British Airways Customer Service Complaints - page 3

WORSTH AIRLINE EVER...!
Dont book with them... seriously because they dont really care about their customers...

they dont care whether you return them as a customer or not...
because they have the attitude of we are british airways and everyone in britain has to fly with US!!

BUT NO... I am doing my last flight with them this summer... and then thats it...
I will never ever fly with BA... they can go to hell!

Wasted my 4 hours on the phone...
it took more than 1 hour to reach someone to talk... and then I spoke with 16 different people...
Who all seemed to be managers but without any authorities or initiatives...

Hope they will declare their bankruptcy SOON!

I submitted an original complaint online on 02/12/14 and received standard auto-reference email. Since then a month and half have passed and have received no reply.

I chased the complaint - after a month - and then, in desperation, I raised a new complaint about how poor response times have been. I enjoyed the same treatment regarding this second issue, which of course is ironic since it is a complaint about how long it takes to respond to complaints.... which they haven't responded to.

Not sure this is good enough! - Especially as I am out of pocket by hundreds of pounds and it's BA's fault! - Wondering what level of compensation I am likely to receive. I am going for..... let's say £10,000. A reasonable way to fully placate my disdain and anger.

Trying to get a refund and cannot do it online - calling customer services only results in 'engaged' blips. Classy.

I am not sure if there are some real actual employees in BA customer services? or if it's only computer processed. There is no reply after 6 weeks, noone to talk to. But a case has been created somehow for a cancelled flight after I entered the data myself on the BA claim site.

I did knew more than ground customer services at Heathrow Terminal 5, if anyone is interested European regulations apply to cancelled flights, not just being rebooked and a meal, actual compensation is covered.

Can we rank a software for friendliness? There is noone.

My employer purchased a two-way ticket for me from Phoenix, AZ to London, UK – a copy of which is attached here as Exhibit A, which clearly shows that I already had a valid ticket to travel from London, UK to Phoenix, AZ on August 23, 2014. On that day, I arrived at the airport a few hours before the flight and checked in my baggage with a BA employee. I was never informed by this representative of any cut-off time to pass through security, nor were there any details regarding this issue on the boarding pass that I was issued. When I tried to pass through security to get to my gate I was refused entry and told to check with BA representatives, which I did next. At this time I was informed that I missed my flight, even though there were at least 40 minutes to departure. I tried to reason with the BA employees; however, they were very rude and condescending and were thus unable to resolve the situation. I spoke with a ticket issuer and a manager and they both refused to listen to my pleads. They did not care about the fact that no one has brought to my attention this policy that they claim to have in place. Instead they asked that I pay a fee if I wanted to fly to a different destination the same day or be put on the next day’s flight to Phoenix. Under the pressures exerted by the BA employees and their gross and repulsive disregard, I paid the fee that they asked for and flew to Vegas a few hours later. Because no one informed me of any cut-off time to pass through security and no such details were available on my boarding pass I dispute this policy that BA claims to have in place. Furthermore, since I already paid BA for a service – a two way flight from Phoenix to London – I find it ridiculous to be asked to pay an additional fee.

British Airways adopted a perverse way of doing business is not at all consistent in how it treats issues of lateness. As an example, the first leg of my journey – scheduled for June 11, 2014 - was postponed by BA for technical reasons – i.e. circumstances under their control – by 24 hours. They refused to offer any type of compensation for delaying their customers by 24 hours instead they request and force their customers to pay fees for what they claim was a few minutes delays.

The word should be out about these unfair practices and others should feel encouraged to share their stories.

15th October 2014

British Airways Customer Relations
British Airways
P O Box No. 5619
Sudbury Suffolk
United Kingdom, CO10 2PG


Dear Sir,,

a) Inconvenience caused due to delay in flight & missing connection/appointment
b) Losses incurred due to missing connection
c) Bad treatment by BA staff
d) My Booking Reference: 2FNK2W
e) My colleague Dr Shailesh Twiari’s Booking Reference : 2URZQ5 (Also in my Household Account)
f) My Gold Membership No 69196943

I was booked for the Mumbai-London-Paris-London-Mumbai, for travel on 6th October ’14 vide the above PNR. My return flights were as under:

9th October ’14 : Flight BA 327 Dep from Paris at 2045 Hrs Arr in London at 2055 Hrs
Flight BA 199 Dep from London at 2155 Hrs

I. Chapter of Events
1. Flight BA 327 from Paris to London on 9th October ’14 was delayed by two hours and the website of BA started showing the delay since afternoon. Although I am a Gold Member, I was not contacted on phone or mail to convey this delay when BA knew about this all along

2. It was through a friend who was travelling on an earlier Flight BA 323 that day, did I come to know of this delay as he called to inform me that BA is displaying that Flight BA 327 is delayed by two hours and would reach London only by 2255 p.m. by which time my connecting flight BA 199 would have gone

3. When I came to know of this delay, I immediately looked at the website of BA and indeed it was true that there was a delay & I was shocked & taken aback. However, no one from BA contacted me to inform the delay, in spite of my being a Gold Card member

4. I contacted the BA Office in Paris but the phone only rang and a message was recorded in the answering machine & I was asked to leave a message which I did but no one called back

5. I then rang up the Executive Club through whom I had done the booking and spoke to Ms. Sargam Soharu. She said that she would check up and revert or someone from the Executive Club will contact me. However, I did not get any call from the Executive Club, in spite of my having booked my ticket through them. I was left with no choice but to call some BA staff in Mumbai who have been courteous and kind to me in the past.

6. I first rang up and spoke to Mr. Ashwin Manjeshwar, at Mumbai and he said that he would check and ask Ms. Daisy Jesia to get in touch with me and she would help. Within a few minutes, I was on the phone with Ms. Daisy Jesia and she told me that I should immediately rush to the airport and try to take the earlier flight or request BA to put me on to an Air France Flight from Paris to London (which has many vacant seats) so that I could get the connection to BA 199 to Mumbai. She also promised to speak to British Airways in Paris, which she did and which I very much appreciate

7. I immediately rushed to the airport and went to the check in counter. Till such time there was no call from BA informing me the delay in flight. Generally, whenever I travel from Mumbai to London, the BA Airport staff at Mumbai are so good, that if a flight is delayed, they immediately contact me and inform me that there is a delay in flight and I am likely to miss the onward connection.

8. I appreciate this concern of the BA Airport staff in Mumbai and had in fact, recently written to BA on 28th July ’14 about the quick action taken by them where the Mumbai-London flight was delayed and they were kind enough to put me on to a Jet Aiways Flight thereby avoiding my missing the onward connection. For your information, I am enclosing herewith a copy of my email of appreciation written and the reply received from Mr. Christopher Fordyce, Regional Commercial Manager, South Asia marked as Annexures 1 & 1 (a)

9. When I went to the check in counter and met the Supervisor and conveyed to her that I should be given a ticket on Air France as I had to somehow take the connecting flight BA 199 to Mumbai so as to be in time for an important meeting in Mumbai on Friday, 10th afternoon over lunch. Initially she refused saying that there is no such possibility, but, on my insisting, she told me that she could put me on to an earlier flight, i.e. BA 323 which leaves from Paris at 1805 Hours and which was already delayed and would be leaving at 2000 Hours
10. My colleague Dr Shailesh Tiwari was also travelling with me and his ticket was paid for with my credit card. Dr. Tiwari is also in my Household AccountI requested the lady to give him also a ticket along with me. Again she initially refused and only after a lot of persuasion she agreed to give him also a seat on the same flight

11. It took us about 30 minutes to check in but could successfully check in for the Paris London Flight BA 323. We were given a Paris London boarding pass as well as the Boarding Pass for the London Mumbai Flight BA 199.

12. I was relieved and rang up my people in Mumbai and conveyed that everything was in order and I should be there for my afternoon meeting on Friday, 10th October, ’14 as I had a boarding pass for flight BA 199

13. To my surprise, the Paris London flight which was scheduled for 1805 Hours, was rescheduled to 2000 Hours and was further delayed and we landed in Heathrow London on Terminal 5C at 9.15-9.20 p.m. When we got out of the Flight, we could hear announcements being made for the London-Mumbai Flight BA 199 which was leaving from Terminal 5C. So we were relieved that we would get it., as we had landed in Terminal 5C, our flight BA 199 was to depart from 5C ad we though that security would be done at Terminal 5C only and BA staff would be there to receive us and take us to the gate faster as we were about 10-15 passengers

14. We were about 10-15 people from India who were scheduled to take the BA 199 as we were all returning from the CPhI Exhibition in Paris

15. To our surprise again the gate at 5C connecting to arrivals to security and then departure was locked and there was no one from BA to receive us, guide us and tell us as to what to do and where to go. We were forced, without choice to take the train from Terminal 5C to 5A and go to Security of Terminal 5A .

16. When we tried to check in before security, we were told that Flight BA 199 was about to go and we should go to flight connections & they would guide us

17. We immediately rushed to flight connections but there was a big queue. Since I was a Gold member, I went forward and met Mr. Baljit Hyre who took my boarding pass and spoke to someone for very long. In the meanwhile I was continuously speaking to Ms. Daisy Jesia in Mumbai and she told me that she was also in touch with flight connections in London. She told me that the flight has not yet left & I was still on flight & if I make it to the gate, I will get the connection. I connected her to Mr. Baljit Hyre and he spoke to her. However, Mr. Hyre was not willing to listen and was telling Ms. Daisy Jesia that she should put me on the next flight from Mumbai. I told him that Ms. Daisy Jesia is trying to help but she is at the airport in Mumbai and not in charge of booking or flight connections. After a long discussion, he said he could do nothing and I should wait in the queue

18. After waiting in the queue for about 35-40 minutes and still more people were coming and joining the queue, Mr. Baljit Hyre told us that they are going to close down the counter in spite of people being there in the queue. We were asked to go through immigrations and the go out of the airport to the 3rd floor and to the ticket counter where someone would be there to help us. He even told us that there is a bigger counter there with many people manning it and our work would get done faster (Which turned out to be all lies, lies & lies!) We requested that as we were in the queue and have waited for so long, we should be attended to but he refused. This was really disgusting & frustrating as –

a) We did not have a ticket for the next flight
b) We did not have a hotel to stay the night
c) Our bags were checked in thru Mumbai
d) My colleague, Dr Shailesh Tiwari did not have a visa. He had only a transit visa
e) There was no one at BA who wanted to us or guide us or advise us except Mr. Baljit Hyre who wanted to drive away all the passengers

19. We went thru immigrations. I had a visa for entry in UK but my colleague, Dr. Tiwari had only a transit visa. After a lot of convincing, the Immigration Officer gave Dr. Tiwari a day’s visa and allowed him entry into UK.

20. As we did not have a ticket for the next flight, we went to the 3rd floor to the ticket counter where there was only one BA staff behind the counter and a big queue of persons. I was surprised why Mr. Baljit Hyre made us go there if there was only one person manning the counter

21. There was one BA staff giving out booklets of hotels, copy of which is enclosed as Annexure 2, as also a circular enclosed herewith and marked as Annexure 3 and telling us that we should fend for ourselves and find our own hotels. We were asked to come the next day and try & see which flight we can catch.

22. I being a Gold member who travels every month, was given such treatment, it was ridiculous. There was no senior officer present and there was complete pandamonia and chaos. I was literally folding hands and just short of falling to the feet of the only BA staff present, who ultimately agreed to help. He said that he would do one re-booking and I had to again persuade him doing the rebooking of my colleague Dr. Shailesh Tiwari too. He was telling me that he has a family and needs to go home and that he has been delayed beyond his normal working hours (As if we din’t have any family and did’nt have to go home)
23. We were booked on the BA 139 for the next day, i.e. 10th October ’14 but without any hotel. The booklet of the hotels given to us had the hotel names and numbers and when we rang up those hotels, we were told that they were full.

24. For two hours we were ringing up everyone thru an international roaming phone (We don’t know how much bill will come for these international calls that we made) when somehow we managed to get only one room for ourselves in London Heathrow Marriott Hotel, after getting confirmation from the hotel on phone which was guaranteed by my credit card. A copy of the Hotel bill is enclosed herewith and marked as Annexure 4. I have, never in any of my business trips shared a room with a colleague or for that matter even with my brothers because I do not want to loose my privacy. However, this time, BA has forced me to stay with a colleague, which has inconvenienced me.

25. We had to finally go down to the Departures again and stand in a queue to get a taxi. After waiting for about 30 minutes we managed to get a taxi and go to the hotel. A copy of the Taxi fare paid is enclosed herewith & marked as Annexure 5. After check in at the hotel we ultimately reached the room at 1.30 a.m. Just imagine, from 9.20 p.m. the time when we landed in London, we reached the hotel at 1.30 a.m. i.e. after four hours of mental tension!

26. Many of the other Indian passengers took a taxi and went to the hotel saying that they have informed their travel agent and their travel agent will get them a seat on the next flight. But what could I do – I did’nt have a travel agent and had booked my ticket thru the BA Executive Club and BA Executive Club was my travel agent – Unwilling to help. Sometime they are available and sometime not. When they are available they don’t help. They promise to call back but never do. I was still waiting for someone from BA Executive Club to call as promised by Ms. Sargam Soharu.

27. During this period no one from BA Executive Club, India, contacted me or spoke to me. They were aware of my problem as I had already informed Ms. Sargam Soharu, the Business Manager

28. On the other hand, I was constantly in touch with Ms. Daisy Jesia who was at the Mumbai Airport, and counseling me and helping me but Ms. Soharu, Executive Club Manager did not bother to do anything.

29. I wonder how two different sets of staff of BA behave so differently

a) One was the Executive Club Manager, Ms. Sargam Soharu, whose Department had done my booking and was not willing to help or even contact me herself or any of her staff
b) The other were the people at Mumbai, who had nothing to do with my booking on a day to day basis but were constantly helping me, ringing me up and speaking to me at the other end of the world

30. Next day morning, i.e. 10th October, ’14, we went to the airport. My ticket was in Premium Economy World Traveller Plus, to be upgraded to Club against redemption of Avios (The Avios had already been debited). I have written many times for the upgrade but was told that they are not available. There were many Club seats available in the aircraft but BA does not upgrade because BA is only looking for revenue and don’t consider Avios as revenue which is shocking and surprising

31. When it comes to marketing the Avios, BA sells Avios and convinces customers and passengers to buy them. One such mail dated 3rd October ’14 received from Mr. James Hillier, is enclosed herewith and marked as Annexure 6. Once people purchase these Avios and try to redeem them, they become not useful and are considered non revenue passengers – the logic which I do not understand and it really baffles me.

32. I requested the Executive Club for a bulk head isle seat but was not given one. I then contacted Mr. Ashwin Manjeshwar at Mumbai and he was kind enough to put me on to Mr. Vikar. Mr. Vikar called me and tried to help me out. I sent an email to Mr. Derek Gonsalves and he forwarded my email to Ms. Lynda Dyer who could find out the details and come back to me by an email, which she did, and which I very much appreciate

33. I rang up Ms. Sargam Soharu at the Executive Club but she kept telling me that someone will call but no one called. Ultimately Ms. Shikha Madaan called but gave only lip service. She said that they are not getting an upgrade as there is only one seat available. I again requested her and she said that she would check up and come back to me in 15 minutes or at least give me a bulk head aisle seat. She did’nt call in 15 minutes and finally called when I was already in my seat and the flight was bout to take off. She still kept telling me that she is trying. I told her – Stop bluffing me! What are you trying when I am already in the aircraft and the flight is going to take off!

34. All that the Executive Club did was to give only lip service. In fact I salute the BA Mumbai Airport team –
a) Mr. Ashwin Manjeshwar
b) Mr. Derek Gonsalves
c) Ms. Daisy Jesia
d) Mr. Vikar
e) Ms. Lynda Dyer
f) Mr. Manan
They all went out of their way when I was in the other part of the world they made herculean efforts to help, answered called made to them, unlike the Executive Club persons who did not do anything.

35. Even a person like Mr. Hemant Sethi, who is in charge of sales, was not responding and was not of any help. How will the sales of BA improve if persons like Mr. Hemant Sethi who is in charge of Sales is not willing to help or even answer calls made. I did speak to him but it was of no use

36. Ms. Aparna Malhotra, Corporate Relations Manager, South Asia, never answers calls but sends emails/SMS and that too after the event. I am enclosing herewith a copy of an email dated 10th October ‘14 sent by her, copy of which is enclosed and marked as Annexure 7, in which she indicates that she has done a favour but putting me on to the next day’s flight. If due to a delay in flight of BA from Paris to London, my London Mumbai flight connection is missed, it is the duty of BA to put me on to the next flight. Where is the favour in that? She feels that she has done a favour to a Gold card member who travels every month. Let me tell you, my return journey from London to Mumbai was a nightmare! Please see her email reproduced below and my comments:

37. However, on my arrival in Mumbai, I was delighted when my name was announced in the aircraft and a lady deputed by Mr. Ashwin was there to receive me and understand my problems. She noted all my problems.

38. In this whole exercise what hurt me most was the attitude and behavior of some of the BA staff. It is high time corrections are made by BA in their staff behavior.
39. I was in Paris to attend the CPhI Exhibition where there were many Indians coming for the show. They were all asking why I was flying BA as they were many other options from Paris. They were travelling either Jet Airways or Air France or Air India which fly directly from Paris to London and they were sort of ridiculing me for my loyalty towards BA. I could have flown directly from Paris to Mumbai and reach here and save nearly a day. I sometime wonder why I still fly BA in spite of all the problems.

40. Some of the unresolved problems that I am facing are as under.

II. Difficulty in getting upgrades against redemption of Avios

1. I have various bookings for travel in the next few months and I am enclosing herewith a list, marked as Annexure 8. Many of these bookings are pending for upgrade. These bookings have been done months in advance and till there are no seats available for redemption. I am also enclosing herewith a list of trips that I have taken with BA in the last one year, marked as Annexure 9
2. Why is it that we have to write to so many people at BA and continuously plead with the Executive Club to get upgrades when there are so many seats available in Club. This has not happened once or twice but is periodically happening.

3. On one side we are receiving mailers from BA asking us to buy Avios and on the other side we are unable to use them due to systems followed by BA. What use are these Avios when we cannot use them

4. As on today I have 1,72,907 Avios to be account and my Household Account has 2,01,781 Avios. What do I do with these Avios

5. Other airlines like Lufthansa, upgrade passengers against miles even at the check in counter

6. For upgrades BA charges some taxes but Lufthansa does not charge anything for the same.

III. Ipressions of BA staff

1. Ms. Sargam Soharu – Business Manager, Executive Club

a) Although she is in charge of BA Executive Club, she talks nicely and smoothly but does not help at all nor calls back
b) She promises to call back but does’nt call
c) She also promises that someone from her team will call back but no one calls
d) Answers alternate phone calls and not all our calls
e) Does not reply to SMS’s
f) For a person like me who is loyal to BA since last almost 25 years, having 1,72,907Avios to his credit & 2,01,781 in his Household Account, and who flies BA every month, does direct bookings with BA Executive Club, the service is very very poor
g) I book my tickets thru Executive Club with a hope that if there is any problem in my booking they will help

2. Ms. Aparna Malhotra – Corporate Relations Manager South Asia

a) Only talks nicely
b) Rarely comes on line when called but most of the time her mobile is not reachable or only rings
c) No replies to SMS’s & emails sent
d) Does not answer calls
e) Sends emails which are curt and after the event. I reproduce below an email received by her on 10th October ’14 with my comments in the same:
Dear Mr Saraf, I am so sorry to hear about the disruption to your journey back home and the inconvenience you faced.
My comments: Just apologising does not mean anything. She did not do anything
Though the flight is full in premier economy and club, an aisle seat has been assigned for you in your booked cabin (24J in world traveller plus).
My comments: Looks like she did a favour. If a flight of BA is delayed / cancelled is it not the duty of BA to put us on the next available flight. She did not do anything
Nothing has been done by her. If she had done anything, I would not have had to request the BA staff & literally beg of them for an aisle seat at 10.30 – 11.00 p.m. in the night at the Heathrow Airport. We have to make international calls & speak to so many people for this.
I have copied in our executive club team, they shall be able to assist and follow up.
My comments: Kindly check whether she has answered even a single call of mine . She does not answer calls or replies to SMS’s sent.
Once again, please accept my apologies for this disruption.
My comments; Just apologising does not mean anything
Warm Regards, Ap

3. Mr. Rajeev Kumar – High Value Support, Executive Club

a) The one person whom I missed during this whole episode as he was on leave
b) Had he been there, I would not have to struggle so much
c) A very efficient person who is always ready to help
d) Returns all calls made to him
e) Even calls late in the evening for any feedback
f) Very efficient & very helpful

4. Mr. Hemant Sethi – Sales Manager

a) Has come and met me personally and only spoke well but did nothing
b) Wanted me to help BA India sales as he was responsible for sales
c) Does not call back when we call
d) Always says he cannot do anything and Ms. Aparna is looking after our case
e) Promised to help but did not do anything nor called back

5. Mr. Derek Gonsalves – BA Mumbai Airport

a) Great service oriented person who goes out of his way and helps
b) Replies to all calls / emails / sms’s sent
c) Ready to help even when not in office and is travelling
d) A bankable person and due to people like him, I continue to fly BA
e) BA Executive Club should take training from him on customer service

6. Ms. Daisy Jesia – BA Mumbai Airport

a) So many years of dedicated service at the airport and one of the most friendly faces at the Mumbai airport
b) Always helps and goes out of the way
c) Returns calls made and replies to SMS’s
d) Makes all efforts and this time when in trouble on the other side of the world, was of great help. It is because of her that I was able to get the Paris London flight as she spoke to BA, Paris
e) BA Executive Club should take training from her on customer service
f) Took the trouble of speaking to BA staff in Paris and in London even when doing flights in Mumbai

7. Mr. Ashwin Manjeshwar, BA Mumbai Airport

a) Met him on the last few occasions
b) Very helpful and answers calls promptly & also asked his people to call
c) Thoroughly impresses with him & satisfied with his approach
d) When I landed in Mumbai, he had sent someone to receive me and wanted to understand the problems that I had faced.
e) On landing he rang up and spoke to me although he was busy doing an outgoing flight
f) I salute people like him & people in BA Executive Club should learn customer service from him

8. Mr. Mannan, BA Mumbai Airport

a) He is the person who checked me and was very warm and helpful
b) Immediately willing to give even his personal mobile no and saying that I could call him any time

9. Mr. Baljit Hyre – London Airport

a) Stone faced and rude
b) Driving away customers from flight connections
c) Sweet talked everyone to go thru immigrations and out of the airport
d) Disregarded people standing in queues at flight connections
e) When I connected him to Ms. Daisy Jesia from Mumbai, he said to me , Yes I know that you are a Gold Card Holder but you are not even a Club Class Passenger. You are a prmium economy passenger and still I am listening to you (So he is doing a favour!) He merely listened and did’nt do anything. He could have put me on the flight for the next day
f) A strategically impossible person and gives and bad name to BA
g) He lied to us saying that when we go out to immigrations and then to Level 3, there will be a bigger counter manned by many staff of BA and there would be no queue there.

10. Lessons to be learnt from Mr. Tom Edbrooke, Commercial Development Manager (MEAPA)

a) I have in the past interacted with Mr. Tom Edbrooke, Commercial Development Manager (MEAPA) and found him to be a great ambassador for BA
b) He always replied to emails and returned calls and spoke so well
c) Most of the times, Mr. Tom Edbrooke, was able to get all my requests and at times when he was unable to do it, he would convince me that it was not possible.
d) Whenever I thanked him for his help he extended, he would say –
“No Ashok, don’t thank me. Just keep flying British Airways!”
e) I am enclosing herewith as Annexure 10 copy of an email received from him in the past
f) I now understand that he has retired and there is no person with a similar post
g) Why has BA discontinued that Post with a position of Mr. Edbrooke
h) Do you have a person in place of Mr. Edbrooke and if so then please let me know who he is.

IV. Booking against redemption of Avios

a) As conveyed in all my previous mails, I reiterate that it is becoming extremely difficult to cope up with problems at BA. First of all there is a big problem in doing bookings against redemption of Avios. I have time and again conveyed that the procedure for doing booking against redemption of Avios and the procedure for upgrade from one class to the other with redemption of Avios is very cumbersome, difficult and dissuades passengers from opting for the same.

b) Now I have a reservation for November 2014 (My Booking Reference No: 29GVAU) I have made this booking on 15th May 2014. This booking was done in World Traveller Plus with a request to upgrade to Club against redemption of Avios. I am regularly checking for availability of seats but am told that there are no seats available. What use is the collection of Avios when we are unable to use them? So much of time is wasted everyday on checking the availability of seats and we are kept on hold for so long. It takes hours to make one single booking. The Executives of the Executive Club are available only at certain hours of the day which makes it even more difficult to contact them..

V. Loyalty towards BA

a) I travel to Basel & Frankfurt very often for business and the easiest possible way was to fly would be Lufthansa which would take me directly from Mumbai to Frankfurt & back. Also, Lufthansa owns Swissair which can take me directly to Zurich from where I can go to Basel by Train. By doing that I could fly the distance in the shortest time and reach earlier. However, due to my loyalty towards British Airways, I travel British Airways. Thereby spending at least 5-6 hours more and reaching late but hoping to get better service from BA. With this type of service do you still think that I should continue my loyalty towards British Airways?

b) Lufthansa has given me a Senator Member Card bearing membership no. 222014674205433 and requested me to shift from BA to Lufthansa. Does BA want me to do that?

VI. Advantages of flying BA

a) Bookings can be made in Premium Economy, World Traveller Plus and subsequently upgraded to Club against redemption of Avios, and all BA Flights from and to Mumbai have flat beds for many years

b) BA has a night flight from Europe which other airlines don’t have except a few like Jet Airways and Air India

VII. Efficiency and working of Executive Club very poor

a) Another example of the poor way in which Executive Club works is the credit of Avios. Whenever we travel, most of the times Avios are not credited and we have to follow up.

b) If we write to BA, we get arrogant answers. One such recent email dated 15th September ’14 that we received was from Mr. Brian May of the Executive Club, copy of which is enclosed herewith and marked as Annexure 11, saying that if the membership number is correctly entered in the booking, our Avios are credited.

c) I have checked up the bookings and all my bookings were done by Executive Club and my membership number is there in all my bookings. The number is also printed in all the Boarding Cards.

d) So instead of checking, the Executive Club just sends emails to members asking them to do corrections when in fact it is the Executive Club who needs to do the corrections in their working and credit Avios promptly and work more efficiently.

e) What are the steps you are taking to improve the working of the Executive Club? In my past meetings with Mr. Hemant Sethi & Ms. Nepali Gandhi, I have explained all my difficulties but there is no improvement

VIII. Follow up for upgrade for my return on 9th October ‘14

a) I have been requesting the BA Executive Club from the beginning for an upgrade against redemption of Avios for the BA 199 from London to Mumbai. Everytime I was told that seats are not available but my Avios had been debited as I was earlier in Club and scheduled to travel on another date.

b) I was told that we should keep checking everyday and monitor the upgrade. Accordingly we have been following up and I am enclosing herewith a Chart as Annexure 12 giving details of the persons whom we have called for this upgrade which finally did not come through.

c) I was told that the flight had vacant seats when the flight left London

d) We really need to understand the method of getting upgrades against redemption of our Avios and due weightage to be given to Avios which otherwise BA wants to sell

IX. On Business

a) I find many difficulties with regards to BA’s On Business Program

b) Every time I tell the Executive Club to enter the On Business number it is not done and there is no on line data available

c) Earlier somehow two On Business Accounts got created and after a struggle we could manage to get one closed and add all the points in the other account.

d) We do not know whom to write to or whom to speak to for this

X. Cost of transit visa

a) When we fly to Paris by BA, we are forced to take a transit visa as we do not have any work in London

b) A transit visa costs around Rs. 5000/- which we had to pay for my colleague, Dr Shailesh Tiwari who travelled with me. This amount has to be reduced from the ticket which I do not get in spite of requests made. A copy of the bill for the transit visa of Dr Shailesh Tiwari is enclosed herewith

Now I would like to have answers to the following :

a) Was I wrong in expecting that someone from BA would call me when the Paris London flight was delayed? BA could have called on my mobile or even emailed me when I am a Gold Card Member travelling every month

b) When I checked in at the airport on 9th October and was requesting to be put on to an Air France flight or earlier flight, why did I have to struggle, insist and literally beg and only then be put on a flight. Had I been put on the Air France Flight requested for, I would not have missed my London Mumbai BA 199 connection

c) Why did the BA 323 which was scheduled to leave at 1805 and which left at 2000 Hrs not connect to BA 199 when it left at 2255 p.m. & why was the gate 5C not opened for security? Was this expecting too much?

d) Why was no one there to receive us when the flight from Paris landed in London? Some BA staff could have guided us. Was this expecting too much?

e) We were told that it was due to bad weather that the flight was delayed. Although, according to me the weather outside was good, that is something which we cannot assess and we accept that. What prevented BA from putting some staff at the flight connections to guide passengers and put us on the next available flight?

f) Why can’t special staff be called and asked to wait late and man flight connections when passengers are suffering? Was this expecting too much?

g) Can’t a Gold Card member flying BA every month be attended to gracefully without having to almost beg before BA staff at the counter and fold hands

h) Is it necessary for BA to exhibit bad behaviour even when BA is at fault?

i) Is it worth buying Avios as BA is trying to promote it but when it comes to redemption of Avios, it is not considered as revenue. People at BA are more worried about revenue and not worried about getting their Avios back. Why the double standards?

j) Is it expecting too much that when I book 6-8 months in advance, I do not get redemption seats. Is it that we are only looking at revenue and are the Avios worth anything?

k) Who is the right person to speak to, to resolve our On Business Account issues

I look forward to hearing from you
Thanks
Ashok M Saraf

List of enclosures:

1. Email dated 28th July ’14 written by me about the pro-active action taken by the BA staff at the Mumbai Airport (Ann 1) and an email dated 30th July ’14 received from Mr. Christopher Fordyce in reply to my email (Ann 1a)
2. Copy of Booklet of hotels given to us by the BA staff at London airport
3. Copy of a Circular given to us by the BA staff at London airport
4. Copy of the London Heathrow Marriott Hotel bill for the night of 9th October ‘14
5. Copy of the Taxi receipts
6. E mail dated 3rd October ‘14 received from Mr. Jamesh Hillier asking us to buy Avios
7. Copy of Email dated 10th October ‘14 received from Ms. Aparna Malhotra
8. List of bookings done for the next few months pending for upgrade
9. List of Flights taken by me in the last one year
10. Copy of email dated 4th January ’13 from Mr. Tom Edbrooke
11. Email dated 15th September ’14 from Mr. Brian May regarding non credit of Avios
12. Chart of follow up done for the upgrade of my London-Mumbai flight on 9th October ‘14

Initial complaint 12 August 2014. Reply 5th Sept. which did not deal with matters raised and even quoted the wrong departure airport! Replied 6th Sept. pointing this out. Following several chase ups next contact 22 Oct., still not even dealing with 2 of the 3 matters raised.

Since August 4th 2014 I have contacted BA Customer Services/Customer Relations concerning the abysmal service for assisted travel and baggae between the UK and JFK outbound and inbound. I received an acknowledgment and case number following the initial complaint via their website. They stated that they had a high volume of correspondence to deal with but would be in touch as soon as possible. After 7 further contacts including a letter to the manager Customer Relations they still have not had the courtesy to respond. They are a disgrace and do not deserve my custom.

After rude treatment and blatant lies from multiple BA employees when they lost our family's luggage for over a week, I've been trying since July just to obtain a response to my complaint submitted with official reference number. Despite 10 online and telephone calls and requests for a response, I have still received nothing except for another lie that I woudl have a response within a week, over a month ago. Even wrote to the chief exec on the advice of other unhappy customers online - also ignored. Absolute contempt for the customer.

BA customer service department are a disgrace. They ignore letter and emails and refuse to give relevant information.

British Airways was overbook so they cancelled our tickets on the day of travel. We have been travelling for so many years with many other airlines but this is the first time it has happenned to us. They put us on Air India. We were unable to cancel our reservation with Bestwestern so the hotel charged us. Very difficult to reach the British Airways customer service hotline to claim a refund on our Bestwestern hotel reservation. I will never travel by British Airways again. "Pathetic Service"

We flew from LA to Heathrow (direct flight) on 8/15 to start 14 day cruise to the Baltic. Discovered bags had not been placed on our flight in LA (even tho' we arrived two hours+prior to departure time). we were to depart Southampton at 4:00 PM on 8/16....next flight from LAX to Heathrow was to arrive at 5:00PM...given forms to complete and told that sometimes they even "helicopter" bags to cruise ships.....We thought we had a good chance at receiving our luggage since we were at sea for the first two days and would arrive at Oslo on 8/18....thought they SHOULD be able to get the bags there......we didn't receive our luggage until 8/24 (9 days into our 14 day cruise).....$25,000 later our trip was pretty much ruined. I am still waiting for any help from BA (I mailed a letter describing our problem and original receipts to them on 9/2....records indicate they received it on 9/8, but now they can't seem to find the original receipts (per various emails received from them saying not to respond to the email!!).....I don't have ORIGINAL receipts since I sent them to BA on 9/2!!!! and I spent $20+ sending all the info the first time.....I just want to talk to someone who speaks English!!! I just called BA reservations (my Princess Cruise agent advised to call them and ask for a supervisor to relay my information....just tried....got busy signals both times!!!!!!!! :(

I do not think that BA knows the definition of customer service. I traveled on 9/26/14 on BA from Paris to London to connect with an American Airlines flight to Los Angeles. Of course, the BA flight was late and i had to be rerouted to two other flights. My bag never made it to Los Angeles and American Airlines has been diligently looking for my bag for two days. The problem is that British never handed my bag to American. I have been calling British for two days and they have a call center in India, who keeps referring me back to AA, and i keep telling them that my bag is still with BA so AA had no record of my bag. So far these people have given me the phone number of TSA to follow up. I called TSA and they obviously laughed. The call center also gave me a wrong number to call in London. I asked to talk to a supervisor and apparently they do not have supervisors who talk to anyone. WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER!!!

I had to cancel 3 flights and asked for refund. One being covered by travel insurance - if BA only would provide the written documentation on the cancellation.

Emails go to nowhere - all you get is the automated reply that they will get to you shortly - and then you don't hear anything further (I am waiting for 10 weeks already!).

In case of cancellation they come up with some not possible to follow calculations which always end up that you don't get money back. If you object you don't hear anymore after the automated response that the complaint team will get to you shortly.

Well leaves the question how BA interprets shortly!

Of course you can always call their hotline and spend 10th or 100th of pounds waiting or talking to incompetent people - and BA is making a good buck on these expensive numbers I guess.

So is customer satisfaction the goal or as many complaints as possible and making the toll complaint hotlines the major source of income?

Shame on you BA!!
Your service is pathetic - which already is a far too positive word for the experience you provide!

Yesterday 8/29/2014, my 86 yrs old Mother and my Sister, both infirm and needing assistance travelled from Newcastle UK to Philadelphia USA. The flight booked was BA all the way thru but got changed from the normal BA67 in to PHL from LHR to a US Airways flight.

Newcastle BA service was great but on arrival at Terminal 5 they were dumped on a shuttle to Terminal 3 where no assistance was available and the people handling was disgusting. After being left they asked about assistance they were told everyone was busy, they had a 5 hour wait with little or no help and insults everytime they asked for help.

On the US Air flight there was no meal selection available and had nothing to eat unless they chose to purchase something, the toilets had not been cleaned for a week and only twice on the flight were they offered any water or other fluid. Ok its only an 8 HOUR FLIGHT.

I paid good money for BA to look after my Mother and sister, they dumped it of to US Air who are the dregs of the planet as far as airlines go.

No notice of the change to USAir or warnings at the time I would have go with Virgin into Newark

Try calling to discuss this with BA got a full voicemail box.

In the process of hanging around without my old mother wet herself since there was no chair assistance on arrival in Philadelphia and felt humiliated and ashamed.

BA what the hell do you think your doing USAir you confirm you suck at every move.

PHL is a US Air hub and they can't do anything right

It's currently a total of three hours and counting (as I write) that I've spent on the phone to BA trying to resolve a simple issue: Purchasing an emergency exit seat with a £50 cost to process. Staff have variously assured me the transaction was done (when it wasn't) and now they have taken the money twice.

Each time you call them it takes ages to get through (current call is 47 mins and counting - I'm on hold - again). Staff can be chippy and frosty in their attitude.
It's as if they simply don't care about economy passengers. Surely they can't be interested only in their biz class clients....????

The hilarious thing is that I made an online complaint about their level of service, only to get an automated reply telling me they were 'dealing with a larger than usual volume of correspondence' and it would take longer than they would like to respond!!! That says it all about BA customer service -- under resourced and over subscribed with problems - probably of their own making.

Do yourself a favour and avoid this airline.

BA don't give a toss about lost baggage. After flying into Heathrow on Virgin (yay Virgin, great airline!) I checked my bag in with BA. Two weeks later it is still missing with ZERO information from BA about it.
The BA website refers to a phone number (no attempt to provide ANY online tracking) which NEVER EVER ANSWERS. Call direct into BA Customer Relations and get someone in a call center in some other country, who tries to connect you to the baggage info line but IT NEVER ANSWERS even for their own customer relations people. Appalling service.

NEVER FLYING BRITISH AIRWAYS AGAIN.

I am a British Airways flier - I like the airline and flights but this time - I had to cancel my booking due to a family emergency (a booking I made thru the website) and booked another BA flight (thru a travel agent). Now in Manage My Booking, when I try to cancel my booking for the first flight, I am only offered a £260 refund on a flight that cost almost £1,300.

We have just returned to Beirut from a trip to Amsterdam and London. We were Business Class passengers on all flights. To begin with,on our outgoing flight BA148 on June 23 to London, the crew was snappy , generally unfriendly, and, to top it all, when we reported that the floor outside the toilet was wet, the reply was "what do you expect, it's the bathroom", and the flight had run out of handtowels. After a long delay, the flight to Amsterdam (BA 440) the crew was kind and friendly. On our return flight (BA 149) on July 5, our seats 5F and 5D were without power and not funtional. Members of the crew tried to be helpful. As for the food menu, the choice was very limited and it surprised us to have a lebanese flavor to it although no announcements were made in Arabic throughout the flight. This was in contrast with the Amsterdam flights where announcements were in both English and Dutch.

july 2014 absolutely worst phone cust experience I ever had. Needed to re-book after receiving notification that flight 180 was cancelled. Was on the phone for an hour (good to average by BA standards). Agent spoke limited English, sounded like she was 12 years old. I would put her name here but will save that for BA public affairs complaint. The poorly trained woman refused more than 12 requests for a supervisor, gave conflicting info about policy from previous booking, and still couldn't complete new booking properly. Virgin (or anyone else) it is from on.

I am appalled that a company can be so arrogant and insensitive. I have been trying for weeks to resolve an issue with British Airways. I cannot get to speak to a human. I am out of pocket for more than $6000 because of their mistake and cannot get recompense.

Hello,

I am extremely shocked from the treatment that I have received from your customer service via phone. I initially called to change a booking for my father. I went online to pay the change fee and an error massage was displayed to contact customer service to change the request.

I was told by a customer service representative that I could not make the payment online or over the phone that I had to physically go to the airport to make the changes and make the payment. She had indicated that "Algeria was a high risk country; therefore, BA needs to see me there physically to make the changes and accept the payment". That is extremely not appropriate and I don't recall BA having folks physically buy their ticket onsite as oppose to online or over the phone. Is this an existing policy? If so, I am requesting a written documentation that reflects such an outrageous comment.

She instructed me to drive to SFO when I told her that I live in Sacramento. She had indicated that SMF would not be able to collect payments and I had 2-3 business days to make it to SFO to make the changes. This is a 4 hour drive round trip.
It’s 2014 we live in a civilized society why would I need to physically appear to make changes as if my physically appearance would determine that I am not a reflection of "Algerian high risk". I asked to be transferred to a supervisor, and she hung up on me.

I went ahead and made a second attempt in contacting customer service. The second representative indicated they will make an expectation this one time and change it over the phone.

Obviously something is not right and I am willing to take this to the next step. I am absolutely shocked by the vocabulary usage and the overall customer service etiquette. To classify a country "High Risk" is one thing but to order a customer to physically drive to an airport to make changes is not right. If that’s the case BA needs to stop selling tickets to High Risk countries via phone and email, and should start screening their customers physically to determine if they are adequate to travel.
I would like someone to contact me as soon as possible.
Thank you

One of the hostess in British Airways was rude and not helpful to my elderly sick brother in law when he needed help in getting his carry on luggage down. The hostess told my brother in law "I am sorry I cannot help you with your luggage" when she saw him struggling. A young lady saw this came to the man's help and with the help of a stranger got the carry on down. The hostess was again rude when he tried to walk his way down the isle that he has to wait for his wheel chair and cannot get down. What is wrong with this airline and it's hostess?Are these people trained to be helpful and polite to the customers. We pay good money for these flights rude employees are the last thing for a sick old man to deal with. Never will I travel in this junk of an airline.

I would like the general public to know that the service that customer relationship gives is complete rubbish I would advise only travel British airway if there are no other options.
The recording do not impact the service complete rubbish never will I travel with them again.

British Airways Website and iPhone App for checkin is poor. It skips the choose a seat and issues boarding pass! NOOOOO!
I have spent 3 hours trying to cancel and start again... I am in BUSINESS CLASS and it gives me bad seats. I want Aisle near the front.
Why is all your customer service numbers premium rate and all the same number. Why then does the "Option" not work - then you are put in a queue for over 20 mins to end up talking to someone from India!! This is Friday afternoon - where are all the BRITISH staff? Eventually the lady says the only place it can change is at the airport - so I call the BA desk at Manchester Airport and it rings and rings for an hour and not answered. I check with Manchester Airport switch board and it is the correct number but still no one answers. What is the point of an iPhone App so I can save on paper that doesn't let me change seats? It did last week when I checked in on the App in Brussels. I have sent you 3 webforms (crap on an iphone) to complain and ask you to call me as i sit in a internet cafe.