emma dog

I'm far from an EU261 expert, but wouldn't the OP also be entitled to compensation from AA for the diversion and cancellation of his original flight as well?

All things being considered, it seems like the OP may be owed:

• 600 Euro for the AA RDU-LHR diverted flight
• 600 Euro for the BA flight
• Something for failing to provide accommodation (what does the reg say?)
• Meal and phone call money

Dave Noble

The OP is not owed EUR600 for RDU-LHR. The regulation only applies to AA flights which are departing the EU , not those heading to the EU

The EUR600 for the BA flight would seem due as long as AA had ticketed him

The regulations will not cover accommodation etc from the AA flight since the AA flight is not covered by the regulations .

If AA had not properly ticketed the BA flight , then BA would not be liable to pay out anything under the regulations

If problems occur, it is imo much better to be booked on an EU airline heading to the EU than a US carrier due to the regulations which apply

emma dog

Are you sure? Is this because AA isn't a "Community Carrier" as it doesn't hold a license in an EU country?

For anyone who is interested, there's a Q&A document by the EU here.

Dave Noble

Im sure. AA is a US carrier and not a carrier operating under a licence granted by an EU member

"Community carrier" means an air carrier with a valid operating licence granted by a Member State in accordance with the
provisions of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2407/92 of 23 July 1992 on licensing of air carriers(5);

1. This Regulation shall apply:
(a) to passengers departing from an airport located in the territory of a Member State to which the Treaty applies;
(b) to passengers departing from an airport located in a third country to an airport situated in the territory of a Member State to
which the Treaty applies, unless they received benefits or compensation and were given assistance in that third country, if the
operating air carrier of the flight concerned is a Community carrier.


LHR-RDU - the regulation applies to AA flights since it is a departure from an airport located in the territory of a Member State to which the Treaty applies

RDU-LHR - the regulation does not apply to AA flights since the operating air carrier is a US carrier not a Community carrier

emma dog

Dave, thanks. That's an interesting distinction that may make it worth considering when buying a flight if all other things are equal.

JnsV

If there was nonzero inventory and AA could issue the ticket using that inventory, BA cannot contest the credibility of the reservation. BA may very well accept reservations for an already oversold flight.

To provide an example: In a recent IROPS situation at LHR when BA dumped tons of (esp. business, since Y pax could not reach the counters at all) pax to LH, the LHR-FRA LH flight was overbooked by 14 pax in C two hours before the scheduled departure. At the first attempt the check-in agent could not check me in because of this, but about 5 minutes later a configuration change showed up in the system and the C class section was extended to accommodate the extra pax. BA probably deliberately oversold the flight anticipating last minute no shows.

nrr

Is there a requirement that beverages (for OP's 11:00 pm flt.) be "catered"? Couldn't they have transferred some "stuff" from one of the AC's to the plane? Or even purchased items from one of the Hudson News concessions? [I've read somewhere here on FT, of an instance where the pilot ordered a pizza delivery to a plane, when pax had an extended wait at a gate due to some irregularity.]

Dave Noble

Indeed. If delayed, whether the issue is weather related or not, if on an EU carrier the airline has to provide accommodation , meals et al ; non weather delay and up to EUR600 compensation on top of that

much better than US carriers are required to provide

Dave Noble

Indeed. If the OP has proof of the ticketed reservation or can obtain it, then BA cannot use a defence of being oversold to avoid paying up

If AA just gave him an FIM, not sure whether that would count and hopefully someone may be able to confirm whether it does or not

JnsV

In my situation BA issued me an itinerary receipt that contained the wording "RESERVATION: CONFIRMED" for both LH sectors and the valid e-ticket number. The LH check-in agent did not contest my reservation upon the presentation of that receipt.

corporate-wage-slave

I would agree with that. The best proof would be a BA boarding pass (and AA can issue those for BA in T8), which would indeed be difficult to argue away. The next best proof would be a e-reservation print out, ideally with an e-ticket number. If it's a FIM or AA's PNR print-out, the very first thing that BA would say is "where is the proof that we, BA, accepted this reservation?".

I would also agree that these European regulations do provide specific consumer protection, and are worth bearing in mind when given the choice between a European and non European airlines. Equally there are also (less specific) consumer protection laws in the US, and maybe the OP should see that as the third mechanism for raising the issue, apart from with AA and BA.

JDiver

Please - let's keep to the topic and not make assumptions about or ascribe motives to posters for post content that is "between the lines". Summary post deletion usually accompanies this kind of reminder.

Thank you, American AAdvantage Moderation Team

ZeppoX

Seriously! We all want to know. This IS the topic.

dilbertsdaddy

I hope you did well on the exam.

You had two problems that converged....AA and JFK. The only way it could possibly be worse is if you somehow managed to get CDG in there.

Since you are Gold AA might do something for you. With no status I wrote to them once and they totally blew me off. Oh well, I'll take my 150K miles a year elsewhere.

Pursuing the invol on BA is a waste of time.

tarheel99

Thanks to everyone for the overwhelming response.

This is some great information on my options, and I will definitely follow up with AA in response to this experience. I am looking for the ticketing card they provided me for BA and may pursue that avenue as well.

As for the exams, I think the one I took in the morning seemed to go pretty well - maybe I was running on adrenalin from the rush to get there. But I'm not so sure about the one in the afternoon. I had to fight to keep from dozing off a couple of times during the test.

The LSE has a very slow, thorough process for "marking" an exam, so I won't know the grades for another couple of months.

Thanks again.