Who do I seek compensation from?

Spint

I booked a flight through TravelUp from Heathrow to Los Angeles.

The airline was British Airways, however, with the inbound flight they used their 'preferred partner' American Airlines.

It was this inbound flight at 11:30pm that had the issue.

Firstly, the flight was cancelled because one of the tyres punctured as we went down the runway.

We were given vouchers for a night's stay in a hotel and a meal. The voucher for a meal (breakfast) did not cover the price of any meal on the menu so instead of $24 for two we had to pay another $28!

We boarded the 12:30pm replacement flight the next day but had to sit and wait on the plane for over 2 hours because the maintenance report for the plane had not yet completed. The report was finally completed but because it took so long it meant that one of the flight crew's shift would go over the hours allowed, and they couldn't find a replacement so this flight was cancelled too and we were ordered off the plane to wait for another flight!

I had to queue up for hours to receive another paltry meal voucher which only just covered a small meal from Dunkin Donuts. I wish I never bothered but was so furious with having to pay for another meal.

We finally boarded the third plane and had to wait yet again but luckily this was third time lucky as we took off back to Heathrow.

In total we were delayed by nearly 24 hours but the whole saga just left us exhausted. The pilot on the third flight was also the pilot for the first flight and over the tannoid on the plane, he apologised profusely and said in all his years this whole saga was up there at the top regarding delays.

Most importantly, he also said that we will be entitled to compensation and we do not need to do anything from our end as the airline (American Airlines) will be contacting us directly via email. However, I am concerned that this is only for customers who have booked directly with American Airlines. We arrived back on 29th December (should've been 28th) and I haven't received an email yet. Is it too soon especially over the holiday period and should wait but how long or should I be contacting TravelUp or British Airways?

Finally, as a consequence, my wife had to cancel her shift at her hospital and take unpaid leave instead. Can we also claim for that?

Thanks very much and hope you can help.

bagand96

Flight delay compensation is the responsibility of the operating airline, in this case American Airlines. 

As a non-UK/EU airline operating a flight starting outside UK/EU your flight is not covered by EC261 regulations.

You should get in touch with American to see what they will offer, will depend on their own policies or any relevant US regulations. 

silvercar

As the previous poster said you are relying on the goodwill of American Airlines. When booking flights it is always worth checking which airline is actually operating the flight as there are many code shares, where one airline has a flight code for a flight operated by a different airline. Outside the EU and UK, the compensation on the inbound flight will be governed by the country of the departure and the country of the airline. Outbound is easier, if the flight leaves the UK or EU it’s covered whoever flies the plane.

Westin

As others have pointed out, you won’t be entitled to the EU261/UK261 compensation levels. I suspect AA will offer you a few thousand frequent flyer points or a gift certificate for perhaps $150-$200 as a gesture of goodwill. Neither enough for any real benefit for future travel ex U.K. 

If they have your contact information then at least give them time to make contact.

If no contact within say 7 days then make contact with them to lodge your complaint 
https://www.aa.com/i18n/customer-service/contact-american/customer-relations.jsp

Spint

Thanks very much for your help.

I'll wait for a few days for them to reply and take it from there.

Thanks again.

Caz3121

It also may be worth checking the delay section of your travel insurance policy (although it may be a token amount like £20 for each 12 hours)