BA Compensation

[MaximumPete]

Moderator:- If this is in another thread please delete so as to save space and stop me boring everyone.

Passengers stranded by the recent BA strikes may not be eligable for compensation of between 250 and 600 euros, in spite of EU regulations, as BA claims that the rules don't apply to extraordinary unforseen circumstances.

I thought the whole idea of having these rules was to cover such circumstances , but then perhaps I'm missing something?

MP;)

[Globaliser]

MaximumPete: Passengers stranded by the recent BA strikes may not be eligable for compensation of between 250 and 600 euros, in spite of EU regulations, as BA claims that the rules don't apply to extraordinary unforseen circumstances.That is exactly what the EU regulation says.

Article 5 relates to care and (if appropriate) compensation for cancellations. Compensation is calculated by reference to Article 7. Article 5(3) contains the exception:-An operating air carrier shall not be obliged to pay compensation in accordance with Article 7, if it can prove that the cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.Preamble 14 would be taken into account in interpreting Article 5(3), and says:-As under the Montreal Convention, obligations on operating air carriers should be limited or excluded in cases where an event has been caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Such circumstances may, in particular, occur in cases of political instability, meteorological conditions incompatible with the operation of the flight concerned, security risks, unexpected flight safety shortcomings and strikes that affect the operation of an operating air carrier.

[MaximumPete]

Forgive me for being cynical but it appears that just about every eventuality has been excluded in the preable quoted by Globaliser!

MP;)

[Globaliser]

Oh no, far from it. Preamble 15 has at least one more:-Extraordinary circumstances should be deemed to exist where the impact of an air traffic management decision in relation to a particular aircraft on a particular day gives rise to a long delay, an overnight delay, or the cancellation of one or more flights by that aircraft, even though all reasonable measures had been taken by the air carrier concerned to avoid the delays or cancellations.Shorn of the cynicism, the intention of the Regulation seems to be that the airline should not have to guarantee good weather, unbroken aircraft etc. in relation to the payment of cash compensation. However, passenger care (including the right to abandon the trip) must be provided in wider circumstances than the payment of cash compensation.

The fact that this doesn't change anything for many airlines' pax is actually testament to the fact that they looked after their pax out of goodwill and good customer relations anyway, even though there was no legal liability to do so.

[MaximumPete]

I'm just relieved that my travel insurance covers me for all the inevitable extraordinary eventualities.


My concerns are with the travellers on the low-cost airlines, whose tales of woe have been featured in the press.



MP;)

[Carnage Matey!]

Should've paid more then. You pays yer money......

[MaximumPete]

The trouble is that at most regional airports it's cheapo or nowt.

MP;)

[Globaliser]

MaximumPete: My concerns are with the travellers on the low-cost airlines, whose tales of woe have been featured in the press.As I've said, there seems to be a major difference between cash compensation, and care (meals, hotels etc.) - at least as I read the Regulation.

If low-fare airlines' pax are not being fed and watered, and put up for the night, when their flights are late, that's not because of any loopholes in the Regulation. I think that's likely to be because the carriers are just ignoring their obligations and breaking the law.

The care provisions include the right to cancel in certain circumstances. On the one and only occasion on which I bought an FR ticket, the flight was horribly delayed and my trip would have been in vain. I was cheerfully refunded the entire ticket price, which reached my bank account in about 48 hours. This was long before the Regulation came into force. While I wouldn't rush to fly FR again, at least they did this right - even though they probably weren't obliged to.

[Flip Flop Flyer]

Just had a call from a BA Service Centre person, apologizing for stranding me in JFK during the strike, and shunting me off to GF on the LHR-BAH leg. I will be receiving the full miles for the LHR-BAH leg, despite it being flown on GF, and I will also receive a complimentary 50000 miles on my BA card. Not a bad compensation at all, if you ask me, especially as they technically speaking didn't have to. Soo, I'm not complaining!

PS
The 50K miles is because I only hold a BA Blue card. A Silver or Gold would presumeably see you credited even more miles.

[Final 3 Greens]

My family was delayed for 6 hours going out to DXB in summer.

Although this was for reasons beyond BAs control, they sent us GBP200 of travel vouchers, which was very much appreciated.

Sadly, the exec club doesn't work for my travel patterns (only get blue, but gold/elite plus- with Skyteam), so I don't fly BA so much, but I find them to be generally good when things go wrong.

[bealine]

BA's stance on EU compensation is that it will always do what it has to.

For situations outside the EU Charter, our Customer Relations team will always treat each claim (either in writing or delivered electronically) on its own merits in an impartial way.

For this reason, if ever you have cause to make a claim or complain, please ensure you include details of exactly what level of inconvenience or discomfort you experienced. That helps the team to make a mutually agreeable decision!