raikje

One to file under "sometimes the process works":

Booked on the 1447 EDI-LHR last week, connecting to DUB. It went tech and was eventually cancelled. I tried to get moved to an EDI-LCY-DUB routing that had space available, but couldn't get anyone to rebook me before it pushed back with spare seats I think this was because weather cancellations were filling up the call centre, and the EDI lounge wouldn't touch a booking with an onwards connection.

Anyway, the call centre rebooked me to the following morning, and I noticed on CMT that they had inserted a comment "EU compensation" on the booking. Put my claim in on Monday, BA replied on Tuesday saying I was due €250 and asking for bank details, and confirmed on Wednesday that the payment was going through.

Now I just need to try and get my taxi fares back, despite the fact the driver dated one of my receipts as January, and the other like someone had clumsily changed a 1 to a 6 for the month...

airb330

OK so all 4 of us received the "you're entitled to this money" email. I received my money fast, my husband a few days later. The last two people in our party haven't received any other communication. I've followed up with additional emails, but NOTHING. It's bizarre! If I call BA, and have the case numbers, will they at least look into what's going on?

My mom and aunt gave them their bank information and never received the "we are sending $XXX.XX emails. Silent from BA since 5/29 (original emails sent on the 26th or so). All of us were dealing with the same person at BA. I feel like she quit and all of the cases are limbo now

airb330

I have been on hold for an hour...

Any other numbers besides the 312 number or 800 airways?

Ridiculous, all because they won't answer their emails for some reason.

BAMuc

My recent flight to BOS (BA203, Fri 19 June) was delayed by 19 hours (overnight) because of an engine problem. I've asked BA for compensation according to EC261, however was brushed off with the following:

"Your claim’s been refused because BA0203 on 19 June 2015 was delayed because of aircraft damage, which wasn’t caused by us, which prevented the aircraft operating as scheduled. Under EU legislation, I’m afraid we’re not liable for a compensation payment in this situation."

However, I thought that aircraft damage - including birdstrikes - do not count as extraordinary circumstances. Does anybody have further knowledge and/or advice on how to proceed?

UKtravelbear

If the damage was an issue caused by BA or one of it's contractors control then EU 261 applies and compensation would be due.

If it was caused by someone one else then it does not apply.

Contact them again asking for specific information as to who caused the damage. If they don't tell you then that would raise suspicions that they are trying to get out of paying.

NickB

Can we please stop propagating the myth that it suffices to show that an event is caused by someone else to establish that the airline is not responsible?

As already pointed out in post #658 above, We have not only British caselaw but CJEU caselaw already establishing that the airline must first show that the measure in question is "extraordinary" in the sense that it is an event which is sufficiently our of the ordinary that you would not expect to occur in the normal exercise of the activity and that only when this is established does it become relevant to ask oneself whether the event is external to the carrier and that the carrier could avoid it.

For instance, an accident that is not outlandish in the normal exercise of the business such as a set of stairs colliding with an aircraft is NOT an extraordinary circumstance, who ever caused it.

Thus, even if BA tells you that it was caused by somebody else, it is not enough for them to exonerate themselves. They first need to show that the event is so startling and unexpected that it is not an incident that one could possibly expect to happen to the aircraft in flight or on the ground in normal commercial operations.

golfmad

Indeed. Bird strikes are a good example. While not caused by the operator it's not sufficiently out of the ordinary to qualify as extraordinary.

BAMuc

Thanks for your replies! I've followed it up along the lines suggested by NickB and received just the following:

"Dear BAMuc

Thanks for coming back to us.

I’ve reviewed your claim and as previously advised, your flight BA0203 on 19 June 2015 was delayed due to damage not caused by British Airways. We take the safety and security of our aircraft very seriously and unfortunately our aircraft sustained damage due to a foreign object being ingested into the engine. An immediate assessment and repair was arranged but this caused unforeseen disruption to our schedule, which is outside of our control.

Article 5.3 of the EU Regulation 261/2004 states that a carrier is not obliged to pay compensation if it can prove that the delay or cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances that couldn’t have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. This means you’re not entitled to compensation under the EU Regulation for your delayed flight.

I realise this will be disappointing for you but I hope this information will help you to understand our decision.

Best regards"

What to do now? Any ideas?

NickB

If it were me, i would go back to them with something broadly along the lines of the paragraph below and if that leads nowhere, then take the MCOL route. But this is up to you.

Thank you for your answer. However, I would draw your attention to the fact that the Court of Justice of the European Union has on multiple occasions (most recently in the decision of 14th November 2014 of its 5th Chamber in the case C-394/14, Siewert), held that for an event to qualify as an "extraordinary circumstance" exonerating the carrier from its duty to provide compensation, it is not enough that the event be outside the control of the carrier. It must, in addition, be an event which is not "inherent in the normal exercise of the activity" concerned. Incidents resulting from known risks occasionally occurring in the course of the activity, such as a collision with a set of mobile boarding stairs as in the Siewert case or ingestion of a foreign object into the engine as in this case are not covered by the term "extraordinary circumstances" within the meaning of Regulation 261/2004, as is made clear by the Siewert decision.
I would therefore like to give you this opportunity to reconsider your reply in the light of the above considerations so that we can avoid unnecessary litigation.

gtolj2

I flew on BA229 from LHR to BWI this past Monday in WT, and the AVOD system was not working properly. I could view the map and safety video, but the screen would go black if the video and audio channels were selected, and the LCD indicator in the armrest displayed "?????" when this happened (instead of "MAP" or "PA", etc.).

I actually emailed BA about this while I was still sitting at the gate at LHR, and I just received an offer for a Ł25 voucher. Of course that amount of voucher money is practically useless when booking a TATL, so is there anything else I can negotiate for? For what it's worth, I credit by OW miles to AA.

Thanks!

caz312

I assume this was reported on board but there were no free seats that you could be moved toThe cabin crew would log this and I understood you would receive some Avios as compensation in these situations

UKtravelbear

That's about the standard offer in cash terms for a non working IFE

BTW EU261 (the subject of this thread) does not cover issues such as a not working IFE etc

cziwkga

Patience in these matters does sometimes bring its reward, it seems. You probably don't recall the question I asked in this thread's predecessor last year, to which c-w-s provided a helpful reply.

It took me just over 6 weeks to actually get around to making a claim, which I did by post. I got an email acknowledgement and reference number within a few days. The email made reference to long-than-usual delays with queries due to a large caseload. 3 months later I made a follow-up enquiry, only to get another response referring to unusually long delays. After nearly 6 months I was just at the point of sending a letter before action when I received an email agreeing to pay and asking for my bank details.

The fact that they disagree over whether this is a journey of < 1500km or > 1500km is a minor point at this stage!

cziwkga

... but I'll ask anyway

I've read the wikipost, and the relevant section of the regulations and still can't work out how to calculate distance on a multi-segment journey. If I fly A-B-C and a delay on the first segment causes me to miss a connection and hence arrive many hours late at C, is the relevant great circle distance A-C or the sum of A-B and B-C ?

gtolj2

I understand, is there another thread for general BA compensation?

There were no other free seats that I saw from walking around that were not middles (763 is 2-3-2 in WT), and (at the risk of sounding like I'm making excuses), I didn't bother the cabin crew since they spent most of their "downtime" dealing with 3 kids whose mother did nothing about.

From what it sounds like, there's not much else I can do?