showLowest fare availability
Customers calling our reservations office or visiting our ticket offices or counters to purchase a ticket for a specific day and time will be offered the lowest fare available through British Airways, exclusive of Internet only fares. If you do not provide specific date and time requirements we will provide you with a range of fares.
In the US, please contact British Airways toll free numbers at 800-AIR-WAYS for further information. If you have a hearing impairment, you may contact us at 866-393-0961.
showFlight delays
British Airways will provide customers at the airport and onboard a delayed aircraft with timely and frequent updates regarding the delay, beginning 30 minutes after we become aware of such a delay. This information will also be available on ba.com and via our telephone reservation system. We will update our flight status displays and other sources of flight information under our control, and provide the airport the same information so that they can update their flight status displays.
Where possible, British Airways will take reasonable steps to contact customers in advance at the phone number(s) provided in your reservation record. If you booked with a travel agency, and no contact number exists in our system, our reservations representatives will attempt to contact the agency. We encourage you to provide us with a mobile phone number and email address so that we can send email and text updates to you during your journey.
showEssential customer needs during extraordinary delays
Our top priority is the safety and well-being of our customers. On very rare occasions, extraordinary events may result in lengthy onboard delays. We have developed detailed contingency plans to deal with situations in which an aircraft is delayed on the ground without access to a terminal gate. We will make reasonable efforts to ensure that your essential needs, such as food, water, restroom facilities, and basic medical assistance are met. Every British Airways US airport team has an operational contingency plan in place to address these needs, which includes coordination with the local airport authorities and other airlines serving the airport when appropriate. Each plan designates a local control person to coordinate the activities of the local team and communicate with our operations team in London.
Our tarmac delay policy is at the top of this page.
showCancelling reservations
You may cancel a reservation made on ba.com or through the British Airways call center within 24 hours of ticketing for a full refund by calling the British Airways call center at 800-AIRWAYS provided travel is one week or more from the date of purchase. The 24 hour deadline can be extended up to 48 hours if the call center is closed when you first call.
showAssistance when your flight has been delayed or cancelled
British Airways will take all reasonable measures necessary to avoid delays in carrying you and your baggage. These measures may, in exceptional circumstances and if necessary to prevent a flight being cancelled, include arranging for a flight to be operated by another aircraft, by another airline or by both.
If we cancel a flight, delay a flight by five hours or more, fail to stop at your place of stopover or destination, or cause you to miss a connecting flight on which you hold a confirmed reservation, you can choose one of the three remedies set out immediately below.
Remedy 1
We will carry you as soon as we can to the destination shown on your ticket on another of our scheduled services on which a seat is available in the class of service for which you have paid the fare. If we do this, we will not charge you extra and where necessary, will extend the validity period of your ticket.
Remedy 2
We will carry you to the destination shown on your ticket, in the class of service for which you have paid the fare, at a later date at your convenience and within the validity period of your ticket, on another of our scheduled services on which a seat is available. If we do this, we will not charge you extra.
Remedy 3
If we do not carry you to the destination shown on your ticket, we will give or obtain an involuntary fare refund for you.We will give you additional assistance, such as compensation, refreshments and other care and reimbursement, if required to do so by any law that may apply.
showBaggage delivery
In the event that your checked bags do not arrive on your flight, British Airways will make reasonable efforts to ensure that the bag is returned to you within 24 hours.
showBaggage liability
Certain international conventions govern British Airways liability for lost, damaged or delayed baggage. Under the Montreal Convention, British Airways liability for lost, damaged or delayed baggage is 1,288 Special Drawing Rights (SDR) per passenger. If you complete a special declaration of higher value at check-in and pay the applicable fee, our liability shall be limited to the higher declared value. Please note other carriers may have lower limits of liability.
More information can be seen regarding these limits within the Montreal Convention.
showTicket refunds
For all eligible tickets and services purchased from British Airways within the U.S. with a credit card or cash, refunds will be provided within 7 business days of receipt of the required refund information. (The credit card refund may take up to two billing cycles before appearing on a credit card statement, so you should contact your credit card company directly to verify receipt of the credit.) Eligible tickets and services purchased with a check will be refunded within 20 business days of receipt of the required information. This includes refunding fees charged to a passenger for optional services that the passenger was unable to use due to an oversale situation or flight cancellation.
Refunds for electronic tickets can be obtained by contacting our reservations department or through the Refund section on our web site at ba.com. All other refund requests should be sent to the following addresses:
British Airways Ticket Refundsor
British Airways Ticket Refunds
PO Box 1126
Uxbridge
UB8 9XS
United Kingdom
Certain refund requests may not be accommodated in the time frames discussed above. For details contact British Airways.
Refunds for credit card purchases will be made only to the credit card account. Service charges are collected for some refunds (e.g., lost tickets).
showAccommodation of customers with special needs
We provide passengers with disabilities and all other special needs dignified, professional and courteous service and proper accommodations at all times, including during lengthy tarmac delays.
More information regarding special assistance when travelling.
We are no longer taking bookings for the Skyflyer Solo service. However, all existing bookings will be honoured.
showFlights with oversales
If at departure time more customers with confirmed reservations are present than there are seats available, gate agents will first ask for volunteers who are willing to give up their seats in exchange for compensation and a confirmed seat on a later flight. On extremely rare occasions, a customer may be denied boarding on an involuntary basis, if a sufficient number of volunteers are not obtained. In such events, we will usually deny boarding based upon check-in time, but we may also consider factors such as severe hardships, fare paid, and status within our frequent flier program. With few exceptions, persons denied boarding involuntarily are entitled to compensation under federal law.
Additional information concerning our overbooking policies can be found in our conditions of carriage on our website.
showOther travel policies
Our cancellation policies, frequent flyer rules, aircraft seating configurations and lavatory availability are available on our ba.com website and, upon request, can be obtained from our telephone reservations representatives.
Your ticket is valid only for the transportation shown on it from the place of departure through an agreed stopping point to the final destination and the fare you have paid is based on that routing. We will not honor that ticket and it will no longer be valid if you do not use the coupons in the sequence provided. Therefore if you need to make a change to the itinerary you must contact us beforehand to determine how this may affect the ticket and remaining travel plans.
Before we accept your booking, we or our authorised agents will tell you the scheduled departure time of your flight; and it will be shown on your ticket or itinerary and receipt. We may need to change the scheduled departure time of your flight after your ticket has been sent to you or to change the scheduled departure terminal for your flight. If you give us or our authorised agents contact information, we or they will try to let you know about any changes in a timely manner.
Our Customer Relations department is dedicated to addressing unresolved customer comments and concerns. They will acknowledge in writing each complaint received within 30 days of receiving it and shall send a subsequent written response to each complainant within 60 days of receiving the complaint.
Customer Relations can be reached by following this link to their webform.
Should you prefer to reach us by mail, the address is:
British Airways Customer Relations
PO Box 300686
Jamaica, NY 11430-0608 USA
or
British Airways Customer Relations (S506)
PO Box 1126
Uxbridge
UB8 9XS
United Kingdom
