Flight delay and cancellation compensation, BA ONLY

magoo2516

We were delayed on a BA flight from Naples to London on 24/08 this year. delay was 3.5 hrs. Announcement on plane, and cabin crew told of 'technical difficulties'. I claimed compensation via resolver software, however BA are insisting the delay was 'poor weather' and have refused. Common sense tells me Gatwick did not have a hurricane that day, and surely not every single flight due to leave there that day was delayed by three hours because of weather?. How do I prove them wrong?. The public data available shows the plane delay, but it seems the airline are in control of the reason for delay?

They are lying. How do I prove it?

Help ?
cheers

111KAB

magoo2516 .... Vauban's Guide is your friend .... read it ~ particularly the bit re flightstats.

Caz3121

magoo2516 wrote: »

Common sense tells me Gatwick did not have a hurricane that day, and surely not every single flight due to leave there that day was delayed by three hours because of weather?.

you may well be surprised when you look at the flightstats data for Gatwick Airport for your date. A very rough calculation shows that 90%+ of the flights scheduled to operate were either cancelled or delayed...this is across all airlines
BA had 73 flights due to depart that date...4 were cancelled, 9 went on time and 60 were delayed
For arrivals, after 9am, every BA flight was delayed arriving in Gatwick
here is the evidence - http://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport/gatwick-delays-hundreds-held-up-as-london-battered-by-torrential-rain-and-thunderstorms-a2919751.html

Voltron

First off - wow. My friend directed me to the MSE page on Flight Delay after I saw that I needed to be delayed 12 hours to get £20 out of my insurance. We were only delayed 5 hours, but due to the circumstances MSE said we'd actually be owed close to £900. I did the letter through Resolver, got a form reply after a few days saying how busy they are (no doubt!) and about a week later I got an email from BA saying they accepted all liability and were going to pay up to the sum of £870 odd. Amazing!

So my reason for posting. My fianc! lives in the US and she's one of the claimants. BA have asked me for the following:

So that I can look into your claim, under the Data Protection Act within the UK, I’ll need written confirmation signed by Ms xxx so you can deal with this matter on her behalf. Please send your letter to the following address:

Now, do I need her to write a letter by hand and mail it through to them, or will a fax/email printed be fine? Anyone had to deal with this? I don't want to get it wrong, so I'm happy to have her airmail me something which I'll then send myself if I need to.

They're also asking for my bank details to be mailed through, should I do this straight away or wait until I've sent them the DPA confirmation?

Still can't believe how fast this was. I was expecting an absolute battle (which I knew I'd win, but still!)

How_soon_is_now?

I recently submitted a claim via resolver to BA for compensation for a three and a half hour delay on a flight from LHR to Washington two years ago. I received this reply:

Dear Mr *********
Thanks for contacting us about your claim for compensation.
You’re entitled to compensation for the delay to your flight BA*** on ** November 2013. The distance of your disrupted journey was over 3500 km. This has been calculated in accordance with EU legislation and you’re entitled to 600.00 EUR in compensation.
The total amount of compensation you’re due is 1,200.00 EUR, which is equivalent to 875.16 GBP as there are two passengers included in your claim.
I’ve raised a cheque for this amount in your local currency, which will be in your name as the primary claimant. You’ll receive it soon.
Thanks again for getting in touch with us. Please feel free to contact us if we can help you any further and we look forward to welcoming you and your travel companion on board again soon.
Best regards
***********
British Airways Customer Relations
Your case reference is:**********

The thing is I received that email 6 weeks ago and as yet have not had the cheque. There's also been no response to any of my emails asking how long I'm likely to have to wait. A week ago I escalated it to the head of customer relations, again via resolver and have heard nothing from her either! What's next? Any advice welcome.

111KAB

A NBA (read Vauban's Guide) should wake them up.

Scruffywuffy

SirGimpy wrote: »

And to answer your final point, yes I shall congratulate him in the hope that the moderators will refrain from deleting any more of my posts for 'not being nice to moneysavers'.

Whispers - he's a she !!!!

In my particular case, the pilot only noticed the damage to the plane on his final walk round, I got a FOIA report from the CAA that said the plane had been damaged days earlier which hadn't been noticed until our flight so I argued that - and the other 2 delays. But interesting that Thomson chose birdstrike as their reason to deny me until I actually issued.

AdKM

I was delayed about 17 hours from Athens to London Heathrow on May 5th on BA0633. At the airport on the day, the first report over the tannoy said it was down to bad weather out of Heathrow. Then we were told the incoming airplane was waiting for a new component at Heathrow. By the time it did arrive into Athens, the flight couldn't go on time because of the time needed for crew rotation. We got given a very generic letter at the airport apologising for the delay caused by rotational delay.

I have attempted to claim via the template letter on MSE (and followed up), but BA have responded with the following last two replies. I still feel I have a claim. Have I got it wrong? Any help much appreciated on what to do next.

Reply 1:

Thanks for contacting us about your flight to London Heathrow on 05 May under EU Legislation. I’m sorry your flight was delayed and I completely understand how frustrating this must have been for you. I absolutely agree we’ve let you down.

Your claim’s been refused because BA0633 on 05 May 2015 was delayed because of rotational delay, due to aircraft damage caused to inbound flight BA0632, which wasn’t caused by us, which prevented the aircraft operating as scheduled. Under EU legislation, I’m afraid we’re not liable for a compensation payment in this situation.

We take all reasonable measures to avoid delaying a flight and we always consider if there are any operational options available before we make a decision. We’re very sorry the delay was necessary in this case.

Thanks for following this up with us. Please feel free to contact us if we can help you any further and I hope we have the chance to welcome you on board again soon.

Reply 2:

Dear Mr M.

Thanks for coming back to us. I apologise for the delay in replying to your concerns.

I’ve reviewed your claim and can confirm that your claim’s been refused because BA0633 on 05 May 2015 was delayed because of rotational delay, due to aircraft damage caused to inbound flight BA0632, which wasn’t caused by us, which prevented the aircraft operating as scheduled. Under EU legislation, I’m afraid we’re not liable for a compensation payment in this situation.

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.

Caz3121

You are likely going to have to take this to court (read Vaubans guide)
EUClaim website shows no compensation due as extraordinary circumstances but Bott & co show possible €400 claim
In fairness to BA they have not been one of the airlines that reject every claim (you will see many successful payouts on this board) so they must believe they have a valid case to refuse...it will be either taking it to court or yourself or finding a NWNF that will take the case

SirGimpy

Scruffywuffy wrote: »

Whispers - he's a she !!!!

In my particular case, the pilot only noticed the damage to the plane on his final walk round, I got a FOIA report from the CAA that said the plane had been damaged days earlier which hadn't been noticed until our flight so I argued that - and the other 2 delays. But interesting that Thomson chose birdstrike as their reason to deny me until I actually issued.

Apologies for the gender confusion.

It sounds like you won not on the basis that a bird strike is not extraordinary, but on the basis that on the facts of your case the airline could not prove that the delay could not have been avoided by taking all reasonable measures? In other words, because they could not prove that the bird strike had occurred immediately prior to your flight, they could not prove that there was nothing they could have done about it without it affecting your flight? That is slightly different to the court saying bird strikes cannot, in principle, ever constitute an extraordinary circumstance, but a win is a win so well done.