I bought some flights tickets in September 2019. I subsequently upgraded those tickets in January 2020. In April 2021 BA cancelled the flights and refunded everything other than a supposed '£300 per person change fee'. BA never told me about this when I booked the upgrade. Also, why should I pay a 'change fee' for a service which was never provided? Despite various people at BA saying I would receive it, I didn't. So I took them through the small claims court. BA didn't turn up to the hearing - their barristers at 3 Hare Court did - but they had an abysmal case and lost. The Court ruled that BA had a exhibited a total failure of consideration and repudiated the contract.

Small Claims Court is a great tool for consumers. Don't be afraid to use it.

Thanks for the feedback! I wish there were more stories like this.

Hi guys, not the most interesting post but wondering if there's any advice for me on this.

I had a long haul flight booked on sunday, but due to a delay in my COVID test results, at the last minute I had to change the booking to wednesday. I was charged £133 for the change. Literally within 15 mins, my test results came through, and I called BA. They informed me that I would have to rebook my original ticket at an additional cost of £70. So I basically paid over £200 to rebook the ticket I'd had 30 mins prior. They have declined my request for a refund twice. Should I push harder?

They cancelled my flights and I can't even get through on the telephone to them for a refund to book with another airline. I don't have the funds to do so unless I get my money back off British Airways, can only get a shitty voucher online which is no good to me. Absolute robbing bastards they are it's got to be illegal what they are doing and will all come out in the end should be boycotted by everyone.

We booked a package holiday through BA and have just had the most awful and upsetting experience.

Firstly we booked for disability assistance for myself - I have RA and Fibromyalgia and for our sons who both have autism and anxiety- we did not receive assistance and on arrival at MCO we had a 3 1/2 hour wait for our vehicle, my feet were swollen and painful and our sons were very agitated we received no explanation and when we finally got the vehicle it was filthy we had to clean the windows and mirrors so it could be driven safely.

We were then put in a lower standard of accommodation than we have paid for, we paid for executive plus and were put in executive it was filthy and the beds not fit for purpose, the shower rail was not fitted correctly and fell on my elderly mothers head - she did not touch it.

After days of contacting BA they finally agreed to move us to the correct standard of villa during the rush and the move the van door slammed on our sons hand breaking his finger and thumb not directly BA or Ocean Florida’s (BA use this company for villas on package holidays) but had we been in the correct villa there is a high chance this would not have happened.

We missed multiple park days which were paid for in advance due to my swollen feet, phone calls with BA and Ocean, Moving villas and on top of that Hospital appointments.

On our return our other son was sick on board the aircraft and left with a full bag of vomit for over 2 hours in fact he left it on the floor when we got off the plane, request for drinks were ignored and when we got off the aircraft no wheelchair! They had misplaced it which left us waiting around for over an hour, since being home BA and Ocean have been unsympathetic and rude!

We have an offer of compensation but it’s no where near what we deserve for what can only be described as a disaster.

2019 started out with a momentous life changing revelation for me. I had taken a DNA test half hoping I would be able to confirm the identify of my father who I had never known. I am 73 and had not until now been particularity interested in the matter but life is getting shorter. In any event I didn't confirm my parentage, I revealed an entirely new revelation. It was this massive revelation that took me to America and my brothers I never knew about nor they of me.

So my return from the emotional roller coaster was to be a treat to me and my partner. However this return flight in World Traveller Plus was to be without doubt, the worst flight I have ever taken with any airline in the last 50 years including military flights to and from the Middle East. My partner and I paid extra for the return flight in World Traveller Plus so that we could enjoy a more relaxed and comfortable flight at the end of a short and emotional trip the the USA to meet my newly found half brother.

Everything started to go wrong the moment we arrived in the WT+ cabin and were unable to be seated together despite there being spare seats vacant in the cabin. This made us wonder just why we should be expected to pay EXTRA for an allocated seat when we have already paid a premium price to fly? Yes, I do understand how this happens but I did wonder if the cabin crew could have done something to help and they didn't and didn't seem interested in offering to.

Our flight outbound from the UK to Washington DC was in basic World Traveller (economy) and was comfortable. The return, in World Traveller Plus, was intended as a “luxury”. By comparison in our economy flight we received a steady flow of water and soft drinks and our meal was better than we had expected it to be, even for my partner who is a vegetarian. It was fortunate that we had the foresight to purchase seats for our outbound flight and were perfectly happy with the remote location at the rear of the aircraft combined with the excellent service we received from the cabin crew.

However, on our disastrous return flight from Denver, at the end of an emotional meeting with a brother who I had just found and was meeting for the first time, finding ourselves in an aircraft that had clearly seen better days was a crushing disappointment.

The cabin and seating was grubby and in need of considerable maintenance to the seats, the video display, the remote control handset was dirty and worn out and one of my armrests came off as it was only held down with double sided tape.

My partner’s vegetarian meal was poor, a perfectly good and suitable salad that came with the standard meal, she was mistakenly served with, was taken away from her and replaced for some reason with one that was barely edible and lacked the ingredients that were present in the salad that was removed. The pasta dish we both ended up having was a cloying glutinous mass to eat. The meal that I wished to select from the menu was unavailable by the time I was served, which was very unsatisfactory and the excuse that not all meals can be loaded, was weak. The cabin crew were utterly disinterested and simply smiled sweetly at me as if I was an imbecile.

This flight was bad in so many ways that I am unable to give a clear description of my complete and utter disappointment with BA given the amount of money we are expected to write off. To make matters worse we were so cramped and unable to adjust seats satisfactorily due to luggage under seats neither of us was able to sleep during the entire return journey to the UK. Nor did we receive sufficient fluids during the flight as we had done on our outbound journey.

To be honest, we feel as if we have been robbed and wish, with the benefit of hindsight, we had not bothered to pay a premium price for a substandard service from BA, who are supposed to be one of the world’s leading airlines. The whole purpose of paying for World Traveller Plus was to ensure we could enjoy a relaxed flight home after an emotional visit to my new brother. Let me be clear, it did not meet that single aim and It has shattered our faith in BA and made it certain we will not ever book a flight with BA at any time in the future, as they have badly let us down.

So I complained, on line as is the only way, short of writing to BA and this is a transcript of their replies. I can't provide my complaint as entered on line as BA conveniently, do not reproduce it in their replies.

**** Initial response to my complaint from BA on 4/11/2019

Dear XXXXX

We’re very sorry that you and your partner had some problems with your flight from Denver on 28 October.  This isn’t what you should expect of us, and we understand why you needed to complain.

Thank you for letting us know - please rest assured that your feedback has made a difference and that we’re working on fixing these kinds of problems.  We’d also like to thank you for your patience while we replied to you.

I’ve arranged a combine eVoucher for £100.00 as an apology.  I've included your eVoucher details below with a link to some helpful information about how you can use it:

• eVoucher number: xxxx

• Name: xxxx

• Value: £100.00

• Expiry: 04/11/2020  NB: This expires the same day as offered!

If you have any questions about how to use this eVoucher, or for the Terms and Conditions, please go to: www.ba.com/evoucher

Once again, please accept our apologies for your experience on this trip.  We hope to welcome both of you back on board soon.

Best regards

Harpreet Taur
British Airways Customer Relations

Your case reference is: nnnnnnnn

**** I rejected this and reiterated my complaints and received this on the 5/11/2019 and I pointed out that they had not addressed my list of complaints (as I have described in my letter.

So, Harpreet Taur, did exactly that.. batted away each point.

Dear XXXX

Many thanks for coming back to us. I'm concerned to learn how disappointed you have become with our service. I understand after reading your emails how disheartened you feel that we have allowed our standards to slide. 

We know being able to choose your seat is an important part of your journey, whether you pay in advance or wait until selection is free, as we want you to be as comfortable as possible in the air. I realise on this occasion it was very disappointing both of you didn’t get your preferred seat. It isn’t always possible to move you on a busy flight, and we can never guarantee a particular seat to customers. We ask our staff members to try and find another seat you’ll be happy with when we’ve had to do this and I’m sorry we weren’t able to do this for you.

I can imagine how you must have felt when our staff seemed to be unprofessional and unconcerned towards your request. I know this is not the kind of service you would expect from British Airways. 

We fully acknowledge we need to improve our performance in the way we deal with any queries our customers have. This includes looking at our customer care too, as we want to offer a consistently polite and thoughtful service across our business.

I understand you’re unhappy with the quality of our food served to you on your flight especially as you were travelling in our World Traveller Plus cabin.  We know how important our meal service is to our customers, especially on such a long flight.

Our menus in World Traveller Plus are refreshed every month and we include dishes our customers tell us they enjoy. All meals we serve in our World Traveller Plus cabin are freshly prepared and we use locally sourced and seasonal ingredients wherever possible. We’ve also introduced menu cards along with three entrée options, which are of Club World style and standard and presented on china crockery. I’m disappointed to hear we didn’t meet your expectations, as we normally get very good feedback about our catering. 

I would like to thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. I want to reassure you that your feedback is taken seriously. Your email is a meaningful indicator of how our most valued customers are feeling. 

Thanks again for getting in touch with us and I hope you’ve found the above information helpful. We appreciate your support and I hope we can welcome both of you on board again soon. Please feel free to contact me directly by using the blue link below if I can help you with anything else.

Harpreet Taur, British Airways Customer Relations

**** I responded to this on the 5/11/2019 emphasising that their response to my complaints was inadequate.

They have not replied since the 5th November. I did try to call Customer Service only to hear a recorded message saying they were too busy to take calls and I should use the on line system!

I am not looking into making a claim under the Consumer Protection Act to see if I can get some recompense.

Five days after arrival in Italy without Luggage!!

British Airways lost my bag at Heathrow.

They finally found it, got it to Rome, and turned it over to a courier more than 72 hours ago.

The BA-Lost Luggage number has been disconnected. No one answers the the phone from the courier service that BA hired to deliver my bag and the website for that courier doesn’t function.

BA Customer Service doesn’t answer their posted phone number - or the primary one or the one for Italy.

This is AWFUL! Will NEVER use them again!

(The bag tracer number is FCOBA25091).

Flying back from Catania, Sicily to Gatwick last Monday June 17th,
BA 2595 the absolute minimum of leg space, quite a lot tighter than Ryanair or Easyjet.

By the time the drinks trolley got to me in row 18 there was no white wine left to purchase! A person in the row behind asked for a G&T only to be told they had run out of tonic water! And they still had ten rows to go behind me! Yuk!

British Airways sucks!

At least their competitors mentioned above are able to provide a full bar service.

So it's never again if I have any choice! Bye-bye B.A.

I would be extremely grateful for any quick replies to this query as the CEDR adjudication date is upon us in a few days and BA have only now just submitted a number of documents in their defence despite several months of completely ignoring us. As such I have to submit my final response this Sunday (24/02).

To summarise, for our return flight Barbados-Gatwick (November 2018) we prepaid for selected seats at the very rear corner of the aircraft as we knew it was an overnight flight and specifically selected these seats in order that they wouldn't inevitably be bumped from behind as there were no rows behind us. Despite physically selecting the above described seats in the aircraft seating configuration plan (I mean it must be impossible to make a mistake) we eventually learned on boarding the aircraft that we had not been allocated the seating that we had clicked on.

We received an email confirmation for the additional monies paid for these seats at, or near the time of selection, however never thought to check the seat numbers contained in the email (a mistake we will never make again). Because the process is so simple and it’s nigh on impossible to click on the wrong seats we didn’t think to check the email receipt and confirm that we had been allocated our chosen seats. It was only on boarding the actual aircraft and observing other passengers on our chosen seats that the issue became apparent.

In any case, when we eventually found and checked the seating receipt email, lo and behold we discovered that we had never been allocated the actual seats that we had clicked on. As I say I personally believe that it is practically impossible to select the wrong seats on being presented with the plan view of an aircraft – I am a former engineer and interpreting the seating plan is hardly demanding. The only explanation that I can arrive at, is that the aircraft that was used for the actual flight had a different seating configuration to the aircraft plan that we selected our seats from. The only other option is that British Airways had double booked our selected seats and just allocated us something nearby.

I would be extremely grateful to receive any confirmation of similar experience(s) or any thoughts or advice.

Many Thanks.

I have heard horror stories but never knew it will be my turn soon.

On my Trip back to London from Accra, Ghana, when I got to my seat, water was dripping on my seat. When I asked to be re-seated, I was told the plane was full and I had no option but to sit on the wet seat. I was given two blankets, one to cover the wet seat and the other to cover myself and paper towels to clean dripping water. The water continued dripping and got worse during take-off and for about two hours into the flight.

When I got back and complained, I was asked to send in my dry cleaners bill. How patronizing and insulting. To make matters worse, some items in my luggage also got lost.

Its high time we all make a stand. I paid good money and expect good service. This is an airline we were all once proud to fly with. Their services have become so appalling, its unbelievable.

My wife and I booked Premium Economy seats on a British Airways (BA) Heathrow-to-Chicago flight because our travel "day" was going to last 30 hours if all went well. Upon boarding, she reported her seat as malfunctioning. Flight attendants attempted to repair it but failed, and no other seat was available. The attendants promised that BA would compensate her if she reported the malfunction when she arrived in Chicago, but upon arrival she found no BA staff, so she sent an email. In response, British Airways offered her a limited-time-use BA eVoucher for £10. When she rejected it as an insignificant sum compared to what she'd paid for a reclining seat, they offered her an eVoucher for £20, saying that it would be unfair to other passengers to offer her more. Eventually she submitted the matter to the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR), who accepted her claim and referred it for adjudication. British Airways claimed 1) that since payment for the full set of flights in our itinerary was made to American Airlines, then BA had no contract with us and couldn't be held liable, and 2) that even if they were, the contract is for carriage only, not for amenities, and that they owed my wife nothing. The adjudicator ruled that the matter actually didn't fall under the Montreal Convention 1999 and that, apparently, the CEDR erred in accepting the complaint. A letter to the BA CEO was never answered. In the end, neither airline would accept responsibility. Thus BA pocketed a hefty sum for something they did not actually provide. We will avoid British Airways henceforth, as they have shown themselves to be dishonest.

With a "Stumpenfuhrer" marching up and down every few seconds eagle-eyeing if all our seat belts were fastened and (minus a whip) harshly chastising anyone whose was not or indeed any slight infraction of any little rule, praising the well-dressed and well-suited economy travelers as a shining example to the rest of us sluts, I couldn't help but remember exactly why it is I rarely travel on BA - except in extreme emergencies (!)

Ah yes! As I recalled several years ago, "the clone of Stumpenfuhrer" was marching up and down this very aisle barking orders (in the most polite of manners!) and our ears pricked up as we listened in terror to the heavy stump of her exact march - to check for any infraction of the Rules.

My neighbour to the left was a well-suited individual who "disappeared" in mid-flight for such a long time that I remarked to him on his return that I thought he had "got off" the plane - without letting the rest of us know (!) We had a good laugh (!)

As the beverages trolley passed by I almost missed it cause I had lightly fallen asleep.

I had the temerity to call back the trolley just as it passed to be greeted with the grunt:

"I rarely miss a thing! ; funny I missed your request for service?" to which I replied politely "well, ahem, I was asleep". To which I got another 'grunt-nod' of disapproval (!)

I politely asked for a bottle of carbonated water.

"We don't take cash!, she pounced as I whipped out my 10 euronote - then quickly replaced it and, with a terrified heavily-shaking hand, handed over a debit card - praying I would retrieve both my card (and my hand!) when the transaction had completed (!)

Because I recently had a foot injury I requested to be last off the plane so as not to hold up the other passengers as I hobbled along at one foot an hour (!)

(I think she must have then phone through to the Gorilla at border security cause when I hobbled there - the last to arrive - about half an hour late - she too gave me a disapproving look and says "where have ye flown in from?" I gruffly said something about "Heathrow" - and departed in a huff!)

So that was my total flight experience with BA.

As usual, a journey as ever to remember (!)

At least when I finally hobbled onto the Airlink Bus to the City centre I had a good banter and laugh with a "normal" people (!) and the rest of my brief stay was placid (!)

It happened that I returned on Ryan Air - always a joy to fly with, at the very least, cheerful and considerate on-board staff - to all customers suit or no suit (!)

Never a dull moment traveling with BA (!)

Pat14

Dear God why does BA exist? My wife and I recently paid for two business class tickets from Sydney to London with a side trip to Corfu and Edinburgh - costing close to $20,000 AUD.

The day before we departed they sent me a text advising they had cancelled our flights ex SYD - their alternative flights were a day later in economy - WTF ??. Thankfully after 6.5 hrs our travel agent managed to get us on Cathay.

We duly arrived in Edinburgh but without wife's bag. Eight (8) days later, approx 30 calls to their lost baggage call centre in India they weren't sure where the bag was - despite me advising them Cathay had it arriving at Heathrow. Finally back in LHR before we flew to Corfu my wife found her bag amongst hundreds of other "lost" bags.

During this whole nightmare BA did nothing until I emailed their CEO This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - they still did nothing other than advise we would be compensated for the replacement clothes and suitcase (her bag was destroyed). So the legal minimum was all they offered and refused to upgrade us as I asked in lieu of wasted days on the phone, tears and relentless anxiety.

What a useless and revolting airline. Never fly BA.

Landed in Dublin from the US with no luggage. I've now been here 6 days still with no luggage and no updates.

Customer service does not exist - the number goes to India who transfers me to a phone number that just rings and rings and rings. I have spent half of my trip on the phone trying to reach anyone to help me, buying clothing and sundry items (not to mention a prescription I badly need.)

This has been a disaster and they have ruined my vacation. How do you lose a huge hard side piece of luggage? HOW?!

On my way to Bucharest I had 2 bags, my handbag and shopping from the duty free. When I arrived to board one person called Holly told me I can only have 2 BAGS INCLUDING DUTY FREE and hand bag. This Holly continued “and this is generous”. Are you guys serious?? Even RyanAir which is one of the worst airlines around allows duty free shopping.  Instead of making business travellers feel welcome you scare them. There are other airlines flying on these route even if there are stop overs and I can chose easily another.

The seats are ever so uncomfortable and the space between rows could not be any smaller (and I am an UK size 10). The seat’s arms do not lift. You either skimmed on money when you puchased the aircraft or you have done it on purpose as God forbid one can feel comfortable on a 3.5 hrs trip!

In the airport I have stayed in the queue for 45 MINUTES!!! At the “business queue”. I arrived at the airport 3 hrs before. By the time I got through the security it was over 1.5 hrs. I then rushed through duty free and there was literally no time to go up 2 floors go to business lounge. You should be ashamed of yourselves for making business customers queque for so long. It’s almost a tactic to ensure they never make it to the lounge for refreshments as that way you save money, right?

I do not know which direction BA is going, but it’s not a good one. People are choosing you because of the reputation you once had. If now you copy the likes of Ryanair not only you damage the brand but you also make people actually go to Ryanair rather than copycats.

My baggage is missing because I was given the wrong baggage tag by one of the BA staff at the check in, which makes the tracing of my baggage so difficult. 

Even worse is their customer service, I have been phoning them in overseas phone rates. Last week, one of the staff who answered this number said a match was found and I was told to call back again in 24 hours to double check. I called in and was told the checking has been taking place and I need to call in again. I called today at 8:53 and was told the match was not correct and he said "BA did everything we can". He hung up on me when I was questioning how is it possible that "BA did everything BA can" when it was BA staff who gave me the wrong tag and I have been the one who have to call back several times when BA was not doing the job I was promised... The whole experience is NOT acceptable. 

I called BA today and they told me they consider the bag is lost and they will not keep looking for it!!! BA sucks!!! I will never take their flight and I will strongly advise my relatives, friends and people who see the webpage not to as well!!!

I, from an inside view point, understand that problems happen within the airline Industry. But it is how you resolve them that counts.

On a recent weekend break to Frankfurt booked on BA, I was shocked how shabby the planes were. BA cancelled our return journey and we were unable to get through on the phone and their website crashed. Which left us to book additional accommodation etc. etc.

Finally managed to accept a return flight the following day on my phone App. BA lost our luggage, still haven't found it a week later - but the Indian call centre (when you can get through) were very helpful in telling us three different versions of where our luggage was and when we would get it - today they admitted they just don't know.

Bye Bye BA, I am another that will bid farewell to ever crossing your cabin door again.

I traveled from Hong Kong to LHR on BA in bsuiness class. During the flight my suitcase was damaged. I filed the complaint upon arrival at LHR.

It's been over a month and i finally got contacted by BA, after having hounded them for weeks. I have now been told that a like for like replacement of my previously awesome, but now broken Burton bag was not an option. Instead, I will be issued a replacement bag by Rynns luggage - who also BTW suck... havent heard from them either.

So much for customer service. i am a One World Emerald Member which seems to mean nothing to them - and truthfully shouldn't impact their customer service - but does with other airlines.

i traveled in a premium cabin, but again this seems to matter very little.

I have now decided to boycott BA and no longer fly with them, and will go as far as avoiding them on code share flights. i have been "BA'd" one too many times

My wife and I flew BA from Orlando, Florida to Edinburgh. Our tickets required us to bus from Gatwick to Heathrow for the connection. This was a problem for my wife, as her knees were giving her fits. So we explained to the ticket agent in Orlando that we wanted to change to a connecting flight out of Gatwick, which we booked and paid for.

Unfortunately, the agent failed to cancel us out of the Heathrow to Edinburgh flight, so when we didn't show, BA cancelled our return tickets to the US. On top of this, they didn't bother to provide us with any notice of this cancellation. So the first we found out that our tickets were cancelled was the day before the return, when we attempted to check in for the flight. Even then we didn't get a straightforward message on the web site, but just a note that we had already taken the flight. So we called BA customer service. The first CS agent told us that our flight was being cancelled because of weather, but he would get us on a flight in two or three days. We told him that we knew the flight wasn't being cancelled because of weather, and that we couldn't wait several days to get home. He told us to just go to the airport and let the gate agents sort it out.

Since we had already been lied to, we decided not to trust his advice, so I drove to Edinburgh to talk to a CS rep in person. This person eventually figured out that our tickets had been cancelled. She advised that we would need to purchase new tickets for the flight the next day at a cost of about US$3500, roughly twice the cost of our original round trip tickets. When I asked if there was a supervisor that we could speak with, she told me that there was a supervisor on duty, but that he wouldn't want to talk with me.

On checking the Conditions of Carriage, there is a specific provision that states that BA will not cancel subsequent flights if you cancel a leg prior to the check in time for the flight. So after buying tickets on another airline to get home, I again contacted BA Customer Service. They told me that they had checked with their legal staff and that since I had not cancelled 24 hours in advance, they could not reimburse me for the other tickets we had purchased. I once again reviewed the Conditions of Carriage, which clearly states that BA will not cancel subsequent legs of a flight if cancellation occurs prior to check in. There is a separate provision regarding refunds, which was not relevant. They then offered to refund the taxes and fees from the original tickets, but not reimburse us for the second tickets that we were forced to purchase. I explained to them that under the contract (conditions of carriage) even a refund of taxes would only be made if there was a cancellation prior to check in. But by that point the CS rep was speechless and powerless to correct this mess.

I am still trying to decide whether I will sue BA for breach of contract. Under Florida law, I would need to file the lawsuit in south Florida, where their corporate business address is registered. This is about 200 miles from my home, so even a claim in small claims court would require me to make several 8 hour round trip drives. What else can you do when a corporation like BA screws you?

Hi Jeff, you can probably submit a claim via the CEDR. If you paid by credit card, another option might be to have your bank reverse the transaction which is reasonable when you have paid for a service you did not receive.

Having gone through the experience of trying to use my AVIOs miles, and then having gone through the internet and found the number of people disgusted with British Airways, I think we need to have a more organized approach to blackballing this airline.

Although these internet sites (British Airways sucks, We hate BA etc) are great for venting, perhaps what we need is for crowdsourcing (1 Euro or pound per disgusted ex customer) and then using the money to buy advertisements in major newspapers to let the public know about this sham of an airline.

Are other people interested in advancing this action?

Flight BA 869 (July 26-27, 2017) was delayed overnight in Budapest. BA did nothing to help with hotel reservations (which were difficult enough for a local person because the World Swimming Championships were taking place, but virtually impossible for a non-local). No food vouchers were arranged, nor any support offered.

Contrast this with the service which Air Berlin gave to its passengers who were also stranded that night. These German passengers told me that their airline had taken care of hotel reservations, transport to and from the hotel, and food, while BA's Hungarian agent just gave us a single sheet of paper at around 22.00hrs setting out what incurred disruption expenses we would be entitled to claim back, and telling us to report back the next day to the airport for a flight (BA 867) at 13.15hrs, which happened to be already fully booked. Surely, BA had a duty of care to its passengers, some of whom were visibly distressed, but instead we were simply abandoned at the airport late at night in a city where the chances of finding accommodation that night would be low.

Flight BA 869 was reclassified from cancelled to delayed overnight, and by the time we finally landed at Heathrow at 19.10hrs the next day, over 22 hours late, all I had been offered since arriving at Budapest airport 25 hours earlier, was a glass of water on the plane, and it had not even been possible to buy food on the plane. I had been extremely lucky to find a hotel, but this was due to my own connections rather than any help from BA’s agents.

Until I boarded the plane 22 hours after our scheduled boarding time, I had not had a single sighting of a BA employee, because BA had outsourced its representation in Budapest to a ground service agent, which represents many airlines, and which did not appear to be authorised to take any decisions with respect to passenger well-being. Even the customer service telephone line, which I called overnight because I couldn't confirm which flight I had actually been rebooked on, was answered from an outsourced service in India. Outsourcing so many aspects of customer service may save costs, but it is a dangerous strategy when customer service is supposed to be one BA’s core selling points, and it certainly did not work for me.

Once the flight had taken off, the BA cabin staff (who were charming and upbeat) promised that a BA management representative would meet us at our Heathrow arrival gate with food vouchers, but, true to form, no one showed up. During the whole of the 24-hour ordeal, I did not see a single BA representative before finally boarding the flight. I have flown several times a month for the past 30 years (I am an international lecturer on strategy and valuation), and, although you may call me lucky, I have never been exposed to such a lack of support and service (and that includes many flights on so-called 3rd world airlines).

I have no problem with an airline messing up; we all mess up from time to time. However, it is what you do next that is important, and BA simply abandoned us late at night in Budapest with absolutely no support for nearly 24 hours before it managed to get us on to another plane.

If the recent stories of people being denied compensation by BA are true, I presume that I shall struggle to get any compensation for incurred expenses or delays, but that is not the point, and I have already as good as written off any hope of proper restitution to experience. However, BA could have turned the delay into an opportunity to impress future customers with some helpful action, and they failed to do so. This failure comes from the top.

BA's treatment of its passengers in this instance was nothing short of deplorable, and I shall be flying ABBA from now on.

Hi Stephen, It's pretty clear to me also that "This failure comes from the top". When IAG / British Airways senior management include a "Show me the f*cking money" slide in a presentation proposing staff cuts and further cost-cutting, it seems unlikely that staff morale, customer satisfaction or dare I say, even safety, are priorities any more.

Booked an international flight through American Airlines and for 3 legs of the round-trip journey they put me on British Airways. Didn't realize how much I would hate this.

• British Airways charges you $15 (at least) per flight per person to pick your seats ahead of time
• They wouldn't let me check in online (I just kept getting an error message that said "proceed to the airport")
• Customer service was of no help. Not even an effort for help, simply just stone-walled me at every turn. Not to mention that it sounds like all of their customer support is India and English is not their first language (was very hard for me to understand and communicate with them)
• I was told I could choose seats for free when I checked in online, but (see above) was unable to check in online (again, customer service was of NO help)

I flew BA and I must say I received top service as I should expect from such a high quality business. 

When was the last time you received good service and actually wrote up about it?

The cabin crew were amazing. I got exactly what I asked for! The whole journey from start to finish I couldn't fault!

Travelling in Club, I was spoken to by my first name - So friendly! It was like they actually knew and cared for me!

I will continue to fly with BA,  Human errors occur people. Not every business or employee is perfect!

Don't let one bad experience put you off.

They really put the cherry on the holiday for me- PERFECT!

Yesterday my wife returned from Korea but it's a miracle she even got on the flight. I received an email the day before her flight asking me to contact BA "URGENTLY" normally if something is urgent you call! Anyway it was a Saturday, I just happened to check email and so I called BA, I got cut off twice but eventually I managed to get through to someone who told me that my wife's ticket had not been issued! I was astonished she was departing in less that 12 hours in her time zone. I asked why it hadn't been issued and was told my credit card didn't work. I gave a new card and the ticket was issued. But here's the thing I called Barclaycard and they told me there was nothing wrong with the card and BA had NEVER tried to put any transaction against the card - so why lie to me? That is just very very very poor customer service - BA you've lost my trust!

Flew BA to Pheonix return exec class, the staff and plane were as bad as each other, dirty, audio visual not working and totally useless and unhelpful cabin crew.

I will never fly BA again possible the worse customer service and quality of care and cleanliness ever seen seen.

No wonder people BA stands for budget airline even though budget airlines are much better.

BA you stink and should try another business useless as your staff are.

I flew from London to Bangkok for 11 hours in economy. Torture! The plane they used was obviously very old - my mobile has a screen about the same size as their tv screen. No outlets to charge our devices. No legroom whatsoever - serious leg cramps.

Poor service. We only got a dinner and a snack for an 11 hour flight. Unfriendly flight attendants.

I am dreading going home with BA - 13 hours this time! We will NEVER use BA again. Only Emirates.

Terrible. I have been trying to have a flight cancelled since November. The booking allowed cancellation and refund of avios and cash used. I have called numerous times to be told by an automated system I would call back as they're busy. On the four occasions I've made it through to a human I have been told the matter is in hand and should be completed in the next couple of days. Nothing happens, nobody follows the matter up and I must call again. Separately I complained to customer relations whose advise was they don't have access to the systems to deal with my issue and I should call, you guessed it, the same number I have been calling for a month. I said this wasn't good enough and they responded again that there is nothing they can do.

Really abysmal. I have a lot of avios and 12k gbp worth of flights booked with them for 2017. When both are gone, that's them gone from my first choice of carriers. Of course they won't care and that's exactly the nub of the problem. They don't.

You will not believe this!! i have been flying for 20 years and today on BA56 leaving 20:20 from JNB to LHR I have had the worst ever known treatment from WILL- tall, white, Manchester accent, early 30s cabin member who got in my face as I was trying to sleep.

First of all saying I was illegally charging devices while sleeping- WRONG- then calling me a LIAR and saying loudly why are you LYING- this escalated. Now having been in the Royal Marines for a long time- if my family was not there the plane would have had to land due to this incompetent, unprofessional, unqualified and self loving person. As i said- excuse me who are you talking to??? he walked off- then as i went to ask him what was the problem he began to wave his hands in my face and raise his voice again slating my character.

I then asked to speak to the cabin manger- who happened to be having his nap- ah bless- two hours later he justified the behaviour and there was no apology.

I have never encountered such atrocious customer service. The Civil Avation Authority could not help me, because they have no legal power themselves over BA. So, take your claim to the County Court (a small fee), or contact CEDR. BA are currently signed up to accept the CEDR adjudication. My complaint was upheld --after 14 months-- and nine days later I got a letter from BA saying they refused my refund. They don't even know I won, and they now have a limited time to pay me!

My wife and I honeymooned to Spain from the US and flew BA on the leg home to NYC through Heathrow.  Probably one of the worst mistakes we've ever made.  Both our bags have been lost.  Customer service has given us different information every time we call.  They give us flight numbers and times of baggage arrival only to have this information completely change in a matter of hours.  Every customer service rep has given us different information.  We have no idea when or IF we will see our bags again.  Its too bad our honeymoon ended in such a crap shoot, but we've learned our lesson - don't ever fly BA.  The excuse we got at the airport for missing luggage was that the computer system at Heathrow went down.  Are you kidding me??? Is this 1995??? What kind of antiquated computer system does BA use?  Or is this just an excuse for morons who handle the baggage.  

BA lost my luggage. Found it a few days later after I was constantly on the phone demanding them to call the baggage handling department. Once they had found it, they wouldn't get it on the next available flight. I am still waiting! Customer service has been awful, I will never book with this company again and encourage other schools not to either.

Worst airline customer service ever. The call center is challenged in using English and will cancel your ticket if you have mobility issues. Worst airline I have dealt with for disability related concerns. They have a rule that only allows you to call three times, and they hang up on your the first two. The resolution offered for their errors, you can buy more tickets from them. Worst ever! Stay away if you have any ADA issues, they do not want you on their planes.

BA cancelled our flight due to fog in November and offered us one 3 days later or a refund. We had to be back at work so had to buy new tickets through another airline. There were many flights that day but BA couldn't oblige.

Asked for refund on return by emailing the address on website. After no replies to repeated emails I called. Apparently they no longer use that email address but haven't taken it down! As the emails were not pinging back as undelivered I assumed they were reading them!

So we start again on their website customer services system. Was told refunds have been made to our cards but they have not! Was told to write to refunds dept with all the documentation which we did on 12th April. Sent letter signed for. Royal mail tracking says it has not been signed for yet! This is disgusting behaviour.

Small claims here we come! But we will claim for the cancelled flight and the cost of new flights now since we have been so rudely treated.

Bye Bye British Airways - worst customer service ever. Their check-in desk made us miss our check-in time at LHR and after filing customer reclamation they pretty much told us where to shove it. cost us almost 1K€ to buy new tickets via one of their alliance airlines.

After the July 2014 fiasco where BA lost the luggage of 1000 passengers, BA has managed to fail yet again.

I took flight BA099 from T5 London to Toronto 16 December 2015 with some 200 passengers. Upon arrival in Toronto and after watching an empty conveyor belt rotate for an hour we were told that ALL passenger luggage was unavailable and apprently stuck in cargo; amidst the chaos we all had to file missing report claims.

4 days has gone by without any news and I am livid. Customer reps are denying they know anything. I will never fly BA again. I only wish I had been made aware of its abysmal track record in baggage handling before I trusted them with my personal affects and Christmas gifts. BA thanks for ruining xmas.

Will never fly BA again.

On the way back from NY to London, my original seat had some problem with the in-flight entertainment system. So, I was upgraded to the Premium Economy. I was happy with my original seat and for me, economy and "premium" economy makes no difference. The seat that was offered to me in "premium' was in the front row with extra leg-room.

The flight attendant didn't really take the time to explain to me on how to take out the tray from my seat (it was my first time seating in front row of "premium"). So anyway, it was dinner time and another flight attendant came and asked me of what menu did I chose for dinner. I asked her that I didn't see the menu and if its ok for her to tell me on what is in the menu. Instead of offering me with the menu choices, she asked me where did you come from? I told her I was upgraded. Instead of serving me dinner, she told me to wait and that she will have to check with her supervisor. It was so awkward! After upon checking and got her "approval" to serve me dinner, she briefed me about the menu. Before she served me the dinner, I told her that I wasn't sure of how to take out my tray. She ignored me and put the food tray ON MY LAP instead of showing me of how to take out the tray/table. It was humiliating. I felt like she did it on purpose.

Luckily, a passenger beside me was kind enough to pull out the tray for me. That was the first time for me to fly BA and also the last time!! Never again!

My flight was overbooked and I was placed on standby at the airport although I had been trying to check-in online without success since the previous evening and arrived in plenty of time for my flight. I was finally given a seat at the gate however when I boarded the plane there was already someone in that seat. I was advised by ground crew staff that I would need to de-board and depart on a flight the following day however a disagreement ensued between the cabin services director and the ground crew staff member as the director stated that she had seats available in a higher class. This was looked into but passengers arriving at the last minute then claimed those seats. The director then advised me that I had two options, to come off the plane and travel the following day or spend part of my flight sitting in a cabin crew rest seat and a small part in a jump seat (used by crew only for take off and landing) when the crew needed to take their breaks. She estimated that I would be in the jump seat for roughly 2.5 hours. I asked her if I would be entitled to some compensation for this and she said that this would be reasonable given that the airlines would be obligated to compensate me were I to come off the plane and have my travel plans delayed until the following day. I then reluctantly agreed as I had family plans and trusted (mistakenly) that BA would compensate me for this strange arrangement.

A few hours into the flight I was asked to vacate the seat for the crew breaks and while sitting in the jump seat I enquired about when I would be able to return to the other seat. A flight attendant showed me the break schedule and I then learned that I would have to use the jump seat for close to 5 hours and not 2.5 as I had been told. I spent the first hour in a jump seat between the toilet and the kitchen which was quite unpleasant due to the smells, traffic through the area which resulted in me getting bumped into a few times by crew and queries by passengers who kept mistaking me for crew.

A flight attendant then suggested that I move to another jump seat as they said I might be warmer there. I wasn't cold but I suspected they thought I would be a bit more out of the way and I was hopeful this would be the case too. I then sat in a seat facing other passengers a few feet away which was quite awkward although not as much traffic moving around me. There was really much for me to do as I had no in flight entertainment and not adequate light to read. And after another hour I became so uncomfortable in the hard seat that I had to stand or walk around for most of the remaining few hours until I could sit back in the other seat. By the time I arrived at the end of this 10 hour flight my neck and back were pretty stiff and sore. My luggage also didn't make it but I was so glad to be off the plane I didn't even care that much and BA did give me a $50 voucher for that.

The cabin services director informed me that she was going to put in a complaint on my behalf and also spoke to ground crew and informed them of my journey and that I needed to be given an upgrade on the way back. They seemed unsure about this but said they'd look into it. The director said that I should hear from someone in the next week. When I didn't hear from anyone after I week I phoned and was informed that someone was looking into it and they would get back to me before I was to return home to London. The day before I was to fly back I still had not heard anything so I contacted them again. Someone phoned and left a message informing me that they were going to compensate me by giving me an upgrade to from Economy to World Traveller Plus (a bit more leg room) on the way back.

I phoned back and spoke with someone else stating that this compensation did not seem adequate given my extremely uncomfortable flight experience, being mislead about the time in the jump seat, not really having a seat at all on this flight and being led to believe I'd be entitled to similar compensation as I would have if I had gotten off the flight. I added that had I known it would have been so uncomfortable I probably would have gotten off the flight. She said that she would pass this on and someone would get back to me. I asked her if someone could please email me if they don't reach me by phone as I was busy with family on my last day of the visit and then travelling the next day. 

I received a phone message again from from the first person who had contacted me who said he would try me again or email me. I returned to London and after a week of receiving no email I wrote to them again and said that things still hadn't been resolved and if I don't hear from someone in the next week or so I will get some legal advice. About 3 or 4 weeks later I heard from a third person who said that she understood I was offered an upgrade and a refund in fares and was not satisfied with this however there was nothing more they could do. I responded and informed her that at no point was I offered a refund (which I would have been completely satisfied with). A few weeks passed and no response so I wrote again. I received a phone call from her another couple of weeks later and she stated that I was not entitled to a refund as I had accepted the flight arrangements offered. I emphasised that I had been given false information by BA staff and subjected to a highly unusual and uncomfortable fight experience however she repeated that I agreed to the flight. Appalling.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015		British Airways BA15	Confirmed
9:35 PM	Depart	Heathrow, London United Kingdom	LEISURE TRAVELLER
5:40 PM on Wednesday	Arrive	Changi Intl Arpt, Singapore	Journey Time: 13:05

On these above dates we booked at the end of May and as you can see all were confirmed.On the Day of travel we rocked up at Manchester Airport for our tickets only to be told on our Singapore flight we would have to sit in separate rows on the next Heathrow flight. I am a 70 yr old pensioner with lots of medical issues that my wife Ann monitors (I take 16 tablets a day +heart and asthma inhalents) and she gives them to me at appropriate times (she was previously in her younger life a nurse). Ticket person at Manchester advised to take it up at Heathrow (connecting flight). Once again ticket attendant said there was nothing she could do !! and advised we see the Information officer who again advised they couldn’t help. On boarding the Supervisor could see we were visibly stressed and checked our ticket (which was stamped COMPASSIONATE) and after lots of consultation put me and my very upset wife together (the Supervisor was fantastic). If our surnames were different I could understand the separation BUT with more than 2 months prior booking we were still separated ! I know this may not be in the breaking news category but I feel better just by letting someone know of our predicament. It is a very long 13 hours being seperated (I have sent a letter of Complaint to British Airways and I suspect that has now been thrown in the trash!!) Shame on You British Airways !!!!

I traveled on BA from San Francisco to Moscow through Heathrow in May of this year.  When I received my luggage (which is was only six months old at the time) it had a smashed corner.  I filed my claim.  BA insists that I follow a process as follows:

1) Purchase a new piece of luggage for less than 150 pounds (they will not compensate for the actual cost of the damaged luggage). 

2) Write a letter explaining why I feel they should replace my luggage.

3) Send the original receipt (without which the warranty will be void).

4) Wait even longer than the 2 months it took them to respond to my claim which was filed at the airport on the day of my arrival.

I am the president of a company that specializes in Customer Experience Quality.  I fly 120,000 - 150,000 miles per year always in Business or First Class.

If BA thought about this a bit, they would surely not make the process so difficult.  I have gone out of my way NOT to fly on BA for the past 3 months.   I estimate that they have lost at least 15 times more than my luggage cost by not resolving this issue quickly. 

British Airways air hostess seems to be the worst especially from Bangalore to London ...absolutely unfriendly without helping old people to keep their luggage on the top. They only worry about their make up and hair style that is it. They are end of it all air hostes... not a queen... I don't remember the name though... very rude and unfriendly... name must be Vanita not sure but tall curly hair some what round face.... they should remember that they are only air hostess and they should do their pleasant job with a pleasant attitude...

We got stuck in a fatal accident traffic jam at Montelimar in France. Realising that we were going to miss our 4pm flight we called (on a mobile) to BA Customer Service. They booked us on the next flight 7.15 and took all the payment details. The sent us confirmation by email.

On arrival at the airport, we could not check in as our seats were confirmed, but no ticket had been issued. Another 30 minute call confirmed that we just had to give card details at the local BA agent. 

The confirmation was in Pounds. The agent only works in Euros. We stood for over an hour and a half whilst the local agent and the call centre argued about how to change the system so we could pay. Eventually, after the Check-In was forced to close (they'd given us an extra 15 minutes to work it out) the call centre agent threw his hands up and hung up. 

We missed the flight and went back on to the website for the 07.00 next morning, following which we retired for an expensive night in the airport hotel and necessary subsistence.

BA CS didn't even read the details of the complaint and sent us a stock response about our responsibility to be at the gate on time. We are pursuing it with everyone from Keith Williams and Denize McGregor through to an undoubtedly beleaguered Customer Experience Manager called Matthew Rochell, whose name appeared in LinkedIn.  

We shall wait and see, but the CS attitude really sucks.

Bought an expensive business class ticket from LON to San Diego. Picked window seat 3 months in advance. Day of check-in, one day before departure and they stuck me in a middle aisle seat (apparently decided to give my seat to someone else). There was no change in aircraft in spite of what the agent told me.....always 777 into San Diego

I've traveled with my family in (paid) Business Class a handful of times. For an upcoming trip I booked us in Premium Economy for the return trip-but paid an additional $2,000 to get upgradable fares. They never told me that between the online system thinking our fare wasn't upgradable and reservation agents that couldn't figure it out- there's really no way for us to upgrade. I've only spent about ten hours working on this, four on hold and six hours getting the run around from everyone. They're all apologetic, but unable to do anything about it. I used to be one of their biggest supporters, but given the way I've been treated, I'm putting them into the same category with United. While they shouldn't treat any passengers this way, the fact that they're treating a paying business class passenger this way shows how little they care about service.

I paid 78 Euros for an early seat assignment on BA. Later I changed to another flight and discovered that the fee is non refundable. What a rip-off! to charge a fee in the first place, but to not refund it when you don't fly is even worse! I hope I never have to fly BA again.

By all rights, I should LOVE Brtiish Airways.

I fly BA several times a year round trip, from IAD to TLS, via LHR.

The reservation system is satisfactory.  The scheduling fits my needs to a 'T'.  The planes are as comfortable as I can expect.  The BA airport staff is super (although the Heathrow Staff leaves much to be desired). The on-board crews are just wonderful.  The food is decent.  I feel safe with BA.  They are generally on-time. And, I can accept their high prices.

So, what is not to like?

In fact, why do I HATE British Airways?

Because British Airways does not give a shit about its passengers.

BA loses my baggage about 25 to 30 percent of the time.

Actually, I understand and accept that my bags will be delayed on occasion.

My connection in LHR only gives me a maximum of 65 minutes to make the flight to TLS.  And that is when everything goes perfectly.

If we arrive late or are delayed in a gate assignment, or when it takes a little longer to get off the flight from IAD, I have to RUN to try to make the next plane.  Most times I am sweaty and out-of-breath when I reach the gate. And even then, I don't always make it.  Fortunately, there is another flight 5 hours later.  But, that's life.  I stroll Heathrow, do some shopping and wait out the delay.  No big deal!

So, I really, really, truly understand and accept that my bags will be delayed on occasion and I am relaxed about that.

However, it is how BA handles the lost/delayed baggage situation that INFURIATES me and prompts me to swear off BA forever.

Why?

Because BA absolutely does not give a shit about its passengers in this regard.

To say that they could not care less is a gross understatement.

First, they send an e-mail or text message notifying me about the delayed bag, AFTER I have already determined that my bag has not arrived.  Duh!

But at least they're communicating, so how can one be pissed at that.

Here is where the system breaks down.

Then, they contract out their lost baggage problem to an outfit that cares even less than they do.  Dour, pissed off, unsmiling automatons, who profess to know NOTHING about EVERYTHING, dutifully collect your information and file a report.  These dunces then inform you that everything will be done to reunite me with my baggage as soon as humanly possible.  Ask when, where, who and how, and you get the idiot treatment, until you are shooed from the line so that they can deal with the next victim.

Now the fun begins.  There is NO WAY to contact BA regarding lost baggage. BA provides a convenient webpage, which merely assures you that your report is on-file.  BA provides you with a phone number, open from 0700 to 2300, 7 days a week, that goes unanswered for an indeterminable time.  (By the way, have you ever tried to call the BA Executive Club, another outfit that does all in its power to avoid communication?).  BA will send an email that delivery of your bags is important to them and that they are working as hard as humanly possible to get them to you.  BA will do EVERYTHING but keep you informed with real, critical, useful information...and, of course, accomplish the REAL objective, get your bags to you in a timely manner.

Now, my bags were dutifully weighed and checked in when I got my boarding pass at IAD. My bags were issued a bar-coded tag which told the baggage handling staff just how the bags were to be routed to make my initial flight and connecting flight. Because of the short time between flights, my bags were specifically identified with a tag with a purple 'X' reading SHORT.  As I said, I KNOW the connection is short and I marvel at the process that gets my bag to TLS at the same time I do, most of the time.

In short, no pun intended, I understand that the bags sometimes do not make my last flight.

Now, FedEX, DHL and even the Royal Mail and other reputable parcel delivery outfits also put bar-codes on their parcels.  They know, in real time, where almost every parcel and envelope in their system is at any time.

So, why do I have to sit hours and days wondering what is happening to my bags?.  Why do I lack the means to track my bags?  Why doesn't BA answer the phone in a reasonable time?  Why doesn't doesn't BA make an effective stab to keep me informed as to their super-human efforts to get my bags to me? Why do I have to wait up to x days for my bags to arrive, when they actually arrive at TLS just 5 hours after I do? Why do I have to twiddle my thumbs NOT doing the things I came to Toulouse to do. Why do I have the time to write this bitch letter?

All because BA does not give a shit about its passengers and their misplaced luggage.

That's why.

Kind of disappointing, isn't it, that an outfit who claims that it is world-class, actually is third-world class.

LDD

What is more serious, to cheat someone out of a large sum or to cheat numerous people out of small amounts?

I was downgraded against my will (BA009, 30.12.14) due to BA’s aggressive overselling of seats and my repeated demands for compensation produced no results. Whilst I can accept changes to my flight due to technical reasons or force majeure, I deeply resent being the victim of BA’s policy of “load maximization” at the expense of the customer and expect fair compensation (The rules on passengers' rights known as EC261 apply as well as Regulation (EC) 261/2004).

British Airways’ business model is based on aggressive overbooking of flights in order to maximize their load factor, which could be viewed as a reasonable attempt to enhance profitability. Regrettably, this leads to passengers being denied boarding or downgrading. These situations are governed by various rules and regulations, which outline procedures and compensation levels. BA’s business model does not foresee adequate compensation for its bounced passengers, in the knowledge that passengers will not pursue their claims since lawyer fees will exceed any compensation. It seems that the airline, as a matter of policy, does not ask for volunteers to surrender their reservations against compensation and instead of compensating 75% of the ticket cost pays only a standard GBP 75 with no further recourse for additional compensation.

If you ever get “bounced” insist on immediate, full compensation because you will never obtain anything after your flight, regardless of what you are being told by the airline staff.

Hi Rene,
As you rightly point out, it is much better to try and resolve the issue at the time as negotiating a successful outcome with BA "Customer Service" at a later date is often extremely difficult, assuming you can get through at all.
Neil

British Air is terrible. just last week , they lose my Mac Laptop... and when I tried to talk to customer service in terminal 5, the jerk working there try to have security take me away instead of dealing and helping with my situation. 

NEVER AGAIN!!!! 

I've long been a frequent flyer with a competitor to BA, but after several recent poor experiences, I decided to try BA for a flight at Christmas with my son. While BA has very high advance seat reservation charges, part of my decision to buy was their guarantee that they would accommodate parents traveling with children 5 days before the flight with seating together at no extra charge. The website  is here: http://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/seating/choosing-your-seat

As it is the holidays, this was a very serious consideration for my purchase.

I've now spent the better part of two days on the phone with British Airways customer service, even going as far yesterday to wait on hold for over an hour to speak to a supervisor, and they are flatly refusing to honor this request.

The reasons I have been given:

1) I was initially told that this was because my son was 6, not 5 years old, I pointed to them very clearly that nowhere was this stated on their website.

2) I was then told this was due to the fact the seat was booked via a travel agent. Nowhere on the website does the caveat exist that reserved seats with children can only be secured if the seats were booked directly on BA.com

Regardless of where the seat was purchased, the birthday and age of my son is clearly labeled in the online record, showing 2008 as his birth year.

I feel it is shameful behavior of British Airways to refuse to honour a seating request as guaranteed on their website, given the extra cost of buying these seats in advance will cost a further 200 GBP above what is already a small fortune to travel during the holidays. Further, the lack of response from their customer service, despite repeated calls, time on hold, and sending emails to their customer service website, has been truly appalling. I feel like I've been misled, cheated, and duped in an effort of BA to extort further cash, using my son as a tool.

It is truly shameful and disgusting behavior. I have filed a false advertising complaint with the British ASA.

I would like to share an interesting experience. On Feb 1, 2014 we have booked our flight to Miami.  

On Feb 16th, 2014 we have paid to select seats on the plane London-Miami-London. We had the pre-selected seats on the way to Miami but BA failed to deliver on the way back (i.e. Miami to London). Even worst, we have been seated separately where places were left, read: between strangers, no window, and no aisle and as a result no comfort and no sleep. When clients are paying 6 months in advance to ensure proper seating’s, this is not acceptable.

At the airport the BA agents claimed the problem was due to the schedule change. I showed the agents the related communication and regarding the change “if you've reserved a Main Cabin Extra or Preferred seat or have pre-ordered a meal, we have reconfirmed those requests for you on the new flight number”.

I filed my complaint since 5 weeks and I have not heard back and, obviously, I have not been reimbursed.

In a nutshell: it is like if you walk in a shop, pay for the good and then the merchant looks at you with a smile and tells you “you paid but the product has already been sold – thank you and get lost”…

I will now send an e-mail to all BA executives!

Dear British Airways, I suggest you remove the word 'British' from your name. Just 'Airways' describes far more accurately the quality of your shabby airline and why drag the rest of us in Britain down with you? I don't think there are many British companies who could mess up as badly as you did. Flight BA8737 from Frankfurt to London City was delayed due to bad weather so by the time we were eventually diverted to Gatwick, landing one and a half hours late at 22:17 it might have been obvious to you that everyone was a tad frustrated? For us to then remain on the tarmac waiting for stairs and a bus for one and a quarter hours suggests you either didn't ask for them or Gatwick staff considered your request non-priority. To add further insult we were kept waiting in the bus outside the terminal because to quote one of your own staff "security didn't know we were coming". As I say, perhaps your pretending to be the 'airline of Britain' is meant to hide how dreadfully sub-standard and dilatory your service is. Ironically we had flown out of Frankfurt where efficiency, organisation and service is a by-word. I had to take a further two train rides and two taxi rides before arriving at home at 02:30 some 4 hours late. There was an older gentleman who would have been able to get home to Weybridge but your debacle meant he missed his last train. There was a German family with young children who were with me until 00:40 at Victoria. You have shamed the name you carry and should be suitably ashamed as a result.