Originally Posted by
StuMcIlwain
Agreed. The European courts have been very clear that aircraft delays as a result of a late inbound do not get the airline out of paying EU compensation. Do a google search and try citing one of the previous legal cases when you reply to United.
If this gets you nowhere, go to a third party collector.
No, they have not.
What might be an "extraordinary circumstance" at BCN would not be at FRA, a major hub. OP may certainly refer this to one of the claims agencies, but finding one which takes claims for departures from Spain may be quite a challenge.
If you do proceed, the sole questions are:
1. What was the length of the delay as measured at SFO from originally scheduled to actual.
2. Were there extraordinary circumstances causing the delay.
The rest of the story is irrelevant and will only confuse the issue. EC 261/2004 claims exceeding 3-4 short declarative sentences do themselves no favor.
Don't go out and spend the EUR 600 quite yet.