Post 6
EC261 and more complex ticketing
Q1: My flight from LHR to HEL has been cancelled. I bought it on aa.com; it has a BA flight number and it is operated by AY. Who is responsible for re-routing me?
A1: If you bought your ticket on aa.com, AA will be the ticketing carrier. Your flight is under BA code. Therefore BA is the marketing carrier. Finally, your flight is operated by AY: AY is the operating carrier. EC261 places the obligations of care, refund/ rerouting and compensation on the
operating carrier. In this example, it would therefore be AY who would have the responsibility under the Regulation to reroute the passenger.
This is indeed what happens when dealing with live problems on the spot at the airport. If, however, the problem arises in advance (say: your flight next week is cancelled), things get a little more complicated. Although the responsibility under the Regulation remains on the operating carrier, your ticket will need to be re-issued and this is normally done by the ticketing carrier. If you try to call the operating carrier, they will in all likelihood refer you back to the ticketing carrier (or the travel agent you booked your ticket with if you have used a travel agent). If you turn to the ticketing carrier, they are likely to offer you very limited rerouting options. In particular, if you are on an award ticket, they may only offer you rerouting on flights which still have award seats. What should happen is that the ticketing carrier should liaise with the operating carrier to get the operating carrier to solve the problem and then the ticketing carrier can reissue the ticket. It may, however, require perseverance to obtain this.
Q2: I am flying from DEL to IAH via LHR on BA. Am I covered by the Regulation if either of my flight is delayed or cancelled?
A2: BA is an EU carrier. If the operating carrier is an EU carrier, the Regulation states that it applies to passengers departing from or landing in the EU. One can reads this in two possible ways: a): the passenger origin or final destination for the overall journey must be in the EU or b): the origin or destination of the delayed or cancelled flight segment must be in the EU.
There does not appear to be any judicial precedent to clarify the matter for good. However, it seems probable that the Regulation should apply when the flight segment starts or finishes in the EU. Thus, in this example of a flight from DEL to IAH via LHR on BA, the Regulation would probably apply.
Q3: I am flying on BA to SYD, connecting to a domestic QF service to MEL. Am I covered by the Regulation if the QF flight from SYD to MEL is delayed or cancelled?
A3: The Regulation only applies to flights which start or finish in the EU. For the reasons mentioned in A16b, it probably means individual flight segments rather than overall itinerary and, therefore, the Regulation probably does not apply here. The same would also probably be true in the other direction, viz. delay to a QF flight from MEL to SYD connecting to a BA flight to LHR.
Q4: My BA flight from SIN to SYD,has been delayed or cancelled. Am I covered by the Regulation?
A4: This is a tricky one to which there is no definitive answer to date. If you are flying from LHR to SYD via SIN on BA on a single flight number, it is strongly arguable that you are covered by the Regulation, as you are departing from the EU on an EU carrier.
If, on the other hand, you are just flying from SIN to SYD, you are in all likelihood not covered by the Regulation.
If you are flying from the EU to SYD, connecting to BA in SIN from a different flight, the situation is especially unclear. On balance, the odds are that the Regulation may not apply here.
Q5: I am flying from JFK to LHR on a flight with a BA flight number operated by AA. Am I covered by the Regulation?
A5: Most probably not. When the carrier is not an EU carrier, the Regulation only applies to flights from the EU, not to flights to the EU. Thus, an AA flight to Europe would not come within the scope of the Regulation. The fact that the flight was booked under BA code should not make any difference.
Q6: I am flying to Gibraltar, is that covered by the Regulation
No. Due to the ongoing sovereignty dispute between the governments of the UK, Gibraltar and Spain, which sometimes impacts flights, it was left out of the regulations and that remains the case. There is a view that Gibraltar is now in scope, but there hasn't been a ruling by a senior court to be certain about this. See also the posts from
David-A in
post 12 and
post 14 below.