BA delayed flight

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  • Anonymous
    Guest

    jackpot501
    Participant

    I am looking for some advice….
    On the 12th of December, I was due to fly business class from LHR to JHB on the BA A380 – take off was supposed to be 6pm.
    Unfortunately this was the day that ATC went down and all London airports were temporarily closed.
    We ended up having a 3h:20min delay and then boarding commenced. However, the captain then announced he was ‘over hours’ and by law wasn’t allowed to fly the plane. Unfortunately another captain wasn’t available and we were told we’d have to wait 24 hours. To make matters worse, we were then informed that due to the chaos of cancelled flights, the police wouldn’t allow the plane to be disembarked. So we had dinner on the aircraft and then were allowed off shortly before 11pm.
    We were then given a hotel voucher and breakfast the next day.
    My question is, does this qualify for the ‘delayed’ compensation rule? Or can BA get out of it because it was ATC who caused the initial problem?
    Thanks in advance.
    Harry


    SimonS1
    Participant

    I’m sure BA will claim exceptional circumstances which were outside their control. It sounds like they did their bit in terms of ‘care and maintenance’.

    I would say your best bet is to claim on your travel insurance.


    christopheL
    Participant

    IMO the lack of another captain is 100% BA’s responsability.


    DerekVH
    Participant

    Given the chaos caused by ATC, is it really fair to blame BA for not having a spare flight crew?


    seasonedtraveller
    Participant

    I suggest you take a look at http://www.refund.me they should be able to say if you have any entitlement.


    openfly
    Participant

    It’s becoming very noticeable that BA seems to use the South African flights as the dumping ground for lengthy delays. Time and again it happens.


    SimonS1
    Participant

    Christophe – given the widespread chaos crew were all over the place. Maybe the standby crew they have available had already been called upon for a different flight/s?

    I’m sure BA will stand their ground on this, bearing in mind the ATC issues that caused it. http://www.refund.me is indeed a good starting point but sing this the type of scenario you have travel insurance for?


    travelworld2
    Participant

    In terms of the “dumping ground” for lengthy delays I suspect it has more to do with the fact that the flight sector is long (11 hours or so) and that both airports at either end aren’t 24 hour, but are in (roughly) similar time zones. So you couldn’t leave LHR for JNB at (say) 1400 UK time even if you wanted to. Nor could you the other way.


    openfly
    Participant

    @travelworld2

    Both JNB and CPT are full 24 hr airports. The only restriction is arr/dep at LHR between 23.30 and 06.00, unless BA wants to use a banked night slot.


    travelworld2
    Participant

    apologies- I stand corrected (although a quick look at the airport websites shows that virtually nothing arrives and departs between midnight and 5am leading me to wonder if operationally it would be impractical in any event)


    SimonS1
    Participant

    I suspect it’s more to do with the equipment. I know BA had a 747 go tech in Johannesburg in December when attempting to take off – needed a spare part.

    Nothing to stop a flight to JNB leaving Heathrow at 14.00 AFAIK.


    christopheL
    Participant

    @dereckVH
    Should it be a matter of fairness, you might be right provided that Jackpot501 had no problem at all with a 24h delay.
    I remember one day when I arrived late at the airport because of a huge traffic jam and missed my flight. Fairness was an unknown word by the BA representative who asked me to buy a last minute full fare one way ticket. He told me that BA are not responsible for the traffic jams. I couldn’t argue.
    @Jackpot501
    Do you feel responsible for the ATC black out and for the labour law for pilots ?


    SimonS1
    Participant

    Christophe – sorry to say I haven’t a clue what you are going on about.


    LetsFlyNow
    Participant

    Now, when boarding commenced 3hrs 20mins late and they probably know how long boarding for a A380 takes…. why didn’t anyone at the airline or even the pilot himself think that the pilot wouldn’t be able to fly.

    Reeks of lack of coordination here.

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