[Anna]

It’s midnight GMT atm, but there may have well been people on the phone to BA grabbing the tickets the second they were released, especially as it’s going into peak season now.

Have you got a BA companion voucher which might open up more availability?

[Anna]

SeatSpy is showing Nov 23rd as the latest available date. Does the flight you want depart every day? Not all routes are served 7 days per week.
Otherwise, someone else might have snapped the seats up so fast you weren’t able to see them when they were released.

[Anna]

@windym – you will have to make 2 separate bookings if the vouchers are in different accounts, there is no way around this. What you can do for your inbound flights is make sure one of you is authorised on the other’s account then when you get through to BA explain that you’re using 2 vouchers and ask them to hold the 4 seats for you.

[Anna]

Are you sure it’s not 2 different flights, one on BA from LHR and one on IB from MAD?

[Anna]

Try logging in on a phone (not the app) – it worked for me!

[Anna]

What kind of message, @AJA? Do you mean the one on the BA booking page as AFAIK SeatSpy can’t see the extra availability?

[Anna]

Which routes/dates have you tested?

[Anna]

It can be done via the chat facility but not all agents are willing/able to do it. Some Twitter agents will also do it but you may need to be persistent and patient as it can take a few days to complete the process! Other than that you have to make the dreaded call.

[Anna]

Has to be booked via BA, but they can do this on the phone for you. Have a look at the long thread on booking the return with the 241, there are many posts about using it on Iberia.

[Anna]

I was in that area at half term with a friend – Fuengirola Bioparc is just enchanting, a must with young children. As well as the animals in beautiful settings recreating the different regions of the world, there’s a huge play area with an open air cafe next to it where you can have a drink/lunch. 10 minutes stroll down to the beach.
I would do it early or late in August, though, as it will be blisteringly hot in the middle of the day!

[Anna]

With the sheer amount of accommodation in the area you’re spoilt for choice really, but we always found apartments the best option with children – either a 2 bedroom or 1 bed with separate living room with sofa bed. You then can eat out (again spoilt for choice) but also have preferred snacks and drinks handy.

There are lots of options but MacDonald resorts have a few very nice properties, some beach front, of a very high standard.
https://www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk/
You can book direct or via sites like booking. com

[Anna]

You can have more than 2 people on a standard 241 booking (using one voucher), but it starts getting messy when the extra availability is released, as you can only book those for 2 pax.

[Anna]

Sorry if I’ve missed this, but has the relative asked BA to try and make the 241 booking by phone? It’s worth a try as whatever issue is affecting her account either might not affect BA’s processing from their end, or if it fails it may shed more light on what that issue actually is.

BA may try to charge (£15pp ?) for this – your relative could argue that she’s unable to make the booking online but it would probably be worth it if it results in getting her flight booked!

[Anna]

@can2 – Cherish these years, but keep your eyes on the prize 😂

[Anna]

My first thought was also that Rob had hired a journalist from the Daily Express to write a column for HFP. But it does sound like typical BA nonsense (some CS agents will seemingly say anything to get rid of you), but the relative’s only recourse really is to submit a complaint and wait out the process. Also keep trying with the account as BA IT is weird and the issue may even right itself.

[Anna]

BAPP voucher/avios is a game changer if you have to travel in school holidays. For years we headed off to the Caribbean/USA and European city breaks as a family of 3 with the 241 and Lloyds upgrade vouchers (similar to the BC ones!) while our friends bankrupted themselves for 2 weeks in a villa in Majorca in August.
This will last until your kids are 18. Ours is now in Year 13, is too cool to travel with us any more and we have just had the reverse sticker shock experience of being able to fly to France in a couple of weeks for £33 return!

[Anna]

Indeed, I saved 1000 points the other day rebooking the HI LGW! I’ve noticed as well recently that many HIs let you book multiple categories of room for the same points so you can get a mini fridge with pop and a Kitkat!

[Anna]

AFAIK you can only access your own avios on QR so you’ll need to find another way to make up the shortfall.

[Anna]

If you get a finance deal there are various options which let you pay monthly by credit card – you need to check who the car dealership uses.

[Anna]

Someone posted recently of the same experience and were actually bumped at the gate. Obviously this would be hugely inconvenient, however on the up side you are entitled to much more in terms of compensation and re-routing than being merely downgraded.

[Anna]

Did you accept the cancellation of the 2nd flight and request a refund, or are you claiming your re-routing costs on Jet2?

[Anna]

DXB-DOH (and presumably the other way) was, IIRC, about 7.5k avios plus £20-ish in economy. It seemed very expensive, cash-wise, for a one-hour flight.

[Anna]

Also NYC has rare day flights back to LHR which are so much better than a red eye in economy!

[Anna]

You’ve left it very late for a popular route at peak period! I booked this route for December at T-355 and the entire month’s availability was more or less gone within a few days.

Someone did post the other day that a load of seats had appeared for Nov/Dec but presumably they were all snapped up very quickly.
People do cancel, so there is a chance something might come up. If you have a 241, you could try searching for availability from the regions.

[Anna]

Best value in economy on that route, IMO, is 25k avios plus £50 each way. So with the 241, 50k avios plus £200 for 2 pax, return, off-peak.

As @AJA points out, you also get a hefty luggage allowance (checked plus cabin), and the ability to cancel for £35 pp (or less depending on how BA’s IT is feeling on the day!)