Originally Posted by
Silver Fox
If I am not entitled to compensation so be it, but I am a little confused with the discrepancy in whether it is two hours or not, and under what circumstances a delay of two hours or more would count for compensation. If anyone can enlighten me I would be extremely grateful.
I think the difference is written out in the first line of the text you quoted.
Three hours late at arrival is the limit for standard delays, where you sit on an aircraft, or wait at the gate, your service runs but is simply late. Typically, if LHR is involved, this is weather/ATC related anyway.
Two hours applies for cancellations or BA re-routes you, where you then get rebooked and put on a different service. So if BA had put you on an easyJet service which got you into London a bit earlier but still 121 minutes late they would also have to pay compensation.
Now that seems perverse, and it came about because though the cancellation/re-routing option is in the Regulation, the Regulation actually contains nothing about delays - that came from judicial intervention which created the 3 hour rule, but you won't find anything about that in EC261. By being a simple flat 3 hour cut off there is the strange middle ground for short flights between 2 and 3 hours late, where airlines may as well run you later than necessary since a re-routing could cost them.