jacksprat

Hi guys,

I'm stuck on the tarmac in LHR at the moment, jammed in my Y seat feeling pretty miserable. Post boarding the ground crew spotted a lightning strike mark on the aircraft, so we're stuck here while they check everything (2+ hours). Crew have provided water, but said they can not provide anything else as they would have nothing left for once (if!) we're airborne.

What are the rules in terms of refreshments once we're up in the air? Do BA typically switch the M&S service to be free, in which case surely they'll run out? I know we're entitled to something under the regs, but not sure what.

For those interested, I'm on BA460 to Madrid. G-STBK.

Cheers,
js

A P Yu

I think Food and Drink applies after 4 hours. After two hours though you are entitled to two shortish phone calls each - so ask for the captains mobile

NickB

Do you have to ask the question? This is BA we are talking about. The "rules" are: that they give you nada for free. You still pay and they will not give you anything other than tank water.

That said, something to be grateful for: BA have not yet introduced Uber-style "peak" charging, under which the price of sandwiches would double for every hour of delay as demand increases.

DYKWIA

I'm pretty sure c-w-s mentioned previously that the CSM now has the authority to give BoB items away for free after a certain period. A previous thread mentioned that this caused an issue as there wasn't enough to go around, so it was "women and children first"!

AlicorporateUK

Ha, good one

[Don't give them ideas]

G

Andriyko

BA won't be offering BoB items for free to everyone (correct that they simply won't have enough items for everyone). Given that you are on the aircraft already I don't think there is much BA can do unless the plane returns to the gate only to cause more delays.

A P Yu

Additional Water and Juice - and probably Lemon Melts - could probably be delivered to the aircraft if its still on stand - or can get to a Remote Stand for BA to meet their legal obligations - Id probably tweet them to highlight your predicament and remind them of their obligations

A P Yu

Actually youre right it is two hours. Direct them to their website at ba,com, where they can find details of their lowest fares, access online checkin 24 hours before departure and see their legal obligations under EU261

Where a flight has been cancelled, or is subject to a long delay, passengers are entitled to refreshments and meals in a reasonable relation to their waiting time as well as means of contacting two people outside the airport. These provisions apply according to the duration of the expected delay and the distance of the flight as follows:

• Delay of two hours or more for flights of 1500 km or less
  

jacksprat

As it happens, we're about to depart as they managed to pull in the checks so under the 2 hours. So is all a moot point. Interesting thought though, as they'd hand out food vouchers in the terminal.

adrianlondon

A few weeks ago, I was on a flight to Basel from LHR. After we'd all boarded, they discovered that their mechanical issue wasn't fixable after all and we had to get off and wait half an hour for another plane to be made available. As we were getting off, back at the gate they'd wheeled their trolleys full of crisps, sandwiches and flapjacks (and maybe other stuff; I didn't check) and we were told to help ourselves.

As I was having a rare CE experience to finally get Silver, I left that to those who needed it more than me and went to the (T5B) lounge for half an hour.

corporate-wage-slave

I make LHR-MAD to be 1250 km approx so it's 2 hours in this case. At which stage Article 9, Right to Care, says:

CSD / CSM / SCCM can indeed authorise use of catering for this purpose. However the easiest way - for all concerned - to handle this is to refresh your BA App / Account, use the barcode on the digital card to charge any spend against your Avios account, then to claim the Avios amount back via Customer Relations. As far as I can tell BA have simply refunded all such claims, and indeed in law there isn't much wriggle room to refuse a refund, unless either the time margin had not been met, or the amount purchased is unreasonable. And I can't see how (e.g.) a tea and Kit Kat is unreasonable.

jacksprat

Thanks CWS. Sage advice as always!

Often1

I would not look to EC 261/2004 for relief here. It expressly permits the carrier to withdraw any of the entitlements if providing them would further delay the flight.

It's unfortunate that nobody can estimate the time it will take to "clear" an aircraft after a lightening strike. The physical damage (or lack thereof) is easy. It is the possibility that any electrical or mechanical system can be affected and whether than takes 30 minutes or 3 hours is something no engineer can or would estimate. I would prefer that the engineers take their time and clear the aircraft when they believe it safe.

As to nourishment, I always have something as a backup. I've been on plenty of flights where service simply is not adviseable due to turbulence or the cabin crew are occupied with a passenger emergency of one kind or another.