Missed Flight

Richiewall

Hi

Completely new to this and looking for help and guidance!!

I was on the way to Heathrow airport and decided to use the Piccadilly line to get to terminal 5 because of the ease. Everything was going fine until 6 stops away from the station someone decided to play hide and seek on the tracks! This delayed the tube from moving and we were stuck there for an hour before the driver allowed us to walk through the carriages to get off. I had to get a cab to the airport and got there 10 minutes past the cut off for going through security. I was told that I had been taken off the flight and had to pay for another ticket. The next flight was the following day and the cost of the ticket was £700!?! I had only paid £450 for the outbound and return.

BA would not transfer the ticket or endorse it because there had not been a massive catastrophe (to me there was). They also would not allow me to purchase another outbound ticket with another airline as it would invalidate my return flight with them and I would not be able to use it! Also, I called Barclaycard who I used to pay the £450 to see if I was covered and they informed that unless it was a fraud or I didn't receive the service from the merchant then there was nothing they could do.

Is there any way that I can get reimbursed for the £700 ticket that I paid for? HELP!!

dzug1

Check if your travel insurance covers it - some policies cover delays on public transport en route to the airport - provided you allowed enough time in the first place

agrinnall

I think you'll be lucky to make a successful claim for this, it really doesn't sound like you did leave enough time for taking what is not the most reliable method of getting to Heathrow. However, if you can get evidence of the delay from TfL it might just work.

ERICS_MUM

Check your travel insurance. I'm pretty sure mine covers delays getting to the airport in CERTAIN circumstances. Read the policy first before calling so you can query anything they say that doesn't seem to tie up with the policy. You've got nothing to lose by pursuing them as far as poss.

Have you checked TfL's website for any mention of liability if their service is delayed ?

As others have said, I would allow much more than 50 minutes 'margin' for getting to the airport in future. Would the Heathrow Express be faster or was it too affected by the problem ?

Good luck - that's a lot of money to lose.

littlereddevil

It was an extra I paid on my insurance for eventualities like this.

dzug1

TfL refund fares once a delay goes over a certain length - half an hour I think but it may vary with the length of the journey

Richiewall

Thanks for the advice. I gave myself 2.5 hours to get to the airport and had already checked in. I only needed to bag drop. At worst I would have got there 1.5 hours before the flight if I hadn't been delayed. The additional finding a cab, the drive to airport from where I was, was really the things that tipped the time over the edge.

richardw

Was the track wanderer arrested?

securityguy

Richiewall wrote: »

Thanks for the advice. I gave myself 2.5 hours to get to the airport and had already checked in. I only needed to bag drop. At worst I would have got there 1.5 hours before the flight if I hadn't been delayed. The additional finding a cab, the drive to airport from where I was, was really the things that tipped the time over the edge.

My travel insurance explicitly covers this. Check yours.

katejo

Richiewall wrote: »

Thanks for the advice. I gave myself 2.5 hours to get to the airport and had already checked in. I only needed to bag drop. At worst I would have got there 1.5 hours before the flight if I hadn't been delayed. The additional finding a cab, the drive to airport from where I was, was really the things that tipped the time over the edge.

It is for reasons like this that I often travel down the night before and spend it in a budget hotel near the airport. I once nearly missed a flight because Thameslink got held up for an extended period. I find it more relaxing to have a room close to the airport.

Marmaduke123

Richiewall wrote: »

Thanks for the advice. I gave myself 2.5 hours to get to the airport and had already checked in. I only needed to bag drop. At worst I would have got there 1.5 hours before the flight if I hadn't been delayed.

You needed to bag drop with a possible queue, and get through security , another possible queue.

Recommended times for arriving at Heathrow are 90 minutes before a domestic flight, 2 hours before a European one, 3 hours before a long haul one. Personally I always add at least 30 minutes to these times to allow for contingencies.

Hope you are successful with claiming on your travel insurance!