It seems British Airways is slowly relaxing their chaotic voucher only refund system after passengers had their flights cancelled though customers still have to call in to receive their money back.
Getting a hold of British Airways can still prove to be a challenge and it often requires trying several times and different hotlines to get an agent on the line.
British Airways sent out an email on Thursday to its Executive Club members in the UK and also released an inspirational video.
The airline has been quiet about Executive Club tier renewals, unlike its counterparts in North America, that have simply extended everyone’s status by a year.
British Airways announced the other week (read more here) about what it was doing now for Executive Club members due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The airline is giving tier points enough to retain status for three months for members whose membership year was about to end (BA uses rolling year). This, however, is not enough considering that many airlines such as United (read more here), Delta (read more here), and Air Canada (read more here) are extending everyone by a year.
As Japan is likely going to declare a State of Emergency following the sharp rise of Covid-19 cases on the weekend, British Airways has decided to cancel their flights to Japan from Wednesday, April 8th.
The last British Airways flight will leave Tokyo on April 7th after which there will be a period without BA flight connection, likely depending on the government regulation.
It’s no secret that airlines are under heavy pressure to cut costs right now and according to media reports British Airways is expected to soon announce the suspension of at least 36,000 employees.
The carrier is currently in talks with the respective unions but there is little hope nor option to avoid this step as BA just like many carriers has grounded the majority of it’s fleet and suspended most flights.
British Airways has decided to consolidate all its flights to London Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5 suspending operations at Gatwick and moving flights over from Terminal 3.
The London City Airport (LCY) is closed through the end of April (BA had flights there too), and BA’s competitor EasyJet has decided to ground its fleet indefinitely (read more here).
British Airways has silently made another cut to their schedule and started to pull their remaining services to Hong Kong, Singapore and the continuation to Sydney from early April onward.
The airline had already reduced services to various destinations in Asia including Hong Kong but now something must have motivated them to pull the plug entirely.
British Airways Executive Club has been slow at responding to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on the loyalty program side.
The airline is lowering qualification requirement by 30% for those whose tier point collection year ends in April, May, and June. Also, expiring certificates are extended by six months.
British Airways announced back in September 2016 (read more here) that the airline would discontinue complimentary food and beverage on short-haul from economy class passengers effective January 11, 2017.
The Buy-On-Board (BOB) had a very rocky start (read more here) and hasn’t quite worked well with insufficient catering to slowing down the process (incapable of serving the plane due to flight time).
British Airways doesn’t get a lot of positive exposure these days and to a large degree the reasons for that are home made as the current experience with trying to get flights cancelled is yet another example.
Customers have been complaining for weeks that they can’t properly cancel and refund their flights anymore with the airline refusing to refund the cash value even if they themselves cancelled the flight.
British Airways pilots are facing a 50% salary cut for the coming three months after a management decision about the future and longevity of the company in the current crisis.
Sharp edged detail as reported by various news sources: British Airways top executives such as IAG chairman Willie Walsh will take a pay cut of just 20% in the same period, the airline chiefs including British Airways CEO Alex Cruise haven’t made public how much of their salary they’ll sacrifice.
Today’s Airfare of the Day goes to American Airlines and their business class up-sell round trip fares between London and San Francisco.
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British Airways has launched a new Avios sale for Executive Club members at a 50% bonus that is valid through March 22, 2020.
Executive Club has capped the number of Avios that one can purchase any calendar year before any bonuses at 100,000, but the limit has been lifted during this sale to 200,000 (max 300K with bonus).
British Airways is offering one-way fares for stranded Flybe, a UK airline that went bust early this morning (read more here), passengers and free for Flybe employees trying to get back to base.
There is a list of valid to/from destinations within the UK and Europe. The price of a one-way flight is 50 GBP plus taxes and fees including a checked bag.
