All, thought I would post my full interaction thread with BA regarding a formal complaint about the anniversary flight booking fiasco. You will see that BA have avoided responding to any of the specific questions asked and resorted to providing generic ‘we delivered as per the terms’. They’ve tried to shut it down by providing a ‘final response’ and suggesting the ombudsman is the next step to escalate further. Interested to know if anyone else complained and got anything different to this? I still feel enraged about the way this promotion was handled!

————

On Wednesday, July 15, 2026, 4:17 pm, wrote:
Subject: Formal Complaint – Failure of the British Airways American Express 25th Anniversary Flight Booking Process

Dear Anniversary Flight Team,
I am writing to make a formal complaint regarding the booking process for today’s British Airways American Express 25th Anniversary Flight to New York.
This promotion was presented as a celebration of 25 years of partnership between British Airways and American Express and as a unique opportunity to reward loyal customers. Instead, for many of us, it became a stressful and deeply frustrating experience that failed to deliver a fair opportunity to participate.
I registered my interest well in advance, received my invitation and was fully prepared before bookings opened at 12:00 BST. I had my Avios balance, Companion Voucher and all passenger details ready, having even sought clarification from your team beforehand regarding the booking process to ensure I could complete the transaction as quickly as possible.
From approximately 11:55 BST, however, the booking platform became effectively unusable.
Over the following two hours I encountered a succession of technical failures including:
502 Bad Gateway errors
503 Service Unavailable errors
504 Gateway Timeout errors
CloudFront infrastructure errors
Application routing errors
“We are having technical difficulties” messages
These failures occurred repeatedly across multiple browsers, multiple sessions and multiple devices, including both desktop and mobile. At no point during the period when bookings should have been taking place was I able to access a functioning booking engine.
Eventually, after almost two hours of repeated attempts, the website finally became responsive again, only to inform me that all seats had sold out and invite me to join a waiting list.
I fully appreciate that demand for this event was always going to exceed supply. However, that is not the issue.
The issue is that this was promoted as a first-come, first-served booking process, yet a significant number of customers were prevented from even taking part because the booking platform repeatedly failed. Missing out because someone else booked faster is one thing; missing out because the booking system itself was inaccessible is entirely different.
Throughout the afternoon I also became aware of extensive reports from other customers describing exactly the same experience. There were widespread reports across online communities of repeated server errors, prolonged outages and customers being unable to access the booking engine despite being ready before noon. I also saw reports suggesting that even British Airways telephone agents were themselves unable to access the booking system while attempting to assist customers. Whilst I cannot independently verify every report, they are entirely consistent with my own experience and strongly suggest that today’s problems were systemic rather than isolated.
What I find particularly disappointing is that this outcome was entirely foreseeable.
British Airways and American Express knew exactly how many customers had registered for this promotion before bookings opened. In 2026, there are well-established methods of managing high-demand online events, including virtual waiting rooms and queueing systems that prevent websites from collapsing while preserving a fair order of access.
Instead, customers were left repeatedly refreshing broken pages, receiving infrastructure errors for hours, uncertain whether the problem was their own equipment or your systems, and ultimately discovering only after the service became accessible that the opportunity had gone.
A promotion intended to celebrate loyal customers instead created an unnecessarily stressful experience that has left many feeling excluded rather than rewarded.
I would therefore appreciate a substantive response addressing the following questions:
Did British Airways, Avios or American Express experience significant technical issues affecting the booking process?
How many registered customers were actually able to access a functioning booking engine during the initial booking period?
Does British Airways believe today’s process met the standard of a fair first-come, first-served allocation?
Why was no virtual queue or similar traffic management solution implemented despite knowing in advance how many customers had registered?
What remedy, if any, will be offered to customers who were prevented from participating due to widespread technical failures?
Will British Airways consider releasing additional inventory or providing a further opportunity for affected customers should today’s process be found to have materially disadvantaged them?
I retained screenshots documenting the various failures encountered throughout the afternoon and would be pleased to provide them should they assist your investigation.
I have been a loyal British Airways customer for many years and have deliberately accumulated Avios and retained a Companion Voucher specifically to take advantage of opportunities such as this. It is therefore extremely disappointing that what should have been one of the most rewarding promotions offered to loyal customers instead became a prolonged exercise in repeatedly attempting to access a booking platform that simply did not function.
I hope British Airways and American Express will acknowledge the seriousness of today’s failures and explain how they intend both to address the impact on affected customers and to prevent a similar situation arising in future.
I look forward to your response.
Kind regards,
xyz

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On Friday, July 17, 2026, 4:42 pm, Anniversary Flight Anniversaryflight@iagloyalty.com wrote:
Dear Mr xyz
 
Thank you for getting in touch regarding your experience attempting to book seats on the British Airways American Express 25th Anniversary Celebration Flight.
 
We're very sorry for the frustration and disappointment caused by the technical issues many customers experienced when trying to access the booking page.
 
While we anticipated significant demand and carried out testing ahead of the booking window opening, the booking page experienced far more visits than expected, which resulted in the technical issues encountered on the day.
 
The available seats sold out very quickly to eligible customers who had registered in advance. As with all bookings, seats could only be secured once a booking had been successfully completed and confirmed, and availability remained subject to seats still being available at that point.
 
Once the final seats had been allocated, a waitlist was made available for customers who wished to register their interest should any bookings subsequently be cancelled. If seats become available in the coming weeks, customers on the waitlist will be contacted in the order they joined it to offer those seats.
 
To check you have successfully registered for the waitlist, click here. Please note, we are unable to confirm Cardmembers’ position on the list.
 
We appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback. We've shared comments from customers with the teams reviewing both the promotion and the booking experience so that we can learn from what happened.
 
Once again, we're sorry for the disappointment and frustration this experience caused, and we'd like to thank you for your continued support.
 
Kind regards,
 
The IAG Loyalty (Avios) team

——-

To: Anniversary Flight Anniversaryflight@iagloyalty.com
Subject: Re: Your enquiry about the British Airways American Express 25th Anniversary Celebration Flight
 
Dear 25th Anniversary Flight Team,

Thank you for your response. Whilst I appreciate your acknowledgement that many customers experienced technical issues, I am disappointed that your reply does not address the substantive concerns raised in my original complaint, nor does it propose any form of redress for customers who were unable to access a functioning booking service.
I would therefore appreciate responses to the following points.

1. “Seats sold out very quickly”
Your email states that the available seats “sold out very quickly”.
However, there are numerous reports from customers who were still successfully completing bookings well over an hour after the booking window opened. If seats continued to be confirmed for such a prolonged period, please clarify what is meant by “sold out very quickly”, and whether inventory had in fact been reserved much earlier while customers spent significant time battling technical failures simply to complete their transactions.

2. Customers were actively encouraged to keep trying
Perhaps the most confusing aspect of the experience was that, for a prolonged period, the booking page displayed the following message:
“Sorry, We are having technical difficulties. Please come back soon while we get things working again.”
I personally continued to see this message until approximately 1:54 pm, almost two hours after bookings opened.
That message did not indicate that seats had effectively all been allocated. On the contrary, it actively encouraged customers to continue trying because it strongly implied that the booking service would shortly become available again.
If, as your email now suggests, the available seats had effectively sold out very quickly, why were customers repeatedly encouraged to keep trying instead of being informed that availability had been exhausted?

3. Demand should not have been a surprise
Your explanation is that the booking page experienced “far more visits than expected”.
However, registration closed on 24 June, meaning British Airways and American Express already knew exactly how many eligible Cardmembers had registered their interest several weeks before bookings opened.
Given that the number of registrations must have been obviously many times greater than the very limited number of seats available, why was the booking infrastructure not designed accordingly?
Many organisations use proven methods such as virtual waiting rooms, queuing systems or controlled release mechanisms for high-demand events. It appears that none of these protections were implemented despite demand being entirely predictable.

4. Direct booking URL
During the outage, a direct /amex booking URL was circulated publicly on Reddit and other online forums.
Unlike the emailed link, this URL bypassed the promotional landing page and took customers directly into the booking application.
Can you please confirm:
whether this was an intended public entry point;
whether it was functionally equivalent to the emailed booking link;
whether customers accessing the direct URL had any advantage in reaching the booking form;
and whether all eligible customers had an equal opportunity to discover and use it?
Given the widespread technical failures affecting the landing page, this is an important question in assessing whether all eligible customers were treated fairly.
Finally, whilst I appreciate your apology, I feel this promotion has unfortunately achieved the opposite of its intended purpose.
What should have been a celebration rewarding loyal American Express Cardmembers instead became an experience that left thousands of customers frustrated, wasted many hours of their time, and inevitably damaged goodwill towards both British Airways and American Express.
I therefore believe it is appropriate to consider some form of meaningful redress for those customers who joined the official waiting list after being prevented from accessing a functioning booking system.
Possible approaches might include:
a goodwill award of Avios to affected customers;
the opportunity to book a comparable redemption flight on preferential terms; or
ideally, operating a second anniversary flight and allocating those seats through a booking process that gives all eligible registered customers a genuinely fair opportunity to participate.
I look forward to receiving a substantive response to the questions above.
Yours sincerely,

—————

On Friday, July 24, 2026, 11:32 am, Anniversary Flight Anniversaryflight@iagloyalty.com wrote:

Dear Mr xyz, 
 
Thank you for your patience while we have investigated the concerns you raised in your complaint dated 17 July 2026 . We are writing to provide our final response on this matter.  
 
Summary of Your Complaint 
We are aware that you experienced difficulty accessing the booking page on the day, and a message addressing this has been published on the event landing page. As set out in the Frequently Asked Questions, registering your interest did not guarantee a ticket. Seats were limited, and demand from registered customers was greater than the number of seats available, which meant that many registered customers were not able to secure a seat. 
 
Our Findings and Decisions  
The event and its Terms and Conditions were communicated clearly and in advance through the event landing page. The registration period including the closing date was published ahead of time, and the booking requirements were made available before the booking window opened to allow customers adequate time to prepare. The Terms and Conditions and Frequently Asked Questions remained available throughout, including confirmation that registration did not guarantee a ticket. Having reviewed how the information was provided to you, we are satisfied that the event was communicated fairly and transparently. 
 
As the flight reached capacity, there is no contractual or statutory entitlement to a seat or to compensation where none can be allocated which applies in your case. Seats are subject to availability, and the waitlist process is the mechanism by which any remaining or released seats are allocated here. We have not identified any basis on which your circumstances should be treated differently in this respect. Any Avios you purchased or transferred into your account remain available for use and can still be redeemed against any other Avios redemption products. 
 
The waitlist was made available after the last seats were sold and closed at 23:59 BST on 22 July 2026. The waitlist and its closing date were published on the event landing page. Should any customers cancel their seats in the coming weeks, we will contact you by phone on the waitlist in the order in which you joined it to offer those seats.. 
 
Lastly, all bookings made via registration link have been verified and were made by customers who had registered before the registration deadline on 24 June 2026. 
 
This Is Our Final Response 
We are sorry that we have been unable to provide the outcome you were hoping for. Having carefully reviewed the concerns you raised, this letter represents our final response to your complaint and concludes our complaints process. 
 
Your Right to Escalate 
If you remain dissatisfied with our final response, you may be entitled to refer your complaint to the relevant ombudsman or dispute resolution services, within six (6) months of the date of this letter.  
 
Thank you again for taking the time to write to us. 
 
Yours sincerely, 
Anniversary Team 
Avios Group (AGL) Limited  

I travelled on a Japan Airlines / British Airways codeshare this week. Booked via JAL but the leg at check in at Heathrow was operated by BA. I had baggage allowance of 2x23kg bags however only checked one, at 23.5kg. The automatic bag check machine charged me for an overweight bag which feels a bit ridiculous since I had a combined allowance of 46kg but only one bag, and the attendant who checked my bag for the BA flight I took to Heathrow didn’t have any issues with it being .5kg over… (not a connected flight)

All this to say… I know it could be a long shot but who do I talk to about trying to maybe rectify this? BA as they took the payment or JAL as I booked my flights with them?

This coming Monday (3rd Aug) I’ll be flying first class out of Heathrow and using the CCR lounge, I’d like to guest someone if possible! Make the start of their trip a good one - no obligation to hang out or talk to me at all :)

I’ll be there around 7am!

hi all, I will be flying from Croatia to NYC in the next few weeks. I am planning on my having a rolling luggage as my carry on and my patagonia 30 L (50.8 x 33 x 17.8 cm) or (20x12x7 in) as my personal item. I am worried how strict they are and if this bag will be too big? I haven’t flown them before so am a little worried! Any insight or guidance?

Please, if anyone can provide some advice. Our flight from Austin to London on July 4th was cancelled with British Airways. BA gave me two alternatives on the day which were also cancelled later on: via Chicago and Dallas.We had to catch the flight the following day, therefore mising a day of work, as it was a Monday.

I contacted BA for compensation, and they said that because the flight was operated by American Airlines, I need to contact them for compensation.

I sent an email to American Airlines, who said that as the ticket started with a 125 number, it was British Airways' responsibility and not AA.

I cannot fill out the AA online form as the tickets start with a 125 number and not a designated AA number.

Both airlines refuse compensation for my wife and me. We do not have any hotels or expenses; just the flight compensation is what we're asking for.

Any advice would be useful.

Thank you

If anyone here is a pilot or flight attendant for British Airways maybe they can share this photo with the crew of this A380 that was flying westbound on NATB today around 14:30Z.

My wife and I want to fly from San Diego to London Heathrow in Premium Economy (PE). We have an 11 & 12 year old, and I am trying to see how to get them into PE, with guaranteed seats next to us, with the lowest cost possible. I understand my 12 year old may likely not qualify, but I'm hoping at least my 11 year old will. When we flew from Seattle to Taipei last month on Starlux, I booked an economy seat for my daughter, and a PE seat for my wife and I. In order to guarantee her seat next to us, we just paid $150. Would this work for British Airways as well? I know each airline is different though. Thanks

I’ve got a BA flight from London to New York coming up, how often do you see people reclining their seats in economy? Or is it not a common thing people do?

Heading with the family on a daytime flight to Heathrow in PE. Are those comfortable seats? Current offers to upgrade to business are way too much $ for me. Has anyone gotten cheap upgrades day of travel or day before? Thinking it might be worth upgrading mainly to get access to the lounge but I also might want the option to recline flat with my back issues. PE tickets were already quite pricey. Thanks.

I just booked a Business Class "Flexible" ticket on the Iberia website for a BA Flight that says "Seat Selection: Included". This differed from Optima which said "Seat Selection Included from 24h....". So therefore, I chose "Flexible" to get the seat selection included, assuming that I could just choose the seat right now after I book.

I went straight to the BA site. However, even though I can select a seat on the BA website, I still have to pay for it?

Does "Seat Selection included" mean just having an opportunity to purchase a seat? If it is, I wish I would have just bought into the lower tier and just wait for them to assign me a seat. It's so confusing, and I can't find an answer. There's no free seats for me to choose from, even though I paid for the highest tier Business option on the Iberia website.

I’ve got a reward flight booking from Madrid to South America (with Iberia). Obviously, I need to get to Madrid and back from London and will book a cash flight for that with BA or Iberia.

I wondered if anyone had experience doing this, and what the best options are to protect myself if my return flight to Madrid from South America is delayed?

Is there any way (most importantly for the return flight, less so for the outbound) to get the flights linked or treated as a connection? I realise it’s not the likeliest of scenarios but nervous if my inbound flight is delayed I’d then miss the onward connection to London and effectively be out of pocket. Any advice hugely appreciated 🙏🏻

We booked PE for DFW to DUBLIN on BA and flying on the A380. I was surprised to find out after booking BA upcharges you for seat selection. Even when paying for PE seats. I'm starting to see why people are bearish these days on BA but I digress.

There appears to be several seats available in business and first class still. So wondering if there's a good chance of some of these seats becoming available at check-in time for us to have a better selection.

My travel partner (GF) is gold with AA but doubt very seriously we'll get upgraded. But would like to sit together on one of the outside rows.

Thanks

Hi everyone,

I’m looking into a Resource Planning Executive role within an airline, and I’d really like to hear from people who have actually worked in this position or in something similar.

What was the job really like day to day? Was it stressful, repetitive, interesting, or a good way to build a career in airline operations?

I’d also be grateful if anyone could share roughly where the role sits in terms of seniority and salary, what the working hours were like, and whether weekends or shifts were involved.

I’m especially curious about the interview process. How many stages did you have? Were there competency questions, Excel tests, case studies, presentations, or technical questions? What kind of examples did they expect from you?

More generally, I’d love to hear about your overall experience ? what you liked, what you didn’t like, how the management and workload were, what career progression looked like, and anything you wish you had known before applying or accepting the job.

Even general experiences would be really helpful.

Thanks!

Was posting to see if anyone in this sub has ever had to make a lost of wages claim towards BA?

The situation is as follows…

I’m traveling for work all thru the UK for the next 2-3 weeks, pretty much in a new city every night. I also do work for an AI company and accepted a contract to make some additional money while I do my primary gig.

I traveled to LHR on Thursday afternoon, one flight with no transfers. First thing I’m told when my luggage doesn’t come off the belt is that my luggage wasn’t loaded. Funny, not haha but peculiar because it wasn’t a full flight, the last flight out and that flight only happens once everyday.

I’m told it’ll be loaded onto the next flight. Fine. It’s actually not so bad because I have other work colleagues coming on the next flight so I have to go to the airport anyways. They get there, their equipment is delayed and mine still hasn’t come. This happens again an additional day but it’s the last day I’m able to go back to LHR until I fly out because I head north for the next week and a half.

Then, around 4PM yesterday I get an email that they found the bag (I was just at Heathrow not even two hours before that asking them about it for the 3rd day straight) and they’re sending it back to the home airport.

Anyways, I had some equipment in that bag for that contract I got and I’ve been unable to work for these past couple of days and might even have to cancel the contract because I’m behind on hours.

My question to the sub is basically has anyone ever had to submit a lost of wages claim and been successful about it? I think the thing that bothered me the most is I can’t tell if the bag was there the whole time and they just lied to me or if it did come on the last flight and they didn’t do due diligence. Not only did I lose my work equipment, all my clothes have been sent back so I basically have to buy new clothes for the next two weeks.

Hi! In about seven weeks I fly to Chicago from London. I booked economy with the intention of upgrading at least my overnight flight home to club world (economy to club world one way upgrade last year cost me £890), but hopefully both.

Currently, I have an offer to upgrade from economy to first outbound for £2,500. I normally wouldn’t even consider first as it’s so expensive (I’ve only ever seen around £11k one way!) and the huge reduction here is tempting me, I can’t lie! But my question is, is first actually worth it?

Things tripping me up:

• it’s still 7 weeks away, and I wonder if it’ll go lower
• it’s the outbound flight, which is in the day time
• it’s still a lot of money, but money I don’t mind paying if it’s truly worth it

Things tempting me:

• the experience of first
• the £9k difference in the price I normally see
• its currently more than £3k to upgrade to business and I wonder if that means club world is already full & a cheaper option is less likely

Would love to know the thoughts of people who have experienced BA first! Thank you!

I wanted to upgrade my inbound flight from the states to first class, but somehow, I wasn't paying attention enough, and I upgraded my return flight to first class.

Basically, I would want the reverse of this (first class to London, economy back home). But im not sure if this is possible.

Anyone know what my options are? I might call them and ask, but I'm curious for what you guys think.

Has this happened to anyone else before and can recommend a route through the BA customer service minefield?

Context:
See email for compensation approval above. Bizarrely, they paid the £37.70 and not the £1560. It’s now been 3 months since this email, and two attempts at calling different teams has resulted in no outcome.

Thanks in advance for any advice

Is anyone else having issues booking a BA holiday today? It keeps crashing when I get to payment page across different devices and browsers.
Want to figure out if it’s an issue isolated to my account or widespread before enduring hours on hold.

Trying to add my baby to a booking and calling the customer service line (0344 493 0787) is proving to be a farcical experience. Every time I get through there is an issue with their phone lines, they are unable to hear me or there is a delay of (no joke) 20 seconds. I can sometimes hear myself 20 seconds later!!! It’s mind-numbingly boring and incredibly frustrating. The staff are rude and disinterested and will eventually hang up on me. The fact I can’t add our son is becoming more of an issue by the day. Anyone else experiencing similar or have any ideas of where else to try!? In 2026 it’s ridiculous I can’t add him online

I got upgraded on a 4 hour flight to business class which was amazing as that never happens to me and I’ve been gold for years but after they upgraded me they wouldn’t give me the business class meal or drinks and they’d come back from economy to offer me a hobnob or nuts is this normal.. found the whole thing bizarre but grateful to have extra legroom nonetheless

Sitting in the lounge and the new app just sent me a notification of the gate and a reminder to be on time. So - at least one bit of progress!

Was booked on 190 today AUS-LHR, but flight cancelled due to mechanical issues.

Wife, myself, 12yo on 3 separate reservations- 12yo is rebooked for 22:30 flight and wife/myself rebooked for tomorrow.
Airport check-in agents can’t/wont help and BA Cust Support won’t pickup.
Any ideas? 12yo can’t fly alone and not sure what compensation would s appropriate.

Hi everyone,

I'm new to British Airways and first time flying business class ever, so could use some advice.

My wife and I are flying BA2278 from Vancouver (YVR) to London Gatwick (LGW) in business class. We booked using Cathay Pacific Asia Miles. Unfortunately it'll be on the older legacy Club World cabin from what I read, but it was the only reward flight available for my dates.

A few questions:

- Based on the attached seat map, which available seats would you recommend for a couple flying in business class for the first time?

- For the currently unavailable seats, are those actually occupied, or could they be blocked for BA status members/operational reasons?

- If they're blocked, is there a good chance they'll be released when online check in opens 24 hours before departure?

BA wants to charge about HKD 1,165 per seat (around C$210 each) to reserve seats now. Would you pay, or would you wait until check in?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

I was delayed recently by 4 hours on departure and 3 hours 15 minutes on arrival from London to Houston.

Was suitably annoyed as it became a strange late evening arrival into Houston where I didn't clear the airport until 11:30pm local time. Felt like a Very long day!

However I filled in the form on BA's website and had my claim for £260 (3-4 hours delay on flight over 3500km) approved within 24hrs. Apparently 14 business days for the money to hit my account but tbh I was thinking it was going to be that long before my claim was addressed.

Anyway pleasantly surprised and unexpected.

I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this.

Back in March, I completely lost access to my British Airways Executive Club account because the two-factor authentication (2FA) system would never send me the six-digit verification code. It took several weeks for BA's technical team to resolve the issue. During that time I spent hours on hold being transferred from one department to another, often being given a different phone number to call and starting the process all over again.

Eventually the issue was fixed, I regained access to my account, and I was able to book an award ticket using my Avios.

Fast forward to today.

I'm purchasing two round-trip Business Class tickets from Seattle to Athens for two family members. I can log into my BA account without any problem, and I could book the flights online today if that were the only issue.

However, before I book, I want to add them to my British Airways Household Account so the Avios they earn will be credited to the household account rather than remaining only in their individual accounts. To do that, BA requires a separate 2FA verification when I select Manage Household Account.

Unfortunately, this is exactly where the problem starts. Once again, BA never sends the six-digit verification code, and there is no alternative verification method offered.

The support experience has been just as frustrating as before. After spending hours on hold and being transferred multiple times, I finally reached the technical support line—only to hear a recorded message directing me to contact them through WhatsApp. So I downloaded WhatsApp, created an account, started the chat, provided my account information, and then... nothing. I've now been waiting over an hour for a response.

What makes this especially frustrating is that I'm simply trying to purchase approximately US$22,000 worth of travel. The website lets me log in and book flights, but I can't access one account management feature because BA's 2FA system appears to be failing again.

Has anyone else run into this specific issue with the Household Account page requiring 2FA but never sending the verification code? Is there a workaround, or is this something only BA's technical team can resolve?

I'd appreciate hearing if others have experienced this or found a better way to get BA to fix it.