xenole

Ok.
I was supposed to be on BA281 from LHR-LAX this Sunday and with 4 days notice, BA cancelled it (787).

Am I entitled to any compensation because of the short time frame with regards to the notice of cancellation?
I'm rebooked onto the 269 that arrives around 2h55 later now

UKtravelbear

requirements are set out in post 1.

DrSE

Hey,

I was affected by the recent SIN-LHR BA flight reschedule to the next day.
I decided to seek a refund and make my own way back to Europe.

Ba told me today I was not allowed any compensation after EU261 because I decided not to fly and get a refund. I know that in Germany several courts ruled that if the delay is severe it is the same as a cancellation and if you decide to seek a refund you are still entitled to EU compensation. Because the Law is there to protect you and if it would force you to fly to get compensation that would be against the wanted protection.


Is there any similar in the UK or anyone had success with BA? They told me they understand that I am not satisfied gold customer bla bla but the think they are on the right side.
Thx!

corporate-wage-slave

And I am reasonably sure that the UK courts would take a similar view to Germany, though they would want to go through the details of the case.

The Regulation as written provides compensation for cancellations, and that is compensation that can be paid even if you get a refund and rebook yourself. For delays it is different, again as written, in that the option there is a refund after 5 hours, and no compensation. That came later via jurisprudence, and was all about passengers continuing with a flight that was badly delayed rather than your specific circumstances. However the delay in your case was so long that it may as well be a cancellation, though in reality the flight did operate with the same aircraft and crew as originally planned. I am not certain how CEDR would react, but MCOL may come on your side if carefully argued. I have known BA pay EC261 where there was no alternative to the delay, clearly that didn't happen here. I vaguely think that if you cancelled and rebooked after 4 hours or 5 hours (depending on line of argument) then you would be in a strong place, since if you rebooked yourself then this was something BA could / should have done.

xenole

Expanding from that, and making sure I'm clear on things, the new arrival time is cumulative?
i.e.
I should have arrived at 15:55 PST.
The rebooked flight would get me in at 18:50pm, 2h50 later than expected.
The BA269 I'm on now has had some sort of technical / engine issue and they're about to close the final aircraft door at 17:05 GMT, a good 1h35 after it should have left (and people were still boarding at 15:35 GMT - not sure if they stopped boarding in case they had to offload everyone).
New ETA is 20:28 PST, so possibly 4h28 later than when I should have arrived.

drg87

First post of FT - which has been a great source of information and entertainment.

Sadly, not very timely, but just wanted to share experience with EU261 and BA. In July of this year we (family of 5) were scheduled on BA284 from SFO to LHR. Early on the morning of departure, FlightRadar was showing the outbound flight seriously delayed. Since this was a vacation trip not a huge problem, and gave the other 4 travelers more time to prepare. No e-mail/txt from BA, but we departed for SFO 2 hours later than planned. At check in we were proactively offered vouchers to be spent at the airport on food. This was a win since the kids got to eat a full meal (not all of them are interested in CW offerings).

Flight departed 4 hours 30 minutes late, and I was all set for the full EU261 compensation FT research had given me a good idea as to how this works. Sadly, tailwinds got us on the ground only 3 hours 30 minutes late. But then hope for the 4 hour delay - there was no gate available. Someone must have put the word out to get a gate ASAP to beat the 4 hour mark, and to my disappointment we were de-planing at the 3 hour 45 minute mark.

Sent in my claim via the BA web site. Received acknowledgement promptly. Received notice that I should expect funds to be wired to US bank account (within 2 weeks of claim). Funds received. (Helped pay for one of the tickets at least since I was able to claim for all five of us. Good job BA.

corporate-wage-slave

That sounds like a reasonably efficient outcome, thanks for sharing this experience, which may help others in terms of timing. This sounds like a totally clear cut case, so that tends to speed things along. Welcome to Flyertalk and welcome to the BA forum, it's good to see you here drg87.

corporate-wage-slave

That would be cumulative, though it's not exactly how it works. It's basically "what time was on your original e-ticket?" versus "real time of arrival". The bits in between don't matter. What would make sense is on arrival into LAX take a screen shot of the App / more flight details in the hours after arrival (it vanishes after a few hours so don't leave it too long). And also make a note as to what time the doors were open and people were in a position to exit the aircraft. In the case of A380 into LAX, given the paperwork issues at the door, this could be a few minutes after the App time, and this is potentially relevant if you are very close to the 4 hour mark. If doors open just after the 4 hour mark you need to make some sort of contemporary note of that just in case there is a dispute.

Note the other posts in this thread, where BA are not paying for 787 engine rectification cancellations, which are in turn not being sustained by CEDR who are taking a different view. The above also assumes you weren't offered other options that would have kept you within 4 hours.

xenole

The 269 would have got me to LAX 2h50 later than my original flight yet due to delays at LHR, it was around 4h46.

App says for the 269:
Scheduled departure 15:30, actual 17:11
Scheduled arrival 18:50, actual 20:41

xenole

Unsurprisingly, got a response from BA saying they had to refuse my claim as "the flight was cancelled for operational reasons beyond their control"

simons1

Best get confirmation from BA that this is their final response and then crack on with CEDR.

I believe CEDR are now finding in favour of consumers on the 787 issue on the basis that 4 days notice is not acceptable for an issue they were aware of over a year ago. So chances are that you will collect your €600.

PAL62V

Agreed. I am in almost exactly the same position. I managed to get a written admission that the reason was due to the RR engines and that has formed part of my submission to CEDR. Am now awaiting BA's response.

kingcole974

simons1

As above - crack on with CEDR. Remember that burden of proof is with the airline, and CEDR is finding in customers' favour on the 787 issues. Further guidance upthread.

xenole

Are people asking BA directly what the exact cancellation reason was rather than "operational reasons" which covers a myriad of things?
Are you supposed to mention take things further as some sort of "threat" or what?