Sparkyfletch

I apologise for yet another 261 question - I have explored the Wiki, it's a hive of information but I can't see a specific reference to my claim, your advise please:

Last June my wife and I were on a 2-4-1 LHR/BOS in F.
Evening flight. After a couple of hours delayed on the ground, even the meal was served while waiting, we were de-planed at midnight. "Operational issues" we were told and BOS was now closed.
We spent that night in the Sofitel and we flew the next evening. BA settled our hotel and some small toiletries. We kept the claim to the minimum as we ate in the lounge.
I submitted a claim and may have missed the 261 part, and many weeks later the hotel and toiletries were settled in full. Thinking I may have omitted the 261 element I resubmitted with explanation.
This morning I received this rejection:

'Your claim's been refused because BA0239 on 29 June was delayed due to London Heathrow resourcing issues and subsequent problems with Boston not allowing the flight to arrive after 04:30 GMT.'

Is this a legitimate get out?

navylad

Difficult to tell without further information. You may want to try pushing it, by saying their resourcing issues are not a reason for EC261, but equally if this was due to something outside BA’s control then they may be subsequently successful at defending an EC261 claim. I suspect you have a reasonable prospect but be prepared for a fight.

Sparkyfletch

Thanks Navylad, I think this is one of those where I take the rough with the smooth.

AviosTreasureHunter

Hi. The onus is on the airline to prove in Court why its reason was extraodinary and beyond its control.
If you were told at BOS that the delay was due to operational issues then case law has found that is not extraordinary.
I would advise you have a look on flightaware to see if other flights landed/took off from BOS and LHR at those times and if they suffered delays.
I currently have 2 MCOL's in play against airlines for claiming extraordinary whilst I do not believe them.

Never Stansted

The EC 261 requirement to get BA off the hook is not just that there need to be extraordinary circumstances, it's that those circumstances 'could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken'. Given that you didn't fly until the next evening I would be arguing (even if BA's explanation of the reason for the cancellation stacks up) that the cancellation could have been avoided if the plane had been delayed overnight, rather than being cancelled outright. Just because a delay was justified doesn't mean that a cancellation was. I have had success taking that line of argument to CEDR recently.

Sparkyfletch

Thanks Stansted.
Would they then argue that as BOS was closed at that point it trumps all other reasoning?
Or should I argue that knowing BOS was closing they should have made more effort?

Krisz

They could have rerouted on other airlines sooner as well. I would not go down in such argument that BOS was open or not. BA should have send passengers on time, BA could have a spare plane, could have a spare crew. As others said it's BA who has to explain why is it extraordinary and out of their control and not you need to prove this is not extraordinary. I would only ask a question from myself that if the plane leaves on time would be BOS open? Any other airline managed to land BOS or not? Let say there was a massive storm which closed an airport and tens of flights needed to divert then yes you won't have much argument over this. However I haven't seen in their response other than if they send a scheduled flight many hours late then the arrival airport would be closed or not able to accept your flight because of lack of slot/gate/etc. That's not the problem here the problem is what BA has to explain why your plane haven't left the gate on time. Their answer just say some sort of resourcing issue which is not extraordinary at all.

Never Stansted

If you go to CEDR BA won't have the chance to raise multiple rounds of arguments - you'll claim, they'll issue a defence (or settle), and you'll have the opportunity to respond to their defence.

In this case I'd be arguing in the first instance that the mysterious resourcing issues at LHR are not exceptional given that it is BA's home base and that they should be prepared for those. In addition the BOS night curfew is blatantly not exceptional since it is a routine nightly policy at BOS, not an unexpected one-off. As you suggest, it is worth flagging that as BA are fully aware of the BOS night curfew, it is their responsibility where necessary to prioritise a BOS departure to ensure that the curfew isn't an issue. And as others have mentioned, it is worth noting other flights from the UK that reached BOS that night, presuming that they did.

I would then note that even if BA's explanation for exceptional circumstances was accepted, there was nothing stopping them operating a delayed flight the following morning - hence, in circumstances where a delay was unavoidable, a cancellation certainly wasn't, especially at their main global base where they could reasonably be expected to be able to provide an alternative plane or crew if necessary.

If BA choose to defend rather than settle you'll then have the chance to review their arguments and think about how you might want to respond to them.