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Business Profile

Airlines

British Airways

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

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Complaints

This profile includes complaints for British Airways's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see

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British Airways has 27 locations, listed below.

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    Customer Complaints Summary

    • 770 total complaints in the last 3 years.
    • 267 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

    If you've experienced an issue

    Submit a Complaint

    The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

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    Complaint status

    Complaint type

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:11/29/2023

      Type:Billing Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      On September 19, 2023 I purchased 2 tickets on British Airways for myself and my husband ***********************. The tickets were $451 each plus Avios miles. I was originally charged on my *************** card $902. The ticket was cancelled and rebooked using a Citi AA card for the same amount. Although the miles were transferred back to my account, the charges were never removed. I have contacted British Airways numerous times. While the charges were initially removed, they were later added back. Finally, on November 7th, having had no luck in getting the charges removed, I cancelled the tickets which caused me to incur a 110 charge. As you can see from the attached credit card statements, I have been charged $2706 for the tickets plus $110 for the cancelation fees and only credited back $1804. So British Airways has $1012 of my money and I have no airline tickets. I am including a document that shows the charges from both of the credit card companies along with the reference numbers.

      Customer Answer

      Date: 12/24/2023

      Better Business Bureau:

      At this time, I have not been contacted by British Airways regarding complaint ID ********.

      Sincerely,

      ****** ****

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:11/27/2023

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      Dear Better Business Bureau, I am submitting a complaint on behalf of my parents. On July 6th 2023 my parents took a flight through you from ****** to ****** (American Airlines **** operated by BRITISH AIRWAYS) and from there to ************* (American Airlines **** operated by BRITISH AIRWAYS). Confirmation code was ****** (British Airways), ticket numbers were: ************* (*************************)************* (***************)My mother is disabled, on a wheelchair and cannot make one step alone. Without support her back does not support her. In ****** they checked in my mother's wheelchair together with their suitcases. Upon arrival to ************** in ************* they were told that the wheelchair was left in ******. How does an airline simply forget to load a disabled person's wheelchair? Needless to say, that a flight alone is already very difficult for someone who cannot make a step on their own. This gross misconduct of course had personal consequences for my family. Not only was my mother hugely humiliated by not having her own wheelchair at the arrival destination but it caused all of us, mostly her huge stress. Luckily a BA representative was able to lend her an airport wheelchair until her own wheelchair flew in, however this borrowed wheelchair was too big. My mother kept falling to one side because the wheelchair did not support her her back, the wheelchair did not fit through standard house doors and apart from the stressed it caused everyone, especially her a day was lost waiting around for her wheelchair to arrive. I think it is fair to ask for some compensation for this gross misconduct. I submitted a complaint to BA. They have responded with a BA voucher. However my parents will think twice about flying with BA again after this experience and thus a BA voucher for partial of the cost of the ticket which would force them to book another BA flight is according to us not adequate. Can we please get money back directly into their account?

      Business Response

      Date: 01/16/2024

      Reply sent on 1/2/2024 as below : 

      Dear *** ********

      An update from British Airways
      Thanks for contacting the Better Business Bureau. Your correspondence has
      been passed to Customer Relations and we've been asked to respond to you
      directly.  



      We're very sorry to hear about the experience your parents had when they
      travelled with us. We appreciate your reasons for requesting a refund of their
      booking, but I'm afraid this isn't something we could offer.
      However, we completely understand how disappointing this experience was for
      them and we'd like to offer an increased eVoucher for $1,000.00. There are full
      details about how to use this here.


      eVoucher number: ************** 
      Name: *********
      Value: $1,000.00
      Expires: 02 January 2025
      The only other alternative to an eVoucher would be Avios. If the eVoucher
      still isn't a suitable offer, we could credit your parents with 150,000 Avios if
      they were to create an Executive Club account. You can find more information on
      what Avios could be used towards here* ******************************************************************.
      If this is the preferred option, please let us know and we will cancel the
      voucher and issue Avios once we have a membership number.
      Once again my apologies for the delay to your mother's wheelchair, which
      based on our records was delivered the next day. According to the US Department
      of Transportation regulation §382.125 (d) You must ensure that passengers’
      wheelchairs, other mobility aids, and other assistive devices are among the
      first items retrieved from the baggage compartment. Since we delayed the
      delivery of the wheelchair we appear to be in violation of this regulation. If
      your disability complaint is still unresolved, you have the right to file a
      formal complaint with the US Department of Transportation, Aviation Consumer
      Protection Division.  
      Once again, please accept our apologies for your experience on this occasion.
       



      Best regards

      *****
      British Airways Claims Investigation Specialist
      Your case
      reference is:********

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:11/22/2023

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      case #******** On April 18, the first day of my solo ***** round trip, my luggage was lost between ******* and ********** via ********. I submitted lost luggage register at ****************** as soon as I found out that my luggage was lost. A luggage was not delivered to a hotel in Bangor Wales3rd destination of my trip itinerary, on April 21. On arrival at the hotel, I found my luggage delivered but it was damaged. Before received my luggage, I had purchased minimum necessity items, toiletry, T-shirt, phone charging adopter, sleeping wear in total of ****** ** pound. After returning home, I updated lost baggage registration with photo of receipts. I sent several message through British Airway claim website. Also made a complaint because I did not receive any reply from British Airway. Finaly on July 21, I received a message from ***********************, British Airways Customer Relations for case reference ***********. ***** advised me "Ill transfer $149.44 equivalent to ******, to your **** of ************ account using the details you provided." On July 31 after I advised that I have no received money, he replied : "I'd like to inform you that we've already arranged a bank transfer on 22 July. However, it'll take some time for our Payments team to credit the payment to your **** Of ************ account. You'll receive it soon." I asked about incorrect Routing Number, which I initially provided WireTransfer routing number not Paper transfer routing number. On August 28 "Were getting in touch to verify the bank details you provided us with, as youve advised you're yet to receive the payment we arranged for you on 22 July. " Since then I found out from **** of America that one transaction attempt was made but not accepted by the bank because wrong Routing number. I have been sending request evey 2 - 4 weeks since August 28 to ask to send money with correct routing number. I am still waiting the money. Please sorted out this problem as soon as possible.

      Customer Answer

      Date: 12/17/2023

      Better Business Bureau:

      At this time, I have not been contacted by British Airways regarding complaint ID ********.
      I am currently in *****.  British airway have not contacted me by phone or by email up to December 12. When I left for Japan for 32 days.
      Sincerely,

      ***************************


    • Initial Complaint

      Date:11/20/2023

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      Flight was cancelled without any notice via email, text, or alert. Wasted money on Uber to airport only to be told flight was canceled and I was rebooked 24 hours later. I was given a phone number for compensation that NEVER answers any time of day or night. Recording says the he line is off and to file online. Next day when I arrived for flight I found I was downgraded from business class to basic economy. Not even premium economy. They did not inform me, offer any compensation, and basically pretended that's what I paid for. Not only was seat downgraded but I was not allowed in lounge, was told I had lower luggage allowance, and was boarding group 8 instead of 2. They just treat you as if you didn't pay for business class and keep your money! On top of this, the wheel was broken off my bag. I filed a claim for all 3 issues and never received any compensation or even a letter, email, or phone call. Things happen, but customers should be reimbursed. Especially for the downgrade. Seats are limited, but all other perks should be included. And a refund should be given. To just sell someone premium seats and downgrade to basic seats without any compensation is literal theft.

      Customer Answer

      Date: 12/05/2023

      Better Business Bureau:

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.

      Upon filing a complaint, I immediately received a response to the claim I had filed months ago. I appreciate your assistance in escalating this matter and getting someone to actually reply to me.

      Sincerely,

      *** ****



       


    • Initial Complaint

      Date:11/17/2023

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      It is unjust for us not to be given the opportunity to board the flight on May 5th. My wife had her passport with the married and maiden name. Me (*******************) and my children had our passports with the correct name and were not allowed to board the flight. We were there 2 hours prior to departure. I have attached a photo with time stamped May 25th, 2023 at 5:26 PM as well as the location terminal D . I have also attached a copy of all passports who were boarding the flight. The attendant took our passports and told us to step to the side and call a number, without looking at the remaining passports. (I have attached a snapshot of times that I attempted to reach British Airways without any answer) The situations may have changed if the passengers ***********************, *************************, and ******************* were allowed to board the flight. If need I could have had the opportunity to purchase another flight for *******************************. As a result of British Airways delaying our boarding causing us to miss our flight, I have lost my Cruise that was set to sail 5/27/2023, I attached a copy of the bill of purchase. I have also lost reservations for hotels due to unprofessionalism, refusing to allow us to board, delaying our boarding, causing us to miss our flight. I have attached a copy of non-refundable hotels. I also lost nonrefundable scheduled flights as a result of British Airways mishandling our boarding passes, delaying flight boarding, and causing us to lose our flight. I have attached a copy of our flight invoices. This situation is devastating for our family and caused great distress. Case Reference#******** and case reference #********

      Customer Answer

      Date: 12/12/2023

      Better Business Bureau:

      At this time, I have not been contacted by British Airways regarding complaint ID ********.

      Sincerely,

      *******************

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:11/16/2023

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      My case no: ********. British airways has sent me a denial letter at least ten times since Jan. 2021. May Dec. 2021 flight *** to ******** was delayed during covid, because they added a leg to LA to fill the place presumably. I arrived in ****** too late to catch connecting flight. British airways added $464.22 to my original (******) . round trip ticket - ******** to nice. Then they cancelled return flight leg and I had to catch Air France flight Nice to ******** to make flight back to US.BA owes me **% of the total cost roundtrip ******** nice = $700.22 x **% = $3**.11 as they are signatory to this rule in the *** In May 2021 they credited me $***** I have no reason why as it makes no sense in terms of calculations. BA was on board to be flexible and not increase penalty costs due to planes experiencing schedule changes during covid. In any event my BA cost roundtrip was $700.22. I am entitled to #**.11 les amount paid in May 2021 (*****) = $300.03. I HAVE PROVIDED BA WITH MY RECORDS MULTIPLE TIMES AND UNTIL OCT. 12 WHEN I RECEIVED AN UNSATISFACTORY RESPONSE. ALL AT LEAST 9 REPLIES WERE THE STANDARD DENIAL LETTER.

      Business Response

      Date: 12/06/2023

      The following email was sent to *************************** on 21Nov23:

      Dear ***********

      An update from British Airways
      Thank you for getting back in touch with us.
      As previously advised, your flight from ************* was on a separate booking to your flight to Nice and, as such, we're not able to take into account any delays which may have caused you to miss your flight with us. This means a new booking had to be made for your flight to Nice.
      A refund of a cancelled return flight does not automatically mean a 50% refund of your booking. This is because the taxes used differ depending on your departure airport. A refund of your unused flight has been processed, and no further refund is due.
      I'm sorry we're not able to resolve this matter as you wished.
      Thanks again for contacting us.
      Best regards

      ***********************
      British Airways Claims Investigations Specialist
      Your case reference is*********

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:11/14/2023

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      We purchased a round trip ticket in August '22 for my daughter to study abroad in ****** in September '22. Approximately 3 days before the flight it was cancelled. We were not able to reach anyone from British Airways (BA). So I had to purchase another ticket costing $2558.92. BA has since credited us via credit card ****** for the original ticket and only $645.94 for the other ticket. I am owed $1317.01 difference. BA is stating that the matter is considered a consequential loss and has refused to refund us the difference. Our case reference number for BA is ********. No explanation was ever given for cancelling the flight. It was not weather related nor any type of natural disaster.

      Customer Answer

      Date: 12/09/2023

      Better Business Bureau:

      At this time, I have not been contacted by British Airways regarding complaint ID ********.

      Sincerely,

      *****************************

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:11/13/2023

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      Booked a flight to *********, ****** for myself and my mother. Our flight going to ****** was disrupted aand caused our trip to be delayed by one day, first issue.Second issue, the night prior to our return to the US, my mother received a text stating her flight was canceled without an option to rebook. This would have caused us to split again, in another country and would have left her without room and board.We were instructed to speak with an agent from British Airways (BA) at the airport. Once we arrived at the airport, to our surprise, BA did not have customer service agents at the airport.After receiving the runaround of who to contact, time was winding down. To ensure a reliable returns to the US, I had to book a new flight for myself and my mother with multiple destinations along the way to the US. With the layovers and multiple flights we each had to pay approximately $1,600 which included flights and hotel accommodations.Amongst all of this I was contacting American Airlines (AA), the airline we bought our original ticket through, along with British Airways and neither company would take responsibility for the original cancellations, provide any guidance for resolution, nor give any recommendations.British Airways did not fulfill their obligations of our return flights and have not sent any communication regarding a resolve. I have contacted both airlines and continue to get the response of shifted blame from one airline to the next. It is with great disappointment that this situation has been handled in such a unresolved manner and that they would have left their customers stranded in another country without being able to speak to anyone.I am requesting a refund of my return trip where services were not rendered (half of ticket cost $550 times 2 = $1,100) and the expenses of my rebooked trip along with the additional unexpected accommodations ($1,426.10 times 2 = $2,852.20). Each dollar amount is multiplied by 2 to cover me and my mothers expenses.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:11/13/2023

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Unanswered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I purchased a ticket from ********* to ******. We also purchased insurance and change of flight fee. When we arrived at the airport there was no representative at the counter for British Airways. The near by airline told us we should just wait. We waited for about 2 hours. Then we received a call asking if we were coming. We explained that we were waiting at the desk and have been there for 2 hours. They said we missed our flight and put us down as a no show. This resulted in British airways not helping us by putting us on a different flight and also because we were put down as a no show our returning flight was also cancelled. We spent several hours on the phone being talked to rudely and attempting to up charge us on a different plane ticket. I dont understand why we were treated badly and forced to pay for something we already paid for. Any other airline would have put us on the next available flight.

      Customer Answer

      Date: 12/08/2023

      Better Business Bureau:

      At this time, I have not been contacted by British Airways regarding complaint ID ********.

      Sincerely,

      ***********************

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:11/10/2023

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I flew British Airways and they lost 2 of my bags. I filed a claim and the bags were found and returned to us 4 days later. They said we should buy items required if needed which we did. We filed a claim for reimbursement with British Airways on Oct 5. Claim ********. I have called British Airways twice and submitted a request for status on their website and I cant get a response on when I will be reimbursed for the items I had to purchase due to lost baggage.

      Customer Answer

      Date: 12/05/2023

      At this time, I have been contacted directly by British Airways regarding complaint ID ********, however my complaint has NOT been resolved because: I am still waiting for reimbursement from British Airways.  They stated they would send reimbursement but I have not received the reimbursement as of 12/5/23.

      [Your Answer Here]

       

       

       

       

      In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

      Sincerely,

      *******************

      Customer Answer

      Date: 05/19/2024

      Better Business Bureau:

      At this time, my complaint, ID ******** regarding British Airways has been resolved.

      (By clicking "OK", your complaint will be closed as Resolved.)


      Sincerely,

      *******************

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