BA strike: As industrial action looms, is it risky to make a booking?

Got a question? Our expert, Simon Calder, can help

The walkout by pilots has affected hundreds of thousands of passengers (AFP/Getty)

Q To celebrate my father’s 80th birthday, we are going as a family of 12 to Portugal. Seven of us are due to fly on Sunday 27 October with British Airways. Given we have children going on this trip and it’s for a special occasion, which is likely to never happen again, I am keen to get ahead of the game and work out an action plan so I am prepared in case the flight is cancelled because of the pilots’ strike.

I understand that BA are refusing to book easyJet flights, which severely limits our options. While easyJet prices for that route are good at the moment, I assume they will rocket if a strike is called. In that situation can I immediately book easyJet and claim a refund from BA or do I need to wait until I speak to the latter?

Fiona H

A Since the highly damaging BA pilots’ strike began, about 300,000 passengers have been told their bookings have been cancelled. The British Airline Pilots’ Association (Balpa) warns: “Should British Airways refuse meaningful negotiations, further strike dates will be considered by the Balpa national executive team.”

While statistically the chances of your flight being cancelled are low, it is worth having a strategy just in case. When BA cancels flights because of strikes, it sends out mass emails, urging passengers to manage their own booking online. It may be that this option works for you. On 27 October, British Airways’ CityFlyer subsidiary has a flight from Stansted to Faro. As CityFlyer pilots are not striking, this might be the best plan if Stansted is easy to reach. But that depends on you being able to grab seven seats on a smaller commuter jet, which is not at all certain.

So you will need to rely on BA’s obligation, under the European air passengers’ rights rules, to provide you with a suitable flight on the same day. For many European destinations from Gatwick, that will be an easyJet departure. Unfortunately British Airways appears to be ignoring the regulation, refusing to book flights on easyJet (or Jet2 or Ryanair, both of which have services to Faro on that day from other London airports).

It may be that the Civil Aviation Authority will, by the end of October, decide to enforce the rules. But if not then you must give BA the chance to rebook on easyJet, which requires you to call the airline. If British Airways refuses to book you on the most appropriate alternative flight, I believe you would be able to buy at whatever the prevailing price is, and claim that amount (minus the original cost of your tickets) from BA.

Our friend has no visa, can he postpone his flight? (PA)

Q Is it possible to pay a fee to push flight dates back a week or so to give time for a new visa application? We’ve a friend due to fly imminently from the Philippines to the UK. But he has just realised that his visa expired in June and it will take a few days to get a replacement.

Gus M

A Without studying the conditions of your friend’s ticket, it is impossible to say conclusively, but I hope I can give you some guidance.

An airline may appear to have only three classes, eg economy, business and first, but each cabin is carved up into sub-categories with different fares and conditions. The basic rule: the more expensive the ticket, the more flexible it is, with the priciest offering free date changes.

Conversely, though, most cheap long-haul tickets are heavily restricted. For example, next month I fly from the UK to Dubai and on to Tokyo on an Emirates ticket that allows no changes at all.

Slightly more expensive tickets can offer some flexibility, but often only on the inbound date – and at a price. When I needed to delay the return date of a Heathrow-Salt Lake City round trip on Delta by 24 hours, it cost £150. Had the fare category I had originally booked not been available, it would have cost even more because airlines ask for any fare difference too.

Some yet more expensive fares also allow the outbound date to be changed, again for a fee.

If this is unfortunately not the case for your friend, then I fear all he can do is reclaim any taxes that might be recoverable (eg UK Air Passenger Duty of £78 on his flight back to the Philippines) and buy a fresh ticket.

Were he to find a cheap one-way ticket from, say, Manila to Heathrow, which are currently around £250-£350 via Bangkok or Singapore, with a view to using the inbound leg, he is likely to come unstuck. The original airline will treat him as a no-show and cancel the ticket completely.

The cheapest return deal I can see at the moment from Manila to London is around £600 on Qatar Airways via Doha.

Our online travel agent ceased trading: what can we do? (iStock/Getty)

Q We have booked and paid for accommodation through Amoma.com. I understand that the company has ceased trading. What are our options?

Graham M

A Amoma.com, which has now failed, was an online travel agent whose business model was to undercut other firms on price-comparison websites. It appears this was largely done through sourcing rooms through unconventional channels or at deeply discounted rates obtained from “bed banks”. The firm has now ceased trading, and blames unnamed media agencies which “unilaterally impose unsustainable financial conditions for us”.

The company advises: “Contact the reserved hotel to enquire about the provision of the service.” It warns, though: “Your booking will probably be cancelled by our suppliers.” Social media and consumer forums suggest that many hotels are asking guests who booked through Amoma.com to pay again – saying they have not been paid for the reservations.

I am afraid that all you can do is contact the hotel, in the probably vain hope that your room has been paid for. If that is not the case, the best course is to ask for a refund from your credit card provider. However, since you booked a room through an overseas agency and there is likely to be at least one more intermediary between Amoma and the hotel, that could be a difficult proposition. If you have a good travel insurance policy, you may be able to claim back on that.

In future, you might want to adopt a different approach. By all means use price-comparison websites to find a good deal, but then call the hotel direct and ask it to match the rate. Your relationship is then with the property itself, making everything much simpler.

Email your questions to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder