Flight delay and cancellation compensation, BA ONLY

straylandsbloke

Thanks Vauban

Jennithing

I read about this compensation guideline on the MSE site a couple of weeks ago and realised it applied to a flight I took to Zambia in 2011, which was 24 hours delayed. I filled in the BA online form that evening and I received a response exactly one week later agreeing to give compensation for the full €600 and requesting my bank details to transfer it to. No quibbles, no effort, no problem.

Good service is not always about experiencing no problems, but about how problems are managed when they occur. I would say that this experience has increased the chance of me flying with BA again.

batman44

Jennithing wrote: »

I read about this compensation guideline on the MSE site a couple of weeks ago and realised it applied to a flight I took to Zambia in 2011, which was 24 hours delayed. I filled in the BA online form that evening and I received a response exactly one week later agreeing to give compensation for the full €600 and requesting my bank details to transfer it to. No quibbles, no effort, no problem.

Good service is not always about experiencing no problems, but about how problems are managed when they occur. I would say that this experience has increased the chance of me flying with BA again.

That's great, we only wish they were all like this:T

w00te

in the begining of january this year my flight was 4 hours delayed due to problems with the pitot tube.
I did fill out a compenstation form regardig this flight and I got the same standard answer as everyone else here on this thread:

"Dear Mr Ronn

Thank you for your email dated 13 January 2014.Please accept my apology for the delay in responding to your concerns.

Your claim for compensation has been refused because flight BA780 dated 3 January 2014 was delayed due to unexpected technical fault which prevented the aircraft operating as scheduled. Under EU legislation, British Airways is not liable for a compensation payment in this situation.

During the final maintenance checks, we discovered a problem with one of the pitot tubes which resulted in an exchange of the aircraft. There are numerous parts that the airline may be required to replace within a specific timeframe. These parts are kept fully stocked and ready to fit. As this particular ‘part’ was not due to be replaced, this constitutes as extraordinary circumstances.

Unfortunately airline operations are subject to circumstances outside the airline's control. British Airways takes all reasonable measures to avoid delaying a flight in such circumstances. Consideration is given to whether there are any operational options available before a decision to delay is made. We are sorry that the delay was necessary in this case.

Thank you for following this up with us. I do hope we have the chance to welcome you on board again soon.


Best regards

Marlen Ehlert-Meinken
EU Compensation Claims"


I have read the FAQ regarding this, and I was just wondering if the next step is to reply to BA and asking them for a detailed report/copy on what delayed this flight so I can take legal action against them?
Or should I reply with a "letter before claim" to BA?

What would be the most effective way to proceed in this matter?


Cheers

David_e

w00te wrote: »

I have read the FAQ regarding this, and I was just wondering if the next step is to reply to BA and asking them for a detailed report/copy on what delayed this flight so I can take legal action against them?

Don't know where you read that but I am pretty sure it's not what the FAQs say! If it is, it's very poor advice.

w00te wrote: »

Or should I reply with a "letter before claim" to BA? What would be the most effective way to proceed in this matter?

Just that - NBA/LBA/LBC then issue proceedings.

Incidentally, "As this particular ‘part’ was not due to be replaced, this constitutes as extraordinary circumstances" is what I believe is known, in legal terms, as a lie.

w00te

David_e wrote: »

Just that - NBA/LBA/LBC then issue proceedings.

Incidentally, "As this particular ‘part’ was not due to be replaced, this constitutes as extraordinary circumstances" is what I believe is known, in legal terms, as a lie.

Ok, then I will try to create a LBC and send it to BA and see what they respond.

Aye, their reply regarding the pitot tubes as just poor. They basically have the same answer to us all, they just enter one or two lines to adjust the mail to "your delay cause".

Thanks for the reply


cheers

offshore1

I've now had the expected stock response rejecting my claim in respect of this flight MCO - LGW which was cancelled resulting in a 24 hr delay in our return to the UK. They give the usual "unexpected flight safety shortcoming", did not expect to have to replace this part but also say the fault with "MLG bracket" (which I take to be main landing gear) was discovered during final maintenance checks. This is demonstrably untrue since when the arriving aircraft reached the gate the starboard undercarriage was immediately surrounded by ground engineers and flight deck crew.
So in addition to rolling out extraordinary circs BA haven't been entirely frank when about when the fault was discovered - or more likely the person pasting this letter together just relied on stock phrases which in this case misrepresent the circumstances in which the fault was discovered. My son and I had a clear view of all that happened when the aircraft went on stand and my description was posted 48 hrs later.

I've put this back to BA to give them a chance to reconsider but I wonder the extent to which their inaccurate (some would be less kind and say false) account might weigh in my favour. Hopefully I'll find out in less time than the 8 weeks it took to reply to first time.

David_e

offshore1 wrote: »

I've put this back to BA to give them a chance to reconsider but I wonder the extent to which their inaccurate (some would be less kind and say false) account might weigh in my favour.

It should but reading many posts you see many stories of airlines changing the reasons given, apparently randomly. You're being way too coy writing to them again. Send an NBA and then court. They will then need to make a decision about what defence (if any) they are presenting to the court. It just looks as if they are messing you about.

PS presume you mean 2013 - or are you getting your claim in early?

offshore1

I've corrected the date - it was a Boeing 777 on 22 Dec 2013 but I seem to have hitched a lift on the Tardis!

Curiously less than 24 hrs after their reply and my response another email from BA rejecting my claim under the same reference - this totally ignores the points I made yesterday. Time methinks to brush up on using the courts to take this claim forward. Looking back through this thread it seems BA started with a reasonable reputation in this field but have now switched to complete intransigence. Probably a carefully costed management decision -along the lines of it is cheaper to say no to everything and only pay up if court action is imminent. Time will tell if my analysis is correct........................

David_e

offshore1 wrote: »

Time methinks to brush up on using the courts to take this claim forward.

Indeed. If you follow the steps given in the FAQs, the initial stages of making a claim are relatively easy.