You May be Eligible for British Airways Class Action Settlement Money; here's how to claim it, if you're eligible. This is for the class action Dover, et al. v. British Airways. The case, which arose back in 2012, centers on the fuel surcharges that Executive Club members paid on award tickets, which the plaintiffs alleged were not tied to actual fuel costs and violated the Executive Club contract.
British Airways failed to get the case thrown out, and proceedings have been contentious, with failed mediation attempts in April 2016 and November 2017, after a judge denied summary judgment to both sides in October 2017. A 2 day settlement conference in January 2018 resulted in the current proposed settlement, worth up to $27 million in cash, or frequent flyer miles that British Airways says are valued at $63 million (although probably no one else values them at that amount).
You are eligible for either British Airways Avios or a cash settlement if you are part of the class, that is, if you were a British Airways Executive Club member and redeemed for Executive Club awards between November 9, 2006 and April 17, 2013 and paid fuel surcharges on any of the awards. If you did, you should have received an email from info@fuelsurchargeclassaction.com (it may well have gone to your spam folder; mine did) and this email will have your Class Member Identifier on it, an alpha-numeric code.
Go to the Potential Settlement Payment page and enter your Class Member Identifier alpha-numeric code in the Unique ID field.
You'll next see the amount of settlement money or Avios you're eligible for. I'm eligible for 12,500 Avios or $281.
Decide if you prefer the Avios or cash. In my case (more on my valuation below) I preferred the cash, so I clicked on the cash claim form link and completed the form, then submitted it online.
FAQ
I Didn't Receive an Email from info@fuelsurchargeclassaction But I Think I'm Eligible–Now What?
If you didn't receive an email but believe you should be eligible based on your British Airways Executive Club award redemptions between November 9, 2006 and April 17, 2013, call 833-261-2496.
Has the Class Action Settlement Been Approved?
No, not yet; the court hearing is currently scheduled for July 27, 2018.
Will Former British Airways Executive Club Members Automatically Receive Money?
No; unlike current BA Executive Club members, who will automatically receive Avios if they do nothing and do not request the cash settlement option, the ~23% of eligible members of the class action that have closed their Executive Club accounts will NOT receive anything if they fail to take action by the deadline of July 29, 2018. So if you're eligible as a former Executive Club member but no longer have the same Executive Club account, be sure to take action and select a cash settlement before the deadline.
When Will I Receive My Cash Payment or Avios from the Settlement?
The payment or Avios are contingent on the settlement being approved, and all appeals are concluded (the “Effective Date.”) Appeals could take over a year to conclude, potentially pushing the Effective Date into 2019 or more. Avios deposits and cash payments will be issued no more than 30 days after the Effective Date.
Is it Better to Select Cash or Avios?
It depends what your offer is, and how you value British Airways Avios. I personally only value Avios at about 1.5 cents per Avios point, so I selected cash settlement of $285 instead of 12,500 Avios, which I only value at $185. Your valuation may be different, although not many people value Avios at anything over 2 cents per point, even though it is possible to book some British Airways awards that yield 8-11 cents per Avios point in value compared to the retail price of the tickets.
If you're eligible for this class action settlement, what was your Avios vs. cash payment offer, and which will you choose?
Recommended Posts
Finally: British Airways Joins TSA PreCheck
Review: British Airways Galleries Lounge JFK Terminal 7
100K British Airways, 100K Iberia, 100K Aer Lingus Bonus Offers
Review: British Airways First Class 747 London to New York
HT: Ben
If you enjoyed this, join 200,000+ readers: follow TravelSort on Twitter or like us on Facebook to be alerted to new posts.
Subscribe to TravelSort on YouTube and TravelSort on Instagram for travel inspiration.
Become a TravelSort Client and Book 5-Star Hotels with Virtuoso or Four Seasons Preferred Partner Benefits