BA gives two-year status boost to frequent flyers hit by outage
By David Flynn, June 4 2017
British Airways is giving all travellers impacted by last weekend's flight disruptions a free two-year extension of their British Airways Executive Club status.
The make-good gesture will sweep through the status of all BAEC members caught up in the delays and cancellations and see them retain that status through to at least May 2019 "as a gesture of goodwill," according to an email sent by BA to travellers.
"We’d like to renew your current tier status for a further two years, regardless of how many Tier Points you collect in that time."
If you were flying on British Airways last weekend (or trying to fly, as the case may be) but had the frequent flyer number of another airline such as a Oneworld partner listed in your booking, you may need to contact British Airways to chase up your status extension.
BA's grand gesture comes as the airline begins the slow road to recovering its reputation and travellers' confidence after a sudden shutdown of its IT systems – reportedly caused by a worker unplugging a power supply to a key data centre – delayed flights worldwide, with services out of London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports cancelled across the bank holiday long weekend.
David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.
23 May 2014
Total posts 118
That's a good gesture
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
02 Jun 2015
Total posts 38
Did AJ do that when he voluntarily grounded Qantas???!!!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
08 May 2017
Total posts 14
That's the difference QF were part of that grounding whereas BA wanted their planes in the air!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
30 May 2013
Total posts 383
Joyce gave everyone affected a free return flight on the Australian Domestic or Trans-Tasman network. I was inconvenienced by less than 20 minutes but still got a free flight to Wellington and back!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
02 Jul 2011
Total posts 1374
And I suspect a few more gifts will be required with the likelihood of strikes
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
09 Jun 2011
Total posts 88
Last time I was in a BA Lounge at LHR it was pretty crowded. Suspect this gesture won't help ease the pressure.
05 May 2016
Total posts 616
As a WP I'd quite like it if QF did a similar gesture to what BA has done for a delay if I happened to be one of the ones delayed. Some more time with FLounge access without having to earn it would be fantastic.
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