scottishpoet

I believe by 18:30 the issues on the load were resolved, and aircraft being loaded could leave OK, but I could be wrong

However aircraft that had been affected were in a "Q" to be re worked.

I say this as the pilot had suggested at one point we may go back to a gate, unload everything and basically start again, but he did indicate that would be a length process.

antuk

Can I ask when you submitted a claim? I tried submitting one on thursday and didnt get a confirmation, submitted another one and still heard nothing

scottishpoet

I submitted the claim on July 21st and got the email confirmation with my case number more or less immediately

On July 27th I got confirmation they will pay the claim and I should receive it "soon"

antuk

Do you have the contact details for the right department to chase up on this?

scottishpoet

Did you get an email with a case reference number? If so, contact details are in there. if not then your claim did not post for some reason and you should do it again.

Subject of the email would be "Your British Airways case reference <xxxxx>"
You need to use that case reference number in any follow up.

antuk

Ok, so after not hearing anything for a while the original email came through after the email for when i tried again. Called the BA silver line as now i had two cases open and the guy was very helpful, said they were both in the queue but would deal with it now for me, 10 minutes later and compensation processed.

Very impresesd with BA customer services, was very painless. Not sure why the original email didnt arrive ontime and was delayed, i guess it got stuck somewhere

apollo00

Well, they caved reasonably quickly on the accommodation and have offered the full £200 towards my costs. However they have refused any compensation for the cancellation as it was due to 'an ATC restriction' - I'm somewhat in two minds about this as, while it feels like a further excuse it also seems difficult to disprove and is one I've not come across before.

Any opinions about the wisdom of pursuing it? - BA1471 INV>LHR on Jul 18th

corporate-wage-slave

The cases that day where BA have paid up have been cases where (e.g.) passengers are on board, waiting to depart, and the Load Sheet just won't come through. Whereas your flight didn't leave London presumably. You're unlikely to get BA to change their mind, so it may be a case where you need to work out whether you're prepared to go via CEDR /. MCOL.

TPRun

Update: EU261 + expenses approved.

apollo00

Hmm, after some digging I'm fairly certain that the ATC restriction being referred to is that INV doesn't have any ATC after 10pm. I can reasonably understand they didn't expect to get the aircraft out of INV before that cut off and therefore didn't send it. The question I would have is, given the reason for the late arrival of the inbound, which would have caused the ATC restriction to affect the return, was within BA's control (assuming it to be the issues with load sheets) is it reasonable to say the ATC restriction was a consequence of the existing delay rather than the cause and therefore EU261 cancellation compensation still applies? I'm resigned to having to go to CEDR or MCOL if I choose to pursue this now but just curious if anybody has relevant experience or sees a flaw in my logic before I do (I'm inclined to at least pursue through CEDR currently as I have a fairly quite schedule and, assuming it isn't straight rejected, it has no costs to me).

corporate-wage-slave

The view I would have is that since LHR is the inter-galactic HQ for BA, then they should be able to find some aircraft /crew to make the trip before the airport's closure, and if they didn't have anything available that would have been a commercial decision by BA to run the fleet at a given level of cover. However it isn't for you to prove the case, it's for BA to prove otherwise, so CEDR would be worth a go - if nothing else BA would disclose more of the available information along the way.

Andymac75

Following on from apollo's post we were were also on the scheduled flight from LHR to INV on the 18th of July.

First post, so please be gentle.......

Like others out initial claim for compensation for 4 passengers was rejected. We challenged the decision and have just received the following from BA:

"BA1470, on 18 July 2018, was cancelled because of airspace restrictions being in place. As this is the reason for the cancellation of, BA1470 on 18 July 2018, EU Compensation is not payable because this was something that was out of our control.

Therefore I’m afraid our decision hasn’t changed and the responses you’ve received about the eligibility of your EU compensation claim are correct. I know this isn’t the answer you were hoping for and I’m sorry to let you down.

Given the information we hold about your cancelled flight, our answer won’t change and we’re unable to respond to any further requests for compensation"

I would really like to pursue this further due to the hassle we had to endure at LHR that night after a flight from Vancouver and 2 children in tow. I am led to believe that you need to wait 8 weeks after the initial complaint before bringing the matter to CEDR? I am fearful that based on their previous responses they will blame the issue on whichever one prevents them having to compensate us. Any thoughts from more seasoned members on this would be much appreciated.

corporate-wage-slave

Welcome to Flyertalk Andymac75 and welcome to the BA forum, it's good to see you here and I hope you can become a regular contributor to the BA board.

BA may well have a case here, it's a matter of public record that operations at LHR were disrupted that day, some due to the Amadeus fault, some due to the fire, and some due to weather conditions. At least some of the flights were cancelled due to the ATC issue, and these are not eligible for EC261. I suspect not many were cancelled due to the Amadeus fault, they were more likely to be heavily delayed on the ground, and at least some claims from this area have been paid. Now I have no insight as to where your LHR-INV cancellation is placed in all these factors, but if you go either CEDR or MCOL then at least BA will present more details as to the background. The main thread on EC261, including how to proceed, can be found in the dashboard. I think you can take the reply as allowing you to go to CEDR now.

Andymac75

Corporate-wage slave
Many thanks for the warm welcome and for your advice!

Chrisjg

Hi Andy,

I was also caught up in the same issue as yourself, and myself and my partner received the exact same response from BA today. We weren't due to fly until 6AM on the 19th July, but we were flying NCL-LHR, and the LHR-NCL flight was cancelled on the evening of the 18th, so there was no plane to fly us out on the morning of the 19th. We were also told we were not entitled to compensation due to 'airspace restrictions' that were 'out of their control'. We are in two minds as to whether to attempt CEDR. There seems to have been a plethora of issues that occurred on the 18th, and BA seem to be paying out for some but not others. For myself, because my flight wasn't due to take off until 6AM the following morning, it seems to hinge on whether BA were told by ATC not to fly the LHR-NCL flight on the evening of the 18th, or if that decision came from BA themselves. We were told, just as you were, that the airspace restrictions were 'out of their control'. We're currently in two minds whether to take BA's word for that, or to pursue it further. If you decide to go ahead with CEDR, please keep this thread updated with your progress, and I will do the same. This is particularly frustrating, due to BA paying up for delays connected to the IT issue, but then passing the cancellations of some flights off as not being in their control. I know that this may very well be the case, but without proof of that, it's hard not to feel like you're being fobbed off. Please do let me know if you decide to move forward with CEDR, and keep me updated with your progress.