BA, where do I start???

jerryjal

Hi all, I am hoping that some of you will be able to help and let me know our exact rights and what we need to do, here we go…..

We (me, the wife and our 15 year old twins) travelled to Heathrow Terminal 5 on Thursday morning and arrived at 07:45 only to find that our 11:00 (BA185) flight to Newark had been cancelled! We had received no email or notification before we got to the airport. After speaking to numerous staff at the terminal we were given the same response by all of them that our only option was to speak to BA customer service by phone. 

So, after finally getting through to a human I spent 90 mins on the phone trying to get them to get us on the first available flight. They eventually gave us two options, the first was to fly on Friday the 4th of August departing at 18:20 on CX250 from Heathrow to (I kid you not) Hong Kong and then from there to JFK!!

The second option was to fly out on Saturday the 5th of August from Heathrow at 19:55 on the BA1593 to JFK. Given the two options our only realistic choice was option 2. 

At no time did BA offer us hotel accommodation so we booked in to a Heathrow hotel. 

So, it comes to this morning (Sat 5th) and we have now been informed that the BA1593 is delayed by nearly three hours meaning that the car rental desk at JFK will be closed when we land!

This whole thing has been a nightmare but we will get there in the end I’m sure. 

Sorry for the long winded post but can anyone clarify what we are entitled to claim back? 

Can we claim back the price of the outgoing flight even though they put us on a flight two days later?

Can we claim back the hotel and food expenses that we have incurred while waiting for this flight?

Will we be able to claim anything for the delay to the flight this evening?

Is there anything else we can do regarding compensation for the cancellation and the loss of the first three days of our break?

We have had contact with AirBnB who have been great and refunded us for two days, Holiday Autos have been great considering we were due to fly in to Newark but are now flying in to JFK but due to the delay in the flight tonight the car rental desk will be closed meaning that we now have to wait in the terminal until 05:30 on Sunday morning before we can collect the car!

We had excursions booked for Friday and Saturday in New York, I have managed to rearrange these. 

As you can imagine this whole experience has been a nightmare so far, hopefully we will get out there tonight and will be able to salvage some of our trip 

Thanks in advance for all of your help and suggestions. 

eskbanker

jerryjal said:

Can we claim back the price of the outgoing flight even though they put us on a flight two days later?

No, the airline is obliged to reroute or refund you, so if you accept their rearranged flights then you're not entitled to a refund as well.

Can we claim back the hotel and food expenses that we have incurred while waiting for this flight?

Yes, BA should definitely have arranged these for you, so if you've paid out of your own pocket then they're liable to reimburse you.

Will we be able to claim anything for the delay to the flight this evening?

Only if it arrives over three hours late, as measured by the time the first door is opened, and if the delay isn't caused by extraordinary circumstances.

Is there anything else we can do regarding compensation for the cancellation and the loss of the first three days of our break?

Unless the cancellation was caused by extraordinary circumstances beyond the airline's control, you're entitled to fixed tariff compensation of £520pp.  BA has no further liability regarding loss of holiday time, activities, etc, so those would be a matter for your travel insurer.

Answers inline above....

jerryjal

Is there anything else we can do regarding compensation for the cancellation and the loss of the first three days of our break?

Unless the cancellation was caused by extraordinary circumstances beyond the airline's control, you're entitled to fixed tariff compensation of £520pp.  BA has no further liability regarding loss of holiday time, activities, etc, so those would be a matter for your travel insurer.

Thank you for the detailed response, so based on what you have stated above we can claim for the hotel, food and a flat rate of £520pp for the cancellation of the original flight unless it was caused by extraordinary circumstances. 

Does that just about sum it up?

RogerPensionGuy

What a bad experience for the opening poster.

Apart from researching and then claiming, I cannot help, maybe travel insurance will pay something. 

Can you delay you returning flight by 3 days to at least get the time you want in USA maybe. 

One though passed in my head, had you of been offered 1st class via Hong Kong and managed to pick up loads of airmiles or whatever points they use, just maybe it would of been okay if you didn't mind a very long time watching films instead of a 7 hour flight to NYC.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy your holiday. 

eskbanker

jerryjal said:

Thank you for the detailed response, so based on what you have stated above we can claim for the hotel, food and a flat rate of £520pp for the cancellation of the original flight unless it was caused by extraordinary circumstances. 

Does that just about sum it up?

In a word, yes.

jerryjal

RogerPensionGuy said:

What a bad experience for the opening poster.

Apart from researching and then claiming, I cannot help, maybe travel insurance will pay something. 

Can you delay you returning flight by 3 days to at least get the time you want in USA maybe. 

One though passed in my head, had you of been offered 1st class via Hong Kong and managed to pick up loads of airmiles or whatever points they use, just maybe it would of been okay if you didn't mind a very long time watching films instead of a 7 hour flight to NYC.

Anyways, I hope you enjoy your holiday. 

The Hong Kong flights were also in economy. While I was on the phone with BA I did find a couple of direct flights that would have got us to New York quicker than we currently are but was told that because they were business class tickets it couldn’t be done. 

We did think about pushing the holiday back by a few days and coming back later but the hassle of sorting out the return flights, finding new accommodation etc really doesn’t appeal at the moment. 

Thanks for the holiday wishes, I’m sure that once we get out there everything will work itself out. 

bagand96

It's too late now, but for future reference:

When a flight is cancelled you are entitled to your choice of a refund or rerouting. The rerouting is not restricted to flights on the same airline. Most airlines will only offer you options on their own flights, but you are entitled to any flight, or transport of comparable conditions (ie same class) 

So if you'd managed to find tickets on another airline you could have requested BA book these for you. If they refused or couldn't, you could have booked them yourself and claim back the cost.

The fact you were stood at Heathrow, BA's hub, and no one could help you rebook other than phoning up the help line just about shows the state of that airline.

I hope you enjoy the trip once you finally make it! 

jerryjal

bagand96 said:

It's too late now, but for future reference:

When a flight is cancelled you are entitled to your choice of a refund or rerouting. The rerouting is not restricted to flights on the same airline. Most airlines will only offer you options on their own flights, but you are entitled to any flight, or transport of comparable conditions (ie same class) 

So if you'd managed to find tickets on another airline you could have requested BA book these for you. If they refused or couldn't, you could have booked them yourself and claim back the cost.

The fact you were stood at Heathrow, BA's hub, and no one could help you rebook other than phoning up the help line just about shows the state of that airline.

I hope you enjoy the trip once you finally make it! 

Even if only business class tickets were available?

Westin

I am really surprised that BA could not offer you an alternative flight to New York that same day.

With BA/AA flights to EWR/JFK running at times every 30 minutes during week days I would have expected seats on other services. On top of this other airlines VS/DL/B6/UA also fly the London - New York route multiple times a day.

BA also have a large ticket desk/rebooking facility in T5.

Very strange.

silvercar

Have a read of some of the threads on here. https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british-airways-executive-club-446/

There are guides on how to claim whatever you may be entitled to.

I'm very surprised BA couldn't find anything to get you to your destination on the same day. 

bagand96

jerryjal said:

bagand96 said:

It's too late now, but for future reference:

When a flight is cancelled you are entitled to your choice of a refund or rerouting. The rerouting is not restricted to flights on the same airline. Most airlines will only offer you options on their own flights, but you are entitled to any flight, or transport of comparable conditions (ie same class) 

So if you'd managed to find tickets on another airline you could have requested BA book these for you. If they refused or couldn't, you could have booked them yourself and claim back the cost.

The fact you were stood at Heathrow, BA's hub, and no one could help you rebook other than phoning up the help line just about shows the state of that airline.

I hope you enjoy the trip once you finally make it! 

Even if only business class tickets were available?

No, I believe it is "comparable conditions" or similar in the regulations, so you wouldn't be entitled to an upgrade.

Like others I'm surprised there weren't other options to NYC on BA and their partners, or any other airline, even if indirect. May just have been a case of peak travel time and throw in a bit of disruption...