Originally Posted by
corporate-wage-slave
OK, that's not going to cut much ice. I am not sure a claims firm is going to do much to help here, it's not an approach I would recommend. You do the same amount of work and get less money.
Well at the risk of repeating myself, you don't need to disprove IB's claims, it is up to them to substantiate them. If you were going down the MCOL route potentially then you could make it clear that you'll press the button on serving the claim unless they specify very clearly why it is extraordinary. But to be honest, given the short window you were working within, I actually think it would not be difficult for Iberia to come up with something to justify a 10 minute delay. In other words, there are some very strong cases in this thread, I fear your case does not belong in that category.
I wouldn't view it as a slam dunk that Iberia pointing to a 10 minute ATC delay absolves them of responsibility, depending on the circumstances. Eglitis-Ratnieks could be interesting on this. If there are such regular ATC delays on a route it's arguable (you might not convince a judge though!) that it should be factored into flight planning. You can look at CAA guidance for LHR for example where they factor in a 25 minute taxi time - if an airline was only budgeting 5 mins taxi time such that they were frequently late it would be hard for them to justify their position.
I'd also point to the precise language in the preamble that calls out ATC delays, where it uses the phrase "long delay".
But I'd view pursuing that argument to the bitter end as a sporting activity, so might not be for everyone!