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A roundup of some of the smaller British Airways news stories that I’ve noticed in the past few days as well as a story about the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) looking into “hidden fees” charged by airlines in the UK.
British Airways World Traveller Pre-Paid Catering Promotion
British Airways rolled out enhanced Economy Class meals on their long-haul flights last year. The idea behind the meals is that passengers can either choose to stick with the free offering served as normal on long-haul flights or they can pre-order an enhanced meal which they pay extra for in advance – its quite a good idea.
British Airways is currently running a promotion (until 14 August) whereby passengers can save on the pre-paid enhanced meals that are on offer. As meals can be booked from 30 days in advance passengers should be able to save on flights into September.
The pricing for the promotional period is as follows:
- Gourmet Dining From £18 to £15
- Taste of Britain From £16 to £13
- Healthy Choice From £15 to £12
- Taste of the Far East From £16 to £13
- Great British Breakfast From £15 to £12
- Vegetarian Kitchen From £15 to £12
Here’s a link to the British Airways Food & Drink page where you’ll find more details.
British Airways Delays Tehran Route Launch
Iran has started to see a slew of carriers restarting service to Tehran as of 2016 with Air France having commenced flights in April, KLM planning operations from 3 October and Thai Airways joining in later this year too.
British Airways last served Tehran in 2012 and was scheduled to re-start operations to the Iranian capital from 14 July – but those plans have now been pushed back.
Tehran – image courtesy of Ninara via Flickr
As of yesterday (21 June) British Airways has rescheduled their Tehran operations to start from 1 September 2016 on the following timetable:
BA153 LHR 20:30 – 05:45+ 1 day IKA (Mon – Sat)
BA152 IKA 08:35 – 11:10 LHR (Tue – Sun)
British Airways is currently saying the following with regards passengers booked to fly between 14 July and 31 August 2016:
- Customers will be notified that their flight has been cancelled
- Bookings will not have an alternative re-accommodated flight
- Customers will be offered rebooking and refund options
British Airways is in the process of trying to negotiate an interline rebooking agreement with other airlines but nothing concrete is available at the moment.
If customers decide that they no longer wish to fly to Tehran they may use the value of their ticket towards the purchase of a new ticket to an alternative destination.
If you’re booked to fly to Tehran between 14 July and 31 August do not wait for BA or your travel agent to contact you. Contact whoever you booked your ticket through asap and make sure you get reaccommodated to your satisfaction (you may have to wait a few days while BA finds suitable alternatives).
British Airways Suspends Sharm el-Sheikh Route Indefinitely
Il Mercato, Sharm el Sheikh – image courtesy of Daniel Lee via Flickr
This isn’t exactly surprising news but it’s worth noting nonetheless.
Following the terrorist incident on 31 October that brought down an Airbus A321 operated by the Russian airline Kogalymavia, British Airways suspended flights to/from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on the advice of the British government.
The suspension was put in place for all flights up to and including 17 December but that was soon extended until 14 January 2016 and the suspension has been extended a number of times since then.
Yesterday, British Airways announced that “[t]o improve clarity for customers and the business this route has now been indefinitely suspended.”
We’ll have to wait and see when flights to Sharm will start back up but I suspect it won’t be for quite some time.
UK’s Civil Aviation Authority To Investigate Hidden Fees
Business Traveler Asia-Pacific has reported that the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has launched an investigation to check if airlines are being upfront and honest with passengers when it comes to the numerous ancillary fees they often charge.
BTAP quotes a CAA spokesperson as saying that the reason for the investigation is to help “people understand what they are actually paying for”
The investigation will not be limited to UK carriers (BA, Virgin Atlantic, Ryanair, easyJet etc…) but will include all airlines which sell tickets in the UK.
UK transport minister Robert Goodwill is quoted as saying:
The government and the CAA continue to emphasise to the airlines the importance of compliance with ticket transparency obligations
To enhance consumer protection in this area, the CAA will start work on unfair contract terms with the airlines this summer.
Some of the Ryanair fees that generate a lot of complaints – I don’t actually have an issue with some of them
The airlines the CAA apparently has in its crosshairs are predominantly low-cost carriers, like Ryanair, which would charge extra for the air inside the aircraft if they thought they could get away with it…but I’d like the CAA to take a closer look at carriers like Virgin Atlantic and British Airways and get them to explain their “carrier imposed fees” that they are undeniably addicted to.
Let’s face it, just about everyone knows that Ryanair will ask for your first-born if you dare to try to check-in at the airport or if you don’t print your own boarding pass – that’s made the mainstream news so many time now there can’t be too many people who have a case to say that they didn’t know about the fees….but I’m not sure the same thing can be said for novices collecting Avios or Flying Club Miles.
There are a lot of novices in the miles & points world who don’t realise just how high the surcharges are on award tickets issued by the likes of British Airways and Virgin Atlantic – they still think its worth collecting Avios to fly their family to Orlando in Economy Class. Boy do they get a shock when they go to book!
I’d like to see the CAA force the airlines to put a “health warning” next to any Avios or Flying Club literature/promotion explaining, in bold lettering and clear phraseology, just what surcharges passengers can expect when they go to book their “free flights”. Now that would be good for the consumer.
