Crowned as the United Kingdom’s flag carrier, British Airways has always been synonymous with aviation excellence for more than a century. The airline operator’s origins can be traced to the formation of Imperial Airways in 1924, which was one of the pioneers of intercontinental air routes. However, after World War II, two major carriers emerged in the UK, namely British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) and British European Airways (BEA), which later merged to form the current company it is today.
A significant turning point in the airline’s history came in the late 1980s, when British Airways was privatized by the British government, allowing it to pursue ambitious expansion plans. The move also helped in the acquisition of multiple smaller carriers, including British Caledonian and British Midland International. Today, British Airways offers a thriving ecosystem of air-travel operations and services, while also investing heavily in modernizing its fleet, upgrading its lounges, and enhancing its in-flight services. It also became one of the founding members of the Oneworld Alliance, which is a global network of different airline carriers offering seamless travel experiences to passengers across the globe.
British Airways’ long-standing history has also been a case for its complacency, with regular complaints from passengers for its frequent disruptions and substandard handling of disruptions. If you, as a customer, have been denied boarding on one of its flights, then our extensive guide is just what you need to learn the different eligibility norms and how you can claim compensation for the trouble that you have gone through.
What is the Eligibility Criteria For Compensation
For minimizing the effect of ‘no-shows’ or ‘passenger absentees’, where passengers who are booked on a flight but do not present themselves for travel, British Airways always allow as many passengers as possible to travel on the flight of their preferences. Such a process leads to overbooking.
It should be known that even though every effort is made to provide seats for confirmed reservations, there can be minimal chances for your seat to not be available. Additionally, the airline operator does not provide an absolute guarantee of seat availability during the reservation or booking phase. As a result, proper compensation schemes are provided for passengers who are denied boarding ‘involuntarily’.
To be eligible for the compensation schemes, a passenger must have a confirmed reservation on the flight and should be in possession of a paper ticket (or an e-ticket receipt). In addition to that, the passenger must also present himself or herself for the flight check-in process within the recommended time limit to be able to take advantage of the aforementioned compensation policy.
Know Your Available Options
British Airways states that the levels of compensation offered to each passenger will differ based on various factors, such as the distance of the flight traveled and the maximum delay that the passenger had to experience between his or her original flight and the rearranged (or alternative) flight.
Compensation of $250 is provided for flights having a travel distance of 1500 kilometers or less, while the same gets bumped up to $400 for flight distances between 1500 and 3500 kilometers. Lastly, for flight distances more than 3500 kilometers, compensation of $600 is provided.
Additionally, the aforementioned compensatory numbers will be reduced by 50 per cent, if the passenger is provided with an alternative flight having a scheduled arrival time (from the arrival time of the original flight) of two hours (for flight distances of 1500 kilometers or less), three hours (for flight distances between 1500 and 3500 kilometers), and four hours (for flight distances more than 3500 kilometers).
How to Claim Compensation
If you, as a passenger of British Airways, are eligible to claim compensation for denial of boarding on a flight in the United States, then you can follow the suggested steps below to complete the reimbursement process seamlessly.
- Start by giving a phone call to the customer care of British Airways in the United States at 1-800-247-9297. Phone lines are available from 7 AM till 1 PM Eastern Standard Time.
- Select the appropriate on-call options so that your call gets forwarded to the customer relations department.
- Wait for a live agent to connect to your call, and once that happens, state that you want to file for compensation regarding denial of flight boarding.
- Proceed to first provide the reason why your boarding was denied on your original flight and then state your name, contact details, original flight booking number, original flight number, and its arrival date and time.
- Additionally, if you have already reached your final destination, then make sure to provide the ticket number for your alternative or rearranged flight.
- Once you have provided all the necessary information, the customer care representative will register your case, and the same will be communicated to you over the phone. Also, the estimated time that you have to wait for your claim to be processed will also be intimated at the same time.
For any other queries or assistance, you can either write a letter or visit physically at the following address: British Airways Customer Relations, 11 West 42nd Street, 24th Floor, New York, NY 10036.
