Flight delay and cancellation compensation, BA ONLY

razorsedge

Bird Strikes are not extraordinary circumstances and so cannot be used as an excuse not to pay.

http://www.travelmole.com/news_feature.php?news_id=2016472

http://www.travelweekly.co.uk/Articles/2015/04/28/53996/bird+strikes+ruled+not+extraordinary+circumstances+in+compensation+case.html

I was arguing this point with Thomson long before the ruling back in April (and won).

hanb wrote: »

Morning all,


I'm wondering if anyone can help me. I've just received a response from BA that stated:


"been refused because BA0895 on 02 March 2013 was delayed because the damage was caused due to bird-strike, which prevented the aircraft operating as scheduled. Under EU legislation, I’m afraid we’re not liable for a compensation payment in this situation."


Now, that would be fair enough but that's not the reason we were told as passengers. We were informed that an Engineer needed to be there to sign the aircraft off for take off but they weren't there and needed to travel from another destination (taking 5 hours to do so) - if that was as a result of a bird (presumably hitting the plane?) Does this mean I'm not entitled to any compensation?


Thanks in advance

hanb

So they swiftly responded with:


Thanks for writing back to us. I'm concerned to read that you are unhappy with my previous response.



As previously advised, your flight was delayed because the damage was caused due to bird-strike which prevented the aircraft operating as scheduled.. This caused a flight safety shortcoming that had to be assessed by our Engineering team.



Passengers’ Notification of Rights (NOR) under this regulation are given at the point of sale and also at the airport in the event of any disruption so that you’re aware of what you can expect from the airline you’re travelling with. I’m afraid it doesn’t constitute an automatic right to compensation.


Article 5.3 of the EU Regulation 261/2004 states that a carrier is not obliged to pay compensation if it can prove that the delay or cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances that couldn’t have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. In Recital 14 and 15 of EU Regulation 261/2004, extraordinary circumstances include weather, strike and the impact of an air traffic management decision which gives rise to a long delay. This means you’re not entitled to compensation under the EU Regulation for your delayed flight.


I realise this will be disappointing for you but I hope this information will help you to understand our decision.

Could anyone advise whether they're just trying to fob me off or whether this is actually a no go? As mentioned above Bott & Co. said I have a claim but presumably that's purely based on the 6 hour delay and no further information? Should I send the NBA anyway and see what happens there?


Sorry if I'm asking questions already answered. The guide implies I should keep going but I thought someone might be aware of a similar reason.

razorsedge

I think I responded in the post two above. Bird strikes do NOT count as an extraordinary circumstance.

Did the bird strike actually occur during your flight? It does not seem so, then you have the airline faced with a technical problem to fix any damage, which is not allowable as an excuse following Wallentin, Huzar etc.

hanb wrote: »

Article 5.3 of the EU Regulation 261/2004 states that a carrier is not obliged to pay compensation if it can prove that the delay or cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances that couldn’t have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. In Recital 14 and 15 of EU Regulation 261/2004, extraordinary circumstances include weather, strike and the impact of an air traffic management decision which gives rise to a long delay. This means you’re not entitled to compensation under the EU Regulation for your delayed flight.
.

I cannot see bird strike mentioned in that list of EC's. Can you?
Do you think you are being fobbed off? I know you are.

Tyzap

hanb wrote: »

Could anyone advise whether they're just trying to fob me off or whether this is actually a no go? As mentioned above Bott & Co. said I have a claim but presumably that's purely based on the 6 hour delay and no further information? Should I send the NBA anyway and see what happens there?

Hanb,

Couldn't be further from the truth. This article in the Guardian explains more.

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2013/jun/15/airline-compensation-delayed-passengers

Good luck.

hanb

Thanks all! Very much appreciated, will escalate my claim and see how I get on You guys are great!

jtotheb

Hi,

BA have accepted my claim for compensation following a 36 hour delay on a flight home from Barbados in July, but they've decided to only partially refund me for additional expenses I incurred / losses I sustained as a result of having to stay an extra 2 nights.

They've held back on:

1. About 30% of the hotel and subsistence costs (even though I provided a complete receipt for this)
2. Loss of earnings for myself and my wife for one day
3. Additional taxi expenses (admittedly I couldn't find the receipts for these)

So, my questions are:
1. Any idea why they've taken this stance?
2. If I threaten them with court action, what are my likely chances of winning for these additional expenses?

I suppose I'm in good position because they've accepted they were at fault.

Caz3121

Airlines do not pay consequential losses such as loss of earnings so a court is not going to award this, you could see if your travel insurance will cover this. you would have a claim for EU compensation of €600 plus reimbursement of expenses whilst you are delayed under duty of care. Only BA can confirm why they did not reimburse fully, maybe they deemed the hotel cost as excessive or deducted alcohol costs (many airlines do not reimburse alcohol)

Bonzo381

My partner, her mum, and our two small kids were delayed from taking off from Gatwick to Barcelona for almost FIVE hours (298 minutes) on July 30, 2015. The flight, booked via BA, was with their partner Veuling. They landed 298 minutes late. I wrote to Veuling, asking for compensation of 250 euros for each passenger (all had paid-for seats) - this was their response - surely they are lying?

In response to your complaint, we would first of all like to apologize for any inconvenience.

Our Passenger Compensation and Service Plan includes the option, whenever you decide not to wait for the delayed plane, to:

- A free change of date (if a similar price range is available) on delays of more than two hours.

- Reimbursement of the ticket on delays of more than five hours.

Furthermore, if this action does not create even more delay, food and refreshment vouchers are offered according to the delay time, complying with the Regulation 261/04 of the European Council.

Having complied with the European Regulations, we have to inform you that we cannot resolve your claim to your satisfaction by offering you additional compensation.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us.

JPears

They either don't know the regs (unlikely) or its the first stage of fobbing you off.
Read Vauban's guide, send your MBA, if no result get your N1 filled in.
What was the cause of the delay?

Bonzo381

Am not sure what the delay was, my partner asked at the time but the airline was really cagey....