Claiming Compensation from BA?

[Deleted User]

Maybe someone can help me on this one:

I'm due to fly BA from Houston to Heathrow on Wednesday. My original flight was due to leave at 5.30pm, but I've just had an email saying that flight "has been cancelled", and they have rebooked me onto another flight for the same route (but with a different flight number) leaving at 9.35pm (4 hrs 5 mins later).

I've been reading up on http://ba.com/eurights about the EU directive 261/2004 which seems to allow claiming of compensation in this circumstance.

I called BA to ask why my flight was cancelled, and they said it's due to the industrial action going on, which makes no sense because there are no strikes going on that day!

Does anyone think I might be able to claim?

TIA
Bill

catflea

Cant help re compensation but even if theres no action on that day, there is the possibility that planes and staff will be in the wrong place and thus services not running as normal.

dmg24

Do you not read the news?

The cancellation is due to the strike - planes are not in the correct positions to operate all routes. A strike is an extraordinary circumstance, and therefore compensation is not due.

Is four hours really going to cause you any great hardship?

richardw

If you feel that the knock on effect of the strike isn't extraordinary circumstances, then make a claim.

bagand96

As others said, while there isn't industrial action on the day, this will be due to knock on effects from the industrial action.

At the end of the day they are still getting you there, ok 5 hours later is not great but it is by no means terrible either. And they have told you in advance... they could have let you turn up for your original flight and told you that you have a "delay" of 5 hours leaving you to hang around Heathrow.

Now strictly speaking, by the letter of the EU regulations there will be people telling you that you are entitled to your pound of flesh (€600). But it all hangs on whether the strike, and its knock on effects are extraordinary circumstances beyond the airlines control. Don't expect any guidance regarding this from the hopelessly worded EU regs.

Looking at the bigger picture and the vastly reported BA strikes; I'd be grateful they are getting you to your destination with minimal disruption :beer:

samwardill

Did you pursue this in the end? My own view is that, if I was entitled to compensation I would claim (even if in this case you did not particularly suffer). The issue is legal not moral entitlement. I claimed (successfully through the courts) twice for circumstances when flights were cancelled on me.

In this case I am particularly keen to see someone claim. BA seem to have convinced all of the UK consumer media that compensation is not payable in the event of their strike. I believe that this is incorrect and I think we need a few test cases. This would ideally ultimately result in a test case in the EU court (like the one that ultimately settled the debate over mechanical failure and ultimately ruled that compensation was often payable in the event of mechanical failure). I realise that you would probably not want to go to the EU court and I should reassure you that this is very unlikely to be necessary. I think that, even if they initially denied your claim, BA would sensibly settle this once you lodged a UK small claim. You would be unlikely even to have to attend a court hearing.

The EU has produced some notes on this subject. See http://ec.europa.eu/transport/air_portal/passenger_rights/doc/2008/q_and_a_en.pdf. They do say that a strike is not necessarily an extraordinary circumstance, however they do not really clarify much.