How missing a flight can cost you thousands

A British Airways passenger lost £5,818.84 after making a mistake on the date of his outbound flight booking - and falling foul of a clause that meant BA automatically cancelled his return flight.

Michael Powell had planned to visit his grandchildren in San Diego, America, but accidentally selected the wrong date for his outbound flight with BA.

It wasn’t until the day of the wrongly chosen flight, shortly after the plane had taken off, that he realised his error and tried to contact BA to let the airline know, but he was unable to get through. 

When he went online the only option he was given was to ‘cancel and apply for a refund’.

He did this but, several weeks later he received a statement that said he’d been marked as a ‘no show’ for his flights - including the return flight that wasn’t due to depart for weeks. 

He and his wife were just refunded their taxes - £521.16 from an overall cost of £6,340.00.

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Passenger accuses British Airways of ‘unjust enrichment’

Michael understood that his error meant that he’d lose the cost of his outbound ticket. However, he assumed that his return flight would still be valid. Instead British Airways automatically cancelled his ticket.

After speaking to a solicitor, Michael then wrote to British Airways arguing that this was ‘unjust enrichment’ . In his view, BA had 10 weeks to sell the return ticket to another passenger - if it did that the airline would have sold the seat twice, and profited by his error. BA gave him a £100 voucher but did not respond to the points in his letter. He remains angry at the way he was treated.

He says: ‘I was willing to pay for my outbound flight again but my return flight was over two months away. I felt like I was in an algorithm and there was no discretion.’ He’s currently waiting for a court hearing. 

British Airways respond

BA said: ‘We always ensure our booking systems are clear and easily understandable showing customers the flights and dates they have selected multiple times before purchasing. We also send a confirmation email showing their flight details.’

It said that passengers have a 24-hour cooling-off period after booking, when they can change their flights if they’ve made a mistake.

‘No show’ clauses make passengers pay

It’s very common for long-haul airlines to cancel return flights if passengers don’t take the outbound leg. There is a clause in most of their terms and conditions that says that the ticket is no longer valid if you do not use it in the sequence provided.

They argue that this is because in some circumstances a return or multi-leg ticket might be cheaper than a single.

How no show clauses are applied varies across airlines. Some say they won’t cancel your return flight if you let them know before your outbound flight departs that you’re going to miss it. Some also have exceptions in circumstances such as ill-health or ‘force majeure’ (something beyond the control of both parties) - but you’ll need to provide proof, such as a medical certificate.

Others, such as KLM, may not cancel your return flight - but they can charge you between €125 (within Europe) and €500 (transcontinental) to use it if you don’t use the outbound flight. That’s for economy class - fees are even higher for business class.

However, airline terms and conditions are notoriously confusing and it can be difficult to understand what each airline will do if you miss your flight.

‘No show’ clauses by airline

The good news is that if you miss an outbound flight with low-cost carriers such as easyJet, Jet2, Ryanair or Tui you can just book a new flight and use your return leg without having to contact the airline. They treat outbound and return flights as separate tickets.

Are ‘no show’ clauses legal?

In 2018, Which? wrote to nine airlines – including BA – to warn them that ‘no show’ clauses in their terms and conditions might be unlawful.

We told them: ‘It is our position that NSCs (no show clauses) are in breach of UK and EU laws relating to unfair contract terms because they are “unfair” in that they create a “significant imbalance” between the consumer and air carrier, to the detriment of the consumer.’

We pointed out that - as in Michael’s case - the airline can end up being paid twice for the same seat, while the passenger either doesn’t travel or has to pay for the flight again.

Since then some airlines - such as KLM and Virgin Atlantic - have amended their clauses to be slightly more consumer friendly. KLM waives its fee if you buy a new outbound flight within 24 hours of your original flight and Virgin has introduced more discretion if you let it know you’re missing the flight.

However, they and the other airlines we contacted argued that their business model is different to that of the low-cost carriers. They say that being able to sell different legs (outbound and return or multi-leg trips) as one bundle allows them to be more competitive in some markets and is ultimately beneficial for the traveller.

What should I do if I’m about to miss an outbound flight - and don’t want the return cancelled?

Try and let the airline know as soon as you can. This can be easier said than done, as it’s not always possible to get through on the phone. If you’re on your way to the airport it’s worth carrying on going to make your case at the customer service desk.

If you can let the airline know you’ve missed, or are about to miss your flight, it may have discretion to ensure that your return ticket is not cancelled.

Best and worst airlines

We take no show clauses into account when deciding on the airlines that are Which? Recommended Providers (WRP). No airline can be a WRP if it cancels passengers' return flights purely because they've missed the outbound flight. 

See which carriers we recommend - and which we suggest you avoid - in our survey of the best and worst airlines.