Delta flight delayed 8 hr 21 mins - can I ask for reimbursement re: missed connection
 

Hi all, a few weeks ago my Delta flight from JFK to LHR was delayed ~8 hours - first weather, then a long taxi line at JFK, then a pilot who timed out, then waiting for a new crew to arrive. I had a British Airways flight from LHR to Vienna (my final destination) that I missed. I made a new booking for a BA flight 3 hours later - when it was clear I'd also miss that flight, I made a second booking and did end up making that flight.

Both the Delta and the BA flights were booked with miles, with the incidental fees/taxes paid by my Chase Sapphire Preferred. I have low status on Delta (silver) and none with BA. Is there any way I can ask for compensation for the lost miles on the two British airways flights I missed (the original booking plus the first rebooked flight)? Since the Delta and BA flights weren't on the same ticket, i'm guessing no, but figured i'd check...

Since it appears that is was primarily weather and JFK ATC that delayed your flight, Delta does not owe you anything. However, if you write in a complaint on the delta.com website, you may get a few thousands miles thrown at you.

Did you really lose miles on BA, is there not a way to get the miles put back for the flights that you missed, even for a fee?

DL's Contract of Carriage (like most airlines) explicitly disclaims liability for failure to operate on schedule.The chances here of them offering anything other than a customer service goodwill gesture (of SkyMiles) are very low, especially since the initial delay was weather-related.

I'm not that familiar with BA's Avios, but are you sure there's no way to redeposit the miles for an unused award? (IOW, I think DL is the only airline with the 72-hour rule...)

Thanks - I'll try my luck with British Airways. I actually need to contact them anyway - on the same trip, I got involuntarily bumped off a different BA flight , so I'd like to get the miles reimbursed for the bumped flight. We'll see how generous they are feeling...

Curious why you didn't book all the way through on DL/KLM through AMS? This would have given you IRROPS protection the whole way through. Also, connecting from DL to BA at LHR is not great.

Not to VIE, which is also in Terminal 3, like DL.

But of course the separate tickets/alliances certainly makes the itinerary risky, and routing via AMS or CDG probably would have been a better idea (or even AA/BA), but I'm sure OP had a reason... :)

On separate tickets, BA will tell you (politely) to pound sand. I don't think you need to bother contacting them. From their perspective, you just skipped the flight. Just so I understand this correctly, you bought three BA tickets?

Within 24 hours of travel no changes allowed on BA avios flights and that includes no refunds.

As far as BA are concerned you missed their flights and was a no-show.

There are EU rules (Eu261/2004) that includes compensation for IDB. You should check that out before contacting BA. IIRC for an intra EU flight it is €250

It was mostly a points and dates issue - For the dates I wanted,I was able to find Delta One tickets from JFK to LHR for 140K Skymiles roundtrip. Going all the way to Vienna through either CDG or AMS would have been a lot more -I think somewhere around 300K, although I don't remember the exact number. Avios flights within Europe are also a bargain (under 10k Avios per flight, generally) and I've had Avios points sitting in my BA account for years that I figured it made sense to use. The Delta - BA connection within terminal 3 at Heathrow was pretty painless - IIRC, only about 20 minutes between getting off the Delta flight and being back in the departures lounge for the BA flight.

But yeah, if I had known how things would turn out, I would have made different choices! :cool:

Totally get it. In the future, best to try and at least stay within the same alliance. If there had been a good fare JFK-AMS/CDG and then you purchased a separate ticket on KL or AF I think you would have had a better chance at getting flexibility, especially if you had purchased that ticket from DL, then DL would have been able to handle the rebooking for you from JFK.

You might check the rules on the Chase card.

I thought (but am not going to check right now, and am not certain) that they cover incidental costs incurred due to certain delayed /canceled flights when the airline does not cover it.

For a weather issue that caused you to miss a flight on a separate alliance, you shouldn't expect anything, and airlines are not obligated to provide anything. Your credit card is likely the best spot to pursue this if it includes travel insurance as a benefit. On the upside, if it only cost you 140K skymiles and a few 10K avios, you are still way ahead versus the routing that would have used 300K skymiles.

Yea, does not matter if you missed flight, hot date, meeting. private jet, train, or anything else. The only possible issue Delta has to deal with is what you bought from them - their flight.

Sorry.

This was not a connection (see thread title). That likely bounces OP from collecting against anything against most travel interruption policies.

Another reason not to book separate tickets through LHR is that on a connection, there is no APD.

Doesn't need to be one ticket for APD. You can get refund if you fly in within 24 hours of scheduled departure from LHR. Having on one ticket means less hassles, as no refund needed.