In late 2021, Mark from San Diego and his wife were flying home in British Airways premium economy from Split, Croatia, via London and Dallas, but did not connect. They were rebooked in economy on Virgin Atlantic and tried to get paid for two years when finally, in December 2023, they were told they had agreed to the downgrade, which he refused. (It shouldn’t matter anyway, both Mr. Leff and Mr. Radchenko said.)
They finally received $746 from British Airways last week. But the full cost of their original round-trip itinerary (two tickets from San Diego to Ljubljana, Slovenia, and back from Croatia) was $5,821, and it’s unlikely their refund could account for 75 percent of an economy premium that trans-Atlantic flight . British Airways confirmed that they calculated the fare difference instead of using the parameters laid out by the British government and gave me no explanation as to why.
A year later, Cynthia and her partner found themselves in a similar situation, missing a British Airways premium economy connection to London on their way home to Los Angeles, ending up in economy. They booked through a travel agent, who tried unsuccessfully to get a refund. Cynthia then runs into a brick wall when she tests herself. He still hasn’t received a refund.
In the third British Airways case, David of Carmel, NY, and his wife were booked to fly first class from London to New York when their flight was cancelled. On their rebooked flight, they were demoted to the equivalent of business class. Their initial request for a refund was rejected by someone who read their complaint almost comically, replying that they didn’t deserve compensation because their flight arrived with an “18-minute delay.” Subsequent calls to customer services led nowhere. And even after I contacted the airline, another representative wrote the couple with a coup d’absurdité: They were not eligible for a refund because “based on our research, your last flight was in First Class, so no downgrade refund is due for your booking.” (I can attest that their boarding passes say otherwise.)
British Airways finally sent the couple a refund, of $1,036, this past Saturday. But their original fares for first class (plus a short hop from Amsterdam to London on the way back) were under $10,000 for both, which could mean return flights from London to New York cost around $5,000 . Again, British Airways said it calculated the difference in fares rather than the applicable percentage of the original fare. I advised David to look into Britain’s Civil Aviation Authority guide on denied claims.
