Flight delay and cancellation compensation, BA ONLY

Tyzap · 12 April 2016 at 2:47PM

Hi tsp,

Thats a very confusing post that is difficult to follow.

What I can decipher, I think, is that you were only delayed by 8 minutes but still missed your connection. Is that correct?

A start up delay sounds like a technical fault, which is not an EC.

IF they claim an EC they must explain how that caused the delay, so it sounds a little like they may be trying to avoid doing that.

Did you get the duty of care you were probably due? Who paid for your hotel and food etc?

Good luck.

tsp · 12 April 2016 at 2:57PM

Hi. Thanks for the reply.

Why is it confusing? It is comprehensive, because all correspondence is there, but everything is labelled, so it should be easy to follow. If you can tell me why it's confusing I can edit and/or clarify.

To answer your questions/comments:
- BA did say we were delayed by 8 minutes, but that is - I'm sure I remember this right - not true. We sat on the tarmac for ages. I guess it's possible we left the gate 8 minutes late (I don't recall), but we did not take off for some considerable time after.
- Yes, they do seem to be trying to avoid saying exactly what caused the delay. I'm wondering if others here have seen this or similar before, and if so what advice / experience they might have to offer.
- At O'Hare I was put up in a hotel and given a voucher for, I think, $7, to cover food. But this is an irrelevance to the case.

adulation · 12 April 2016 at 3:01PM

Hi everyone,

Not sure if my circumstances make any difference...

I booked Flights and Accommodation through BA.COM to Orlando/Disney.
The flight going out was cancelled (I got a text and email in the small hours of the morning to tell me), then they rebooked me on a flight via Philadelphia, which was then changed to Tampa where they would provide ground transportation to Orlando.

On arrival at Tampa the BA staff knew nothing of having to provide ground transportation for anyone to Orlando or their end destination, so after some debating and phone calls they provided a taxi voucher.

I arrived in Tampa about about an hour to 90 minutes later than I should have been in Orlando, but then I had a 2 hour transfer (more like 2.5/3 hours after sorting out the issues regarding ground transportation in Tampa) to Orlando meaning I was there around 3 or so hours later than planned, let alone getting to my Disney Hotel - which was booked with BA in the same booking.

I was offered no meal vouchers or upgrade or even given an apology, and getting to Tampa and having no transportation organised was quite stressful.

What are my options in regards to compensation, and would the circumstance differ it in any way so I couldn't use a standard letter?

Many thanks for any help,
Matt

JPears · 12 April 2016 at 3:02PM

So you flew Edinburgh-Heathrow-Chicago-New Orleans? And the delay was 8 minutes on the Heathrow/Chicago leg? As Tyzap says very confusing post!
Struggling to see how an 8 min delay would cause a missed connection? You transfer time must have been very tight?
Have you checked Flighstats for the recorded delay to your Heathrow/Chicago leg?

tsp · 12 April 2016 at 3:06PM

Maybe, on reflection, I should just do a concise version of the above post.

On 20/3 I travelled Heathrow-Chicago-New Orleans on BA (AA operated the Chicago-New Orleans leg). The Heathrow-Chicago flight was late taking off, causing me to miss my connection at Chicago. After some complications, I flew Chicago-New Orleans the following day. I arrived 18 hours later than scheduled. The airline put me up in a nearby hotel for the night I was in Chicago.

I have submitted a claim for compensation. BA refused this, on the grounds that the flight "was delayed because of operational circumstances outside of our control". I queried what these circumstances are, and they said that my flight "was delayed by 8 minutes due to a Start up delay, which isn't a payable reason under EU legislation".

We took off much more than 8 minutes late. It's possible that we left the gate 8 minutes late (I don't recall exactly), but we sat on the tarmac for ages. I remember thinking that I was bound to miss my connection at O'Hare.

What should I do next? Does anybody know what a "start up delay" is? Anybody have any experience of similar? All replies are appreciated. Thanks for reading.

tsp · 12 April 2016 at 3:09PM

JPears - See my other posts: it was much more than an 8 minute delay. I didn't know about flightstats - I will look into it now. Thanks.

Tyzap · 12 April 2016 at 3:25PM

Hi tsp,

IMO a quick precise of the salient points would have been easier and quicker to read.

On the face of it BA owe you 600 euros, provided that it was a single booking all the way through to your final destination, which I assume it was.

If they are not claiming it was an EC then they do not have a valid reason to turn your claim down.

Read Vaubans guide and put flight data into some on line flight delay calculators to see if they agree and would be willing to take the case on.

Then decide to DIY or NWNF solicitor.

Good luck.

JPears · 12 April 2016 at 3:32PM

Although there is the issue that your leg Chicago to New Orleans was an AA flight, not BA, so depending on your point of view you may not qualify for compensation. Most on this forum agree that a definite "single ticket" journey involving several flights with different ailines is one @flight@ - but some airlines fight this, with some sucess, notably some of the Middle east airlines and I believe AA too.

JPears · 12 April 2016 at 3:38PM

I was going to check flightstats but you've deleted your post!

tsp · 12 April 2016 at 3:49PM

Hi again JPears. Thanks for the replies.

Sorry! The relevant flight was BA295 on 20/3/16. (I haven't looked it up yet, as it seems I need to register on flightstats - I was going to do this later, but if you want to look now then please do!)

Regarding your previous post, I don't see how it's relevant that AA operated the O'Hare-New Orleans flight. All my issues were caused by the late arrival of the Heathrow-O'Hare flight. I would have missed the New Orleans flight whoever operated it.

Tyzap - As you can see, I've come to agree that a concise version is better! And yes, the flights were all part of one booking, of course.

Flight delay and cancellation compensation, BA ONLY

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