i think to emphasise the point, on separate tickets you are very lucky that AA has a policy to rebook you for free - something which is well above any statutory protections. without that you would have been left high and dry. so i would take that as a win tbh.

I booked a BA holiday to Sydney (from MAN) and the best fares were with QR. I have just had an email notifying me that the QR flight from MAN has been cancelled and I have been put on an early morning flight which I don't really want. I appreciate that I can ask for a refund, but is it worth asking BA to re-route me so that I travel via LHR and SIN and if so are they likely to charge extra?

I think BA would rebook you on BA. But you could also request a different time so you can still fly on QR, which would be my preferred choice.

Which flight has QR cancelled from MAN on your travel day? I am surprised QR have cancelled anything on that route.

Well BA is usually pretty accommodating on rebooking. I am sure they would rebook you on the BA SYD flight, but not sure why you would want that....

I'm guessing it must be a one-off?

They've just announced that 2 or the 4 daily flights are changing from a B789 to B777, as well as the daily A35K. My next flight with them is thus Q Suite and Starlink enabled.

I really don't like the B789 seating - so a win for me!

I doubt it greatly helps, but bear in mind the QR service from BHX and EDI (and at EDI you get a decent lounge at least). That said, legally you hold a ticket from MAN to SYD so BAH will need to cover that trip in the same cabin one way or the other, and it's probably helpful to have 2 or 3 different preferred options when you call. "Cathay" is what is screaming at me here (but stay the night in HKG). There isn't a legal requirement to offer you from BHX or EDI, it just tends to suit airlines to offer this. I don't expect any big problems there. And obviously, do a mercenary re-calc on the booking, just in case you spot a cheaper option as a new purchaser.

I have had two MAN-DOH flights cancelled this week, one for June, the other November.

It's worth checking that these have actually been cancelled. It may be that they've just changed from B789 to B77W as above, but for some reason it's come through as a cancellation.

Yes, both cancelled, new flight numbers, new flights, both over an hour earlier.

Would a rebooking onto a Newark flight instead of JFK be eligible for EC261?

The landing time in Newark was just under 3 hours later than original JFK flight but wrong side of New York. It was not necessary to go to JFK but to Manhatten.

Reason for change was a BA computer issue recognising visa resulting in missing original flight.

Also - will I get a refund for the exit seat booked and paid for on the original flight as replacement was a standard seat.

Ba rebooked you to EWR, or did they offer JFK and you asked to go to EWR?

For that, and the seat question, a lot will depend on whether BA evaluates that their systems were to blame, which may well be assumed here, or whether you were deemed to have contributed to the problem with the DHS validation (e.g. putting incorrect data into the Advance Passenger Information area). I'm surprised we don't get more questions on this. But assuming you were more than 3 hours late, to your final destination, and/or would have been 3 hours late had you needed to trek over to Kennedy, then yes there is clear jurisprudence that you have a claim for APR compensation. The seat refund would be covered by normal consumer protections and would be refundable if you were not to blame. Both may be a bit sticky to claim, I've a feeling you may get rebuffed at the first attempt. In making a claim try to be extra concise but make it clear it was BA's IT rather than you to blame.

Is a delay due to waiting to be de-iced considered a weather related event and not eligible for UK261/EC261? BA operated VIE-LHR.

The delay caused us to miss our connecting flight (one ticket) from LHR. BA gave us a hotel for the overnight and booked us on VS the next day. Arrived about 22h later than originally scheduled. TIA

Generally not in scope for EC261. It depends somewhat on the "all reasonable measures" factor, but at VIE I'm pretty sure the airport does the de-icing and gives BA no choice on how long it takes. So it's difficult to see what reasonable measures BA could do to avoid that delay, given the weather was what it was.

I was scheduled to fly on BA209 LHR to MIA on Friday 23rd Jan which was cancelled at boarding time. Submitted a claim for UK261 to BA and claim response back was:

"Your claim for compensation has been refused because the aircraft suffered damage as a result of a lightening strike. The aircraft experienced a lightning strike whilst operating the previous flight. As a result of this, mandatory inspections had to be carried out. These generally take around four hours and have to be completed before the aircraft can operate. During the inspections, damage to the aircraft was found, which meant repairs had to be carried out before the aircraft could operate."

As noted in prior posts on lightning strikes, it seems to me that it is a commercial decision for BA to run its operation in such a way that it has no excess capacity to substitute an aircraft at its home base. Assume I would need to pursue CEDR if I want to continue this claim? Any other recent experience with BA or CEDR with this event type?

Also, interesting spelling in the BA message - 'lightening strike' - unscheduled offloading of catering mid-flight? :-)

Thanks!