Flight delay and cancellation compensation, BA ONLY

SimonHea

Hi all, I've scrolled several pages so apologies if this type of issue has already been addressed. In summary used Resolver to claim for two flight to JFK that were delayed fo 8hrs back in August 2014. BA replied that we had a valid case and that we were due EUR600 compensation each however another mail was sent 30 minutes later saying they checked again and we weren't due compensation as we weren't on the flight. WE WERE! I've followed up with more details including the flight booking reference but have BA tried this reply with anyone else, if so, how did you get on?

Update

Well providing the ticket numbers did the trick and I've now received a cheque from BA but i remain suspicious with them originally claiming I wasn't on the flight, I do hope they weren't trying to avoid my claim!

Justice13075

Download and read Vaubans guide all explained in there.

pollypenny

Vauban wrote: »

It doesn't matter who you book with - it's who the flight was originally due to be operated by that counts. Which in this case is a non-EU airline.

This means you are covered if leaving Europe (so the MAN-PHL leg), as all airlines have to abide by the Regulation when leaving EU airports. But you won't be covered by the Regulation if flying AA into Europe (PHL - MAN) if your flight is cancelled or delayed.

Thanks, very much. I was unsure whether it counted as a BA flight, now that they are partners.

AMcK_3

I encountered a very real delay with BA in 2010 while volunteering in Sierra Leone - due to a technical problem with the plane we were delayed around 18 hours. I wasn't aware of the opportunity to reclaim until I returned to the UK after spending 6.5 years in SL. I submitted a complaint early in 2015 and battled through a lot of delaying tactics from BA - thankfully with the help of the travel agent I was able to provide every last tiny scrap of info that was requested.
The final response from BA was that they were not the operators of the flight but that in fact a company called Astraeus was the operator. Nowhere in any of the ticketing details was there any reference to Astraeus and the travel agent confirmed that they had stopped operating flights to Sierra Leone in 2008 - two years prior to the flight that I was on. Their business model changed from operator to leasing company and BA was known to lease aircraft from them for this West Africa route. From all of my research I have not found any evidence that Astraeus operated any West African routes after May 2008. BA have used this as a convenient scapegoat as Astraeus ceased all operations in 2011 so there was no option anyway to claim against them.
I find it incredibly frustrating that there is no way to be able to continue this claim - the CAA were unable to accept the case as their deadline is 5 years and it doesn't fit the CEDR guidelines. It's not easy to find out all the information that is needed and it takes time. I am almost resigned to the fact that I have run out of all options to pursue the case as the 6 year timescale has also passed for a court case. For me it's not so much about the money but about the fact that I genuinely believe that BA are lying about the case and laying fault at the door of a company who were under a lease contract and not an operational contract with BA and I have had no way of correcting this.
There really should be a legal requirement that the legal flight operator is clearly identified on all booking and ticketing information so that consumers are informed and to avoid the opportunity for airlines to lie when challenged. I would love Moneysavingexpert to be able to campaign for this clarity and stop large companies evading their responsibilities.

Tyzap

AMcK,

A lamentable tale.

I agree with much of what you say. It's the end of the line for your case tho. No airline will entertain a claim over 6 years old in England, N Ireland or Wales unless you have already started legal action against them.

As far as I know Astraeus Airlines largest aircraft was the Boeing 757, which is unlikely to have been operating long haul flights to Africa on behalf of BA IMHO. FYI, their marketing director and also pilot was the famed Bruce Dickinson from Iron Maiden.

Ultimately it's the CAA who are responsible for implementing EC261/2004 in this country and they hate it. They have been trying to rid themselves of it for many years hence the ADR providers that the airlines have recently been pushed into using. As the CAA's paymasters are the airlines it should come as no surprise that they are reluctant to do anything which might support claimants.

The question of who is the operating airline is a good example, as this has become more opaque with the passage of time. The fact that the airline is not obliged to inform you of who it is that might be operating your flight makes submitting a compensation claim more difficult. But it goes further. If I book a flight with an airline, that I trust as being a safe and reliable carrier, I do not want to be then surprised to find that the aircraft I am boarding at the end of the air bridge belongs to some obscure outfit that I have never heard of.

Increasingly the aircraft is registered in one country, the flight crew come form a 2nd country and the cabin crew from a 3rd. Not all airlines maintenance is carried out to the highest standards, although it should be. I want to have confidence in the aircraft I am flying on and I don't get that when the airline is run like some secretive tax dodge, with no staff or offices in the UK.

The airlines telling out and out lies is another area that the CAA should be stamping down on. Particularly when these lies take a claimant over the 6 year claim period. IMHO the CAA should insist that airlines must re visit claims where these 'tactics' have been used. Unfortunately tho the CAA are very unlikely to do anything about these situations as it would mean getting off their fat backsides and doing something.

Good luck.

JPears

for lazy newbs

*Jane*

My sons flight was cancelled on tuesday due to the strike. We only found out about it when I was reading an artical online about 50 cancelled flights and one of them was his.when i went into the booking they had moved him on to a different flight without contacting us but instead of landing in san jose he landed in san fransisco 40 miles away. He then had to get a taxi to his final destination. Can he claim conpensation for the taxi fare

Tyzap

Hi Jane,

First step....

He should submit a claim with the receipt for the taxi to BA, they will most probably pay it so long as it's not ott.

Good luck.

peachyprice

So, I had a 4.5 hour delay with BA today because the flight 2 flights before mine was delayed due to fog in London this morning. I'm looking on the BA website for a claim form following the link on this page

http://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/delayed-or-cancelled-flights/compensation

Which leads me to this form, which is nothing to to with delay compensation

https://www.britishairways.com/travel/custrelform/public/en_gb

So I follow the link on that page for 'any other reason'

Which takes me to this page

http://www.britishairways.com/en-gb/information/help-and-contacts/contact-us

Which has nothing to do with compensation claims.

Are they being deliberately awkward or am I being particularly thick? (it's been a long day, so it is possible;) )

Westin

There is a customer disruption link about 1/4 way down on that second link peachyprice called "our disruption expense claim form". The link is below.

https://disruptionclaim.britishairways.com/

Happy form filling.