Cheap Airline Tickets
Travel Directory | Cheap Airline Tickets for the UK and USA. Bugbog has listed the most popular air travel 'supermarkets' in these areas so travellers can compare prices and find the best deal for their chosen destination. Many of the bigger agencies now also offer deals on car hire, hotels, holiday packages and even cruises. How to lose 28, 000 bags in a week, by BA [British Airways] and BAA [British Airways Authority] The Bugcrew had a first hand look at a classic organisational cock-up on Saturday 27th of March 2008 when we arrived at London's Heathrow T5 for BA 007 flight to Japan. Terminal 5's space was unimpressive, announcements inaudible, staff barely existent and seating in very short supply. An hour after boarding was supposed to commence our gate number was posted but we were amazed to find the departures lounge already full - how had 200 people got there before us? Later we realised that they were refugees from a previously cancelled flight. Once in the air, on-board service was efficient and the audio-visual system exemplary. Unfortunately, arrival at Narita, Tokyo after 11 hours in the air reminded us why BA has a reputation as the World's Biggest Loser [of baggage]. After an hour waiting for immigration 300+ distraught and exhausted passengers had to line up at the appropriately named Pest Control desk that BA had commandeered to take note of forwarding addresses for delayed baggage. Facts: Compensation for delayed or cancelled flights: James Fremantle of the Air Transport Users Council says: “Passengers should not be out of pocket because of the T5 problems. Remember the law does not specify a limit as to how much compensation you can claim and indeed a limit of £100 for a last minute hotel sounds quite unrealistic." Peter McCarthy at consumer group Which? agrees. “As long your claims are reasonable and you don’t book yourself into somewhere really extravagant, passengers should press ahead with claims even if they are over BA’s “limits”. If your flight is delayed or cancelled, you are entitled to assistance. This can include free meals and refreshments depending on how long you are waiting. It also includes free hotel accommodation and transfers to the hotel if the re-routed flight means you have an overnight stay at the airport. Some possible claims: Cancellation of Flights If your flight is cancelled you are entitled to the following, as long as you are a passenger flying from an EU airport or from an airport outside the EU to an EU airport on an EU carrier: Refund or re-routing – you will be given a choice between a refund of the ticket or of re-routing to your final destination. You are not entitled to reimbursement of any other components of your trip such as hotel and transfer costs. Compensation – If there is a delay in getting to your destination due to re-routing, compensation varies according to the length of your journey and the delay to your destination. For example, if your journey was up to 1500km and you were delayed by up to two hours, you will receive 125 Euros. If your journey was more than 3500km and you were delayed by more than four hours, you will be compensated by 600 Euros. Assistance at the airport - free meals and refreshments as well as two free phone calls/ emails/ faxes should also be provided when waiting for the re-routed flights. In the event of re-routing when the flight is the next day, free accommodation and transfer to and from that accommodation should be provided by the airline. Bottom line flight advice: if you want to be sure you arrive at your destination with your baggage you are better off NOT flying BA. While the scale of the current crisis is unique and cancelled flights are uncommon, BA does have a long history of losing luggage and weaseling out of compensation payments. Your
new airline rights, In
February 2005 the European Union introduced new rules on compensation
for problems on flights, not dissimilar to America's Montreal
Convention that came into force in 2004. -
if there's a problem, whether it's a delay, cancellation or you've been
bumped off a flight due to overbooking, complain immediately and demand
written details of your rights. -
delays: compensation depends on the length of delay and the length of
flight but, for example, a 1,500km flight delayed by two hours should
result in meals, refreshments and a couple of free phone calls/emails. -
cancellations: if the airline can show that the cancellation was caused
by 'extraordinary circumstances which could not be avoided' then you get
nothing. Circumstances could be bad weather, airport strikes [though not
the airline staff], security alerts and traffic control difficulties. - bumped: if the flight is overbooked and you cannot board, then the airline must offer a full refund or put you on another flight as soon as possible. They must also pay you between £85-£416 depending on the journey length and delay length. More information from AUC Travel Pictures | Destination Finder | Exotic Places | World Festivals | World Wonders | Safari Wildlife
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