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British Airways Customer Service

Phone Number & Contact Info

British Airways's Best Phone Number

800-247-9297
Toll-free·Calls Customer Service·Most popular British Airways number
Free tools for easier calling
Q:

How do I talk to a live human at British Airways?

A:Press 3 at first menu. Our free phone can also navigate phone menus to get a live human at British Airways for you.
Q:

Does British Airways offer 24 hour customer service?

A:Yes! This call center operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The least busy day is Saturday, and the most busy day is Monday.
Q:

How long will I wait on hold?

A:The average hold time is 4 minutes and 11 seconds. The longest hold times are on Friday, and the shortest are on Monday. You can skip the hold time for free.

British Airways Customer Phone Numbers

BA Executive Club

800-452-1201
Toll-free · Mon-Sun 3am-11pm EST · For BA Executive Club ONLY. Press 2, then 3. For all other inquiries use 800-247-9297 and press 3 then 2 · To change a booking, press 1. To make a booking, press 2. For anything else, press 3. · Free tools available: Talk for me, Skip the wait, Schedule my call

Baggage/Luggage Problems

800-828-8144
Toll-free · Mon-Fri 9am-5pm EST · Calling this British Airways number should go right to a real human being · · Free tools available: Talk for me, Skip the wait, Schedule my call

Refunds

877-767-7970
Toll-free · Mon-Fri 9am-5pm EST · Calling this British Airways number should go right to a real human being · · Free tools available: Talk for me, Skip the wait, Schedule my call

How do I get through the phone menu to a live person?

Consider using our free service that calls and talks to customer service for you, then sends you a report. Or use our free service that waits on hold and tells you when a human rep is on the line. But if those options don't appeal to you, our team has also documented the phone menu for British Airways below.

Let us call and talk to British Airways for you

Our AI powered phone can dial, navigate the phone menu, wait on hold, and even talk to customer service for you, for free. You don't even need to learn about the path through the various phone options.

We can get a live person on the line for you

That same, free GetHuman Phone can call and navigate the menus and wait on hold for you, but you can opt to do all the talking. We notify you when a rep is on the line and ready to talk, so no need to worry about changing menu options and weaving your way through the maze.
Of course, we completely understand if you prefer to do all the dialing, waiting, and talking yourself. All of these free tools are optional.
GetHuman researchers routinely call this British Airways phone number to document the phone system.
Here is how our research team describes the way the British Airways phone system greets you: To change a booking, press 1. To make a booking, press 2. For anything else, press 3.
Here is our latest tip for weaving through the phone menu to get to a real person the fastest: Press 3 at first menu.
Below are some clips we've found from British Airways's phone menus and tips that help give an idea of what you will encounter when you call. We've highlighted why they are important as well:

Heard when the phone system first answers

"Welcome to British Airways. To help improve our service, we may record your call. Travel with British Airways is governed by our conditions of carriage and our privacy policy. Which describes how we protect and use personal information. For more details, please visit v a dot com. To change your booking, press one. For availability, prices, or to make a booking, it's two. Or for anything else, press three."
Excerpt from a call with British Airways
Monday, January 15, 2024 2:11 PM

They may ask your reason for calling (instead of a menu)

"Welcome to British Airways.
All of Welcome to Village Show Way.
This is John. How can I help you today?"
Excerpt from a call with British Airways
Thursday, January 11, 2024 4:24 PM

The first phone menu

"Welcome to British Airways. To help improve our service, we may record your call. Travel with British Airways is governed by our conditions of carriage, and our privacy policy, which describes how we protect and use personal information. For more details, please visit ba dot com. For anything else, it's three.
If your booking is flight only, press one.
If it includes car hire or a hotel, press two."
Excerpt from a call with British Airways
Monday, May 20, 2024 3:46 AM

What are the hours and when should I call?

British Airways operates the call center for this 800-247-9297 phone number 24 hours, 7 days. The short answer is that you should call on a Monday. This observation and the following section are based on analysis of a sample set of 3,333 calls made in the last 90 days using our free, web-based phone (see above).

Automatically call when they open

When you use our free AI-powered phone to call and talk, wait on hold, or navigate for you, it will automatically wait until the British Airways call center opens before trying to call. It will ask your permission before it places the call, so you can also further delay that scheduled call until you are ready. But that means you can "set it and forget it" ahead of time.
An important note: busy times vs hold times vs best time to call
When we refer to busy or less busy times, we are talking about the volume of calls. The busiest times are when the most people are calling this British Airways phone number (least busy times have fewer people calling). This high call volume does not necessarily mean that you will have a long hold time when you call. Companies like British Airways staff their call centers differently based on the time of day and day of the week, so you may experience a shorter wait on hold at the busiest of times. When we refer to the best time to call, we are referring to the optimal combination of lower call volume and shorter wait times.

The least busy time to call

The least busy day to call British Airways is Saturday. The most busy day to call is Monday, which averages 32% more phone calls by comparison. Again, this is based on a sample of 3,333 calls made with our AI-powered, web-based phone in the last 90 days.
Sun
Mon
Busiest
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
Quietest

The shortest wait on hold

We measured the shortest hold times to be on Monday. The longest wait in the queue on average occurs on Friday, which is 105% longer than the minimum. As you can see, there is more fluctuation in hold time over the course of the week than there is in call volume.
But if you use our free call and talk for me or wait on hold for me service, you don't really need to worry about average wait times.
Sun
Mon
Shortest
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Longest
Sat

The best time to call British Airways

In summation, the best day to call British Airways is Monday. It isn't the least busy day, but the fact that hold times are shortest combined with it being on the busy side tells us that British Airways staffs up on Monday to handle the higher call volume, and that makes it the best time to call.

Calling this British Airways Customer Number

Jeff Whelpley is the editor / author responsible for this content.
Jul 22, 2024

British Airways seems to want to push customers to using their website instead of their phone system, as their phone system offers multiple encouragements to go to the website and the automated system sends your phone links to different pages on British Airways' website.

When I called, I was asked to provide the reason why I was calling British Airways. I wasn't given any kind of menu to say why I was calling; I simply had to offer the reason for my call and let the system sort it out.

I initially said that I was calling for information about British Airways' loyalty program and when Avios would expire, and the system sent me a link to the British Airways website. This link didn't end up working properly, as it was a link to search for a booking rather than get information about the rewards program.

After checking that out, I asked the system for information about getting flight prices and schedules. This time, the link from the system was appropriate to my question, as I was able to go to British Airways' website and see which prices and flights were available for when I might want to travel.

I then said there was nothing else that the system could help me with, and it bizarrely attempted to put me through to a customer service representative. I figured that I could wait to get my question about Avios answered, but after 15 minutes on hold, I was unable to connect with anyone.

The system did not offer a call back or any other way to leave a message or connect with British Airways another way. The only thing it did was suggest going to British Airways' website for faster assistance.

Based on this experience, I would probably do that in the future. This call wasn't very helpful, at least not beyond anything I could have found online myself.

Jeff truly believes that all customers deserve good service. He’s been building tools, inventing phone tree hacks and helping customers since before his days at GetHuman. He's also a Google GDE and involved in the Angular community.

Why Customers Call British Airways

If you have time to do a bit of reading before you call British Airways, we recommend you read over some of our problem-specific articles.

How Do I Book a Flight with British Airways?

British Airways makes it easy for passengers to book their flights. Calling customer service will allow passengers to book a flight with the help of a booking agent. Customers who want to book independently can do so through the British Airways website. Customers have many options in terms of how to book. They also have many options in terms of how they want ti fly. British Airways offers passengers six different class levels, from fist class to world traveller. You have many options to customize your flying experience. However, the website as well as customer service, walks passengers through all the necessary steps to book a flight on British airways.

How Do I Make a Booking with British Airways?

British Airways is a global airline that has been operating for over 100 years, offering sustainable initiatives and connecting people from diverse cultures. Booking a flight with the airline is simple and can be done online. To book a flight, visit the company's website, click on "Book" in the top bar, select "Book a Flight," enter your departure and destination cities, choose your travel dates and class, enter passenger details, select a flight, continue as a guest, and provide payment details.

What is the carry-on baggage allowance on a British Airways flight?

The carry-on baggage allowance on a British Airways flight depends on the cabin class you are traveling in. For passengers in First and Club World (business class), the allowance is two bags, each weighing up to 23kg. Passengers in World Traveller Plus (premium economy) and World Traveller (economy class) are allowed one bag weighing up to 23kg. Additionally, all passengers are permitted to bring along a personal item such as a handbag or laptop bag. It is vital to note that dimensions including handles, pockets, and wheels should not exceed 56cm x 45cm x 25cm. Oversized or overweight bags may need to be checked in the hold for an additional fee. It is advisable to check the specific provisions on the official British Airways website or consult with customer service prior to traveling.

Top British Airways customer service problems

Click the link above to get answers to just about any British Airways customer service question, including step by step guides for the most complex issues. You can also detail a new issue and get answers instantly.
Below is a sample of recent calls to British Airways, and their purpose. Are any of these similar to the reason you are trying to call?
Check-in issues: "I'm trying to check-in online, it's saying that there's no travel authorization approved."
- From a call lasting 9m 16s , Dec 5, 2024 4:01 PM
Visa transit inquiry: "I want to ask about one thing."
- From a call lasting 3m 18s , Dec 5, 2024 1:10 PM
Career opportunity inquiry: "I received an email for a career opportunity with your company."
- From a call lasting 3m 48s , Dec 4, 2024 6:16 PM
Check-in assistance request: "Hello, I'm having trouble checking in for my flight."
- From a call lasting 2m 28s , Dec 4, 2024 4:51 PM
Check-in issue: "It says check-in unavailable online."
- From a call lasting 4m 48s , Dec 3, 2024 11:59 PM
Flight status inquiry: "When I looked on your app, it would appear that the flight is an hour and a half delayed."
- From a call lasting 16m 46s , Dec 3, 2024 7:48 PM
Confirm package shipment: "I wanted to confirm it that it is true that she sent the package."
- From a call lasting 4m 57s , Dec 3, 2024 3:23 PM
Information about why customers call British Airways is extracted from issues that customers have reported to GetHuman.
British Airways issues reported to GetHuman

More British Airways Customer Service Contacts

There are of course other ways to contact British Airways customer service besides the phone. Below we list the best ones, by medium.

British Airways Customer Service on X (formerly Twitter)

@British_Airways - Customer Service
Customer service dedicated Twitter handle
British Airways, like many companies, provides customer service on the X platform (formerly Twitter). While it rarely entails live dialogue with a customer service rep, this channel can yield rapid response times and can be a useful option if you have an X/Twitter account.

British Airways Customer Help Desk / Web Support

britishairways.com - Customer Service
Online customer service support
As a last, sometimes only, resort- British Airways customer service can be accessed through their website. This can entail digging through help articles before finding a form and "being allowed" to submit a problem to their team, and rarely leads to a real-time conversation, which is why GetHuman does not recommend this unless it's the only way.

Conclusion and closing notes

This is British Airways's best phone number, the real-time current wait on hold and tools for skipping right through those phone lines to get right to a British Airways agent. This phone number is British Airways's best phone number because 75,792 customers like you used this contact information over the last 18 months and gave us feedback. Common problems addressed by the customer care unit that answers calls to 800-247-9297 include Make a booking, Cancel or change flight, Missing baggage, Complaint, Seat assignment and other customer service issues. The British Airways call center that you call into has employees from England, India, Utah and is open 24 hours, 7 days according to customers. In total, British Airways has 4 phone numbers. It's not always clear what is the best way to talk to British Airways representatives, so we started compiling this information built from suggestions from the customer community. Please keep sharing your experiences so we can continue to improve this free resource.

GetHuman does not provide call center services or customer support operations for British Airways. The two organizations are not related. GetHuman builds free tools and shares information to help customers of companies like British Airways. For large companies that includes tools such as our GetHuman Phone, which allows you to call a company but skip the part where you wait on the line to get a live human rep. We continue to work on these tools to help customers like you (and ourselves!) navigate the messy phone menus, hold times, and confusion with customer service. As long as you keep sharing it with your friends and loved ones, we'll keep doing it.

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