No and nor would they when pressed, the only reason I can see is that it's common for customers to miss an outgoing flight and therefore for BA it's worth invalidating the return portion of the ticket. After all, looking at BA's many clauses and rules, it seems the company's policy is to find as many ways to sell the same seats as is humanly possible. Maybe with BA you only buy the intention to fly as opposed to the right to fly! The upshot is I've had to cancel a business meeting with a client from Australia which was to be held in Germany because the cost is now preventative. I am currently looking at other options such as the train - at least that will have a smaller carbon footprint!

My story: Perhaps I am not very bright, but having bought a return flight from British Airways and having missed the outbound part, I was under the impression that I would still have the right to use the return. Not so . . . Somewhat fortuitously I happened to phone British Airways customer services centre, just before committing to finalizing the online booking I'd set up for a new outbound flight. Otherwise I may have found myself buying two one way tickets at inflated prices. Strangely I only called because I had a feeling I might fall victim to some handy little loop hole that allows British Airways to sell the same flight twice – it’s sad don’t you think, that this is something I have come to expect from this company? I accept that I missed my flight for personal reasons that I’m sure British Airways has no interest in. However I was willing to book a new outbound flight with the company in the expectation that I could use the return element of my original flight. I was somewhat shocked and dismayed to find that British Airways has exploited an unavoidable situation and as far as I’m concerned robbed me of something I consider to have bought and paid for. If this was a train or a coach, I would not be penalized for missing one element of my journey. I am incensed that British Airways can simply withdraw something that’s already paid for simply because a customer could not travel on one element of the journey – to me it’s daylight robbery. This is the final straw and one of various issues I have with British Airways' service. This morning I sat on the phone waiting to be dealt with by what transpired to be a surly bloke who has no interest in representing BA or ensuring its customers are satisfied. I've listened to its droaning, dreadful marketing blurb over and over again - telling me to use the website, how wonderful the company is and how it always puts its customers first! All I can say is when British Airways claims: ‘there's other ways and there's BA’ it’s damn right – not however for the reasons British Airways might like to think. From here on in, for me, there will always be ‘other ways’ and they won't be British Airways . I may not be the company's best client, but I've travelled regularly with it in the last few months, long haul business, nationally and internationally and this is the second time in that period I feel I’ve had good cause to complain. I can almost imagine that British Airways has long brainstorming meetings dreaming up every possible scenario that could allow it to sell it’s seats twice, never give refunds and no doubt carbon offset the same seats as many times as it sells them. The company refuses to refund for easily made mistakes with online booking. I'm sad to say there's no customer feel good incentive to book with British Airways whatsoever – the company comes across as a money grabbing business that looks after number one, thinks that it's dreadful music is actually soothing – and is totally misguided if it thinks people want to listen to its misleading marketing rubbish time and time again. That’s my story, I am sure there are plenty more. :-?