How much? Israel ticket price glitch sparks backlash against BA
THOUSANDS OF people have been left angry and disappointed after British Airways cancelled their tickets to Israel without notice.
The airline confirmed this week it would refuse to honour bookings made earlier this month after it discovered some agencies had mistakenly sold flights at wrongly advertised fares.
Return flights to Tel Aviv sold for around £200, while similar fares were advertised for trips to Dubai.
Some passengers whose tickets were for imminent flights were allowed to travel, but many due for later in the year were cancelled, it was reported.
Sanjoy Richardson had booked to take his wife and five-year-old son to visit his mother, who lives in Israel, over Succot.
Mr Richardson, who lives in Borehamwood, told the JC: “About two or three weeks ago I was looking to fly to Israel and I went on to Omega Flight Store, who I have travelled with many times before.”
Tickets for the family were advertised as costing £495 in total. He said: “Easyjet was charging around £50 more, so though I thought it was cheap it wasn’t ridiculously so. I have paid fares like that before.
“The fact the prices had been on for 72 hours made me think it was legitimate, plus I went through a reputable agent I had booked through many times before.”
But on Tuesday morning Mr Richardson received an email from the agency informing him BA had cancelled the tickets.
The agent said they would issue a full refund and that BA was offering a £100 per person voucher.
“On the basis that we booked the flights, I also booked accommodation
for nine days,” said Mr Richardson. “So we are now on the hook for £700 of accommodation, which means we need to find alternative flights.”
But flights to match those dates now look set to cost several hundred pounds more.
“I used to be a director for Thomas Cook, so I know how the airline industry and online booking agents work,” he said.
“I would expect compensation to be significantly higher and in cash. British Airways have been incredibly unhelpful and the amount we’ve been offered is pitiful.
“What really sticks in my gut is that BA is offering some customers refunds and not others. There has been no transparency about their policy and how they are implementing it.”
A spokesperson for British Airways said: “We’ve contacted the small number of travel agents who were able to access the incorrect fare for the short period it was available to advise them and apologise.
“We are fully refunding the tickets that were booked.”
However, as the mis-selling related only to tickets sold through agencies, those retailers will have to refund the clients and that process could take time. In addition, there are limits on when and how the compensation vouchers can be used.
Meanwhile some passengers, such as Nick Angel from Borehamwood, have not been contacted by BA.
Mr Angel decided to book for Pesach 2019 after his wife saw the flights posted on a Facebook group called Frugal Frummers.
The couple paid more than £700 for themselves and their three children.
“I received confirmation shortly after booking and I was able to connect the booking to my BA Executive account,” he said. “I selected our seats, our meals and everything was very official.”
It was only when a friend said he had heard the airline might withdraw the fare that he decided to investigate.
“I logged back into my BA Executive account, but the flight was no longer there. When I spoke to the agency they
said BA had cancelled the flights because of a ‘system error’.”
Mr Angel was told he would be refunded, but no mention was made of compensation. He has not received an email from either the airline or the agency and now faces paying up to £1,000 extra for similar dates.
“I am very frustrated and annoyed and find it bizarre that they can do this,” said the 33-year-old chartered accountant from Borehamwood.
“If you take an item to the till in a shop and it has been priced wrongly they will usually honour that price. But we’ve actually paid and entered a binding contract, but they won’t honour it.”
Guy Anker, deputy editor of MoneySavingExpert.com, said: “BA’s slogan is ‘To Fly, To Serve’, but in this case it’s refusing to fly these passengers and is refusing to serve their best interests.
“They’ve bought these tickets in good faith at a believable price — it’s not as though the tickets cost £5, which would clearly have been a glitch.
“Many have budgeted accordingly and booked accommodation and now face big fees to go ahead with their holiday. While this may have been a ‘rare’ error, it’s not the passengers’ error. BA should do the right thing and let them fly at the price they booked.”
I am frustrated — it’s bizarre they can do this’