We have just had an email too from BA with a time change for our flight to Malta in January. Fortunately for us it has worked in our favour and is a much better time.

I suspect that because it is less than a 12 hour change there is not a lot you can do about it. If the flights are like ours then you can't cancel - you can change them but at a cost.

When booking flights a long way in advance there is always the risk that times might change even with scheduled airlines.

Re the apartment check out - if there is no one coming in then you might well be able to hold on to the apartment for a few more hours - worth asking anyway.

Pippa

Same for us

We paid more for flights with BA from Gatwick to Dalaman in August because the flight left early in the morning and returned at decent time in the evening.

Our outward flight has now been put back by 6 hrs meaning we now wont arrive in the resort untill midnight.

If we had wanted this time flight we could have booked it for less than BA with many other airlines.. Of course by the time BA informed us the other prices had increased

You won't get any sort of satisfaction from BA,

They have cancelled the flight that was booked. Under EU law you are entitled to a full refund, have a look at this website -

http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=306

Might not be a total solution, you still have to find a flight, but it might make BA think what they are doing.

Peter

Under CAA regs flight timings are never confirmed until the tickets are issued or about 2 weeks before departure. It may not always be the fault of the operator either. As this is a winter schedule flight I`d bet it was the slot conference that re allocated these times, in which case everyone has to put up with it.

If you are booking well in advance always treat the flight times as just `advisory`..they usually do change. Dont think BA will refund you but its not a cancellation of the flight. Not nice though and I do sympathise with you and your parents.

That's an interesting point about times not being confirmed till tickets are issued....

Remember, this is a Scheduled flight.... From what I recall - UK operators issue tickets within 24hrs of booking for scheduled flights, which is why they have to be paid in full at time of purchase.

However - these are e-tickets, so how does that work?

Cyprus100

Pippa and Paully make very valid points.

Whilst I have some sympathy for your predicament it does seem that we get regular posts complaining in a similar vein.

In nearly every case it is for a booking made many months in front.

In many cases it is not the fault of the TO or airline. Details published usually do have a disclaimer in the T&Cs that advise times can and do change.

I do not think that they intend to mislead when they publish. More and more people want to book further and further in front. The competition for slots is a bit of a lottery.

It is not only flights to/from the UK that this applies to. Our continental cousins also are booking flights and airports can only manage so many flight within any given period.

It would be interesting to know how many of these times/flights actually do take place as advertised.

We only hear about those that do not, or where the change is in favour of those booked.

fwh

Just to correct flight ticket info, as it has changed a lot over the last couple of years.

Flight only air tickets (i.e. you buy a flight to OZ on expedia or a travel agents) - they normally are required to be issued within 3, 10, or normally 14 days (which is the case for all BA tickets) form the moment you purchase them. Most online agencies demand full payment when you book them, and issue the tickets the same day.

The main benefit (as well as keeping paperwork down) is that if there are any subsequent tax increases / fuel surcharges increase - which are almost daily - won't have to be either a) absorbed or b) passed on, as they do not apply once the tickets have been issued (Please note Gordon Browns recent doubling of APD is the ONLY exception, ever to this rule, which is why its legality is being challenged).

Now, you might book 10 months ahead of travel, but the airline is likely to make season & schedule changes at short notice, which can involve big time changes, especially at Regional Airports.

It's NOT the Tour Operators fault (if they do not run the flight) but DEFINITELY is the airlines fault, even if they make the changes due to valid economic reasons.

In reality, more and more people are booking closer to travel, so it's harder for airlines to predict booking patterns, and short-notice changes will become more regular.

It's nothing to do with the CAA though. Most tickets don't get sent out until 14 days before your departure, because there are so many schedule changes, T.O's frequently need to re-issue (i.e. reprint the tickets with correct timings) so hold onto them as long as possible.

E-tickets are in effect tickets, just on paper as opposed to flight coupons, which are now, costly, rare and not needed!

I would hope that BA would be more supportive if your schedule changes don't fit in to any connecting flights etc by not enforcing any cancellation charges, irrespective of whether the changes are by more than 12 hours or not. However, this may no longer be the case.

Thanks Sam,

I just popped on to tell everyone that I've had a Result

After using the online form at BA website and receiving a couple of unhelpful emails, (thats not including the notification of the time change that says "do not reply to this email" :x) and after spending 20 minutes on hold waiting to speak to Customer Services. I was told they need to speak to the credit card holder (my Dad), who is incidentally in hospital just now.............

I found another flight, departing on Saturday instead of the Weds (same flight times as their original one) and telephoned Customer Services to see if they could amend their original flight to this one.

The guy on CS told me it would be cheaper to do it on Manage My Booking rather than over the phone, although I couldn't actually make the amendment by phone as they needed to speak to my Dad who has the credit card I tried to make the change on Manage My Booking but it wanted to add almost £72 in charges and taxes for the 2 of them Very annoying, especially as its the same flight number and times as they originally booked.

I went back to the original email notifying me of the flight timing change and clicked on a link there, which gave me the Cyprus contact number as well as the UK one. So, I telephoned Nicosia office, spoke to a very nice lady there - who kindly amended the booking for me free of charge

Now I've got everything crossed that they don't decide to change that flight too

And, the man who they booked their apartment through (Michael at Santa Barbara complex in Limassol - he's a lovely man and they stay there every year) has said they can change their dates with no problem at all

It was all very surprising because as a rule - Cyprus is not the easiest of places to get round Red Tape. Well done Cyprus

Regards
Cyprus100

Glad everything is sorted now. Excellent result from Cyprus end.

An excellent result, well done for persevering. I hope the times remain as they are.

Just as an aside, you mentioned that your dad is currently in hospital. Make sure he remembers to declare this to his travel insurance as failure to do so may invalidate his policy.

luci

hi we went with ba manchester to tenerife for the last 2 years and both times flight changed twice for going and the same coming back also both times we checked in at tenerife airport to be told we had a 3 hour delay coming back laned at 3 am instead of 17.50 we have not booked them for next year
from sue