[Binman62]

Persona;y have alway found BA to be more than generous in such circumstances if approached via customer relations. They can take time to reply but for this passenger at least have always be sympathetic.
That aside I think there is room here to argue that the EU rules apply. The aircraft was hit by a staff member or by a member of staff of an agent. That could be argued as negligence and therefore within the control of the carrier as perhaps procedures were not followed (almost certainy) or there is a training issue.
BA own web site has the details.
https://www.britishairways.com/travel/euclaimnor/execclub/_gf/en_gb
As an aside QF paying compensation ex LHR at EU levels for anyone affected by A380 cancellations.

[AndrewR79]

Thanks to everyone who replied.

To be honest I haven’t lost out financially through the cancellation of the flight although I will now have to organise flights back to London for the meeting I was supposed to attend and this will be a cost to me. I do feel that BA should incur this expense on my behalf.

I was also fairly put out by the imeddiate dismisal by the BA customer services rep who flat out stated that no compensation was due and it was only after a lenghty discussion on the phone that it was eventually suggested that BA might make some kind of goodwill gesture. It would have been preferable if the customer services advisor informed me of the EU compensation and then expalined why BA thought it didn’t apply in these circumstances and then offered a potential goodwill gesture. As it was they were extremely dismissive of me and the the inconvenience they had caused me.

Will contact my travel insurance company to see what they have to say and will call BA customer services again to see what they have to say.

Thanks for all your help.

[craigwatson]

gregd75 – “Just because this is the travel industry, things shouldn’t be different. When we buy our tickets we enter into an agreement. our money for a specific flight.”

I think you need to look into the “contract” more closely.

you have entered into an agreement to get from point A to point B (even if the airline has to change so you go through C,D and even E), there is no requirement for a “specifc flight”

And in regards to your clothes store analagy, well that just doesnt make sense, sorry.

[gregd75]

Shame that the analagy didn’t make sense to you craigwatson. My point is simply that when we buy our tickets, then we pay money for a product or service.

We pay for a SPECIFIC product or service and it seems to only be in the travel industry that passengers can pay for one thing and end up with a totally different thing. (i.e ending up at the final destination hours after the original, planned time)

In my case with Continental, the transatlantic flight was simply cancelled. I had checked in 24 hours previously, I had provided contact details and yet, when the plane was cancelled noone bothered to contact me, or even offered alternative arrangements.

My point here, is that IF I had been informed beforehand that the flight that I had originally purchased was no longer available, I could have easily arrived at the airport earlier and caught the earlier flight, or bought a ticket on the BA Houston service, or even flown to Dallas to make easier connections.

One alternative was offered which meant I was going to arrive at my final destination 18 hours after the original arrival time.

Totally unacceptable in any other industry. This is why there is a passengers association- to hold airlines accountable.

Doesnt matter if there is a contract or not- paying customers should be treated with respect and offered alternatives

[craigwatson]

but using your clothing store example. if you paid for a shirt and then they said they didnt have that shirt, and offered you a different shirt or a refund, that is fine.

Well same as with flights. If your flight is cancelled they would offer you a refund of that particular sector if you decided not to travel or a different flight ( direct or indirect), again it is your decision.

Whether the problem was there fault or not, i think would determine how far they should bend to accomodate you.

[gregd75]

If they accept a fare-paying passengers money, then they must take responsibility for the well being of that passenger- from the departure airport to the arrival airport.

The key here is communication- and in cases such as cancelled flights communication becomes critical.

In this post, its clear that if the BA representative had been more communicative, then the passenger wouldn’t have even looked into compensation. In my case, if I had been contacted the moment the airline knew the flight had been cancelled instead of simply letting me turn up at the airport to sort out the problem then things would have been different also.

So, I guess the real issue is how proactive the airline is when presented with a perfectly understandable situation such as a cancelation.

[AndrewR79]

Quick update on the outcome of my BA compensation claim.

I was awarded a goodwill gesture of 5,000 mles and they agreed that I was due compensation under the EY scheme so I will be recevieng a cheque for €600 shortly.

It would seem that a baggag carrier damaging a plane so that it cannot fly is not considered “exceptional circumstances”.

[Binman62]

AndrewR79…Great news. I have alwasy found BA customer relations to be sympathetic and quick to respond when they are clearly in the wrong. Delighted also to see that the EU compensation was paid as I thought it should have been.

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