Flight delay and cancellation compensation, BA ONLY

Tyzap · 11 December 2017 at 10:36AM

Vauban wrote: »

So my BA flight to Geneva has been cancelled this morning. Just getting into London now and tbh it doesn't look very snowy. Are these reported mass cancellations at Heathrow really an inevitable consequence of the weather? Or do operational decisions by the airline play a significant role?

Mass cancellations by Ryanair too. It seems that some airlines like RA are starting to use EC excuses to justify wholesale cancellations in anticipation of weather related problems.

They say it causes less disruption to passengers as their aircraft and crew are in the right place and ready to go once the event ends.

Of course the more sceptical of us would say that it is a way of avoiding compensation payments and putting two fingers up to their customers. Plus, in cases such as this it must be an operational decision and not a genuine EC.

BA did end up with many aircraft and crew diverting to airports around the country and Europe, so will inevitably suffer some disruption today as they try to get things back on track.

Is RA's approach better than BA's? A debate to be had I suppose.

Good luck with the rest of your journey:)

jpsartre · 11 December 2017 at 10:58AM

JPears wrote: »

However, as usual, this weather was predicted days before it occurred, why are airports so rubbish at preparing themselves?

As far as deicing goes, there's probably little that can be done in terms of preparation.

JPears · 11 December 2017 at 12:23PM

Perhaps not, apart from having enough deicers, chemicals and crew, which `I suspect they don't.
I appreciate these are not common events, but they happen and Heathrow is one of the biggest, busiest airports in the world....

ado · 11 December 2017 at 9:16PM

I am very angry with BA and their couldn't care less attitude to their customers following the cancellations and delays caused by Sunday's snow. I know that the snow was beyond their control but their staff and customer service is exactly what they do manage and control and was something which could have salvaged an annoying situation.

My wife was due to fly to Tehran on Sunday and got as far as the baggage drop less than 2 hours before departure before BA cancelled the flight. I had already left to return home so I couldn't help her at that stage.

The few BA staff left on duty couldn't really give a toss about their customers and disappeared as soon as they could leaving no one to give help and advice. Their 0800 number was overwhelmed and cut callers off as soon as it had given a recorded message referring customers to their website, but their website was as useless as a chocolate tea pot because although BA claimed that people could use it to re-book we found that we couldn't as a-my wife had already checked in and b-under normal circumstances her ticket was none changeable so it needed a human to change it.

After that I booked her a Travel Lodge for the night for £34, but she had to queue for 2 hours in the freezing cold for a taxi. Return taxis cost £57, and a bus ticket back home £51. In addition there was food and drink to buy so between us we are now about £150 out of pocket. BA now appears to have re-booked her for next Saturday which will mean another journey to Heathrow and more expense. At a minimum I'd expect BA to refund £150 for the hotel, taxis, food and bus although it would be nice if they paid for next Saturday's transfer as well. I'm also assuming that they won't pay any other compensation as I think they will class the cancellation as being something out of their control, but if I can ever get through to a human I will ask them.

Tyzap · 11 December 2017 at 10:14PM

Hi ado,

Your wife can claim back all her costs from BA so long as she has receipts. They won't pay for anything they don't have to, so be prepared for an argument.

You could ask BA to put her on an earlier flight using another airline, if you can find any alternative availability. They may be very reluctant to do this, but you can insist if she needs to get there sooner rather than later. However, it may be a few days before you can get through to them due to their on going problems.

Google and download 'Vaubans guide' for lots of info.

Good luck.

ado · 11 December 2017 at 10:31PM

Hi Tyzap.

Thanks for your advice and yes BA were very unhelpful when it came to offering a re route with another airline when my wife spoke to them and I haven't been able to get through to them to repeat the question. As it stands they say they have re booked her on Saturday but the reservation on their website still shows her original flight on Sunday.

dander · 12 December 2017 at 2:53PM

Does anyone know if there's any point during the disruption over this weekend where a delay becomes BA's fault and so due for compensation, rather than all due to weather and no compensation?

Our flight was delayed because of weather, then after a certain time the crew went past their shift times and we were instantly bumped back another 4 hours because they had to send for another crew. Is there any hope that the delay that caused can put us in the compensation bracket or does the whole thing still count as weather?

Also do we have any leg to stand on in terms of asking for any kind of compensation for BAs bad handling of the situation... ie: virtually no information available, 14 hours in airport with only two small bottles of water and one very low quality sandwich provided, and not even automatically allowed snacks or soft drinks from mini-bar when finally put in a hotel, being given a phone line that was permanently engaged, and various other examples of BA making a bad situation worse with poor customer service?

I'd be very interested to get opinions on what I should reasonably be asking BA for and what there's no point fighting over.

JPears · 12 December 2017 at 3:50PM

If you purchased and food and drink yourself (non alcohol) and kept receipt, submit for rimbursement.

Tyzap · 13 December 2017 at 11:07PM

mullers76 wrote: »

Hello
My BA flight LHR-LAS was cancelled the day before flying and I was rebooked on the same flight 24 hours later so I lost a whole day of my trip. BA have refused my claim on the basis that their mixed fleet crew were taking industrial action and these are exceptional circumstance:

"I’ve reviewed your claim and on the day you were due to travel, industrial action was carried out by Mixed Fleet cabin crew members of the Unite trade union. Strikes are an extraordinary circumstance and are outside of our control. I’m afraid this meant we had no option but to delay your flight."

Has anyone else experienced the same? Is it worth escalating to CEDR or are they within their rights? My feeling is that industrial action by their own crew IS within their control and so they should pay out....

thanks

Hi Mullers76,

Don't know if you are still pursuing your claim re BA strike action but if you are, read on.

I have just come across this item on the CAA's website support for passengers. It states that the airline can claim strike action is an extraordinary circumstance but only when unrelated to the airline.

If that is what the CAA believe, then I see no reason why the airline should argue otherwise.

CAA EC definition

What are extraordinary circumstances?

The main categories of events that are likely to be an extraordinary circumstance include:
* Acts of terrorism or sabotage
* Political or civil unrest
* Security risks
* Strikes (unrelated to the airline such as, airport staff, ground handlers, or air traffic control)
* Weather conditions incompatible with the safe operation of the flight
* Hidden manufacturing defects (a manufacturer recall that grounds a fleet of aircraft)

Found here...
http://www.caa.co.uk/Passengers/Resolving-travel-problems/Delays-cancellations/Your-rights/Am-I-entitled-to-compensation-/

SamGrant1988 · 15 December 2017 at 10:15AM

Hello,

Looking for some advice here. My flight from Calgary > Heathrow > Glasgow was cancelled on Monday 11/12/17 by 24 hours. Even though, an Air Canada flight left 10 minutes after ours was scheduled to on the Calgary > Heathrow route, BA are still trying to claim weather was the issue.

From various news reports it has become apparent that BA's lack of de-icing facilities are to blame, as opposed to being the weather. With this in mind, I've out in a compensation claim to BA, which has been refused - they once again insist that weather is the issue, taking no responsibility.

I'm just wondering if anyone can tell me if I've got a leg to stand on here?

Thanks in advance for any help offered.

Flight delay and cancellation compensation, BA ONLY

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