Compensation eligibility - BA207 - MUC-LHR

pmruk

This is regarding a recent delay I suffered when flying from Munich to London (BA0927). The flight was eventually delayed by 24 hours (although in their correspondence with me BA refer to it as cancelled). 

The plane was suffering from a fault with one of the pressurisation systems which meant it could not take off. After about 4 hours of delay, when they realised they couldn't fix it on the stand, the plane was taken away for further maintenance. It was clear at that point (and the ground crew confirmed this) that the flight would not be departing that day. 

BA offered no alternative flight and said we had to wait (and take a hotel if necessary). Thinking I was eligible for compensation, I booked on to a Lufthansa flight at my own expense. I raised a claim with BA for compensation regarding the 4+ hour delay that I suffered which they have refused for 2 reasons: … their words:

1. "You didn't travel on the BA0927, which means you’re not entitled to compensation under the EU Regulation for your cancelled flight"
2. "As your flight was cancelled due to a technical fault with the pressurisation system, it means you’re not eligible for compensation."

They have refunded me the cost of the return leg - £79. I still fee aggrieved that I haven’t been able to claim for compensation. Are they right? Or do I have a case?

Thanks so much!

eskbanker

On the face of it, you're entitled to compensation under article 7 of the regulations if the flight was cancelled, as technical issues aren't considered to be extraordinary circumstances beyond the airline's control.

The issue of whether or not you were entitled to a reimbursement of additional flight costs is a separate one, under article 8 - guidance from the CAA is that the airline should put you on another flight the same day, even if this is with another airline, but it would have been easier if you'd made that case to them in real time rather than retrospectively, although you still ought to be able to make a claim stick.

Sounds like it would be worth pushing back to them until they give a final response, and then escalating to CEDR if they haven't paid up....

pmruk

Got it, thanks. I've managed to claw back the cost of the return flight, partially from BA for the delayed/cancelled leg and partially from my insurance. BA's language in their most recent correspondence seemed to suggest their final decision is No for compensation, so I think I'll follow through with CEDR. Let's see how that goes...

pmruk

Update on this. Despite BA claiming multiple times that my claim was invalid, I managed to get full compensation via CEDR - £440 ✌️