In late 2021, Mark and his wife from San Diego were scheduled to fly home from Split, Croatia via London and Dallas on British Airways premium economy, but missed their connection. They were rebooked in economy on Virgin Atlantic and after two years of attempts to get a refund, were finally told they had agreed to a downgrade in December 2023, which he denies. There is. (In any case, both Lev and Radchenko said it shouldn't matter.)
I finally received $746 from British Airways earlier this week. But the full cost of the original round-trip itinerary (two tickets from San Diego to Ljubljana, Slovenia, and back from Croatia) was $5,821, making it unlikely that the refund would account for 75% of the premium economy transatlantic ticket. . British Airways admitted that it calculated the fare difference without using parameters set by the British government, but gave me no explanation as to why.
A year later, Cynthia and her partner found themselves in a similar situation when, on their way back to Los Angeles, they missed their British Airways premium economy connection in London and ended up flying economy. They had booked through a travel agent, who unsuccessfully tried to get a refund. Then Cynthia hits a brick wall when she tries herself. She has not yet received a refund.
In the third British Airways incident, David and his wife from Carmel, New York, had booked first class from London to New York, but their flight was canceled. On the rebooked flight, I was downgraded to the equivalent of business class. Their initial request for a refund was rejected by someone who almost comically misread their complaint, replying that they were not entitled to compensation because their flight had arrived only “18 minutes late.” I then called customer service and nothing was resolved. And even after I contacted the airline, another representative wrote the couple a letter with absurd content. I was not entitled to a refund because, “According to our investigation, your last flight was in first class, so there is no downgrade.” There is a refund deadline for your reservation. ” (Their boarding passes prove otherwise.)
British Airways finally refunded the couple $1,036 last Saturday. But since the original fare in first class (and the short return trip from Amsterdam to London) were both just under $10,000, that probably means a round-trip ticket from London to New York would cost closer to $5,000 total. To do. Again, British Airways said it calculated the difference in fare rather than the appropriate percentage of the original fare. I advised David to consider the British Civil Aviation Authority's guidance on rejected claims.