Flight cancelled advice please

[mummyroo1]

BA have emailed this afternoon to say that our flight from Chicago to Tampa has been cancelled. We don't go until August and booked a customised package or flights, car hire and hotel. Where do I stand? will they replace the flight without extra cost? I have a premier inn booked for heathrow the night before we leave but haven't as yet committed to any other expenses. That said I am sure I wouldn't be able to get anything to replace the deal we got for our budget so I really don't want to cancel. Has anybody got any experience you can share? I don't know what I'm within my rights to ask for

[kiwiinabd]

Yes they will book you an alternative flight

[disneymummy]

This happened to us with BA in 2017. We were originally booked to fly with AA but after ended up flying with aer lingus.

[NewtoOrlando]

They will book you an alternative flight. Have a look at what else is available by doing a dummy booking on the BA website. We had this last October where they cancelled the Fort Lauderdale flight, so when I called I asked to be put on the direct Miami flight, which suited as meant we were flying into Heathrow and we live 15 mins away.

They also cancelled our flight home from Miami this August, we booked the cheapest option home which was 23.15 so not ideal, they changed us to the 8.45 which was the most expensive option but much more convenient both times it was done free of charge and they sorted the car hire.

I would be asking if they can put you on the direct Tampa flight if you can, that's just me though!

[bighal]

Looks like it is AA that have cancelled your flight BA but BA will give you options. They might even offer you direct to Tampa from LGW if it suits you and flights are available.

[mason1]

This happened to us a few years ago. We were due to fly LGW-DUB-MCO when the LGW-DUB flight time got changed which meant we wouldn’t make the connection. BA put us on the direct LGW-MCO flight instead. It did take a day or so for the changes to feed through to the BA system from Aer Lingus.

[mummyroo1]

Thank you all so much for the quick replies! I felt armed with what was possible and they have changed us to direct flights to and from Gatwick! Delighted. Tried to change us to just the outgoing direct from Gatwick but then would have needed to get back to the car at Gatwick from heathrow. So they changed both! Only no pre-booked seats to deal with now but they assured me the children wouldn't be sat alone so I think I'll risk it. We don't mind sitting in 2 2's or even a 3 and a 1. Its a super budget trip so don't want to pay for them. Luckily it would appear I booked the premier inn at heathrow on a semi flex ticket so can even swap that for Gatwick without losing anything. Win win

[Rac20]

This happened to us. Our connecting flight from Philadelphia to Miami was cancelled. BA changed our flights to direct. Very happy with that result! ☺️

[scooby99]

Originally Posted by mummyroo1

Thank you all so much for the quick replies! I felt armed with what was possible and they have changed us to direct flights to and from Gatwick! Delighted. Tried to change us to just the outgoing direct from Gatwick but then would have needed to get back to the car at Gatwick from heathrow. So they changed both! Only no pre-booked seats to deal with now but they assured me the children wouldn't be sat alone so I think I'll risk it. We don't mind sitting in 2 2's or even a 3 and a 1. Its a super budget trip so don't want to pay for them. Luckily it would appear I booked the premier inn at heathrow on a semi flex ticket so can even swap that for Gatwick without losing anything. Win win

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Exact same happened to us for our Christmas ‘19 flights.
Our original flights were indirect LHR-MIA-TPA; far cheaper than the direct TPA flights.

AA cancelled our inbound TPA-MIA flight so I called them & asked to be moved to the direct LGW-TPA flight both ways even though it was selling for £1000 that day than what we paid.
No problem was the answer; when the airline cancels your flight, the passenger has the automatic right to move to any other flight without charge as long as the original & new departure & arrival airports are within 300 miles of each other.

Plus, when he rebooked my car to the earlier arrival time, due to a current sale, the car hire price had dropped by £100 which BA gave back to me!

Plus, was able to cancel our Heathrow parking without penalty & Gatwick Parking was £50 cheaper!

Very happy 😃

[bighal]

Originally Posted by scooby99

...when the airline cancels your flight, the passenger has the automatic right to move to any other flight without charge as long as the original & new departure & arrival airports are within 300 miles of each other.

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They can just give you a refund if they give you enough notice. Never heard of the 300 mile limit before but most decent airlines will allow you to go any reasonable route to get to your destination in the same cabin class for no extra cost.