Can airline cancel part of a multi stop ticket but only offer refund for cancelled part of ticket
We have a return flight with BA in June 2020 from Newcastle to Heathrow to Boston (2 planes and connecting flights).
BA have emailed to say the Newcastle to London flight is cancelled and have offered a refund for this part of the trip.
However BA will not refund the remaining flights that make up this booking.
As the booking is Newcastle to Boston (via Heathrow)I now have no way of getting to Heathrow so I cannot see how they can selectively choose to refund one leg of the trip?????
What are my options?
BA have offered a refund for the Newcastle to Heathrow journey (flight cancelled) And offered a travel voucher for remainder of the trip.
Hi yes it was a single journey on the same day Outward Newcastle via Heathrow to Boston Return Boston via Heathrow to Newcastle.
Best Answer
According to its General Conditions of Carriage (which are fairly standard, and comply with EU261), British Airways should refund your money. This is a force majeure situation, so they aren't obligated to transport you from Newcastle to London, but they can't arbitrarily change your origin point and expect to keep your money, either. The EU has mandated that airlines must pay out refunds, as has the US Department of Transportation.
BA is in crisis on account of the collapse in travel demand triggered by the COVID-19 outbreak. Like other carriers, they are doing whatever they can to conserve cash and avoid a total collapse, and have been for weeks; that includes denying or delaying refunds. At this point, the risk of regulator sanctions or customer lawsuits or angry Tweets are irrelevant compared to surviving for another week, and BA has been one of the more conspicuously bad actors in this, as widely reported. Your options are limited.
Call the airline. According to their Coronavirus travel and service updates page, and as also reported anecdotally, for a refund, you will need to get an agent on the phone and press them on the matter. It may be very difficult to get an agent on the phone, but if they have shut down operations at the airport there is no point in going there (which might also violate any orders against non-essential travel). If you have frequent flyer elite status, work those channels first.
Make an insurance claim. Depending on when you bought your ticket and what is stated in the policy, you may qualify for compensation for trip interruption from your travel insurance provider, and you should contact the insurance company to file a claim. It isn't easy to may your insurance company pay even in good times, so this will also take an investment of time. If you didn't buy travel insurance, well, that's that.
File a chargeback. You can also contact your credit card company and attempt a chargeback. Given the volume of people attempting to do this, the credit card issuer may also push back.
If you're willing to cancel the whole trip and accept a voucher for future travel, that option should still be available through BA's website, but I fully sympathize with a lack of faith in BA.
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Can I get a refund if part of my flight is Cancelled?
You can get your money back for any part of the ticket you haven't used. So if you booked a return flight and the outbound leg is cancelled, you can get the full cost of the return ticket refunded. If you still want to travel, your airline must find you an alternative flight.What happens if part of your flight is Cancelled?
What should I do if my flight is canceled? If your flight is canceled by the airline, you will either be accommodated on a later flight or, if you decide not to travel, you are entitled to a full refund under federal law. If the flight had multiple stops, you would be refunded for the unused portion of the flight.Can you cancel second half of round trip?
It is a rule on all airlines that you must fly ALL legs of your round trip ticket in order. If you skip the first leg the 2nd one will be canceled! This will happen on all airlines. Your choices are to either buy a completely new ticket, fly as booked, or pay the change fees.Can you cancel one part of a connecting flight?
To cancel a part of a connecting flight, you need to call the airline, find out if that's possible, and pay any required fees. If you still haven't bought the connecting ticket, it's usually cheaper to buy a direct flight.Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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