No EU compensation for cancelled flight

slick132

My flight from Gatwick to Newquay was cancelled last w/e and 6 of us missed my nieces wedding. We drove down in a car hired at Gatwick and arrived 3 hours after the wedding service.

BA say no EU compensation as the plane was taken out of service just over 2 hours before take off due to "damage to flaps not caused by BA".

However, MSE's guide on this says

Airlines are exempt from paying out compensation if cancellations are due to ‘extraordinary circumstances'.......but not technical problems with the aircraft.

The ATUC guide suggests BA may not have to pay

...if it can prove that the cancellation was caused by "extraordinary circumstances" .... such as.....unexpected flight safety shortcomings.

Clearly there's a difference of opinion - does anyone please have a definative answer, as Martin seems quite certain that I shouldn't be denied compensation because of techy probs.

Thanks for your help.

dzug1

There isn't really a definitive answer. Martin's statement is I think rather oversimplified.

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32004R0261:EN:HTML

is the actual legislation.

As under the Montreal Convention, obligations on operating air carriers should be limited or excluded in cases where an event has been caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Such circumstances may, in particular, occur in cases of political instability, meteorological conditions incompatible with the operation of the flight concerned, security risks, unexpected flight safety shortcomings and strikes that affect the operation of an operating air carrier.

My own view (not based on anything in particular) is that technical problems with the aircraft that should have been prevented by routine maintenance are not 'extraordinary circumstances'. Unexpected ones (like this one sounds) are.

slick132

Hi Dzug,

Thanks for the input.;)

Shona99

slick132 wrote: »

My flight from Gatwick to Newquay was cancelled last w/e and 6 of us missed my nieces wedding. We drove down in a car hired at Gatwick and arrived 3 hours after the wedding service.

BA say no EU compensation as the plane was taken out of service just over 2 hours before take off due to "damage to flaps not caused by BA".

However, MSE's guide on this says

The ATUC guide suggests BA may not have to pay


Clearly there's a difference of opinion - does anyone please have a definative answer, as Martin seems quite certain that I shouldn't be denied compensation because of techy probs.

Thanks for your help.

I agree with dzug to the extent that Martin's "opinion" is overly simplistic.

I also dont believe that dzug's own unsupported "opinion" is particularly helpful.
"Unexpected" is not the same as "extraordinary".

The detailed examination of the "extraordinary circumstances" defence with reference to aircraft technical problems as contained within the Opinion ( in the strict legal sense of a qualified legal opinion by a very distinguished jurist tasked with giving an opinion to the highest appellate court) by Advocate General Sharpstone Q.C in the case of Kramme v SAS ( now withdrawn from consideration by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg) provides a more qualified legal and weighty reference than either "opinion" cited above.

The response from BA suggests that the flap damage may have been caused by some form of ground handling incident. (i.e a baggage truck or similar has damaged the aircraft during its time on the ramp).

There is a very good argument that such ground handling damage may not be "extraordinary". There is also a very good argument that such damage is preventable. In sum there is a very good argument that the purported defence to the compensation tariff 250 Euros per head could be challenged

A similar situation was recently discussed here http://flightmole.com/forum/showthread.php?t=158

Did BA offer re-routing to you ( including by other means) per the provisions of Art 8 of EC 261/2004? There obligations regarding re-routing is distinct to the obligation to pay the compensation tariff.
Did BA provide notice of rights under Article 14 of EC 261/2004?

slick132

Hi Shona,

In response to your 2 Q's:-

1) BA tried calling Air Southwest at our request to see if we could use the next flight to Newquay. This would still not have got us to the wedding in time and, in any event, the flight was full.

2) BA provided no notice of rights under Article 14 of EC 261/2004.

Thanks for the info in your reply and for the Flightmole thread link - I'll take a look.

PSTP

Hi Slick132,

My flight to Newquay on Sat 13/09/08 was cancelled at the last minute due to a "technical fault". I am just about to set about BA and I would be interested to know if this was the same flight as yours, or if this is a regular occurrence.

Many thanks

PP

slick132

Hi PSTP,

Flight No. BA 2972 due to depart ay 11.20.

They denied EU compensation to another passenger on the flight saying the flight :-

"....was cancelled due to aircraft damage which was not caused by BA."

My own enquiries uncovered detail of the damage but I don't want to disclose this on open thread just now.

I'm now going to write to BA myself seeking EU comp'n on the basis that the flight was cancelled over 2 hours before take-off so a repair should have been possible.

Failing that, 2 hours should have been enough time to find another plane at Gatwick.

Let me know how you get on.