight stay costing me £140.63 as shown on the
receipt supplied to yourselves in the original complaint.
If you really believe you met your contractual requirements by
delivering passengers into Miami 2.5 hrs behind schedule then I'll get Which?
Legal onto this case and consider posting your responses (including poor
policies & service with respect to passenger's onward connections), on
social media.
It really should not be necessary for me to have to do this. The facts
are clear as is the legal position; so please do the right thing and settle
this claim, right away.
Second BA response received by email on 23rd May 2018:
Thanks for your recent email.
I'm sorry to hear you're unhappy with my response.
I understand you feel we haven't met our contractual requirements and
should reimburse you for your hotel accommodation in Miami. However, your booking with us ended in Miami,
therefore our duty of care also ended.
As previously mentioned, I'm unable to reimburse you for your
hotel. I've gone through your case
thoroughly with my manager and I'm afraid our response won't be changing.
I realise how disappointing this must be as it's clear you expected
more from us and I can only apologise.
You may be able to make a claim through your travel insurance.
Thanks again for getting in touch.
If there's anything else I can help you with, please don't hesitate to
get in touch by using the blue link below.
We look forward to welcoming you on board again soon.
Best regards
NAME WITHELD
British Airways Customer Relations
