[zhosseini]

We would NEVER travel with British Airways or BMI again!
First, we were told infant bassinets are given out on first-come, first-serve basis when we tried to reserve one ahead of time, and then when we got to airport, we were told that they're out because people checked them out online, ahead of time!!! Not sure which one to believe!

Second, we read on BA's web page, that an extra baggage costs $60, also when called to double check, we were told to refer to what was on the web page. But then at the airport, they charged us $165 w/the excuse that there was a charge for the other airline that operated the second part of the trip!!! Nothing like that was mentioned on the web regarding flights w/ a stop!!! Not a fair way to do business, is it?! We checked our luggage in one place, all the way through, and should have only paid one time for the extra bag. The excuses were nonsense.

But the worst was when we arrive at London airport and we were told by BMI (BA's partner apparently) that our infant baby doesn't have a ticket from London to our final destination!!! How do they sell a half-way ticket to an infant travelling with her mom?!!!

Unfortunately, the second part of the trip was sold to us through BMI. If BA partners w/ another airline and provides "service" through them, I believe BA should be held responsible for the "service" or Lack Of provided by that partner. When BMI was told that the ticket for the infant was purchased through BA and they need to resolve the issue with them. The response was that BA CANNOT do anything about it and that we had to pay another 168 pounds for the baby in addition to the money we had paid for her ticket when she was added to the itinerary!!!

Hearing that was very disappointing and UNacceptable. The last thing one needs when travelling a very long distance (22 hours of travelling) is to hear your baby doesn't have a ticket to continue travelling with you and you have not enough Cash or Credit Card on you and they don't even accept you providing the Credit Card number (your forgot at home). The same Credit Card number you used to purchase the baby's ticket on the phone in the first place!!! Really?!

We decided it was time to call BA ourselves. To be fair, after calling BA's 800 number and being transferred to some "Breaze" airline or something like it (due to high volume of calls), they couldn't help after trying for about 20 minutes or so trying to figure out what had happened. We were transferred to a manager who in turn transferred us back to BA and after about 50 minutes or more on the phone, they finally resolved the issue by re-issuing the baby's ticket (that was paid for).

That was after our mom started feeling sick and almost fainted and mother of the baby crying her eyes out for more than an hour. EVEN worse part was the way to be treated at the airport counter. Where staff are supposed to be helpful & not act like they could care less and they're there to torment you and act like "highway robbers". It's all about money and we don't care to even try to help!!!

Seriously?!!! At least pretend you care to help by calling to see how this could happen when the baby was added to the itinerary! You sell the tickets and you're supposed to know how to handle situations like this. You're supposed to provide "Customer Service" and be helpful to your paying customers. What way of running a business is this?! And you expect people come back to you for their travel?!

[jimworcs]

If this flight originated in the US you should file a complaint with the DOT and ask for this to be investigated. There is a quick link on this website at the top of the page. You can also complain in the UK. You should complain to the Air Transport Users' Council at complaints@auc.org.uk .

Was this booked via a travel agent? It is unusual to link BA with BMI. They are not partners and are in fact fierce rivals. BMI is owned by Lufthansa and is part of the Star Alliance. BA is a leading light in the OneWorld alliance. For domestic connections in the UK, BA would normally channel travellers through the Flybe network, with whom they have a code share agreement.

It may be that your destination was in Europe or the Middle East, in which case BMI may have been the only viable routing. However, I suspect that a travel agent has put this itenerary together and this may be at the root of your problems.

[airlineflyboy]

Originally Posted by zhosseini

We would NEVER travel with British Airways or BMI again!
First, we were told infant bassinets are given out on first-come, first-serve basis when we tried to reserve one ahead of time, and then when we got to airport, we were told that they're out because people checked them out online, ahead of time!!! Not sure which one to believe!

Second, we read on BA's web page, that an extra baggage costs $60, also when called to double check, we were told to refer to what was on the web page. But then at the airport, they charged us $165 w/the excuse that there was a charge for the other airline that operated the second part of the trip!!! Nothing like that was mentioned on the web regarding flights w/ a stop!!! Not a fair way to do business, is it?! We checked our luggage in one place, all the way through, and should have only paid one time for the extra bag. The excuses were nonsense.

But the worst was when we arrive at London airport and we were told by BMI (BA's partner apparently) that our infant baby doesn't have a ticket from London to our final destination!!! How do they sell a half-way ticket to an infant travelling with her mom?!!!

Unfortunately, the second part of the trip was sold to us through BMI. If BA partners w/ another airline and provides "service" through them, I believe BA should be held responsible for the "service" or Lack Of provided by that partner. When BMI was told that the ticket for the infant was purchased through BA and they need to resolve the issue with them. The response was that BA CANNOT do anything about it and that we had to pay another 168 pounds for the baby in addition to the money we had paid for her ticket when she was added to the itinerary!!!

Hearing that was very disappointing and UNacceptable. The last thing one needs when travelling a very long distance (22 hours of travelling) is to hear your baby doesn't have a ticket to continue travelling with you and you have not enough Cash or Credit Card on you and they don't even accept you providing the Credit Card number (your forgot at home). The same Credit Card number you used to purchase the baby's ticket on the phone in the first place!!! Really?!

We decided it was time to call BA ourselves. To be fair, after calling BA's 800 number and being transferred to some "Breaze" airline or something like it (due to high volume of calls), they couldn't help after trying for about 20 minutes or so trying to figure out what had happened. We were transferred to a manager who in turn transferred us back to BA and after about 50 minutes or more on the phone, they finally resolved the issue by re-issuing the baby's ticket (that was paid for).

That was after our mom started feeling sick and almost fainted and mother of the baby crying her eyes out for more than an hour. EVEN worse part was the way to be treated at the airport counter. Where staff are supposed to be helpful & not act like they could care less and they're there to torment you and act like "highway robbers". It's all about money and we don't care to even try to help!!!

Seriously?!!! At least pretend you care to help by calling to see how this could happen when the baby was added to the itinerary! You sell the tickets and you're supposed to know how to handle situations like this. You're supposed to provide "Customer Service" and be helpful to your paying customers. What way of running a business is this?! And you expect people come back to you for their travel?!

Firtsly I have no Idea who told you that BA and BMI are partners????? you are well and truly mistaken..... thats like saying UNITED and AMERICAN are partners...never going to happen, secondly NO seat is EVER guarenteed until you arrive at the AIRPORT, for many reasons but the main one being that the seat you may have REQUESTED may not be physically available on the aircraft on the day of departure as no 2 aircraft (even tho the same type i.e 747) have the same seating plan and seat numbers will always differ from one 747 to the next even with the same airline. also when you look on one airlines website for baggage fee's that applies to travel wholly on THAT airline ONLY, if you are connecting onto another carrier you will pay the fee for both carriers at the time of check in and not a single fee with a connecting flight. so your post is totally irrelevant....