[AllOverTheGaff]

My BA flight from Singapore – LHR was cancelled for the 27th of September so I was forced to spend an additional night in Bali. I was in Sing on business and wanted a few days chill time when I was done, so Bali was just R&R, however, I did have to extend my stay.

I have today claimed the grand sum of £417.29 as follows:

– £322.00 for an additional night at Bali Hotel
– £95.29 for dinner on the night of the 27th of Sept (the proposed strike day)

I’ve filled in the requisite form on BA.com, attached receipts and credit card statements to show I did indeed spend this money and will now await their response.

I’ll let you know what comes next.

Rgds.
AOTG.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Ahmad

[rwsydney]

Sorry can you please clarify. Was your flight from Bali to Singapore cancelled in addition to your flight from Singapore to LHR? Were both flights on the same itinerary?

[AllOverTheGaff]

[postquote quote=970556][/postquote]

My flight was return to Singapore (1st) and I booked separately a ticket to Bali which was for 4 days initially, which I extended to 5 days. The SIN – DPS flight was booked independently of the BA booking, so whether I spent the night in Bali or in Singapore, I had to extend my stay by 24 hours to accommodate the pilots strike which ultimately did not go ahead, but I had been contacted by BA to tell me my flight was cancelled so they would avoid EC261.

Rgds.
AOTG.

[rwsydney]

Please do let us know how this plays out. Personally I don’t fancy your chances of BA compensating you and I wouldn’t blame them. The fact that you travelled in first class is completely irrelevant in this situation.

With a separate independent booking, you should really have flown back to Singapore on the original date. That way, BA would have been able to put you up in accommodation in Singapore and give you compensation if the flight had been cancelled.

The fact that the flight wasn’t even cancelled in the end gives BA a further reason not to compensate.

[SimonS1]

As I understand it the flight WAS cancelled and OP was rebooked. The fact that the flight was later reinstated is irrelevant.

Also BA is required to accommodate the traveller. Regulations do not state where this should be, so unless remaining in Bali has incurred extra cost relative to staying in Singapore I don’t see any reason why a CEDR claim couldn’t succeed.

Re the amounts, it depends how many people were travelling. I can’t remember on this, if really would have helped for OP to keep all the story together rather than create multiple threads about the same incident.

Previous poster is right, whether travelling First or Economy is irrelevant here. EC261 provides the same protections to all travellers.

[AlanOrton1]

It may just be me but I don’t think I’d submit a £95 bill for a dinner for one with a straight face and expect BA to cough up.
Best of luck!

[AFlyingDutchman]

I dont believe BA will pay for the extra night in Bali, and I honestly dont think they need to. Your ticket was LHR-SIN-LHR, so they would have been required to provide you accommodation in Singapore for the night of the strike, and meals appropriate to time of day, etc. The fact that you stayed in Bali is irrelevant to BA. As far as they were concerned, you were in Singapore. I am sure BA has an agreed price with one or a couple of hotels in Singapore where they put their crew, which they use for cancellations or over booking, and that is where they would undoubtedly have accommodated you. If BA were to be fair, they would reimburse you an amount equal to what they would have paid for a room in their chosen hotel in Singapore and a reasonable amount for your F&B, but I am certain that would not fully compensate the GBP 417 you are claiming. I am not sure how they react given you are a First Class passenger, exec staus, etc., if that will make them be more ‘generous’ but as I read many posts on this site re BA, I have yet to read one that says BA are know for their generosity. Good luck, and please let us know what happens.

1 user thanked author for this post.

rwsydney

[rwsydney]

I couldn’t agree more. It’s like if someone flew from Edinburgh to LHR with BA and then flew to New York with a different carrier. If the return leg from LHR to EDI is cancelled and the passenger chooses to change the other carrier’s flight back to LHR until 24 hours later to coincide with the new BA flight, does this mean that BA are liable to pay an extra night of accommodation and meals in New York? I don’t think so.

As someone who often travels with different itineraries on different carriers, I’m very interested to know how this plays out. Would love to be proved wrong.

[SimonS1]

[postquote quote=971316][/postquote]

All that EC261 says is the customer must be accommodated. I believe BA published guidance at £200 pppn during the strikes, that is what OP would have been paid if in Singapore (or more if the going rate was higher due to lack of availability). I don’t see the fact that the OP decided to delay setting out later from Bali as that relevant, other than that the airline will probably not pay out more than they would have done in Singapore.

[AllOverTheGaff]

[postquote quote=970899][/postquote]

I don’t really follow your logic that I should have returned to Singapore. My contract with them was for them to fly me from Aberdeen to Singapore, returning on the 27th of September. Due to circumstances I could not control, my flight WAS cancelled, see c n p from email below sent to me on the 13th of September, exactly 2 weeks prior to my booking with them so they avoid EC261 legislation as they’ve given me ‘adequate’ notice.

Dear Customer,

Industrial action by the pilots’ union, BALPA on 27 September is expected to have a significant impact on our schedule. Because of this, regrettably your flight to Aberdeen on 28 September 2019 has been cancelled.

We’ve tried extremely hard to find a way to operate your flight, but unfortunately, we’ve been unable to do so. We’re very sorry that this will affect your travel plans

The fact they later reinstated the flight is irrelevant, I was forced to reschedule my travel plans. As it happens, I was returning from Bali on the 27th then connecting with BA, but I had to change this flight at my cost. That I stayed in Bali an additional night was actually not by choice (albeit I had a smashing time) but with BA and the pilots union unable to reach settlement. Your assertion that I should have returned to Singapore would have cost them just as much as I would have stayed where I was staying before I left (I was in Singapore for a week prior to my journey to Bali), so there was nothing to gain by my returning to Singapore on the day of the strike.

For update purposes they’ve replied rather swiftly, much to my surprise with the below offer:

Thanks for contacting us regarding your flight from Singapore in First on 27 September. I apologise for the delay in my response
I’m sorry your journey was affected by industrial action by the pilots’ union BALPA on 27 September. I realise you incurred expenses for an extra night in your hotel and dinner. We’re able to contribute £200.00 towards your hotel stay and £25.00 per day towards food expenses. Therefore, we can contribute £250.00 towards your expenses.

They’ve also offered 5000 Avios points. Reading some of the other comments on this thread that seems to be their standard offer so I am now left to ponder if I should accept this or not. It still leaves me a couple of hundred pounds out of pocket.

Rgds.
AOTG.

[AllOverTheGaff]

[postquote quote=970954][/postquote]

LOL! Was the last night of my holiday, a fabulous rib-eye and a bottle of Argentinian Malbec were called for.

But I hear you loud and clear… 🙂

Rgds.
AOTG.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Polly

[Ah,Mr.Bond]

250 quid to me sounds more than acceptable, if you headed to Raffles why would they pay for that?? Other posters are correct,Bali has absolutely nothing to do with them whatsoever being on another ticket. You don’t mention charges to change that ticket, any claim for that would be strategically filed (rubbish bin). However, I would expect more than 5k avios though which is insulting given 5k is worthless.

[AllOverTheGaff]

[postquote quote=971351][/postquote]

Using the same argument (I’m curious), if I had stayed in Singapore that week instead of going to Bali, and my hotel for those nights was £400.00 per night, should I have moved to a cheaper hotel in Singapore on the night of the strike so I didn’t inconvenience British Airways? Or would you have thought BA should have paid for my additional night?(The particular room I was in was around that price)

The location of my expense is entirely irrelevant to my being inconvenienced and incurring additional costs. I wanted to come back on the 27th but could not, I was told (not advised – told) to change my flights as the strike was going ahead. I took their advice and changed my flights, thereby incurring the costs I did for accommodation and food, had I not been told to cancel, by BA, I would not have incurred any further expense and would have flown back as I had originally booked.

Anyway, I actually think £250 is acceptable, although it says £200 for hotel and £25 for food….so unsure if they are paying me for 2 meals or if they can’t count very well….

Rgds.
AOTG.

1 user thanked author for this post.

Polly

[SimonS1]

[postquote quote=971353][/postquote]

Yes, the expectation would have been for you to move to a cheaper hotel or at least bear the difference. The point of EC261 is to ensure that travellers facing disruption are “adequately cared for” not to provide luxury accommodation. Of course this can work the other way round, travellers used to budget accommodation might benefit. However that is how it is, as the regulations treat first class and economy travellers in the same way.

Indeed you seem to have benefited slightly from the maths.

My view – unless you can prove that something was happening in Singapore on that day that inflated hotel prices (as happens on Grand Prix weekends for example) and you would not have been able to find anything for £200 then you have reached the end of the road. Thousands of others were in a similar position so better to receive the money and move on.

[capetonianm]

I would cut my losses and regard the out of pocket amount as the subsidised cost of an enjoyable meal and overnight.

[Author]

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