British Airways

I booked my travel from IAH, Houston to India by British Airways on December 2, 2011. My US visa expired on November and I obtained an extension visa which is not yet stamped on my passport until 2014. When I went to the airport, I was denied entry into the flight because London requires a valid US visa stamped on the passport to go through. My wife had the same situation. They let her through 3 days back and she went without a problem. In my case, they did not.

British Airways have double standards and they do not mention about this clearly when you buy the ticket. Of all the airports, London is the only airport where you need a transit visa even for landing in the airport. I lost all my $1500 that I spent. BA also cancelled my return journey ticket, telling me that if onward journey ticket is cancelled the onward journey will get cancelled automatically. They have charged me $1500 for no service provided and I feel conned. When I call the customer care, I am on the phone for hours and once I tell them that I call for refund, I am being put on hold and eventually the phone call is hung up.

Hi, I booked my flight from Italy to America, my girlfriend and her daughter and I with BA; But we could not go as my girlfriend had severe breast cancer three years ago, and few days before we were due to go, she had to go back to the hospital undergoing unexpected operation. Of course, this is all provided with the documentation, and BA does not want to refund the tickets anytime. We want to know what to do. Regards.

I sent this complaint to Airsafe.com, but have received no acknowledgement of it. I am not sure where to direct the complaint now: I am bringing this complaint regarding British Airway and Heathrow staff forward in order to bring awareness to the incident that occurred on October 13th and request damages in order that my concern will be taken seriously.

On October 13th, I transferred flights from Athens to Boston in London Heathrow Airport. My problems did not begin until we got to our gate in terminal 3 and I learned that our flight was delayed. As I had needed to catch a bus in Boston that stopped running at midnight, I asked the British Airway staff at the desk what time we would be estimated to arrive. I had to ask the woman at the desk four times, rephrasing the question at each request, what time we were estimated to arrive in Boston. The conversation went like this: "Excuse me, I need to catch a bus by midnight in Boston in order to meet the person driving me home. Could you tell me about what time we're expected to arrive in Boston? "

"They can help you with that in Boston". "Well, what time might we arrive in Boston". "I don't know". "I understand we may be delayed by an hour. Given that, what time would we be expected to arrive in Boston? " "I don't know". Exasperated: "How can you not know? If the flight takes 7 hours, then what time might that put us in Boston? " "I'm sorry, I didn't understand the question. " She then gave me the estimated time. I could have figured this out myself, had I not been so jet lagged and had such a bad cold. I busied myself with making other arrangements for a ride home with two of my fellow travelers: Diedrick ** and Nancy ** since it was not at all certain that we would be delayed by only an hour. Then I went for a walk. Mr. ** agreed to watch my bags for me at the gate.

As I sat in a cafe, I was joined by Ms. **. We heard a flight being called to board for Iberian Airways to Boston leaving at 1930. I asked Ms. ** if that was our flight since we were also to leave for Boston at 1930, but we decided it couldn't be our flight because we were not flying Iberian Airways. We did not hear the flight number being announced or the gate number that we were using.

When we arrived back at the gate, everyone was gone. Only our baggage sat in the waiting area. There were three staff at the desk who began to berate us for leaving our bags unattended. We assured them that we had left our bags with a friend. They replied that when they asked him whose bags they belonged to, he told them he didn't know us. Since I know Mr. ** to be a reasonable gentleman, I knew this not to be true. We then provided our passports and boarding passes for the staff to board the plane.

Ms. ** hurried to board ahead of me. Just as I pressed the button for the elevator to get down to where I would board the plane, I saw a man come around the corner and asked if I was the one who left her bags unattended. He was told by the staff that I was one of them. He came over to me and began to berate me as well. I again reiterated that I had not left my bags unattended, but with a friend. The elevator door opened and I began to get into the elevator. This man grabbed my arm and prevented me from going into the elevator. He told me that I was being "very rude" and that he was talking to me. He wanted to state again that I can't leave my bags unattended, that it's against the law, and that I could be arrested or could have had my bags confiscated.

I asked: "leaving my bags with a friend is leaving my bags unattended? " He then told the staff to take me off of the flight. I asked why and he responded that I was not taking what he said seriously. I explained to him that I had already been told by the three other staff present and that there didn't seem to be any more to say about it. He then allowed me to board the flight, although tossed a few more inflammatory statements at me as he followed me down the stairs to the plane. Although I made a mental note of his name, I did not want to start writing things down out of fear of retribution. I believe his last name was ** and I noted the title of terminal security manager on his badge.

When I was seated on the plane, I told Mr. ** what had occurred. I then learned that when they began boarding the plane, he had asked the staff to page Ms. ** and myself. They insisted that he board the plane and he asked them to watch our bags. He did hear them page our names, but we did not .I suspect that they put the page out only in the gate area, rather than in the terminal.

Things continued to go poorly on the flight with the stewards. When I requested that the steward help me get my bags into the overhead, because I was too short to reach and our overhead, I was told, was full, he asked if my bags were heavy. He did eventually help me, but put the bags in the overhead at the end of the plane, so that I was required to wait until all of the passengers got off before I could retrieve them. I should note also that when I received my dinner on the flight, it had clearly been tampered with. the seals for the entree and desert had both been opened. I did not have any sugar that I could find on the tray and had pressed the call button to request some. The stewards ignored my request, even when they passed by with the food cart a second time, forcing me to call out my request at them after they passed.

The incidents with British Airway and staff at Heathrow were a more serious offense than simple rudeness and I feel at this point, need a more serious response than an apology. I am requesting a refund of my entire amount of my round trip ticket, including taxes in fees, in damages. I can only estimate this cost, of $1200, because my agent only provided me with the cost of the fees and taxes. I would also like to receive some indication that the staff involved in these events will be reprimanded.

Should you Fly British Airways?

I should have arrived at the airport three hours early for my British Airways flight to Verona. However, when I got to Victoria station to take a 35-minute train to Gatwick airport, a water main had just exploded and flooded all the train tracks. I quickly jumped on another train going to East Croyden where I then got a replacement bus service to the airport.

I could have still made it to my flight but two miles outside the airport, the traffic completely stopped. When I finally got into the airport, I had 20 minutes before my flight, but British Airways wouldn't let me fly, which is understandable enough.

But the understanding stops there. British Airways then charged me a hefty 60 to change my flight to the next day. Hundreds of people missed their flight because of the transportation problems that was no fault of their own, but British Airways charged them all 60 to transfer their flight to the next day. However, other airlines were a lot more understanding, like Easy Jet, which didn't charge their customers anything.

I asked British airways, who are always advertising how much they understand their customers and care for them, where did they get the arbitrary charge of 60, why did they have to charge so much, and why did other airlines like Easy Jet not charge their customers anything? They wrote back in a cold robotic way and basically told me to piss off.

British Airways definitely made a lot of money that day. And I actually originally paid 20 more to fly with them because I bought into their brand and thought they were more reliable and understanding. But from my experience, and other people I have talked to since then about their negative experience with British Airways, I think those days are over and I think they need to change their brand song from the Flower Duet to John Lee Hookers I need money' song.

At least I'm giving my money to Easy Jet next time.

Since February 19, 2011, I have been trying to resolve an issue with British Airways regarding our flight to Egypt. I canceled the $4,537.42 tickets when Viking Cruise Line canceled our cruise due to the revolution in Egypt. I was promised a refund but have only received a credit of $269.42. If they were not going to refund the tickets, I would have reused them, and have also offered that in my last email.

My frustration is that British Airways does not give any telephone numbers for customer service and I have not been able to discuss the issues with anyone. Reservations give me one answer but the emails from British Airways refund department do not address the issues I discussed with Reservations.

My last contact to British Airways today was via their online email form. My email listing the details of my contacts to them was also included. I also tried to pursue via MasterCard but they said I needed to deal with British Airways directly.

I have just received an email that does not address any of the issues in my email of August 8, 2011. Please read my issues and respond to the fact that I am owed $4,537.42.

I flew from London to Qatar and my bag got stolen/lost. British Airways gave me the hardest time and not once that I was able to reach anyone to speak with. Every time they ask me to go send messages through their website, no one would answer back. It has been three months and I have not been able to get my so-called compensation which is a fraction of a fraction of what I got robbed for on that sketchy airlines. I got many friends who actually got their belongings missing on that airline specifically. At first, it was hard to relate but when it happened to me, I can see why people hate that airline everywhere. They have the worst customer relation department. All their phone numbers listed on the website do not work.

The damage was losing my all time favorite items which I always travel with. Many valuables and sentimental things as well as expensive suits, perfumes, sportswear, watch, Ipod, and many more. The biggest damage is that no one at this airline actually care. They email you back and it is obvious that they only copied a generic reply that has nothing to do with the details of my case. It is a very frustrating airline. I would never step on their aircraft even if it is the last airline on this planet.

First of all, I was flying from Amsterdam to Dayton, Ohio booked directly with British Airways. When I got to London, I realized that they flew me in to City Airport and I was flying out of Heathrow. It's my first time in London, and it cost me over a hundred pounds to reach Heathrow. Customer service was very rude about the extra expenditure. On my return flight, Dayton airport was closed. Flights were canceled and to re-book it cost me $20 plus to talk to British Airways agent and $225 to re-book.

My name is Tjahjadi ** and I have flown to Europe on December 15th 2010 from Jakarta, Indonesia to Munich, Germany. My one luggage was lost as I arrived at the Munich Airport and I reported it to the BA baggage claim desk. I had 2 luggage but only one was lost. She told me that according to the computer, my luggage was still in London and it will be delivered to my address in Nuremberg shortly. She did not give me any compensation for toiletries as all of my clothes, underwear, etcetera were inside there and she just gave me a PIR card. The weather at that time was ** cold. This is my first time for a lost luggage so I just followed what she said.

That night, I called the BA phone number as stated on the PIR card. The BA told me that my luggage was still on a not found status and then told me to wait. I could not go back to the Munich airport as we were on schedule for traveling, but I kept calling the BA phone number to check my status.

Finally, after my traveling ended and it was time to go back home, we went back to the Munich airport where I met the same person from the BA staff again and I asked about my claim. She told me that I have to make my claim with my BA representative in Jakarta, Indonesia. I asked her about the toiletries compensation (I checked it with friends who had lost their luggage and they got compensation for toiletries daily until the baggage was found or at the end of the travel), but she told me that the BA at the Munich airport could not pay for any claims as I have to claim through the BA from Jakarta, Indonesia. I have to buy everything including a new luggage, clothes, etcetera with my own money to compensate for it.

At the BA Jakarta, Indonesia, the staff told me that the BA Jakarta only act as ticketing sales and does not have any authority regarding delayed or lost luggage so I have to make a complaint through the BA website. I did fill in the claim form for my lost luggage on the BA website and sent it to its Customer Relations officer and after a couple of weeks, I received a reply from the BA Customer Relations officer named Nitin **:

"Dear Mr. **: I apologize for the delay in replying to you. I am very sorry that you and your family had a bad start to your holiday plans as you had a problem with your luggage. I do appreciate how stressful it is to arrive at your destination without your personal belongings. I regret to report that we have not been able to locate your missing luggage despite a very extensive search. Please accept my sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused.

We know that getting our customers' bags to the right place is a critical part of our operation. That's why we worked so hard to improve our baggage system. However, it didn't work smoothly on the day you traveled and I can see that it caused you inconvenience.

In order for us to process your claim, please send me receipts, card slip, insurance valuation, quotation, or any other document to support the value of your missing property. If you do not have these, please send me a detailed list of the contents lost specifying the amount and date of purchase. Please send them to the address mentioned below and mark our Customer Relations reference number on the letter. I will also need a letter signed by Mrs. Andryani ** authorizing you to deal on her behalf. I should add that the airlines only have a limited liability when it comes to compensation in a situation like this. So if you had travel insurance, I suggest that you also inform your insurance company about what's happened.

I know that this delay with your luggage isn't what you expect from us. Thank you for letting us know about it and I hope my email reassures you that this area is a high priority for us."

I sent the details of my items that were lost by email and the receipts of the items that I bought in Europe as I traveled after my luggage was lost. The problem was, until now, there was still no reply from the BA as if they were withholding my compensation claim. I asked the BA through my email about the daily toiletries that the BA had to pay for me and my family.

The tagged luggage that was lost had my wife's name so I sent an email and detailed letter of my lost items with my wife's signature. I don't know what to do anymore as I am planning to put these matters on international media and class action against the BA. I hope that you, AUC UK, can help me in solving this problem. Thank you very much for your kind help and information.

I flew from Istanbul, Turkey to Los Angeles in August 7, 2010 with British Air Ways. In LAX, my bag with the tag number ** didn't come and I did not receive. I contacted with customer relation. They recommended me to follow-up with automatic phone or their website. My file reference number is **. So far, I could not even contact with them. There is no response from the company side.

My name is Michael and I am writing you in hopes that you might help me with a electronic ticket (e-ticket #ZSVUCM) that I purchased through British Airways website on June 27th for travel from Los Angeles to London, England. My flight was to be from LAX to Heathrow leaving at 10:05am this coming Thursday, Flight Number BA0278 and I was to return from Heathrow to LAX on the 23rd of August, Flight number BA0269 at 19:05pm. It was going to be the first vacation that I have had for several years but I had to cancel due to a family tragedy.

My 86 year old Aunt was hospitalized on the 6th with the expectation that she was not going to recover and that indeed proved to true. She passed away on the 8th, the date I was supposed to travel to London. There was absolutely no way that I could have traveled at that time as I needed to be here to support my family. I just lost a sibling last year and I really needed to be here for my family. In addition to the death of my aunt, I also had an allergic reaction to a medication I was prescribed the month before. Both of these issues made it impossible for me to travel at the time.

When I have had to change my travel plans with other airline companies I remember being charged a change fee but did not lose the entire ticket price. When I called British Airways ticketing people, I was told that I needed to reschedule a flight right away; otherwise, I would lose any money I spent on the ticket. Frankly with the stress that I was under, I wasn't able to make additional travel plans at that time. To expect me to make addition travel plans while I was under that sort of pressure is rather brutal and unkind to say the least.

I can provide documentation regarding the reaction to the medication and the obituary of my Aunt, the e-ticket print-out, the itinerary as well as some correspondence where I asked about the ticket flexibility options but was not able to get an answer.

I first tried contacting BA via their fax line but did not receive any response. Then I contacted the Better Business Bureau of New York and through them I received an email from Steve **, British Airways Customer Relations, telling me that there was nothing they could do for me. I have since written Willie ** and FedExed a package to his office all my supporting material and was just emailed today by James ** of British Airways Customer Relations who told me that, even though he was concerned that their agent was not able to give me any information regarding their "flexible ticketing", he could do nothing for me.

I seem to be at the end of my options but thought that it wouldn't hurt to make a personal appeal to see if you could help me in any way. They have made it clear that there is no possibility of recovering the money I spent on the ticket, but a travel voucher for a future trip would seem to be the very least they could do. I recognize that my situation is slightly uncommon but if you could see your way clear to help, I would truly appreciate it. My life has lately been very stressful and a little kindness would go a long way.

My Wife and kid has a round trip ticket from Los Angeles to New Delhi via London (india). I am in US on a L1 work permit. My orginal VISA expired in DEC 2009. I applied extension and got my work permit extension approved till DEC 2011. When i booked ticket through Bristish Airways website i clearly read that rules says "you should have a valid document to enter destination country if you are a transit passenger" but when i went for check in during our outbound flight to DELHI from LAX, they said that we need a VALID US visa or Transit Visa for UK to travel. We were not allowed to board the flight and our ticket fee was not refunded. My Wife and KID cound not travel with my parents who had booking in the same flight. British airways did not refund my money.

On February 17, 2010, I purchased an airline ticket via BA.com. I did so after seeing and reading the fine print about a "Price Promise" guarantee offered by the company. It stated that if a lower fare of the exact itinerary was found on another website after purchasing a ticket on BA.com, the difference would be refunded to the consumer. Moments prior to booking my flight, I did find such a case and felt it was in my best interest to deal directly with an airline than a third party. So with the Price Promise in place, I opted to book through BA. I then immediately filled out a claim form on BA.com which requested just the name of the website and the price I found along with my personal information.

Hours later, I received an email saying that my claim was denied because they could not verify the fare I found. Luckily, I had printed the screen showing the fare. I submitted that as an attachment to BA and was then told that they needed evidence as a screenshot in JPEG or doc form. I took a screenshot and submitted it in JPEG format. Since then I have had over a dozen email correspondence with BA in which I am being sent an automated response requesting proof of the lower fare. I have contacted BA via phone several times, and even had a supervisor tell me that he was not responsible for upholding the price promise, and that the only way to be in contact with the branch that handled this situation was via email. I was told that he himself could not even contact this branch and that I needed to continue with email correspondence as he could not help me with this case.

I have emailed BA with my complaints as well as responded to the automated response asking that someone please contact me, all to no avail. I am absolutely confident that the flights and fare policies are within the guidelines set by BA and feel this is just the company's way to avoid repayment. I am currently an unemployed student living off savings, which are dwindling. The difference in fare is about $120, money that is needed to help pay my student expenses. The financial burden of this expense has been causing me severe emotional distress as every dollar needs to be accounted for.

I bought tickets to India for my fiance and me. We saw tickets for a great deal- $1527 for the two of us. This was on an online travel agency's site. We double and triple checked it on multiple sites including British Airway's own website. When we found similar prices, we booked it. We made plans with folks back home and planned out our wedding. A week later we got a mail which said that it was a 'glitch' in British Airway's system and since the prices were so obviously low, they will not honor the tickets. It has been about 2 weeks since and we still haven't received our refund.

I bought my tickets from British Airways online on ba.com (Booking reference: 2BCEUC) to travel from Los Angeles, USA to New Delhi, India. I called BA customer service that I am travelling on Advance payroll and I have an Indian passport and if I need any additional documents and they said you are fine.

I travelled on June 10th from Los Angeles to New Delhi changing planes in London without any interruption by British Airways. On July 12th, when I came to New Delhi airport for my return trip, BA employees did not let me check in saying that I need transit visa for UK to change planes in London. In spite of being with 2 little children (one of them is US citizen) and all valid documents to enter my final port of destination I was harassed unnecessarily. If this was the rule then how did they let me travel via London while traveling from Los Angeles to Delhi?

This completely shows that I was unnecessarily harassed & discriminated on New Delhi airport by BA staff. I am travelling on the same documents to India through London, UK and Frankfurt, Germany from last 8 years.I even requested BA employees to transfer me to any code sharing airlines and Lufthansa airline was ready to take me & my kids if BA could give them something in writing but BA staff was extremely rude, not at all ready to cooperate (I dont even have words to explain that) and they didn't even seem to consider that to help a lady with 2 children and one of whom is a US citizen.

Finally I told BA to rebook me on their flight on July 15th so I could get UK transit visa but they showed their extreme customer harassment by asking another amount of about $4007.61 to rebook me on another flight so looks like that BA's primary goal was to make money without even thinking about customer's problems or may be their plane was over booked and they were just trying to save themselves besides making more money.

I am extremely disappointed with BA service and how their rules change. I believe airline was not honest about transit visa as if that was their primary requirement they could not have let me travel to India in first place. By allowing us to travel without transit visa and then harassing us for the same reason it clearly shows that they want to make money from people.

I wrote to them to refund unused part of my return trip price as I had to purchase fresh tickets for my return trip via a different airline (Cathay Pacific), as BA didn't show any concern for myself and my 2 little kids who are still in such a big trauma after this experience. I can provide a proof for my purchase of fresh tickets which I got in less than half the price what BA was asking me to rebook. When I called British Airways Customer Relations office for the refund of my unused part of my trip they were very rude and impolite and said "Do whatever you like, complain wherever you may want". This type of bad attitude you could only expect from British Airways.

answering my e-mail nor my faxs the travel agency is also. I paid 1014 USD for this ticket.

If I were head of this company, I would be embarrassed to tell anyone what company I ran.

I had to cancel a return flight home to the US on Dec 29 as I was ill. I was promised a refund would be in my account 7 days later. Four months later I am now further forward despite sending the doctors letter three times, letters to senior management team, contacting the executive club and the media department.

Someone called today to say they had been emailing me constantly for the doctors letter. Lies! They have used this line since December. When I did caller ID on the number today, I got through to the answer machine of a car body shop. The voice on the answer machine was very similar to the message left for me today.

Three hours of my time handling this. Sheer anger and frustration.

purchase another ticket on a different airline and travel.

I traveled with a tour group on British Airway to Livingstone Airport Zambia. My luggage was lost. I filled a local report. My suitcase was returned four days later. I had the proper locks on my suitcase.

I was under a lot of stress wondering if it was going to be returned. Soneone had been in my suitcase and took sveral things. One of the items taken was a pair of leather walking shoes which I really needed. That caused me a lot of stress because since I had foot surgery a year ago I needed a shoe that fit. I was not able to find a proper fitting shoe.

I booked a non-refundable round trip flight for my wife in Kenya to come visit the states for our honeymoon. The first incident with British Airways was that they accidentially charged my debit card twice for the flight. This was resolved in some what of a timely fashion but still a pain and with no perks. Anyways, my real complaint is that i had to cancel the flight due to my wifes medical school schedule being pushed back due to the elections turmoil. Now i understand the words non-refundable and accept the fact of them keeping their portion of the flight costs, but, the $712.00 in taxes is not theirs to keep which they insisted that they would refund. And they so far havent nor do i expect them too now after the run around i have recieved from their customer service agents and managers and the lapse of time that has occured.

I will be doing considerable traveling to and from Kenya here in the future, both my wife and i and family members and i nor they will be using british airways due to this incident and their negligent consumer relations. I will also be happy to tell anyone i meet of the negative experience with them. Their loss and all over $712.00! Their management practices and stratigies are pathetic!

Hello,

My wife and I chose British Airways as our carier during our last trip to India. Both of us were suppposed to fly out of Seattle on 4th of August.

At the Seattle port I was denied boarding on basis of my Visa situation.That is the H1B stamp on my Visa had expired in June 2006 and that of my wife has expired in 2008.My wife was allowed to fly because her visa expiry date was within six months of the travel date.So she flew alone on 4th. I was advised by the BA staff to get a Canadian visa stamp which will make me eligible to fly via heathrow. I did that and consequently flew on sixth. I asked a lot of questions and the BA agents confirmed that same criteria will apply while coming back and there will be no problem.

But, at Calcutta airport they insisted on a UK transit visa and ignored the fact that I has a Canadian Visa stamp and that my wife's visa expiry date was still within six months.

We were stuck in Calcutta for a day and finally had to rebook ourselves in Singapore airlines after paying 2500$.

Singapore airlines recognized the travel documents we have which is called the 'Advance Parole' and we came back to US.

British Airways is not willing to refund the price for the ticket for the return trip even though it was clearly their fault to not inform us about correct visa rules and letting us fly out in the first place.

On 23rd September, 2008 my husband and I boarded flight BA0055 from Heathrow to Johannesburg. We were supposed to take off at 19.05 but only left 30 mins later. After being in the air for 40 mins the captain came on air to say their was a problem with the hydraulic system and the wheels were not being pulled back into place. He then said he had to dump 60 tons of fuel which now also took extra time flying around. We then landed at Heathrow and were left on that plane whilst engineers did their work.

The heat was so oppressive, I have no idea why we were not allowed off the plane into the terminal again into the air conditioning and our meal given to us whilst waiting. I became so nauseaous in the plane that I had to spend most of the time in the toilet. We then took off after midnight and were served dinner at 2.30am That I did not have nor the breakfast that was served a few hours later. Our family had all made arrangements to be at the airport to meet us as it was a holiday there in Durban. That should have been 10.00am we only flew in 3.30pm with nobody there. What a ghastly end to a wonderful trip to Europe and Scotland.

Extreme nausea and violent headache from excessive heat.

I landed in London (LHR) from Philadelphia (PHL) on the morning of August 30, 2008 at 6:20 AM. I then took my flight to Madrid Spain on BA 7056 which was an hour delayed in landing at Madrid. This prompted me to miss my flight to Valencia (VLC). Once landing in Valencia, I found out that my bag was missing and it never arrived in Valencia. I promptly reported to Iberia Airlines of the situation on August 30 at the airport. For two day, Iberia did not locate my bag. Needless to say this caused a very big inconvenience for me at my conference which I was attending.

I proceeded to backtrack and called British Airways in U.K on Monday September 1 and was told that my bag was in London. BA would not send my bag since my claim was made with Iberia. Had I known the bag was in London, I would have filed it with BA. I called Iberia to let them know the bag was in London which they verified with BA on Monday, September 1st. Iberia has told me that they repeatedly asked BA to send the bag to the hotel which I was staying but did not receive any response from BA for remainder of the week. I stayed at Valencia until the 5th of September for my conference and since my bag did not arrive by this time, I requested the bag to be sent back and delivered to my house.

On my trip back from Valencia on Sept. 5th, I was assured by Jon of BA ticketing counter in London that my bag was going on American Airline flight 79 from London Heathrow to Dallas Fort Worth then on American Airline Flight to Sacramento, CA which is an hour north of my house. It is now September 10th and I have been told by Iberia that they do not know where my bag is, British Airline has no record, and American Airline do not have any luggage information with my name.

I was attending the largest solar energy in the world. EU PV SEC 2008 in Valencia Spain. I had a pair of shorts and golf shirt for the entire week and my meetings were totally embarassing as my suits were all in my luggage. I have to get my suits tailored and therefore could not find any suits that would fit me for my meetings. We had lost a contract due to this matter. My meeting with a client was for $5 million. My luggage contains three suits which were priced at $1500 each, my two dress shoes were $500 in total, my three dress shirts were $150 each, and my ties were $100 each. My 3 cuff links were $150 each.

Unable to travel on scheduled flt. from Heathrow to Phx.AZ due to hospitalization for food poisoning. Next available flts would have been 7/5/08, 7/09/08 or 7/10/08 and my release was 6/25/08.I needed to come back to the states for medical treatment and medication. I am also diabetic and this eating problem had interfered with my blood sugar levels.

Upon this first agent contact we were not aware of an additional charge. At the Check drs. insistance we called again for a sooner flt. We were then booked for 6/26/08 but were charged additional $$. We put this on our Visa Debit card and hoped to straighten out the matter upon our return to the states and our our travel agency.

Economic hardship of $1500 for re-booking due to an unexpected medical condition. Letter denied any obligation to refund. We are asking for negotiated refund.

We are US Citizens and our worst nightmare started with a 2 week trip to India (Chennai) from Aug 7th thru Aug 24th. We purchased 4 tickets round trip from JFK to Chennai (India) and back, from Alanita Travels for 2 adults and a 3 year & 5 year old. Got reasonable ticket prices to travel via British Airways - paid almost $5000.00. Going from JFK to Chennai (MAA) was fine nothing to complain about.

But the nightmare started when we were coming back to the USA on August 24th and 8.05AM flight via BA departing from Chennai MAA. We were, more specifically my wife was denied entry to flight as my wife was 28 weeks pregnant, the BA official named "Mr. A. and Kim" wanted a medical letter from an Indian Dr. We had a letter dated July 31st from my wife's OB/GYN in USA (that was the last appointment she had before flying to India) stating that she is fit to fly and the date of delivery is November first week. But the BA official "Mr. A." was so inconsiderate and so rude to us stating that he cannot let us fly in the plane as it is a risk to other passengers.

My wife spoke to the Airport Manager in Chennai MAA "Mrs. P." where she pleaded for my wife to allow her to travel on that ticket day. For no avail he did not budge for anything and casually without consideration he denied access to the flight, stating that he needed a Medical certificate from an Indian Dr confirming that she is fit to fly and she will not have child birth on flight.

after this ordeal we (4 passengers) had to return back home (Chennai) with so much disappointment and stress due to this one man's decision not to allow us to fly more specifically my 28 week pregnant wife where she did have a letter (can be produced if needed) from her OB/GYN in the USA. BA official Mr. A. was so inconsiderate of the fact my wife is pregnant and he did not even give us any direction on what we should do in order for us to get back to New York. I specifically had to ask Mr. A. for a British Airways number to call to re arrange the tickets.

Note we did call up British Airways before booking the tickets with Alanita travels what they will need as my wife was 26 weeks pregnant at that time. The Representative told us that they would not need a letter but it will be a safe bet if my wife can have a medical note from her Dr her due date and stating it was a single pregnancy - which we did. Also Alanita travels (Discounted ticketing agency) Personal Mr. K. told us we will only need a letter from her US Doctor.

More of the story is, since we were denied access to enter the flight now comes the toughest portion of the travel, as we missed the flight due to denied entry we needed to re-arrange the ticket dates, connecting flights and so on. First in order for us to re-arrange dates we had to find an OB/GYN in Chennai India to get a Medical certificate to clear my wife so she can fly and do a checkup. After some intolerable circumstances we were able to get an appointment with an OB/GYN where she checked my wife and provided a fit to fly medical certificate. (Which can be provided). Second, now we have the medical certificate now time to find the earliest date to fly back to New York.

On August 25th we called the number that Mr. A. gave for British Airways office in Chennai, when we called this number, the number was wrong and we left with finding via other means to find the BA office number in Chennai, India. When we called the correct number, the rep told us they no longer have an office in Chennai India and the earliest they can book us for a flight is on Sept 13th. Also there was a flight on August 27th in Business class which will cost almost $10000.00. It is so not professional that a BA official does not know the correct telephone number for the local BA office in India. This added tension and frustration to our already stressed situation. We were frantically tried calling the local travel agents to see if they can find a earliest day than Sept 13th but for no avail.

British Airways ticket agent we called in Chennai told us if we wanted to get he Business class tickets since it will be an upgrade that they will not be able to do it and we needed to contact our travel agent that we booked the ticket. Now comes the unprofessionalism at its peak. August 25th, we called our travel agent, Alanita travels located in Watertown in MA, USA as they did not have a Indian number to call. Without understanding the situation the agent we called did not return our call for almost 3 hours, when she returned the call (that is also to an US number - as per the agent their company policy does not allow them to call Outside of US - not sure what kind of policy is that!) So I have to give my friend's number in NJ to call and make a 3 way calling so I can talk to this so called agent.

Agent I spoke to supposedly named "Dorothy" said that she can only have us for Sept 13th as all the flights are booked in BA, and she did not offer any other option for us to travel back to the US as its kind of not her job (like once we paid for the ticket your are on your own!) as your travel agent you would expect that they will give you some option via some other flights to come back to USA - at that time we are even ready to pay extra to come back to the USA.

Also during the call she told me that she is getting another call that she has to drop off. Where is the customer service, I understand discounted price tickets but hello I am calling almost 30000 miles away from India as the agent you should be at least considerate of your customer's agonizing moments f his or her travel. During this time my friend of New Jersey called 3-5 times within 3-4 hour span and no one has returned her call on getting another flight back to the USA. Since the Alanita travel agent has no help at all, we resort to US Embassy in India and asked for help they told us to call the British Airways office in the US 9 718 335 7070) that is when we felt little better after some agonizing 2 days.

We spoke with Ms. Leila, an agent with a heart, as I was so stressed out I asked my wife to speak to her on this ordeal she gracefully listened to our concerns and calmed us down and also booked us for flight Sept 13th which no one including the Alanita travel agent or the BA agent in Chennai office could not do.

Since staying in India for another extra 3 weeks is not an option considering my job I had to find other means to fly back to USA. On August 26th we were able to find 4 tickets back to USA via Air India which cost us $3,978.95. Total cost of approximately $9000.00 for a trip USA India.

I have given high marks to British Airways during the flight from USA to India on the survey, but the ordeal we had at Chennai airport was so frustrating, stressful and expensive HOW WOULD BRITISH AIRWAYS COMPENSATE THAT? I can provide both the medical certificate one we had from the USA and from India. mental stress and monetarily $3,978.95 due to buying new tickets

In May 2008 I flew from london to lax. My classical guitar & touring case was crushed but the BA counter was closed. I waited in vain, went home called the 800 number and was told to file a claim online, which I did . Several weeks later I get an email saying they will be in contact. More weeks later I get am email from pete with a list of documents to fax him, which I did.

Several more weeks later I get am email from [Pete] saying I need a property irregularity report from lax. I go to lax, the clerks say my online claim is all I need and they won't give file a report because it is now august not may. It is now the end of august and BA will not pay for my guitar to be repaired or replaced.

It costs 1200 to fix my guitar and or 1500 to replace it.

Flying with my wife and two children to Paris. When we arrived we did not receive my wife's. Luggage finally arrived 2 days later. All of my wife's belonging, from personal heigene, shoes, under garments, clothing and make up were in that luggage. We were told by BA agents that we cab purchase here needs and keep the receipts for reimbursement. We had to waste our priceless vacation time to go around and buy her necessities for a couple of days. We tried to purchase what she needed from neighborhood and discount stores and pay for the high prices of Europe.

On the way back home, when we arrived all of our luggages were delayed for 24 hours. We were home and were able to waite for our luggages. Even though I had to go to Pharmacy and buy my daily medications I did not even think about filing a claim for the return misshap, but I filed a claim for expenses in Paris.

A month later and after several emails of inquiry about the status of our claim, BA notified me that they will pay less than one third of what we had spent. I am deeply upset that a large company like BA can get away with such a remedy and I do not know what I can do about it except never fly BA.

On our British Airways flight from London to Chicago 27 july ( BA 295 ), there was vomit on my seat. It took almost 1 hour, not to CHANGE the seat but only the thin tissue. Do I have to pay more than 1000 to seat for 7 hours on vomit? I had allergy on my skin for 1 week.

I bought a plane ticket for my husband in June of 2008. I called BA customer service prior to doing so as I was concerned that the price had gone up considerably and wanted to discuss this matter. When talking to the customer service rep., I was assured that the prices would not again come down due to the economy and this was the lowest price I would get. I bought the ticket. I looked on line later and found the ticket at a much lower price-about 150.00 less.

After trying to get through to BA Customer I finally succeeded on June 27, 2008. When talking to the rep, I was instructed to file a claim with Customer Relations who would be able to credit back the difference. I again did as I was told and have only had communications telling me to be patient. On July 15, 2008 after being extremely frustrated at the lack of response from BS Customer Relations, I again contacted Customer service. I spoke to a pleasent customer serivce rep. who informed me that the avereage turn around time for Customer Relations is 4-6 weeks. Next I was told that I should have never been sent there any how as this was a pre-flight issue and they are handled by the customer service supervisors. When I had all my flight information in front of me, she instructed me to call back and talk to a supervisor who could then issue the credit for me.

I called for the last time on Juky 16,08 and finally spoke to a supervisor. All the supervisor could tell me was that he was sorry for all the mis-information on behalf of British Airways, but they would do nothing more. He would speak to the reps and re-train, but it was British Airways policy that they do not compensate for their errors. They would not credit the difference in the ticket prices, they would not offer a coupon for discounted flights in the future, they would not offer an upgrade, nothing.

I asked to speak to a manager above the supervisor to whom I spoke, and he refused stating that there was no one above him. Having been plagued by the horrible service on British Airways I am not looking forward to having my family fly on this airline. I cannot believe a large company such as British Airways would allow their employees treat the customer so rudely and do nothing about it.

We were originally booked on BA881 from Moscow to Heathrow, with a connecting flight to Boston, MA, USA (BA213). These flights were scheduled for Sunday, June 8, 2008. When we attempted to check in online on Saturday, June 7, we found that British Airways had cancelled BA881 and rebooked us onto a flight that arrives at Heathrow well after BA213 is due to depart. British Airways had not notified us of this change, though they claim that the flight was cancelled in April 2008.

British Airways also made no effort to reroute us on any of their partner airlines. The only solutions they offered were either to cancel the reservation entirely and issue a partial refund, or to rebook us onto the same flights the following day (Monday, June 9, 2008). I should note that our original outbound flight (Boston-Heathrow, May 20) was also cancelled by BA without our being notified. In that case, the flight was cancelled then reopened, but we were not rebooked onto the reopened flight. Again, BA had not notified us of any changes to our itinerary.

However, we were told we could not board the flight because we had not arrived early enough (despite the fact that the new flight had not yet begun to board). We had only carry-on luggage and there was absolutely no one waiting to get through the security check point. The gate was directly through the security check point and up the escalator. We could have gotten to the gate in less than 5 minutes. In fact, we heard the boarding call for this flight while we were waiting for the next flight so we could have actually been at the gate before it began to board.

In addition, the supervisor at this terminal (Laraine) was extremely rude. She initially ignored us, then became impatient with us, and finally told us she was doing us a favor and could deny us boarding altogether if she wanted. Ultimately, she walked away without warning and we were helped by someone else. Laraine was not at all helpful and behaved in a completely unprofessional manner. We were, understandably, somewhat frantic; we were in danger of missing an expensive flight and had an extremely tight schedule through no fault of our own. However, that is not an excuse to be treated with disdain and contempt. We expect customers to be treated with courtesy at all times. British Airways employees should be respectful and understanding, especially considering the stressful and potentially frustrating nature of air travel.

We have flown with British Airways in the past and were very surprised at Laraine's conduct considering the impeccable service we have received from the staff previously and on this flight. We hope that British Airways will address this issue so that future customers do not have to experience similar treatment. This delay caused us to lose an entire day of our vacation in Ireland. An overseas vacation is expensive and travel times reduce the amount of time available. The loss of a full day can not be recovered due to other commitments (i.e., work). This was an unpleasant start to our vacation.

In November 2007, my mother and I booked two seats on flights from San Diego CA to London (via Los Angeles)for an 8-day round trip beginning March 14, 2008. Unfortunately, on the day of the planned trip, my mother was in the ER and was unable to travel. The doctors told her not to travel for at least a week and so we tried to reschedule our flight with British Airways for the following. However, they were fully booked and we were unable to get the flights we wanted.

In attempting to reschedule the flights with the airline, I was talking with Reservation Agent Jessica, who advised me to completely cancel the tickets, since there were no available flights for our required dates, and request a refund from the airline. She mentioned that, since my mother was unable to fly due to a health matter, there would be no problem in getting a full refund. She also advised me to fax the appropriate paperwork from the doctors to BA, prior to the time of our first scheduled flight,saying again that there would be no problem in getting a full refund. I followed her instructions and the fax was sent within the hour prior to flight time.

Other than one email advising us that we were entitled to a refund of taxes only, British Airways have thus far ignored our correspondence and requests for a full refund. At this point, they are not responding at all to us and we have tried on several occasions to contact them. We are currently $1775.98 out of pocket and have received no further response from BA during the past two-plus months, other than an automated fax receipt.

I have contacted my credit card company but they cannot help in this situation as we are more than 90 days out from the time of booking, on November 27, 2007. Other than one email advising us that we were entitled to a refund of taxes only, British Airways have thus far ignored our correspondence and requests for a full refund. At this point, they are not responding at all to us and we have tried on several occasions to contact them. We are currently $1775.98 out of pocket and have received no further response from BA during the past two-plus months, other than an automated fax receipt.

I have contacted my credit card company but they cannot help in this situation as we are more than 90 days out from the time of booking, on November 27, 2007. Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated. $1775.98 is a lot of money for a Senior Citizen (my mother) to be duped out of. Thank you.

On a return flight to SFO with British Airways from Milan, Italy, via London Heathrow, my famliy's 4 bags plus a baby stroller were lost. When we arrived at SFO we, along with about 20 others from flight BA 285 on April 12, 2008, were without any of our luggage. The difference for us was that they did not even have a trace on any of our luggage. We possessed the baggage claim tickets, yet none of our claim numbers registered in their computer system. It was as if our bags were never checked.

The lost bag agents told us they had no idea where our bags were and all I could do was continue to check the status of our case file number (SFO BA 28927) online or by phone. I checked twice a day online and by phone which always resulted with a no information message about our bags. By the 5th day I finally reached an agent, as the voicemail number I called and left messages at never resulted in a returned phone call. On that day I was informed that one bag had been found and would be delivered. The next day our stroller was delivered.

This means my husband and I and our 5 year old and 15 month old who had packed for a 21 day trip were getting by on about 2 pairs of underware, socks, undershirts and a change or two of clothes. Most all of what we own in the way of clothing was packed for this trip. I also was without face cleanser & moisturizer, shampoo, hair gel. My husband without any shaving sundries. But in giving BA the benefit of the doubt I waited to purchase anything.

The day after the stroller arrived another bag arrived. It had been packed with wine. Upon arriving at our home, the bag was ripped open and a bottle of Barolo wine worth about $100 was missing. I was advised by a reservation agent to file a claim. I was also advised by 2 different agents to go ahead and purchase the essentials we needed, since they still had no trace on our bags which meant I didn't know when or if they would arrive, and that we would be reimbursed. At this point we were at least 7 days without any bags containing clothing or sundries.

After 2 weeks all but 1 bag had arrived. This one bag is now classified as lost. I should add that each time I called to speak with an agent about the status of our bags each agent had a different explanation of the status. The bags that had actually arrived to my home were not even logged as having arrived and furthermore, the baggage claim number for each bag was never logged upon arriving at SFO. So I could never know exactly which bag was missing, had arrived, etc. Even when finally filing a claim for the reimbursement of expenditures, which I was advised to do by several agents, I could not accurately report which bags had been delayed and which was still missing.

In this whole process it was never possible to contact customer relations by phone but only by email or fax. The reservation agent, not being customer relations agents, were limited in their knowledge and authorization of this matter. Once I filed a claim for the costs incurred in the 2 weeks we were without our bags, for undergarments, cosmetics, etc, I then followed up with faxing the receipts that totaled $355.

Mr. Rick W of the Customer Relations department informed me that it is the policy of BA to not cover any costs incurred for delayed baggage if the delay occurs when you are arriving in your home country. In 2 weeks of speaking with agents this was NEVER MENTIONED. I expressed my outrage since BA agents told me I would be compensated and advised me to buy what was needed. Furthermore, I bought the items I did because we truly did not have the back up surplus at home that BA assumes we did. It was an inconveinence to have to go out and buy these necessities after returning home form a 21 day trip with 2 small children and then having to return immediately to work and school and keep up with the lost baggage process and not even have enough undergarments to get us past 2 days at a time or shoes for my 5 year old who returned home in sandals and had her tennis shoes in the delayed bags. Despite my appeal, Rick of BA is not willing to reconsider.

Additionally, I filed a claim for our one lost bag of which the contents were valued at a total of $1680.00. I submitted a detailed list of the bag's contents and their values. These were the purchase prices when they were bought years ago. The current value to repurchase them would be much higher. Additionally, some items could not even be replaced based on sentimental value and on the fact that they were puchsed during travels which most like will never happen again. So I was contacted by a Customer Realtions agent on Wednesday May 14, 2008 who informed me that I would be compensated the full amout within their legal limitations of $1630.00. This was despite the fact that I was not able to provide BA with any receipts for the contents of the bag. I expressed that it was unreasonable to expext to see receipts for items that had beed puchased of the course of many years (many of the items were things left behind in a move from Italy to the US from 3 years back). Today, May 19, I was informed by Rick that I would be compensated only $815.00 due to a lack of receipts for proof of value and due to decreased value and wear and tear over time. I requested an appeal and to speak with a manager and I was then advised that the management supported his decision and that the case is closed.

I am out a total of $1200.00. And I have spent at least 5-7 hors dealing with this situation and dealing with ery rude customer relations agents.

I was supposed to travel from Cairo to London today 12 May 2008 on BA0145, I have followed the online check-in process, I got my boarding pass from the BA by Fax, I had no luggage so I went to the airport 45 minutes before the departure, exactly 7:50AM Cairo time, the security officers insisted that I need the counter to proceed with the check-in process, I have tried to convince them that I don't need the checkin or issuing any boarding pass as I have no luggage, and I have my boarding already with me, they sent me to the BA office in Cairo airport, that was exactly at 8:05AM, there was about 30 minutes before the flight departure,

the BA officer told me she can't let me go into the aircraft as I was late, I have tried to let her understand that I have no luggage, I had already done the online check-in, and I have got my boarding pass by fax from the BA, she insisted that nothing in her hands, and she offered to change my flight to the next day, even she asked me to pay a penalty for being late, then she told me that is all she can do and if I need to talk with anybody else I have to go to the head office and she gave me the address,

I went to the head office, and they have repeated the same, even if I have done the online check-in I need to go to the counter in the Cairo Airport and go through the normal check in process.

Questions: 1. What is the benefit of the online check-in if I have to go through the normal check-in process? 2. If you have sent me a boarding pass by fax then whey you didn't mention that this boarding pass is useless and I need to go to the airport two hours before the departure time? 3. Who is the responsible for all the losses that I have encountered of not being able to travel today? 4. I am really disappointed with the way BA officers handled my situation.

I flew from Phila airport to France on oct 2nd 2007, upon arriving in HeathrowI found they had lost my luguage, I filled out the report where they told me to tell when I arrived at france which I did.

1 week later my luguage was found but to my suprise when I got it there was some womans stuff in the bags instead of my own, I then called france ba they told me to call uk well needless to say after a week of phone here or there I finally got someone to tell me to call the states. Well I call the states and tell them what happened and asked them what to do with the womans stuff ( perscriptions also) they said simply ( keep it) I said what there are perscriptions then she said oh well hmm take it to the airport then.

then they told me I needed to fax a list of stuff lost which I did they said up to 8 weeks I would hear something. * weeks rolls by and nothing I call and call and call only to be passed around and ignored and told to fax or write because no phones so I could not find out anything. I then got frustrated and emailed which they replied I needed reciepts so i sent them and of course nothing,I called and was told they would be in contact and called again and told well was nothing they could do, so their neglance cost me alot of money and I refuse to ever fly with them again.

I had lost christmas gifts, clothes, and things I needed for the trip only to get a pat on the back saying oh we are sorry. I spent a ton in international calls wasted alot of my vacation trying to resolve plus the money I had to put out for new items to replace all that was lost. I also feel for the lady who had her stuff in my bags especially the perscriptions, British airways is by far the worse airline I ever been on and I will not ever use them again, I lost alot of money and time thanks to them

They would either arrange a hotel for the night or pay me a taxi home.

Arriving in Amsterdam at around 22.00hrs including getting myluggage and through customs there was no BA staff at the airpot.

At that point I had to make my own descision and took a taxi home costing 285 Euro.

In a letter( receit inclosed!!) to Bremen I asked them to please return the costs.

In the return letter they offered me a travel voucher worth 75 Euro!! valid for a year!

I have returned the voucher explaining that I never travel BA,except once every 3 years for a company course.

I also explained that this was not what I was promised by BA staff at Gatwick.

Instead of me getting my money back BA is making me an offer so that they get their money back.

I just received an answer!!

They are very gratefull for my time I have taken to explain my concerns and are looking forward to welcome me on board again soon.

Please avoid BA if you can.

I am, at this time attempting to aid a political refugee with limited funds and knowledge of the legal system. He traveled on British Airlines (BA) back to his home land at great expense, and July 6, 2007, on a return flight to London to visit his sister from Sierra, BA lost his luggage--forcing him to buy new clothes and suffer without his personal items for an extended time. One bag was not returned until he got back to his home, another bag not returned for 8 days. He has filed several complaints with BA, and I have filed at least two complaints for him, seeking compensation without any results. Eight months have passed, and we just received an additional letter from BA asking us to file yet another lost baggage claim making that our 4th attempt. There is no one I can talk to who will settle the claim; I have made at LEAST 12 calls and one call to London, as well. We would like to arbitrate this claim and require advice and or help with this matter.

Medications were not available causing him to become ill. Emotional distress due that he has very limited resources to pay for new clothing and items needed for his travel. The claim asks for compensation for items purchased.

My mother went on a 2 weeks holiday to attend a relatives wedding ceremony. She left November 26, 2007, on British Airways; unfortunately her baggage did not arrive to the specific destination that it was supposed to. Until now, December 5, 2007, my mother has not receive her lost luggage. She is so upset that she couldn't enjoy the wedding ceremony that she especially went back home for. She had her clothes in that luggage that she was going to wear at the wedding, and Christmas gifts that we all sent for our relatives and cousins. They are all gone. My mother has been calling every single day for her luggage's whereabouts, but no one could help. I want to know how such a big airline like BRITISH AIRWAYS could not find luggage for 2 weeks? What is taking BRITISH AIRWAYS so long to find something? When we send off our luggages into cargo, there are sticker tags attached to the luggages with our names and such information, is there not?

I am very angry that my mother is thousands of miles away without her luggage and clothes for 2 weeks. She is coming back on December 12, 2007, which is next week. And who knows where her luggage could be? This is utterly UNACCEPTABLE.

British Airways lost luggages - we had to travel with no luggage and now we are home British Airway still can't find them, it has been a month!!! The website doesn't tell anything, all people in the Florida office can't help, all they could do is ask the airport to find it. Don't understand why a major airline can stay in the business in this manner. They just don't care about the customer.

On Friday the 18th May my wife and booked in at Edinburgh airport for the 15.15 flight to LHR and on to Baku on the 2105. The 15.15 was delayed but the BA staff at the boarding area said they would try to get us on the next flight. We did not get the next flight because they only took people with hand luggage. When we finally arrived in LHR and were transported round to terminal 1 we missed the flight in spite of the ground staff telling us to hurry. When we arrived at the gate we were told we had already been removed from the list.

Lesson 1 make sure you get the ground staff to check the computer records. We were advised to arrive at least 3 hours before flight time the next day to ensure that our bags could be retrieved from overnight storage. We then spent a pleasant but unwelcome night at the Hilton.(getting back to Baku one day late cost me a days pay). After a lengthy check in time we arrived at the gate to be told that one bag was there and the other was on the way? but guess what, we arrived in Baku one bag short. This was in the early hours of Sunday the 20th and I finally got my bag back on Wednesday the 23rd. Needless to say the bag while in the hands of the Azeri ground staff had been rifled and my medication in the form of two months supply of tablets had been stolen.

Lesson 2 dont put anything you can not afford to loose in you suitcase. I work for a British company in Baku and there have been numerous occasions when colleagues have lost items from bags that had been delivered late.

It all added up to a very frustrating and expensive exercise which I would not like to repeat. So Lesson 3, in future look at an alternative airline for my visits to the UK

I made a travel reservation for a flight to Johannesburgh, South Africa on the British Airways website on 09/01/2006 and did not intend to purchase the ticket at the time, but due to a technical glitch on the web site, it erroneously converted the reservation into a booking using the credit card information I had provided for the reservation. I called the customer service desk within an hour of the error to rectify the problem. The customer service representative I spoke to confirmed that since Johannesburg is a card sensitive route, the booking should not have gone through on the internet, and asked me to leave my contact details for a supervisor to call me back to resolve the issue. I have not heard back from British Airways since then, and the amount in question has not been refunded to me. As a result, I contacted customer service again on 12/01/2006 and the representative advised me to fax in a written request to initiate the refund claim. I faxed in the refund request on 12/05/2006 but had still not heard anything from the airline as of 2/28/2007. When I called for a status on the update, they are now telling me they cannot refund the amount back to my credit card but can only give me a travel voucher to use on a future flight. But since the original reservation was for a vacation, and I don't intend to fly back there, a travel voucher will be useless.

The ticket amount of US $ 2,508.97 that was erroneously charged to my account on 09/01/2006; plus interest charges incurred on the balance on my credit card since the transaction date.