Aircraft details

[wiggy]

Speculating about security breaches, dodgy head counts and incorrect airline records might be fun, but I don't see its relevance here.

Agreed.

The ticket and boarding pass alone don't help. What might help is other evidence such as cashpoint slips/credit card records showing transactions taking place at either end of the journey on the day in question.

[Yellow Sun]

I suspect that it's simply a case of an airline, faced with a claim, playing hard ball and insisting that the passenger provides independent evidence of something that the airline already knows to be the case.

It is really much more straightforward than that. Investigating complaints and claims costs a considerable amount in time and money so if they haven't provided it you ask the complainant\claimant to provide evidence of entitlement. It's not hard ball; just good commercial sense; it gets rid of the opportunists, time wasters and some of the fraudsters.

[t1grm]

Please don't shoot the messenger but whilst the existence of a boarding pass may be helpful it only proves the individual checked in for the flight, not that he/she actually boarded the aircraft........At least I gather that has been HMRC's "POV" on several occasions

Sorry for the hijack but, as an ex-pat claiming non-residency in the UK (but still submitting a return) I have often wondered about this. I have kept all my boarding passes since when I became non-resident in 2002 (yes it’s a big shoe box). However, since at least half of them are online check ins printed at home or the office, I assume they won’t count for squat with HMRC. It would be quite economically viable for someone looking to avoid a large tax bill, to book 52 LCC flights at off peak times, print the boarding passes, go nowhere and say they were out of the country every week. So what do HMRC accept as proof of being out of the country nowadays?

[111KAB]

Apologies

Apologies everyone for the delay in responding and thanks the imput - greatly appreciated. As a new 'poster' you always wonder if your question is being asked in the correct manner and if your enquiry, for whatever reason, will upset anyone. With one exception the responses have been great.

The airline in question has asked for strict proof as to the client being on the flight in question. They only had, as far as I am aware, handbaggage. Their portion of the boarding card has been discarded (as many suspected) and they knew no one else on the flight who can vouch for them. The onus however has now been placed on the airline to prove they were not on the flight given that they should have the manifest for the flight plus their handing agent should retain boarding card stubs although there seems to be a lack of instruction on how long these should be retained. This coupled with the 'head count' should resolve my problem. We have produced a copy of a credit card statement showing an airport shop purchase prior to the plane departure and a hotel invoice for a stay the night prior to departure. We have pointed out that even in possession of a boarding card does not mean absolutely that the plane was boarded. I think this is going to rumble on however I will re-visit the site from time to time to hopefully update.

[750XL]

Boarding cards are a thing of the past, the handling agent certainly won't have them 6 months after the flight and there's a chance they wouldn't have any at all. Many airlines/handling agents don't even retain a copy of the boarding pass anymore, KLM E-boarding pass is an example of this.

The handling agent won't have any paperwork from the flight 6 months later but it may be possible to drag names out of the system.

[DaveReidUK]

So what do HMRC accept as proof of being out of the country nowadays?

The Inland Revenue always used to accept my Junior Jet Club logbook without question.

[spottilludrop]

MON are the best thing that has happened to Brum for ages and are doing really well.
I doubt you will get many here assisting, My experience is they offer first rate customer service compared to others i could mention.

[BOAC]

Have you tried for immigration passport records?

[darkroomsource]

relevance...
if the airline is claiming that he was not on the flight, but their records show he was, then they should be referred for investigation

[DaveReidUK]

relevance...
if the airline is claiming that he was not on the flight, but their records show he was, then they should be referred for investigation

Yes - if the airline was claiming that he wasn't on the flight, your observation would be relevant.

But they aren't, so it isn't.