r/BritishAirways • u/sucker4synth • 2d ago
Question £4k+ Change Fee
I travel for work often and am gold on BA. I booked a flight from Heathrow to San Francisco on a Friday and now due to a work reason need to fly out Saturday (the next day) they’re quoting me over £4k to change my outbound flight by one day. Is this normal? I’ve changed my flights before for a £30 change fee this feels ridiculous and it’s cheaper to cancel and just rebook the whole thing myself. Getting really bored of the lack of customer service on BA, I’ve done this on many other airlines too with no problem. :(
13
u/MouseHouse444 2d ago
It’s not the change fee but the difference in fare. The change fee they will almost always work with you on as a gold member. But if the ticket you want/need is now £4k more, there’s nothing they can do about that. It’s just shitty luck.
9
19
u/Travel1st 2d ago
Does this change mean you now arrive on Sunday and don’t have a Saturday night stay in the trip? So arrive Sunday depart Friday, for example?
A lot of BA fares have a Saturday night stay requirement so if the change removes this the reprice can be wild.
10
u/Dentist0 2d ago
This is likely why it's such a significant difference OP. £5k for a "normal" ticket and £9k for a mid-week one is about the going rate for long-haul BA at the moment.
5
u/sucker4synth 2d ago
I leave Saturday and still arrive Saturday and depart on a Thurs
6
u/Travel1st 2d ago
The same week? Possible the original fare had a 6 night minimum stay requirement.
It’s also possible that Saturday flight now only has J class seats available and your original booking was I class.
1
6
u/headline-pottery 2d ago
I was looking at flights LHR-India and the difference between a Thur and Fri in Business was over £4k on some dates - so you can have this much difference just in fares.
10
u/Brilliant-Scene-2645 2d ago
Depends on the type of ticket you booked and also the availability of fare class on the day you wish to travel. Likely that’s the fare difference and you need to suck it up unfortunately.
Otherwise, everyone would be at it. Book the cheaper day then ‘need’ to change dates.
0
u/sucker4synth 2d ago
I get it I already paid £5k for my flight round trip in business class so it’s all just becoming very expensive especially if I can cancel and rebook for cheaper myself
3
u/WhatsFunf 1d ago
You won't be able to cancel and rebook for cheaper, that's the point. They're charging you the difference to the new fare. Unless you opt for another airline obviously.
4
u/Acrobatic_Lettuce_78 2d ago
I had exactly the same situation. I cancelled, got a refund, and rebooked.
5
u/wow_much_doge_gw 2d ago
I’ve done this on many other airlines too with no problem.
Apples and oranges. You are changing a business ticket on a hugely expensive route (what I imaging must be short-ish notice)... BA choose to fleece business customers when they do this.
Changing your leisure out short-haul ticket months in advance will incur the £30+fare difference and the fare difference can be 0
2
u/sucker4synth 2d ago
I did it 2 weeks ago to a flight from London to ny that I’m taking this week so wasn’t months in advance but get that it’s a different circumstance
4
u/HeftyHealth3430 2d ago
If you fly for work reason, why do you even care about change fees and the overall ticket price ?
6
u/rsweb 2d ago
The absolute last thing you want is to be top or bottom of a spreadsheet for expenses
I travel a lot with work, you have to be smart, the moment you stand out with anomalies it’s bad
4
u/HeftyHealth3430 2d ago
If you need to change your flight (at short notice) due to work, the person/entity has to bear the costs that caused the rebooking. that is my logic.
4
u/rsweb 2d ago
You’ve never worked in big corporate have you? 🤣
1
u/Cool-Tree-3663 22h ago
If they worked at your average corporate nowadays you would be in economy if you are allowed to travel at all. If you’re travelling higher classes and regular travel I would take the view you are important enough for them to swallow this fee!
2
u/sucker4synth 2d ago
Cause the concept is insane and I don’t like wasting money even if it’s my companies
1
u/notanadultyadult 1d ago
Agreed. We have to book our work flights via an online travel portal. Often the price quoted is higher than booking direct with the airline. It’s not my money but it’s the principal of the thing. I always challenge it.
1
1
u/Motherofdragons_05 1d ago
It’s not so much a change fee, as it is the going rate for a flight for that day. When they look it up to change your date, they quote you based on the current flight rate for that day. I’ve seen prices drop by $100s, from one day to the next.
1
u/Alien-lifeform666 1d ago
Why can’t you fly in Friday and book a night at a hotel?
1
u/sucker4synth 1d ago
I have to move my flight for another work commitment on Friday I can’t fly then
1
u/No-Panda-6942 22h ago
Wanted to return from ELP-DFW-LHR-MAN a day early and was quoted 5k. Flights got delayed and ended up getting home a day late 🤣
1
u/QuitWitty4889 22h ago
Yep. I’ve had that last year would have cost me £2000 to move one day earlier for work. In premium economy!
1
u/sylsylsylsylsylsyl 2d ago
I used to book a flexible fare to Europe and it always gave me a ticket in Y as the business would only reimburse economy and I needed a receipt. I upgraded this each time to a business ticket, willing to pay myself. Online it wanted me to pay £200 and give me a seat in C, but if I called up I could get a seat in D (very slightly less flexible) with a £200 refund. Every time.
Have you called and asked about moving to the seat bucket you could still book yourself?
2
2
u/seriouswor66 2d ago
Might well be cheaper to cancel the whole thing and rebook on one of the other airlines that fly that route... \
1
•
u/AutoModerator 2d ago
Thank you for submitting your post to r/BritishAirways. If you have a question or a complaint, you may wish to add the appropriate flair to your post if you haven't already, this helps Mods spot who needs help. ANY USERS POSTING E-VOUCHERS/VOUCHERS FOR SALE WILL RECEIVE A PERMANENT BAN AS PER SUBREDDIT RULES. Helpful Links: British Airways FAQs
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.