mustard

Thanks Often! I suppose my query is just whether this actually qualifies as a weather-exempted cancellation, given I went on a non-United plane to the same destination a couple of hours later. In reality the bad weather meant there was no United plane available, but as Dave hinted at above (and I've seen a couple of references to elsewhere, but nothing 100%), it doesn't seem clear that bad weather on a preceding flight means exceptional circumstances for my flight... Any thoughts/experiences?

To add some value back: I spoke to Amex and they were great. They said to spend up to the limit on whatever I deemed essential, to submit to BA in the first instance, and then they'd pick up the tab for anything BA wouldn't cover. Got to love that level of service! Both BA and Amex also confirmed that it was per person, not per suitcase.

Thanks again to everyone for your help today.

Dave Noble

I do not disagree that it is per person total for each passenger that checks luggage in - if however 2 passengers travel but only 1 passenger checks bags in, then the passenger with no checked luggage has no coverage for the checked luggage

The thing I was considering was whether - if 2 passengers choose to check 2 bags in under 1 passenger , whether the allowance will then be only XDR1133 in total ( since only 1 passenger has checked any luggage in) vs it definitely being XDR2266 if each were to check bags in separately

arttravel

Dave Noble

But the delay from EWR does not necessarily mean that the airline can then use that reason to try and not pay compensation for a later flight

corporate-wage-slave

Checking in bags or not checking in bags doesn't change the limit, it remains at 2266 for 2 people regardless of it being on one person's tag, two tags or even three people (if they gave some bags to someone on another booking somehow). There's an IATA protocol out on that one that says the limit is on the traveller, not where their bags end up, it's also the way BA operates in this area. The reason being that it is theoretically possible for both checked and non checked bags to be damaged and the aim here is to cap the airlines' exposure to a straightforward maxima, which is effectively passenger numbers per aircraft times the current XDR limit.

saint_em

I have experienced a similar situation - supposed to fly with Delta from JFK-YYZ rebooked on Air Canada (from La Guardia), baggage didn't arrive.

We reported it missing to Air Canada even though we knew full well they had never seen the bag and never would (we were able to trace the bags via the Delta app and could agonisingly see they were at YYZ but we couldn't get them). They were eventually handed over to FedEx who carted them all over the place - we missed an attempt to deliver them by less than an hour in Buffalo!

We didn't see our bags until we returned to the UK almost two weeks later.

We just went straight to Amex, which was the advice they gave us at the time. We had to submit receipts for everything we bought, and very much stuck to cheap & cheerful and literally just essentials (we're not exactly extravagant anyway and an hour in Target is more than enough for us!).

So, to summarise - update world tracer, keep all your receipts, call Amex straight away, and then be patient - it took ages for our claim to be processed.

orbitmic

I'm not sure where you've read that, but I'm afraid that's flatly and completely incorrect. There is no such condition or limitation in the regulation. If the cancellation is due to a situation beyond the airline's control, including weather-related, then no compensation is due. In some cases of bad weather nothing will fly, in others, some flights will be cancelled by airports but not others, in some cases, some aircraft types will be able to land but not others, and in some situations, you may even have some pilots who make a judgement call that despite the very bad weather they will still attempt landing whilst others will not. None of this matter nor invalidates the concept of circumstances beyond the airline's control.

Now of course, if you suspect that an airline is lying to you and are blaming a cancellation on bad weather whilst you think it was really a plane going tech or a commercial cancellation, then by all means, you can certainly use the notion that no other flight landing at airport x on that day as additional support to your theory, but quite frankly, the issue would be the airline lying, not the fact that the weather led to some flights being cancelled but not all of them. That latter point would be, quite frankly, irrelevant, and I really don't think UA were lying to you here. At the end of the day, no airline cancels flights for pleasure and certainly not any airline about to fly the New York-London route in peak summer. I think you can safely erase any such suspicion from your mind.

mustard

Back to leave an update and follow-up question on this thread!

BA were horrendous at getting our baggage back. Every time we called their call centre they gave different responses, and on several occasions guaranteed they'd deliver that day (meaning we changed plans and stayed in), only for nothing to arrive. It eventually turned up a week later, and we had to collect from a different airport. I spent hours on the phone during that week, trying to get any sense, and it added a real level of stress, complication and inconvenience that put the brand to shame.

We didn't need to use the Amex insurance in the end on the baggage claim, as BA agreed to cover all of our expenses. They also confirmed that we could claim for two people as we'd both been travelling from one suitcase. The only problem is...they approved the claim at the start of August, but it's now October and they still haven't paid out. I've chased several times, and they've either asked for more personal info, said "The amount will be in your account within 10 working days", or just ignored the contact. They've fully accepted the amount owed, but don't seem to actually want to make the transfer. Any tips on actually getting a response from BA on this? It's a not-unsubstantial sum, so when do you think it becomes a small claims job?

I didn't expect such a rocky experience from the UK's national carrier, but I guess I know who not to use in future.

corporate-wage-slave

Two possibilities: either check with the credit card company with which you paid the transaction to see if they are prepared to recall the original payment Alternatively have a look at the EC261 thread in the BA Forum Dashboard. This isn't an EC261 case but you can use CEDR 8 weeks after your first complaint, and within 2 weeks BA will have to say something about payment.

PaulN

Well at least BA got you to your destination which is more than the airline you booked with could manage.

There's no excuse for BA's poor service in reuniting you with your bags but perhaps United were late delivering them to BA to get onto the aircraft in the first place?

Often1

Water under the bridge for OP, but the standard advice applies. Do not waste your time calling BA (or any other carrier which uses WorldTracer or a version of it). When you call, the phone agent sees exactly what you see and has no way of knowing when the bag will arrive or how it will be delivered.

So long as WorldTracer has your bag description, tag number, and your mobile number, someone will call you when it arrives. Depending on the circumstances, BA will make arrangements to deliver the bag to your home or office or you might choose to go pick it up if you prefer.

As a suggestion, waiting for deliveries is never a good idea. If you are not somewhere with coverage, make arrangements with a local shop or somesuch and ask to have the bags delivered there.