FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - The 2023 BA compensation thread: Your guide to Regulation EC261 / UK261
Old Jan 21, 2023 | 9:18 am
  #110  
greg5
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Looking for advice on how to handle this with BA.

I have been refused compensation for a misconnect of BA713 (ZRH-LHR) to BA49 (LHR-SEA) on 14 AUG. There were originally 75 minutes scheduled between the arrival of BA715 and BA49. Short, I know, but within the MCT, and I figured, if I missed it I’d have a night in London and BA would get me going the next day, which they did via DUB and on EI.

The ticket ended up being a bit of a mess, as every leg of the flight had got cancelled at least once from the time I bought the ticket until the time I flew. The first cancellation involved AA cancelling their SEA flights for the summer. Eventually, over the summer I contacted BA as I bought the ticket from them, and got put on BA flights from LHR-SEA and back SEA-LHR. I was also originally to fly ZRH-LHR on BA715 the afternoon before and stay overnight at the HGI at T2. I figured this would make for a nice relaxing trip, then flying out the next afternoon. Unfortunately, in mid-July my BA715 was cancelled, and I had the choice of a 7AM flight, or the above mentioned BA713 with the 75 minute connection. Not being a morning person, I choose BA715 leaving at 13.25 on 14 AUG.

So, on the day 14 AUG, I head to ZRH to go catch my flight. I check FR24 to see if my flight is headed in. It turns out, the plane is still on the ground in LHR. Eventually, the original aircraft goes tech, and they have to change planes. BA712 eventually arrives in ZRH at 13.09, when it was supposed to arrive at 12.30. Some pax don’t make the flight and have to have their bags offloaded. BA713 leaves late at 14.32, and lands at LHR T5B at 14.49. I check the BA app on my iPhone, and see I have already been rebooked onto a LHR-DUB-SEA routing the next morning. I seem to remember that my SEA flight BA49 was leaving from T5B, and it was scheduled to depart at 15.30, but doesn’t actually depart until 16.20. Technically, there’s still time, so after we offload at T5B I run to a closed T5B security. After that I run to the train and get to T5A flight connections, and get the red and beep from the pass reader. Then I talk with the Flight Connections service desk that says I’m due compensation, and to contact BA to receive it. The guy there gives me a hotel voucher and boarding passes for my new flights. There were at least three passengers trying to make the SEA flight including myself.

I filled out a claim for compensation back in November and was finally refused compensation this week with BA claiming that my original cancellation of BA715 back in July being the reason for compensation denial. Even though it was actually a knock-on effect of the issues of BA712 leaving LHR late to get to ZRH that caused my misconnect.

Here is the response:

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An update from British Airways

Dear Mr. greg5

We’re sorry it was necessary to cancel your flight to London on 13 August and understand why you needed to get in contact about this. We take all reasonable measures to avoid cancelling/delaying a flight and we’ll always consider if there are any alternative solutions available before we make a decision.

We’ve refused your claim for compensation as we are not liable to pay compensation where we provide you with at least 14 days’ notice of the cancellation. We cancelled BA715 on 13 August more than 14 days before departure.

You were rebooked onto BA715 by the automated system which did not meet your connection to Seattle. As this missed connection was caused by the cancellation of BA715 initially, you aren't entitled to compensation for this delay.

We take all reasonable measures to avoid disruption to a flight and we always consider if there are any other alternative solutions before we make a decision. The cancellation was out of our control and caused unforeseen disruption to our schedule.

We’re very sorry you weren't able to access fast track security on your return flight. We know this isn’t what you expect when you fly with us, and we understand why you needed to

We don’t underestimate the importance of a stress-free experience at the airport, and usually Fast Track Security does speed things up. However, it can be difficult to predict how many customers will turn up at the same time, and this can sometimes cause queues.

I can assure you that your feedback is already making a difference by helping us to identify where we need to improve our service. Thanks for taking the time to bring this to our attention.

Thanks again for following this up with us. Please feel free to contact us if we can help you any further and I hope we have the chance to welcome you on board again soon.

Best regards

Last edited by greg5; Jan 21, 2023 at 9:20 am Reason: Fixed formatting and bad grammar.
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