I was on the 1515 RTM-LCY BA4456 this afternoon. Delayed by 1.5 hours due to a late incoming aircraft. We boarded, did not go anywhere, and eventually the announcement was made that the flight was to be cancelled due to a sick member of crew.

As I was sat in 2A I could follow the discussion between flight deck, crew, and dispatcher. The moment I realised this flight was to be cancelled I immediately proactively booked a ticket for the 1915 RTM-LCY BA4458 as I have to be in London for a wedding tomorrow morning so I did not wish to take the risk to see what flight and when BA would book me onto.

While waiting for the baggage to be returned I got the automatic rebooking notification, also for the 1915 RTM-LCY. This booking is the one I was put on at the check-in desk.

Hoping to consult the collective wisdom of FT on the following: Do I have any recourse for a refund on the proactively booked ticket? Presumably they assigned it to one of the many standby passengers after I checked in at the desk. Can't resort to the usual 24h cooling off period as it is within 24h of travelling. What about EU261 compensation for the delayed/cancelled flight?

Off to the gate now - hopefully with more success this time around!