Samaras

Thanks c-w-s, much appreciated.

I will let them both know.

GGla

Not sure if you got my post mixed up but the T&C's i posted related to the refund of a cancelled leg of the flight, not for EU261 compensation (which i will claim for separately)

Often1

BA's calculations as per its COC often result in a greater refund than EC 261/2004 would require. Needless to say, this is the best of both worlds as BA is certainly free to contract to provide greater than the Regulation requires. On the other hand, it cannot lawfully provide less.

As to the double claims, I do not believe that one is entitled to double collect as BA's compensation requirement is simply calculated at the final ticketed destination. On a Type 3 flight at 4 hours, this would be EUR 600. If one is delayed by 48 hours, the compensation amount never increases from EUR 600 and it does not --- as the Regulation is written --- increase because multiple tickets were issued.

On the other hand, if you are rebooked onto another carrier, it is highly unlikely that the other carrier will coordinate with BA. Thus, if your second flight on another carrier is cancelled and that delay exceeds the deadline for the type of flight, you will likely collect twice.

serfty

No - that's the standard form of the initial response given to almost all claims over the years.

Process over the time had hardly changed - Deny, Deny. ... then accept when they realise the claimant is serious (e.g. MCOL).

LCSinTexas

Now that the BA IT failure has calmed down a bit I have a question regarding duty-of-care. (I was not affected, but want to know in case this affects me on a future trip)

BA state on several occasions "If an overnight stay is required £200 for a hotel room (for 2 people)". Is there different amount for a person traveling alone? I rarely travel with anyone.

MarkFlies

If BA say it was 'extraordinary circumstances' and therefore no EC compensation is due (outside of duty of care), I think that some one is going to test the case in court appealing all the way up if unsuccessful. For the companies whose business it is to help passengers with this, they will probably have enough cases to make this financially worthwhile. All the time, the story will keep being around.

I do wonder if BA will just pay out now to those that claim, they will hope that many forget to claim or claim off their insurance and then they will be better off than otherwise.

I don't see how denying the compensation now helps them especially with the amount of news coverage there has been.

corporate-wage-slave

No, it's still £200 if a single traveller. Note that this is just BA's guideline, it's not included in the Regulation. I would still aim for a lower cost outcome if possible, and if breaching the £200 limit is genuinely unavoidable then BA can't avoid paying more.

HMPS

Then it looks like a grand Class Action suit where the lawyers make the big bucks ?

Steve_ZA

From the email sent out last night it appears that BA will pay compensation:

"If you would like additional information about your customer rights and what you can submit a claim for under EU compensation regulation, please click here."

Dorel

Anyone could kindly give me some feedback on my case please?
At least regarding question #4 , which airline shall I contact, AA or BA?
Many thanks!

corporate-wage-slave

Welcome to Flyertalk Dorel and welcome to the BA forum. It's great to see you here and I very much hope this place will be of use to you after this is painful experience is over. Apologies for not spotting your post, initial posts here sometimes get queued up and in a fast moving forum get snowed over very quickly. Anyone else who is missing out in this or the other advice threads is very welcome to give a little prod, as you have rightly done.

First point is that in these circumstances restrictions on tickets get lifted, so I wouldn't have got too concerned by that factor.

1) Yes duty of care is available, and what you have there, £190 seems reasonable. You can also claim communication expenses (e.g. hotel wifi?).

2) LHR to hotel is a no brainer, yes. Hotel to LTN is more doubtful since you didn't get BA to rebook you (since you couldn't contact them). However the limit in this area is £50 (and arguably £100 for 2 trips), which you are well below, so I would hope they wouldn't quibble that.

3) Is by far the most complex question here. Now you are almost certainly entitled to the EC261 compensation and definitely your right of care reimbursement. You are also entitled to be rebooked, but BA physically couldn't do it. So you have two choices: one is to ask your travel agent to get a refund on the original LHR-BUD leg. If that works out more than the W!zz flight then all is fine. The second is to forget about the refund on the ticket but instead to pursue BA for the W!zz rebooking cost. BA in the past has been very awkward on this point, along with many larger airlines, and so it may require some effort to obtain this. If you are based in the UK then the court system may well protect your interests, the same may or may not apply in whatever small claim protection your county offers in the USA. On the other hand BA may simply declare an extraordinary item in their accounts and just pay up. We don't know. What I think that boils down to is that if the W!zz fare was low go the TA route, you'll probably meet your costs that way. If the W!zz fare was high then consider the BA route.

4) BA, you are correct.

Ned1968

My brother was one of the luckier ones - his flight to Moscow did manage to leave T5 on Saturday, albeit 5 hours late. On arrival at Moscow, hanging around the carousel for hours and then queuing for another hour to fill in forms- no luggage, so shopping on a Sunday morning in Moscow to buy new clothes (quite an experience). No communication from BA. Called yesterday and told the suitcase would be delivered that day. It wasn't. Now flying to St Petersburg so will presumably need to buy a new suitcase to carry the new clothes. More calls to BA to say send the luggage to St Petersburg (if they find it). Enormous waste of time.
Presumably
1. EU261 claim for the 5 hour late arrival?
2. Claim for the clothes and essentials?
3. Claim for the new suitcase?

Not BA's finest hour - service recovery is as bad as their IT

Tobias-UK

Yes to all three. Certainly for 2 and 3 (max value about £1000 for 'essential' items) and very likely for 1.

corporate-wage-slave

I imagine we are in for several weeks of slow response times here, I imagine an absolute mountain of claims will be coming into BA because on this occasion almost every media story has included a bit about EC261. But yes to the first 2, I guess the clothing / essentials will be relatively inexpensive in Moscow anyway. The suitcase is interesting - there was a post about this on FT some time ago where BA did refuse to pay for a new suitcase in similar circumstances, though it turned out that the item was very expensive and at least some of us thought the OP there was pushing their luck. If your brother gets an unbranded container - basically spending the minimum he can as if he had to pay it themselves anyway and then perhaps dispose of it - then I would expect BA would pay it since at that point it is an essential. It would then be perfectly OK to sell it on eBay as an item used once only.

B747forever

How long does it usually take for BA to respond to claims? Used the online form and submitted my claim for delayed flights 6 days ago.