TLDR: British Airways handling of a disrupted multi leg reward booking caused major issues, but I eventually got rebooked and still made the trip work.
I had planned a two week trip to Japan for almost a year and managed to secure reward flights using an upgrade voucher. The long haul segment was BA7 LHR to Tokyo on the A350 with Club Suites, with a domestic positioning flight from Manchester to London the night before.
On the day of travel, we were already en route when I received a message saying the Manchester to Heathrow leg was cancelled due to weather. I called BA customer service and explained we were happy to take the train to Heathrow and still make the long haul flight. I specifically told them not to cancel the Tokyo segment.
I was reassured multiple times that everything was fine and the ticket was reissued. However, shortly after, I received an email showing completely new flights, routing us back through Manchester the next day and effectively losing a full day of the trip.
What followed was several hours of calls with customer service. I was told the original seats on BA7 were gone, then offered alternative routings, then told I could only go on standby due to how the booking was originally structured. Even though I was physically in London and able to reach Heathrow, I was stuck in limbo between systems and agents.
Eventually, after speaking to a supervisor and going to T5 in person, I was rebooked onto a Lufthansa itinerary on standby, which ultimately worked out better operationally. I ended up flying earlier the next day and using a Star Alliance lounge before the long haul segment.
In the end, the trip went smoothly, and the alternative product on Lufthansa was excellent. However, the original BA long haul flight ended up departing late and arriving after I had already cleared immigration and reached the city on my rerouted itinerary.
I have now submitted a complaint and expense claim to BA. I am expecting pushback, but I believe this falls under UK261 due to a service and rebooking failure.
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