Get unlimited access to the latest travel industry news and analysis, comment on articles and sign up to newsletters.
Register for free
Already registered? Login here or below.
Having difficulty logging in? Try these tips, or contact support@flymy.co.uk
An agent has pleaded with airlines to consider their less tech-savvy or older passengers after British Airways bumped her clients off a flight when they failed to check in online, writes Gary Noakes.
Julie Morris, a consultant with Doncaster’s Jaunt Travel, had booked a 50th birthday package to Cape Town for two clients with operator Visions of Africa.
The clients travelled to Heathrow by train and stayed near the airport to arrive in good time. They did not check in online.
They arrived at the check-in desk to be told the flight was overbooked with those that had already checked in online and they would be travelling the next day.
The passengers informed Morris that the BA check-in staff told them they had to check in online to guarantee their tickets.
“They lost 10% of their holiday,” said Morris. “It was very frustrating, because myself and the tour operator spent a long time tinkering with the itinerary to make sure it was perfect.
“These clients are not that old, but airlines should remember that not everyone is tech-savvy and people don’t always use their phones. It’s very unfair and disadvantages people.
“If this is BA’s official policy, they need to make it much clearer that online check-in is necessary if customers don’t want to be disadvantaged. I couldn’t check in my clients as they were on the train.”
A BA spokesperson said: “We are very sorry for the inconvenience caused to our customers and understand their frustration.
“We did all we could to look after them, providing refreshment vouchers and hotel accommodation, and rebooking them on to a flight the following day.
“We also provided compensation in line with our legal obligations.
“As a gesture of goodwill, we upgraded our customers on their return flight.”
The spokesperson added that “experience shows that a small number of passengers, having made their bookings, do not turn up for the flight”.
BA’s policy on overbooking stipulates that by “careful monitoring of booking and load patterns for each flight… [it] does its best to maximise the number of customers able to travel on each service”.
The spokesperson said that when the number of booked customers turning up exceeds the number of seats available, the airline usually offers money to customers willing to accept an alternative flight.
