CRHAllan

Anyone any thoughts on who he can approach here?

he’s booked through BA on an AA codeshare and they’ve denied boarding to many passengers. Bizarrely their luggage has been left onboard! AA insist he contacts BA, BA insist he contact AA. Neither have fronted up for hotels or food even though they’re now around 5h after takeoff. Needless to say he’s a little disgruntled at the lack of cooperation here. Which airline should be taking on duty of care?

GumshoeW12

If it’s AA metal a flight to the UK doesn’t qualify for duty of care entitlements under UK261.

etiene

In the US I think they can tell you it's not their problem if it's deemed weather related - albeit I'm not sure how that would result in denying boarding to a bunch of passengers. I would have thought he should be talking to AA for on the day IRROPs, but there are more experienced folk on here.

Was this an overbooking situation...? Most accounts of those seem to be tales of extreme generosity as they try to avoid having to record an IDB, so that doesn't comport either.

Mdann52

I would argue that, if there are other flights in the booking, then CS And Others -v-Ceske aerolinie a.s might apply in this case, so UK261 is potentially applicable.

If it is just one flight then ignore me!

AJA_

I'd contact my travel insurance provider.

That said as it is a US carrier departing the USA US Department of Transport regulations apply.Involuntary Bumping

DOT requires each airline to give all passengers who are bumped involuntarily a written statement describing their rights and explaining how the carrier decides who gets on an oversold flight and who doesn't. Those travelers who don't get to fly are frequently entitled to denied boarding compensation in the form of a check or cash. The minimum amount depends on the price of the traveler's ticket and the length of the delay. DOT's requirements are the minimum but airlines may choose to provide a higher amount.
More here: https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/fly-rights#

Edit read the section on overbooking, I think its section 4

rockflyertalk

Whats their flight number and route?

SK AAR

If this was a AA metal flight, AA needs to deal with it regardless if BA issued the ticket and sold a BA codeshare flight.

corporate-wage-slave

Welcome to Flyertalk, welcome to the BA forum.

1) Straightforwardly it is harder to get USA airlines to do the right thing with passengers. They have weaker protections over there. But regardless, it is usually best to sort out your own hotels and food, keep it sensible, check you're not overpaying due to surge pricing and look to recovery later, either from the airline, insurance, their employer or self insurance.

2) We would need more details on exactly what was booked to see if EC261 applies, but if booked on AA even with a BA ticket, it's not looking good. There is some jurisprudence which indicates it is covered, but it is far from an assured position. However on Joint Business routes such as this, AA usually does supply hotels and food, unless overwhelmed. There is a dedicated thread on EC261 but we can worry about that later.

3) AA - under IATA protocols - is responsible for rebooking, no question about that.

4) However! To complicate matters, many AA ground agents struggle to fix BA issued tickets, there are 2 systems involved and relatively few staff have been cross trained. Hence after a couple of declines from AA I would keep calling BA until you get a helpful agent who can rebook.

5) It would be helpful to know what cabin they are booked in, so we can give specific advice. But I can see a few seats in BA192 on Tuesday evening's flight as well as some options connecting via ORD. So get the BA agent to look at ORD in particular.

Disruption Assistance thread - signposts and what you need to know

Also note that on day 1 on Flyertalk you get just 5 posts as a one time restriction.

tennessetom

Why was he denied boarding, was the plane oversold, was the ticket not properly issued, was he late or did he misconnect and find himself off loaded

Tiger_lily

What was the reason for denied boarding? I know the weather has been pretty horrific in the mid-west yesterday and overnight. Was it related to that?

PLeblond

I believe OP's question is more about finding a solution than about compensation (despite FTers seemingly always jumping immediately and with fervor on the compensation issue, but I digress).

I think we are missing a lot of information to provide helpful advice.

• Was this BA-->AA or AA-->BA? Which Airline denied the boarding?
• What is the reason for the denied boarding? Late arrival of inbound aircraft? Aircraft downgrade? Oversold?

As stated above, I suggest your friend find their own way to a hotel and get on the phone unless they want to lose a lot of time and energy waiting at the airport.

wrp96

A few questions:

1) what route was your friend flying? If the friends had just come off a flight from the UK/EU, then they should still be covered by UK/EC261. Unfortunately, that does not apply if flying to the UK/EU on AA.
2) what was the reason given for the denial of boarding? US consumer protections are nowhere near anything like in the UK or EU. There are rules that cover involuntary denial of boarding but there are exceptions for things like safety and substitution of a plane with less seats.

In the US when flying US airlines, there is no general requirement for duty of care like providing a hotel or food. It will usually be provided in times of mechanical or other airline controlled delays, but typically passengers are better off just taking care of things on their own, and claiming with their travel insurance, if they have it.

bisonrav

EC/UK261 isn't just about compensation, it also covers right to care, which was the question. I don't see any answers suggesting compensation claims, and as CWS pointed out, US consumer protection is weaker than in Europe or the UK. AA may have no obligation to provide a hotel if EC261 doesn't apply. And likely this was a weather event anyway.

The advice to sort oneself out at reasonable cost is sound, also check travel insurance for provisions around delays and cancellations and if travelling on business contact your employer or travel helpline if it exists.

PLeblond

Apologies… likely shell shock from spending so many years on the other side of the phone/counter in the customer service side of businesses.

I’m the sort of person who resorts to requesting compensation in only the most extreme of cases. If I get to my destination a few hours late, I undoubtedly won’t be claiming anything. I also certainly won’t queue for long periods of to get a voucher. Get to a hotel, get some food and a drink, request reimbursement afterwards (if applicable) and if not claim on insurance or cough it up to poop happens. Making the most of IRROPs can be fun if done properly.

I hope OP offers up more information.

ghsbass0406

Genuinely curious as to why your colleague along with "many passengers" were denied boarding when there weren't any cancellations yesterday between DFW and LHR. I'm in DFW and the weather was windy yesterday but the storms stayed to the north. The reason as to why he was denied boarding is important to determine precisely what your colleague's options are. Nevertheless, it's definitely AA's job to get your colleague where they need to go. But with multiple options from every hub to LHR, I assume they were accommodated today.