British airways - mandatory advance passenger information?

[UKBUBS]

Can anyone help with this one?

 

We have booked flights from London Heathrow to Barcelona for our cruise. They were booked as part of a fly/cruise package.

We have now had a flyer saying it is Mandatory to enter advance passenger information at least 7 days before the flight, but when I try to do this, it won't let me as it says I am booked as part of a group.

Am waiting for cruise travel agent to get back to me, but worrying about it while I wait!

Has anyone else come across this?

What should I do?

 

Thanks!

[Cymro1953]

Hi,

We've had this with ours also. Jet2 flying out of Manchester. We could not give details direct to the airline like you. I phoned Royal Caribbean and she said we give the info to them and they pass it on to the airline.

When I checked in online with RCI last week there was spaces for all the details.

 

Berwyn

[Cymro1953]

PS

It's a govenment requirement thing. This is what it said on Jet 2 page. There's probably something similar on the BA site

 

From March 2009, Jet2.com is legally required to provide the UK Home Office with passport data for all passengers departing from and arriving into the UK. You are therefore required to provide Jet2.com with accurate passport data. You may provide this data anytime between the time of your booking and 5 hours before departure. You can provide this data under the Manage My Booking section of the website, through our call centre or this can be taken from you at check-in.

[Globaliser]

What should I do?

Have you tried phoning BA and asking for the information to be input manually for you?

 

API is now mandatory for flights to Spain, so that much is clearly correct. The only issue is really how to get the information into your booking, given that you're part of a group booking.

[DougYWG]

Canadians have had to put up with this kind of crap for years. Flights from Canada to Mexico have had to do this, only because they fly through U.S. airspace and we can't have our Amurican cousins trembling in fear as they go to bed every night. See, their government keeps them safe.

[NorthernLite]

So I should call and let them know we won't be using the return flight portion of our LHR-BWI-LHR tickets? We flew back after a TA last month and had planned on doing a fall TA from Southampton to FLL instead were doing a San Diego to Baltimore PC. Round trip is cheaper than one ways and I got a much better deal on directs with BA than Celebrity.

[greatam]

So I should call and let them know we won't be using the return flight portion of our LHR-BWI-LHR tickets? We flew back after a TA last month and had planned on doing a fall TA from Southampton to FLL instead were doing a San Diego to Baltimore PC. Round trip is cheaper than one ways and I got a much better deal on directs with BA than Celebrity.

 

DO NOT CALL and tell them you are "throwing away" the second half of a RT ticket. Not only is it forbidden in airline T & C's BUT they can come after you for the price of a one way ticket (difference between what you paid for your RT and what a one way is) and they can cancel your FF membership and forfeit your miles. Just pitch the ticket.

[fbgd]

So I should call and let them know we won't be using the return flight portion of our LHR-BWI-LHR tickets?

 

Sure, if you don't mind getting re-fared to a one way ticket.

[LHT28]

I do not know if this will work for you or not but I registered on the BA site

when I look in My details it has all my info

under the link "change my APIS details" I can add my new passport number etc...

I do not have a flight with BA at this time but it still worked

[NorthernLite]

DO NOT CALL and tell them you are "throwing away" the second half of a RT ticket. Not only is it forbidden in airline T & C's BUT they can come after you for the price of a one way ticket (difference between what you paid for your RT and what a one way is) and they can cancel your FF membership and forfeit your miles. Just pitch the ticket.

 

Even if we originally booked the 2nd half for leaving on Independence of the Seas and then changed our minds for a repositioning to our home port? Damn. Anyway of asking to change the date, with an added fee of course, to use in the spring? Otherwise I'll just pitch them but it seems they could resell them and double their money. Thanks for the heads up.

[greatam]

Even if we originally booked the 2nd half for leaving on Independence of the Seas and then changed our minds for a repositioning to our home port? Damn. Anyway of asking to change the date, with an added fee of course, to use in the spring? Otherwise I'll just pitch them but it seems they could resell them and double their money. Thanks for the heads up.

 

Let's see if I understand this correctly. You booked a RT ticket-first part was used in March 2009. Second half of the ticket-you booked it for a repo cruise in the fall, correct.

 

But now you are NOT going on the Europe repo cruise, so don't need the other half of the ticket. BUT you may want to use it for a Spring repo???

 

Sorry-you can change the date, but you cannot change the routing on the second half of a non refundable ticket UNLESS you are willing to pay the change fee AND any additional increase in fare. And this method is only allowed with certain tickets on certain airlines, so your ticket may not even qualify for a re-route. Would cost you more than a new ticket.

 

If you can figure out how to get to back to the USA (you only have BWI/LHR segment available), you SHOULD be able to pay the change fee and use the second half of the ticket. BUT only BEFORE the one year anniversary date of the ORIGINAL purchase, NOT flight.

 

With RT tickets to Europe pricing out at less than $500 from JFK to a lot of European destinations through early spring 2010, you will spend as much trying to change the ticket and get back from Europe as you would spend for a new RT ticket.

 

Just pitch the ticket unless you can DEFINITELY use the second half BEFORE the one year purchase anniversary. And DO NOT CALL unless you are rebooking prior to the BWI departure date and within the one year time period.

[Globaliser]

Anyway of asking to change the date, with an added fee of course, to use in the spring? Otherwise I'll just pitch them but it seems they could resell them and double their money.

Most BA tickets, even the cheapest, are date changeable up to and including the day before the day of travel. You pay a fee, plus any fare difference - the ticket is re-priced by reference to fares in force at the date that the change is made.

 

Don't worry about them reselling the ticket. They'll do it anyway. It's called overbooking. There's always a proportion of people who don't turn up on the day for their flights. If you threw away your tickets, you'd be part of that percentage. It's surprisingly predictable, and some airlines are very good at making sure they fill every seat without actually bumping people off to other flights.

[NorthernLite]

Sounds like a toss then. With the Mercury homeporting here in Baltimore for a bit we decided not only on the San Diego to Baltimore in October but then in February 2010 a 12 day Caribbean round trip. Can't beat a 20 minute ride to/from a port to home. The original 2009 cruises did work with a few new ports, lots of time at sea and trying RCL for the first time. Doing a reverse round trip made sense. Then we got the Mercury news.

 

Thanks for the help everyone. And I now know why the one ways are one ways.