British Airways Reviews 

**British Airways made an already stressful baggage delay unnecessarily difficult**

When my checked luggage did not arrive at Heathrow, I initially laughed about it. I had anticipated that something like this might happen and had packed enough essentials in my carry-on to manage for a day or two. I was prepared for a temporary baggage delay. I was not prepared for the poor communication, inaccurate guidance, and complete lack of coordination that followed.

When I reported my missing suitcase at Heathrow, a customer service representative helped me complete the baggage form incorrectly. Because I had just arrived on an overnight flight and was extremely tired, I relied on the representative’s guidance and did not recognize the errors at the time. A passenger in that condition should be able to trust that airport staff will help complete such an important report accurately.

Once my suitcase was transferred to eCourierAir, British Airways repeatedly told me that they could no longer retrieve it or make alternative arrangements because the courier had already received it. I explained that I was leaving London and needed the suitcase delivered before my departure, forwarded to my next destination, or even returned to my home in Virginia. Neither company would take responsibility for coordinating a workable solution.

I did everything I could to find an alternative. I tried to arrange transportation to the depot so I could collect the suitcase myself. I was even willing to leave early for Heathrow and stop at the depot on my way to the airport. I repeatedly asked what authorization or arrangements would be required, but I could not get anyone to provide clear instructions or confirm that the suitcase would be released to me. I felt as though I had taken on the responsibility of locating the bag, coordinating with the courier, and developing a recovery plan—the work that customer service should have been helping me manage.

One British Airways representative claimed to have contacted eCourierAir directly and promised to email me with an update. That email never arrived. During a separate chat, another representative disconnected the conversation after telling me there was nothing he could do. The online chat repeatedly failed or provided no meaningful assistance, while telephone support involved long waits without any resolution.

I lost an entire evening of my vacation in London crying and fighting with customer service instead of enjoying the limited time I had there. The situation became so overwhelming that it even caused stress for my other family members who were also on this vacation with me. I had handled the original delay with patience and humor, but the lack of communication, ownership, and practical assistance eventually pushed me past my limit.

My suitcase was ultimately returned only because a very kind delivery driver personally made sure I received it before I left London. His effort was deeply appreciated, but it should not have required one individual driver going above and beyond to overcome failures in British Airways’ process.

I also separately reported a missing water bottle, which has never been located or meaningfully followed up on.

My complaint is not simply that my luggage was delayed. Luggage delays happen, and I had prepared for that possibility. My complaint is about everything that happened afterward: an incorrectly completed report, inaccessible and ineffective customer service, a representative disconnecting a conversation without helping, promises of follow-up that were not honored, and British Airways’ refusal to assist once its courier partner had possession of my suitcase.

British Airways and its delivery partner should have a clear escalation and handoff process for travelers continuing to another destination. Instead, I was left to perform much of the recovery work myself while trying to salvage my vacation.

This experience was especially disappointing because I deliberately chose British Airways based on my previous positive experiences. My last flight with the airline was two years ago, returning from another major vacation, and I had been so pleased with that journey that I specifically booked with British Airways again—even though other airlines offered better prices or availability. After the way this situation was handled, however, I have lost confidence in the airline and do not believe I will choose to fly with British Airways again.

Airline - British Airways

Date of Travel - Heathrow to Faro 12/06/2026

Reported immediately on no arrival of suitcase on 12/06/2026

Lost luggage reference: FAOBA14332

Claimed for Samsonite suitcase and its valuable contents as well as value of few replacement items

BA has refused any liability or compensation whatsoever

I have been corresponding with both BA and CEDR on a regular basis on various platforms since date of loss

I believe BA is fully responsible for the handling and proof of delivery of the suitcase at the final destination.

An important fact being that I was asked to check my cabin suitcase in at boarding gate as the flight was so full.

Hi Kelly (Flight Attendant)! 😊

I was trying to submit my review on the BA website for my flight from Heathrow to Amsterdam on 11 September, but unfortunately the review had already closed.
So I thought I’d send you a little message instead!
Thank you so much for your wonderful hospitality. Big up your nice, clean self and that great big smile! 😂💗
It’s me, the lady in Pink! Remember… quiet on the creek 🤫😂
You were lovely, and I really appreciated your warmth and great service. Keep up the fantastic work, Kelly! ✈️💗

All the best, The Lady in Pink 😊

The website and mobile app experience is shocking, incredibly glitchy, cannot check-in, cannot download boarding passes, the system is web based and is clearly a legacy system. As a corporate traveller this is hugely frustrating - very surprised from such as large name in the industry.

I’ll give it a two only because the male flight attendant was very helpful, kind, and respectful. Otherwise, the seating is extremely tight, person in front of you reclining means your eyes are now two inches from the TV/movie screen. Aisle seat with bag underneath and medium height person means zero leg space and the woman flight attendant seemed extremely aggressive, hit my arm several times withe cart and no warning up and down the aisle. The flight was super hot to the point people felt nauseous. This was my first (that I can remember) and last flight with BA- I will not choose to take this airline again. I travel all around the world and have seen plenty of airlines go the extra mile to make people feel welcomed and some form of comfort on long haul flights- so I know it can be done.

In February, 2026 my wife and I decided to go on safari in Africa for two weeks. After doing some research, my wife wanted to book the round trip flight with British Airways, since they seemed to have the best fare. So, I booked a round trip flight for the two of us including paying extra for preferred economy seating and choosing our own seats. Booking seven months early allowed us to choose pretty good seats on all flights.
Things went pretty smoothly for 6 1/2 of the following months until today (9/18/2026) to check the status of our itinerary on the BA website. It showed that we had no seats selected and there was hardly anything left!!!!! WHAT? Surely that was just a glitch in their system, right? Wrong. They had kicked us out of all the BA flights seating! I called customer service and sure enough, we had no seats selected on any aircraft and now we were down to a little over two weeks before our departure date. Needless to say, I went a bit ballistic over this, but still maintained a tiny bit of composure. BA was unwilling to make things right in any way. The agent put us in two center (777-300er) seats up against the lavatories on one flight and managed to get us in our original booked seats on the remaining three flights. Sadly, there are four center seats and we were put in two next to each other. I had originally booked all of our seating in preferred economy (extra legroom) and in the two seats on the side, so we wouldn't be sitting next to anyone. Now we have one 11+ hour flight from London to Johannesburg, South Africa up against the lavatory bulkhead with two seats next to me. Not happy at all about that! And what about the money we paid to pick our own seats? So, even though this was all on them, they made no effort to make things right. Yes, we got most of our original seats back, but only because I caught this before somebody else grabbed our seats!!! Somebody did grab them on the one flight from London to Johannesburg, however.
Bottom line: I will never fly with this airline again. NEVER! How they can screw this up so badly and make no effort to make things right is beyond the pale. We have flown tens of thousands of miles to six continents and twenty countries on various airlines and never had this happen before.
UPDATE: BA Customer Relations contacted me regarding this review. The person I communicated with (Demi) expressed her sincere apologies for any inconvenience this caused my wife and I and compensated us financially accordingly. There was a plane change on one leg of our journey and that apparently threw everything off. Still, somebody should have caught what happened and corrected the mistakes. I wonder what happened to the other passengers that got bumped, too?
Anyway, we are somewhat satisfied with the effort and result finally put forward by Demi in BA customer relations.

I had my first long haul flight from Gatwick to St Lucia and BA made it a great experience!! No delays there and back, really attentive friendly staff and the food and drink provided was good too. There was a medical emergency on the return flight with a passenger, but this was dealt with sensitively and quickly by the staff. A bit of a delay getting off as paramedics had to board, but we were kept informed the whole time and did not have to wait too long. I hope the lady in question is ok, she could not have been in better hands.

After a week without our luggage, we received confirmation that our bag was shipped from lhr to jnb. It never got on the flight. My holiday is over with no bag at all. Their baggage helpline is not helpful and seeming fraudulent. PLEASE avoid at all costs. Edit: they retagged someone else's bag with my wife's luggage tag and tried to deliver it back to Dublin. 11 days no baggage.

Must i give a star!! Their customer service is non-existent. Somehow whenever i call they're experiencing heavier than normal calls. And then you give up.

Unacceptable customer treatment and procedural breaches by British Airways ground staff at London City Airport.

Flying on BA7021 (Booking Ref: YDHYKA) from LCY to Florence, I was arbitrarily placed on standby with a confirmed ticket—while my colleague on the EXACT same booking was confirmed without issues.

The ground staff and gate crew were extraordinarily rude, dismissive, and completely unhelpful. When I tried to ask for explanations or discuss options (including paying for an upgrade), they actively refused to speak to me or call a Duty Manager.

Furthermore, they cited "weight and balance" restrictions, but completely ignored Article 4.1 of UK261 Regulations by failing to make the mandatory public call for passenger volunteers at the gate before holding confirmed passengers back. They made announcements to check in carry-on bags for weight, but completely bypassed passenger rights procedures just to save effort.

I was eventually let on the plane at the absolute last minute, but the unprovoked hostility, anxiety, and complete lack of professionalism caused by BA’s gate crew was disgraceful. Shocking customer service for an airline that claims to be premium. Avoid if you expect basic respect and adherence to passenger rights.

We had an extra seat booked and paid for through BA for the cello, but at check-in in Toulouse airport on our return to London they couldn’t find it in their system… even though I was literally showing them the confirmation email!
Unfortunately no one from Aviapartner (the company that does the check in for BA at Toulouse-Blagnac Airport ) seemed interested in calling BA or trying to sort it, so I had to do it myself. 45 mins on the phone and another extra mins of BA speaking directly to the check-in desk.

We finally made it through

Big thank you to BA. They were so helpful sorting everything out and the crew on the plane were amazing with all our instruments. Cello safely strapped into its seat and violins safely stored.

My recent experience flying British Airways Business Class was so disappointing that, the next time I travel to London, I would seriously consider connecting through another city simply to avoid flying British Airways.

The lack of service began in the lounge. While the lounge itself is beautifully designed, there seemed to be no one available to answer questions, provide assistance, offer service, or even give basic direction. There is plenty of emphasis on design and appearance, but remarkably little attention to actual hospitality.

Unfortunately, the experience did not improve once onboard. Other than being offered orange juice or champagne upon boarding, the service was extremely limited. I asked for dinner but never received it. Later, after waking, I asked about breakfast and was told that it was too late. Even getting a simple cup of coffee seemed to be an inconvenience.

Throughout the flight, the cabin crew seemed to make themselves as scarce as possible rather than proactively checking on passengers or offering food, drinks, or assistance. For a Business Class ticket—and the substantial premium charged for it—the level of service was completely unacceptable.

Business Class should provide attentive service, comfort, and hospitality. In my experience, British Airways delivered a beautiful-looking product with very little actual service behind it.

This was easily one of the poorest Business Class experiences I have had, and certainly one of the worst values for the price. I would not choose British Airways Business Class again.

I achieved the result I wanted by using the BA conversation app. At first it took 24 hours between messages, but after a couple of days it speeded up and I finally got it sorted. It was very efficient and pleasant and I thank you BA, and especially Jo, who was extremely helpful. Dulcie Sacks

Recently booked business class for myself and three colleagues to South Africa. I travel regularly and have recently used Singapore Airlines and Japan Airlines in business. Decided to try BA for a change but found they want to charge me to reserve my seat even after paying several thousands of pounds for the booking. Never had this with other airlines so this booking with BA won’t be repeated as this is pure greed.

My flight was considerably delayed and the contact on social media Si went above and beyond to try and get me onto an earlier flight. When ground staff said it was impossible the pilot himself came to the gate to allow me on. Delays are inevitable and no one’s fault but the team today was very helpful and kind in resolving it as well as possible. Thank you.

I missed a flight today. BAs gate agent was incredibly helpful and professional when I was stuck and needed help. He also didn't make me feel like an idiot - I certainly I learnt from the experience. My first choice airline going forward.

Luggage still at Heathrow- business class passenget. Trip of a lifetime to Botswana for husbands special birthday and daughter’s boyfriend. I have one dress, one set of underwear and a pair of trainers. They have completely ruined my trip of 8 days! They are 🤬🤬🤬🤬furious beyond words and they don’t respond ! The ceo should be ashamed of himself! My apple AirTag shows where my luggage is- security issue!!’ But ba couldn’t organise a 1 ticket raffle!

Our daughters suitcase was lost on 4th Sept. Three days later we were informed they had found it and we’re preparing it to ship to us. 4 days later and still no suitcase, the trail went cold. Lots of different mixed stories/lies/cover ups during phone calls to BA because our reference number went dead.
British Airways then told us they have lost the bag again.
This feels very dishonest and corrupt.
They are now NOT responding to my emails
Absolutely disgusting service and One very devastated 14 year-old daughter !

Resisted at first using What’s App as portal for BA Customer Service on resolving a refund issue, but actually worked great. I was able to write my concerns, they texted back that they would investigate, and then within the timeframe they promised got back to me through the app to say the situation was resolved to my satisfaction. Thank you.

It was one the worst flight I have been on. Worse than Ryanair or Pegasus or jet2 I’m think cheap flight companies. It started with the crew came very late to check in desk. Then the seats on the plane was very narrow and they didn’t check in people according to sensitivity . There were enough space on the flight but they didn’t arrange the empty seat for people who might need like people travelling with babies. The cabin crew was not kind and they were so slow. We had to wait for service at least 30 min after it started. I will never ever use that line.