Compensation for delayed flights Discussion Area

eskbanker

dander said:

So as I understand we are due EU compensation of approx £220 each for late cancellation. Is that supposed to cover all the additional costs or are they something we claim back from easyJet additionally and separately?

It'll be worth reading the article this thread was set up to discuss, linked from the first post, but in this situation you're effectively entitled to three separate pots, which are also documented at Notice of your rights in case of flight delays, cancellations and denied boarding | easyJet:

1. Compensation - the fixed tariff of £220pp, provided the delay or cancellation wasn't caused by extraordinary circumstances beyond the airline's control (do you know what the cause was?)
2. Rerouting - the airline should pick up the tab for the total cost of getting you from Luton airport to Inverness airport, although they might baulk at taxi rather than train from Luton to Gatwick and may also only be prepared to fund train from Aberdeen to Inverness if the incremental hire car costs are deemed excessive
3. Right to care - meals, etc, during the delay

dander

Thanks - much appreciated. That really clears up how I should proceed. Also a good warning about the taxi - hopefully they will understand that when you are travelling with 2 80-year-olds, one of whom has severely limited mobility, running around on multiple public transport systems is not a reasonable option. I can make sure I explain that part of the situation from the outset. Really appreciate the detail you've shared here - it's really helpful.

dander

Oh, and we haven't received any information about what the cause of the cancellation was. Given that it happened at 3.30am, about 6 hours before the flight was due to leave, my guess would be some technical issues were discovered during overnight maintenance. It certainly wasn't weather or strikes. We know the later plane we were on from Gatwick was a delay caused by a different plane having non-functioning weather radar - that plane was heading to a location with thunderstorms, so was swapped with the one on our route - causing our flight delay as the planes were being shuffled around on non-standard routing.  That was as explained by the cabin crew. I don't know how relevant that would be to the claim but I guess with these claims, giving as much detail as possible just helps to protect from pushback from the airline.

eskbanker

dander said:

Thanks - much appreciated. That really clears up how I should proceed. Also a good warning about the taxi - hopefully they will understand that when you are travelling with 2 80-year-olds, one of whom has severely limited mobility, running around on multiple public transport systems is not a reasonable option. I can make sure I explain that part of the situation from the outset. Really appreciate the detail you've shared here - it's really helpful.

If special assistance services were booked for these passengers then that should help with justifying a taxi claim.

dander said:

Oh, and we haven't received any information about what the cause of the cancellation was. Given that it happened at 3.30am, about 6 hours before the flight was due to leave, my guess would be some technical issues were discovered during overnight maintenance. It certainly wasn't weather or strikes. We know the later plane we were on from Gatwick was a delay caused by a different plane having non-functioning weather radar - that plane was heading to a location with thunderstorms, so was swapped with the one on our route - causing our flight delay as the planes were being shuffled around on non-standard routing.  That was as explained by the cabin crew. I don't know how relevant that would be to the claim but I guess with these claims, giving as much detail as possible just helps to protect from pushback from the airline.

Didn't they notify the cancellation by email/text/app in the early hours, averting the need to travel to the airport?  They normally would (potentially including cause), so if failure to do so contributed to the inconvenience then worth mentioning in a complaint too.

There are plenty of other reasons cited as extraordinary circumstances by airlines beyond weather and strikes, some more credible than others, but it's unlikely to be reliable to assume technical/maintenance issues, so put the claim in and see what they come back with....

dander

Just dropping back in to say thanks to those who offered advice - we've already had confirmation we are getting the £220 compensation. Still gathering the receipts to put the expenses claim in but very happy with how well that went so far. From other posts here, I was expecting far more of a struggle!

carolbee

A complicated one! Booked on BA 1025 from Amsterdam to LGW on 11/6/2023. Got a text at 0830 to say flight cancelled and we were booked on 0730 on 12/6/2023 to LHR.

our cars were at LGW and our travelling companion had to be back at work next day, we were travelling on to holiday accommodation.

we booked expensive easyJet flights for 1600 on 11/6 to Gatwick which eventually took off at 2130, allegedly due to storms.

question is, who do I try and claim cost of easyJet flights from? BA or insurance. We also lost 12 hours of our holiday accommodation.

any advice would be very much appreciated thank

eskbanker

BA are responsible for the cost of the replacement flights, and, unless the reason for the cancellation was extraordinary circumstances beyond their control, should also pay compensation.

If EasyJet's assertion that a delay of 5.5 hours was caused by such extraordinary circumstances is sustainable then they don't need to pay compensation, but otherwise that would be a second claim too.

Neither airline has any liability for less time in your holiday accommodation, so you'd need to check whether your insurance covers that.

AndyG99_MSE

Hello,

After some advice on a recent claim I made on BA for a cancelled flight to the US in March. I booked via a travel agency under one airline booking reference number. My original booking consisted of the following flights;

Thu 30th March 2023

BA 173 London LHR to New York JFK / Departure 11:40 (local time LHR) / Arrival 14:25 (local time JFK)

BA 4705 New York JFK to Norfolk ORF (Operated by American Airlines) / Departure 18:30 / Arrival 20:03

Fri 31st March 2023

AA 5339 Norfolk ORF to Washington DCA (Operated by American Airlines) / Departure 20:10 / Arrival 21:14

Wed 5th April 2023

BA 216 Washington IAD to London LHR / Departure 17:55 / Arrival 06:15 +1

Leading up to the first flight on the 30th I received an email on the 29th from BA stating due to a reduction in capacity following a change of aircraft operating your flight, we’d like to offer you the option of a complimentary cabin upgrade on an alternative flight from London Heathrow to New York. Because I’d booked via a travel agency I had to request them to make this change.  The agency spoke to BA who said the email only related to travellers in Business on the London to JFK flight (I was booked premium economy on this leg) so no changes were made.

On the morning of the 30th while on route to LHR I checked the status of the BA 173 flight to discover it was cancelled. I’d received no communication from BA about the cancellation (BA later confirmed the cancellation was due to a ground handling issue).  The travel agency office I booked with was still closed by the time I arrived at Terminal 5 so decided to speak with the BA service desk.

BA were able to rebook me on the BA293 from LHR to Washington DCA which was scheduled to depart 18:15 later the same day and arrive into JFK for 21:25 (flight duration 8hr10). Note this was a change in the first USA destination I was originally booked to fly to as due to the cancellation of my original flight I had missed the reason for travelling to Norfolk so I opted to fly to Washington instead as I had events happening there on the Friday.

I spent the day waiting in Terminal 5 for the later BA293 flight.  The BA293 departed late at 18:56 and landed 21:45 local time (02:45 BST 31st March).  I’m not sure on the rules of EC 261 but if the first arrival time in the US is taken I was delayed 7 hrs and 20 minutes (original time into JFK 14:25 via BA173 versus the actual arrival of BA293 at 21:45.

I entered a claim for compensation via the BA which was subsequently refused. See below copy of the response from BA.  My question is to the forum experts is whether BA is allowed to use the fact I had Washington included on my multi-flight itinerary and claim I reached there without a delay despite long wait I experienced at Heathrow.  Also note BA293 brought me into Washington Dulles where the original BA173 would have got me to Washington Reagan.

Apologies for the long post but felt I need to give all the information in order for someone to give me the correct advice.  Thanks in advance to anyone who can confirm if any compensation should be paid in accordance with EC 261.

We’re sorry it was necessary to cancel your flight BA173 to New York on 30th March 2023 and understand why you needed to get in contact about your claim for compensation. We never take cancelling a flight lightly, as we know how disruptive this can be. However, we know this isn’t what you expect when you travel with us, and we understand why you needed to complaint.

We'd also like to thank you for your patience while we got back to you about this.

We’ve checked the details of your flight and can confirm your flight BA173 at 10:40 GMT was cancelled due to ground handling issue. I can see you were rebooked on flight BA293 and we’ve included the details below for your reference.

Flight BA173 to AA5339 from London Heathrow to Washington DC, Ronald Reagan National
Scheduled departure date and time: 30th March 2023, 10:40GMT
Scheduled arrival date and time: 31st March 2023, 01:14GMT

Flight BA293 from London Heathrow to Washington DC, Dulles
Actual departure date and time: 30th March 2023 17:56GMT
Actual arrival date and time: 30th March 2023, 01:45GMT

Total disruption: None

Since your alternative flight did not departed earlier than your schedule departure time by 60 minutes or more, and your arrival wasn't disrupted by 120 minutes or more as you were arrived at your destination earlier than actual arrival time, your claim for compensation under EU Regulation 261/2004/The Air Passenger Rights and Air Travel Organisers’ Licencing Regulations 2019 has been refused.

eskbanker

AndyG99_MSE said:

My question is to the forum experts is whether BA is allowed to use the fact I had Washington included on my multi-flight itinerary and claim I reached there without a delay despite long wait I experienced at Heathrow.  Also note BA293 brought me into Washington Dulles where the original BA173 would have got me to Washington Reagan.

Apologies for the long post but felt I need to give all the information in order for someone to give me the correct advice.  Thanks in advance to anyone who can confirm if any compensation should be paid in accordance with EC 261.

The regulations relate to time of arrival at your "final destination", so it'll come down to whether BA's interpretation of Washington as your final destination is justifiable, and if you accepted a rerouting that took you to Washington in one leg rather than three then I can certainly see their argument, following which compensation isn't payable if passengers "reach their final destination less than two hours after the scheduled time of arrival".

Having said that, I can understand why you'd argue that their cancellation effectively forced you to miss a planned (and desired) stopover, so even if the letter of the law supports BA, the spirit ought not to, if you can find someone senior enough there to consider that more nuanced position....

Posie_f

My daughters flights from Mexico landed in Gatwick at 11, and her connecting flight to glasgow was from Heathrow due at leave 4.40. She self transferred to Heathrow.  This was cancelled whilst in first flight and she was moved to the 10pm flight that night, which was also delayed to 1030.   

My question is does this 2nd flight qualify for Eu regs (as departed and landed in UK or is it reasonable to say her journey started outside the Uk so it doesn’t qualify?  

Thanks for your help