Originally Posted by
Often1
Just to be clear, reading the other thread for context, your flights were cancelled and BA has refunded them while you wish other accommodation under Sec. 8 (rebooking rights) of EC 261/2004.
But, the European Commission has issued Guidance in April making it clear that under the circumstances of the pandemic, offering only a refund is acceptable. The force majeure term seems a bit silly, but in reading the Guidance, without using that term, it describes such a situation. So, not likely meaningful.
The guidance issued in March was that re-route may not be a viable option where the passenger wants to be re-routed at the earliest opportunity - i.e. under Art 8.1 (a) & (b). Re-routing at a latter date at the passenger's convenience (Art 8.1 (c)) is still applicable. In fact the guidance explicitly says re-routing at a later stage (which is what the OP wanted to do) may be preferable.
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/pres...l/en/IP_20_485 see Interpretative Guidelines on EU passenger rights regulations in the context of the developing situation with Covid-19
2.2 As regards re-routing, the circumstances of the COVID-19 outbreak may have an incidence on the right to choose re-routing at the “earliest opportunity”. Carriers may find it impossible to re-route the passenger to the intended destination within a short period of time. Moreover, it may not be clear for some time when re-routing will become possible. This situation may for example arise where a Member State suspends flights or stops trains, buses, coaches or ships arriving from certain countries. Depending on the case, therefore, the “earliest opportunity” for re-routing may be considerably delayed and/or subject to considerable uncertainty. Reimbursement of the ticket price or a re-routing at a later stage “at the passenger’s convenience” might therefore be preferable for the passenger. Details are set out further below for each transport mode.
The Tourism and Transport Package issued in May by the Commission says the following:
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/pres...n/QANDA_20_870
In the case of a cancellation by the carrier, passengers have the choice, to be offered reimbursement or re-routing. As re-routing is hardly applicable under the present circumstances, the choice is mostly about possible different forms of reimbursement.
However, the OP was not looking for re-routing at the present time, and instead looking to reroute a year ahead so not under the present circumstances.