Originally Posted by
mec72
I think the question is whether BA is responsible for getting the OP to JNB at its leisure, on on time. I'd vote for the latter and think that the OP has a valid basis for claiming a refund, although that's going to be a long and painful process.
I don't think that most insurance policies will cover this as they require a min 4h layover if on separate tickets (and in any case, I don't think that a passenger should go straight to the insurance company in such circumstances if it's primarily the airline's fault - it seems this was not weather related etc.).
Simply incorrect. BA is responsible for complying with the contract which OP chose to enter with BA. All the more so because OP could have booked a single ticket which would indeed have required BA to rebook him at his expense. That contract expressly provides:
"We do not guarantee these flight times to you and they do not form part of your contract of carriage with us" (Rule 9)
Super-imposed on that is the compensation scheme imposed by EC 261/2004 which applies to the LHR-JNB flight. That Regulation does not provide compensation for delays of 3 hours or less on a Type 3 flight.
If there is precedential authority for the proposition which you claim, e.g. that BA has an "ontime" obligation above EC 261/2004 and that sets damages in the amount of consequential losses, there are many here on FT who would very much like to see that as some have missed important business opportunities, significant life events and other matters due to delays.