DENIED BOARDING

I was flying from Nice to Las Vegas via London [with BA] in business class. I was travelling with two co-workers and a third was to join us in London for the last segment. One colleague travelling with me took an earlier flight to Heathrow. Our flight to Heathrow was delayed so we asked the purser if there was anything she could do to avoid us missing the connection. She said it was tight but we might make it as our stand was beside the bus transfer to T3. She moved us closer to the aircraft door, along with another woman.

Upon landing, I called my colleague in London to tell ground staff to expect us, but they said our seats had been given away and we could fly the next day. We made for the gate anyway, along with the other woman. She was allowed on but when we tried, were told the gate was closed. I asked if the reason we weren’t being let on was because our seats had been filled. The agent denied this and said the plane door had closed. I called my colleague on board who said that not only was the door open but passengers were still coming in.

Meanwhile, my colleague on the flight [who had been booked in premium economy] was upgraded to seat 60J in business, while the person in 60K had also been upgraded. The rest of us had to fly via Vancouver with no luggage and missed our meetings. No one seemed to care.

Duarte Sousa, Nice