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Flight cancelled, compensation refused

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Can anyone help?
At the beginning of this year I booked a flight on British Airways from Heathrow to Luxembourg. The flight was scheduled for mid September.  My wife and I checked in at Heathrow. About one hour before take-off the flight was cancelled. We were not told why.
My wife and I were offered a flight the following day almost exactly 24 hours later and a hotel overnight. We accepted this arrangement and the substitute flight was ok.
I put in a claim for compensation on the grounds of cancellation. British Airways have refused this on the grounds that the substitute flight was only a few minutes late (which was true). I challenged this on the grounds that they had not taken into account that my journey had been delayed a whole day. British Airways have not bothered to reply.

Do I have a valid claim?

If I do have a valid claim what's the best way to escalate it?

Thanks in anticipation


Comments

  • Voyager2002
    Voyager2002 Posts: 16,283 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    You have a valid claim for delay compensation: you arrived about 24 hours late.
  • eskbanker
    eskbanker Posts: 37,189 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Conradfan said:
    I put in a claim for compensation on the grounds of cancellation. British Airways have refused this on the grounds that the substitute flight was only a few minutes late (which was true). I challenged this on the grounds that they had not taken into account that my journey had been delayed a whole day.
    Difficult to say if they're deliberately being awkward in order to try to fob you off, or if there was genuine lack of clarity about the basis of the claim, but their rationale as stated is inapplicable to this situation.

    Whether or not compensation is actually due will come down to the root cause for the cancellation, in that "An operating air carrier shall not be obliged to pay compensation in accordance with Article 7, if it can prove that the cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken", so if, for example, there were air traffic control restrictions or weather-related issues then BA may be able to deny compensation legitimately.

    If you've gone back to them explaining that you're seeking compensation for the original cancellation, not for any minor delay to the following day's flight, then you need to wait until they respond - if they still reject your claim (or if they fail to respond for eight weeks) then you can escalate to their nominated ADR provider, CEDR, as explained on the BA website pages about such claims.
  • OK will wait until the eight weeks are up then chase with CEDR.
  • mdann52
    mdann52 Posts: 225 Forumite
    Fifth Anniversary 100 Posts Name Dropper
    If you let us know the day and flight number, there's a good chance we can find out the reason for the cancellation
  • Hi,
    I’ve just had similar with KLM.
    My flight was cancelled and they booked me on one for the same route 24 hrs later.
    This wasn’t suitable, so I requested the same route 24 hrs earlier than my original flight in any class, but was not offered this option.
    All the alternatives were from a different airport, on a different route with additional stops and a longer journey time. I eventually agreed to one the of these departing the day before my original flight.
    I requested compensation for the cancellation, but they said my replacement flight was delayed by less than an hour!
    I have pointed out that it was the cancellation I was claiming for, but to no avail.
  • eskbanker
    eskbanker Posts: 37,189 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Hi,
    I’ve just had similar with KLM.
    My flight was cancelled and they booked me on one for the same route 24 hrs later.
    This wasn’t suitable, so I requested the same route 24 hrs earlier than my original flight in any class, but was not offered this option.
    All the alternatives were from a different airport, on a different route with additional stops and a longer journey time. I eventually agreed to one the of these departing the day before my original flight.
    I requested compensation for the cancellation, but they said my replacement flight was delayed by less than an hour!
    I have pointed out that it was the cancellation I was claiming for, but to no avail.
    How far in advance was it cancelled?
  • 4 days before we were due to fly home
  • eskbanker
    eskbanker Posts: 37,189 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Same advice as for OP then, if you're confident that the cancellation wasn't caused by extraordinary circumstances beyond their control then take them to ADR once you have a final response.
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