Transport / BA apologises after more trouble with Air Discount Scheme bookings
LOCAL travellers experiencing difficulties making an air discount scheme (ADS) booking on the British Airways website have been advised to call the the airline’s customer service desk for assistance.
A spokesperson for the airline said staff at the contact centre have been reminded of the ADS process.
The issue came to light after Shetland News was contacted by one reader unable to book a flight from Sumburgh to Nice, in France, using the BA website.
Pierre Cambilliard said he had been trying for several days to book flights for two people but had been unable to complete the transaction online.
When calling the BA helpline, staff there were initially unable to help as ADS booking had to done online, Cambilliard was advised.
It is not the first time problems with the online ADS booking function on the BA website have come to light. In September 2021 the service was offline for almost a month.
A code share arrangement between Loganair and the BA enables island travellers to take advantage of booking longer journeys with just one airline, although BA does not operate from Shetland or any other Scottish island.
Cambilliard said he was not the only traveller who had experienced problems making a booking and praised staff at the ADS office in Inverness for the assistance he had received.
BA said it was now aware of an issue affecting a handful of customers using its website, adding that it is being investigated as a priority.
“We apologise for any inconvenience caused and advise affected customers to call our contact centre to make their booking while the issue is resolved,” the company said.
“Customers can call the contact centre to make their booking in the meantime, where they will receive the relevant discount and any offline booking fees will be waived.
“We’re contacting the customers who have experienced the issue and been in touch with the ADS company to make their bookings.”
A spokesperson for Loganair added: “We’ve been made aware that customers are experiencing issues when attempting to make ADS bookings through the British Airways website today [Wednesday].
“British Airways participates in the Air Discount Scheme in its own right and any systems issue can only be resolved between those two parties.
“We’ve taken steps to raise awareness of the matter with British Airways, in the hope of a speedy resolution.”
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