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British Airways

Jack of Glendale, AZ November 17, 2008

Jack of Glendale AZ (11/17/08)
I booked a non-refundable round trip flight for my wife in Kenya to come visit the states for our honeymoon. The first incident with British Airways was that they accidentially charged my debit card twice for the flight. This was resolved in some what of a timely fashion but still a pain and with no perks. Anyways, my real complaint is that i had to cancel the flight due to my wifes medical school schedule being pushed back due to the elections turmoil. Now i understand the words non-refundable and accept the fact of them keeping their portion of the flight costs, but, the 712.00 in taxes is not theirs to keep which they insisted that they would refund. And they so far havent nor do i expect them too now after the run around i have recieved from their customer service agents and managers and the lapse of time that has occured.

I will be doing considerable traveling to and from Kenya here in the future, both my wife and i and family members and i nor they will be using british airways due to this incident and their negligent consumer relations. I will also be happy to tell anyone i meet of the negative experience with them. Their loss and all over 712.00! Their management practices and stratigies are pathetic!

Swayambhuba of Issaquah, WA October 18, 2008

Swayambhuba of Issaquah WA (10/18/08)
Hello, My wife and I chose British Airways as our carier during our last trip to India. Both of us were suppposed to fly out of Seattle on 4th of August.

At the Seattle port I was denied boarding on basis of my Visa situation.That is the H1B stamp on my Visa had expired in June 2006 and that of my wife has expired in 2008.My wife was allowed to fly because her visa expiry date was within six months of the travel date.So she flew alone on 4th. I was advised by the BA staff to get a Canadian visa stamp which will make me eligible to fly via heathrow. I did that and consequently flew on sixth. I asked a lot of questions and the BA agents confirmed that same criteria will apply while coming back and there will be no problem.

But, at Calcutta airport they insisted on a UK transit visa and ignored the fact that I has a Canadian Visa stamp and that my wife's visa expiry date was still within six months. We were stuck in Calcutta for a day and finally had to rebook ourselves in Singapore airlines after paying 2500.

Singapore airlines recognized the travel documents we have which is called the 'Advance Parole' and we came back to US.

British Airways is not willing to refund the price for the ticket for the return trip even though it was clearly their fault to not inform us about correct visa rules and letting us fly out in the first place.

Doreen of Durban Natal South Afric, OTHER September 27, 2008

Doreen of Durban Natal South Afric OTHER (09/27/08)
On 23rd September, 2008 my husband and I boarded flight BA0055 from Heathrow to Johannesburg. We were supposed to take off at 19.05 but only left 30 mins later. After being in the air for 40 mins the captain came on air to say their was a problem with the hydraulic system and the wheels were not being pulled back into place. He then said he had to dump 60 tons of fuel which now also took extra time flying around. We then landed at Heathrow and were left on that plane whilst engineers did their work.

The heat was so oppressive, I have no idea why we were not allowed off the plane into the terminal again into the air conditioning and our meal given to us whilst waiting. I became so nauseaous in the plane that I had to spend most of the time in the toilet. We then took off after midnight and were served dinner at 2.30am That I did not have nor the breakfast that was served a few hours later. Our family had all made arrangements to be at the airport to meet us as it was a holiday there in Durban. That should have been 10.00am we only flew in 3.30pm with nobody there. What a ghastly end to a wonderful trip to Europe and Scotland.

Extreme nausea and violent headache from excessive heat.

Peter of Tracy, CA September 10, 2008

Peter of Tracy CA (09/10/08)
I landed in London (LHR) from Philadelphia (PHL) on the morning of August 30, 2008 at 6:20 AM. I then took my flight to Madrid Spain on BA 7056 which was an hour delayed in landing at Madrid. This prompted me to miss my flight to Valencia (VLC). Once landing in Valencia, I found out that my bag was missing and it never arrived in Valencia. I promptly reported to Iberia Airlines of the situation on August 30 at the airport. For two day, Iberia did not locate my bag. Needless to say this caused a very big inconvenience for me at my conference which I was attending.

I proceeded to backtrack and called British Airways in U.K on Monday September 1 and was told that my bag was in London. BA would not send my bag since my claim was made with Iberia. Had I known the bag was in London, I would have filed it with BA. I called Iberia to let them know the bag was in London which they verified with BA on Monday, September 1st. Iberia has told me that they repeatedly asked BA to send the bag to the hotel which I was staying but did not receive any response from BA for remainder of the week. I stayed at Valencia until the 5th of September for my conference and since my bag did not arrive by this time, I requested the bag to be sent back and delivered to my house.

On my trip back from Valencia on Sept. 5th, I was assured by Jon of BA ticketing counter in London that my bag was going on American Airline flight 79 from London Heathrow to Dallas Fort Worth then on American Airline Flight to Sacramento, CA which is an hour north of my house. It is now September 10th and I have been told by Iberia that they do not know where my bag is, British Airline has no record, and American Airline do not have any luggage information with my name.

I was attending the largest solar energy in the world. EU PV SEC 2008 in Valencia Spain. I had a pair of shorts and golf shirt for the entire week and my meetings were totally embarassing as my suits were all in my luggage. I have to get my suits tailored and therefore could not find any suits that would fit me for my meetings. We had lost a contract due to this matter. My meeting with a client was for 5 million. My luggage contains three suits which were priced at 1500 each, my two dress shoes were 500 in total, my three dress shirts were 150 each, and my ties were 100 each. My 3 cuff links were 150 each.

Arthur of Eloy, AZ September 1, 2008

Arthur of Eloy AZ (09/01/08)
Unable to travel on scheduled flt. from Heathrow to Phx.AZ due to hospitalization for food poisoning. Next available flts would have been 7/5/08, 7/09/08 or 7/10/08 and my release was 6/25/08.I needed to come back to the states for medical treatment and medication. I am also diabetic and this eating problem had interfered with my blood sugar levels.

Upon this first agent contact we were not aware of an additional charge. At the Check drs. insistance we called again for a sooner flt. We were then booked for 6/26/08 but were charged additional . We put this on our Visa Debit card and hoped to straighten out the matter upon our return to the states and our our travel agency.

Economic hardship of 1500 for re-booking due to an unexpected medical condition. Letter denied any obligation to refund. We are asking for negotiated refund.

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