Frequently Asked Questions

2. How do I make a claim for lost or damaged luggage?

The most up to date information is on the British Airways Lost and damaged baggage page.

3. British Airways Customer Relations won't respond and/or aren't taking my claim seriously. What can I do?

From a practical point of view, and maybe by design, BA's "customer service" department may as well be non existent. Even if you do have the stamina to stay in the phone queues long enough and get in contact with a real person, their standard operating procedure seems to be to wear claimants down until they give up on their claim.

@ba__sucks on hold with @British_Airways YOU SUCK pic.twitter.com/E9VeQp4y2K

— SERENY SAYS (@serenysays) March 9, 2016

Once reasonable attempts at a claim through the BA Customer Relations department have failed, and assuming you have documented your attempts, consider submitting a claim through the small claims court (or similar). This hurts BA as contesting the claim presumably costs BA hundreds of pounds an hour in legal services (whether they are successful or not) and not contesting the claim means you will likely receive a settlement. Using the small claims court, you represent yourself and the cost to submit a claim is minimal.

Alternatively, submit a claim via the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution. The CEDR independently resolves disputes between passengers and subscribing airlines including British Airways and successful claims are certainly possible and maybe simpler this way.

Calling BA out on social media might also help especially if you are famous or have a large following.

I am not a lawyer and you should consult a legal professional qualified to advise you on your exact situation.

4. How long do I have to make a claim?

According to the December 2015 version of the BA "General Conditions of Carriage for Passengers and Baggage":

• 16 (b) Complaints about damage to checked baggage must be made in writing within seven days of receiving the baggage
• 16 (c) Complaints about delay to checked baggage must be made in writing within 21 days of the baggage being made available to you
• 17 Actions for damages must be brought within two years

It looks like the statute of limitations in England is six years so a court may have a different view about how long you have to make a claim.

I am not a lawyer and you should consult a legal professional qualified to advise you on your exact situation.

5. In which jurisdiction should a claim be made?

According to the December 2015 version of the "BA Website Terms and Conditions":

Your use of this website, any Material accessed or downloaded from it and the operation of these Terms and Conditions and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with such matters, their subject matter or formation (including but not limited to non-contractual disputes or claims) shall be governed by, construed and interpreted in accordance with the laws of England and Wales and You agree to submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.

The BA "General Conditions of Carriage for Passengers and Baggage" does not seem to have an equivalent clause but your ticket or other supplied documents may do.

I am not a lawyer and you should consult a legal professional qualified to advise you on your exact situation.

6. Can I submit a claim from outside the UK?

It seems that you must be resident in the UK to pursue a legal claim in the UK or at least have a UK address for the service of documents.

I am not a lawyer and you should consult a legal professional qualified to advise you on your exact situation.

7. BA are telling me I should claim against another airline who operated the flight instead of BA?

You should probably claim against the party you had a contract with. If BA then wish to make a claim against their sub-contractor they are entitled to do so but this has nothing to do with you.

I am not a lawyer and you should consult a legal professional qualified to advise you on your exact situation.

8. British Airways are a pain to deal with. Where else can I make a claim?

There are two avenues where you may be able to recover some or all of your money if your airline ticket was purchased using your credit card.

1. Travel Insurance

Many credit cards have basic Travel Insurance included "for free". Depending on the circumstances, you may be able to submit a claim. Ask your credit card company for details.

2. Refund for a product or service that was not delivered

I'm not sure if this applies in every jurisdiction but you can often claim back money for a product or service that you paid for with your credit card if the product or service was not delivered.

In the UK, this is known as a "Section 75 refund".

9. I became sick after flying with British Airways. What can I do?

You may be suffering from aerotoxic syndrome. See http://www.toxicfreeairlines.com for the latest information.

10. I'm really angry at British Airways. What can I do to make them suffer?

One suggestion was emailed to me recently as follows:

I've been driven to my wits end by the morons on the phone at BA. I've got something that all readers of your web site can do to help get some 'payback' from BA. I've been searching for other travel on my pc and because I've flown on BA in the past, ads for BA come up on Google Chrome. I clock on every ad, which may end up costing BA anywhere from about a quarter to $10 for each click-through. I'd really like you to suggest this to your readers- that we all keep doing this. It's not going to get me back the money that BA cheated me out of, but it helps. I really hate BA!!!

Even though the "Click fraud Wikpedia article" seems to suggest small scale click fraud mostly goes undetected, I can't endorse this as it seems to be illegal.