Flights from LHR to ATHENS sold out for my time/date?

I took a different approach and tried Google Flights. It does not list that flight as an option. I would think that there has been a schedule change vs “sold out”.

A great place to find out more about what is happening from an "insiders" point of view is Flyer Talk on their forums.

I just checked the BA flight schedule for June 2023 and I don't see any day that an 18:35 flight from LHR to ATHENS is available to book so that makes me think that time slot has been canceled (and just maybe Heathrow departures are not updated that far ahead).

BA has been canceling a lot of short-haul flight into and out of Heathrow, reducing their schedule. I have had several with schedule changes or outright cancellations. According to FlightAware and other tracking websites, BA 622 hasn’t flown since last October. And I cannot find it on thenBA website, nor any 18:35 flight to Athens, for any date I checked in February, March, June, or July.

I suggest your friends check their flight for schedule changes they might not have been notified about.

Heathrow's departure information will not be updated this far in advance.

Could you ask your friends for their entire flight itinerary including times, flight numbers and routing.

The flight is not sold out. It isn't on the current schedule. I'm not surprised schedules have changed this far in advance.

BTW, AA 6785 is a BA codeshare London to Geneva.

Why don’t you call the airline and ask them?

Thanks all for your insight. Flights were purchased back in September. My friends tell me they have no notification on the app or received an email from AA indicating a schedule change., so I will get them to call American to see what flight they have been changed to. (Flight 2 from LHR to ATH was purchased as AA 6735, not 6785 - I just reread their full flight itinerary given to them by AA) -

On the BA website there is no LHR-ATH flight at 6:35 p.m. on June 10, 2023.

And there is no flight BA622 on June 10 either (flight AA6735 operated by British Airways)

American finally sent a notification today about a flight change. On the app, it now shows, "call about a flight change" Please call us - Your flight has changed" When my friends purchased these tickets in September we got round-trip tickets for $1,100 dollars. Looks like the price is considerably higher for that route now. hoping to get a favorable itinerary without having to pay more.

You purchased a ticket. That's a binding, legal contract. The airline is legally obligated to offer you an alternative that gets you to the destination. They can not charge you extra for a more expensive flight, they can not charge you a "change fee."

When an airline cancels your original flight (or reschedules it, resulting in a non-trivial change), it's not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, you can often get a better flight (sometimes a MUCH better one) because of this. This is worth paying attention to...

The airline (actually their computer) will offer you an alternative that they think represents an option that will work for you. Remember: you do NOT need to accept what they offer (certainly not their first offer). It's time to negotiate for something that YOU think is acceptable, not necessarily what their computer thinks you should take. If the computer offers something that you think is great, hooray, go ahead and accept it. But before you do, invest a few minutes and research all your options

Before you contact them, and (especially) before you accept their offer, go online and look for something that looks good to you. It can be a nonstop, it can be a better routing with fewer stops, a more convenient time. The routing does need to begin and end in the same cities as your original ticket, and it needs to be in the same class of service (if you bought a basic economy ticket, you're not getting upgraded to business class). It should depart and arrive on the same day(s) as your original ticket. Other than those constraints, your preferred replacement flight/routing can bend or break all sorts of rules. If the substitute flight you now want would cost a lot more than the ticket you bought, that doesn't mean doodleysquat. Ticket price is no longer a consideration.

Now, you need to be reasonable, but don't be afraid to ask for a better routing, one that meets your needs better than the one their computer offers you. After a schedule change has cancelled my flights, I've often gone from a two-stop to a nonstop, or a miserable 10 hour layover to a nice 90 minute layover. You can route through different cities (start and finish cities can not change though).

So before you accept what their computer has offered you, get online, look for options that you like. Note all the flight details and write them down. Then call the airline, spoonfeed the agent with the details of your proposed flight alternatives. Be nice, polite, and professional, you're asking them to accommodate you, their valued customer, and keep you happy. They should do everything they can to provide a happy ending for you.

Once you have accepted an alternative flight (either one their computer offered you, or one you negotiated for), you lose the option to ask for further changes, so be sure you have your ducks lined up before you call them (and beware clicking on any button that simply "accepts" their proposed alternative if it's not the best you can do). If your substitute flight also gets cancelled/rescheduled later, then you get to go through this process again.

Always look at a flight cancellation/schedule change as an opportunity, not a trainwreck.   Good luck!

@ David. Great information. However, OP has not purchased her ticket yet.

Ah, sorry, missed that little fact. Oops.

Info may still be helpful to forward to those friends (who it seems did already buy tickets and, presumably are looking at alternatives)...

American finally sent a notification today about a flight change. On the app, it now shows, "call about a flight change" Please call us - Your flight has changed" When my friends purchased these tickets in September we got round-trip tickets for $1,100 dollars. Looks like the price is considerably higher for that route now. hoping to get a favorable itinerary without having to pay more.

Won't help the OP (in case the tickets now are priced higher); they'll need to coordinate with the folks who already have their tickets.

David - your information is exactly what I needed to send to my friends. Thank you. Yes, It is indeed an opportunity to get a better itinerary and the price should not change (as long as it's the same main cabin class, dates, and destination). As it was, they had a long 7-hour layover in LHR. I was planning on meeting them at LHR and was trying to coordinate the LHR to ATHENS flight when I ran into problems finding the BA flight. I will look tonight at the schedule for the same date leaving New Orleans for Athens so they have some game plan before making that call to AA. I may suggest having them try to go through either Chicago or Philly to Athens instead of via London.

We flew out of Gatwick down to Athens on EasyJet in June, 2022. And the price was right.

Wizz Air also flies Gatwick-Athens.

I am not a fan of 7 hour layovers at any airport. Best price is not always the best value. There may be other alternative airports to fly thru other than LHR.

Good news, my friends called American and had no problems getting switched to an AA flight via Chicago. This actually works out better. So yes, an opportunity. I prepared them before they made the call so they had a flight in mind. I can now work on my flight schedule and meet them in Athens.

Thanks, everyone