[Tom Otley]

Yes, quite right – we have one here

No deal Brexit and aviation

[IanFromHKG]

[quote quote=913719]it could be argued that BA is not a British carrier, but a Spanish one. Lawyers are going to be rubbing their hands in glee over this one.[/quote]

Sorry to disagree with you, capetonianm, but no, it couldn’t – not successfully, anyway. For the purposes of EU261 the determining factor is whether the airline is based in an EU member state. Post-Brexit, whatever its ownership, BA will not be based in Spain by any stretch of the imagination.

Bott & Co (with whom I have no affiliation) have quite a good article on the post-Brexit application of EU261 here. In OP’s situation, post-Brexit, EU261 would not grant compensation rights absent an international agreement extending its coverage to the UK.

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capetonianm

[capetonianm]

There are too many ifs and buts and unknowns to be able to take a firm stance.

Reading the (excellent) article from Bott and Co, for which thank you, it seems that post Brexit many short haul leisure travellers would remain covered, e.g travel between UK and EU on EU carriers. Ryanair is an EU carrier and I think easyJet will be. I appreciate that there would be gaps for business and long haul travellers.

There are far greater concerns at stake than EU261 compensation, that’s a small benefit, such as freedom from roaming charges, which I for one would gladly forego when the UK leaves.

[capetonianm]

Well done to LOT Polish Airlines. My son claimed for an overnight delay due to a missed connection in WAW. The inbound aircraft could not be deiced due to an equipment failure.

I suspected that the airline would, not unreasonably, claim WX as an exceptional circumstance, but he filled in the online form.and a couple of weeks later his bank account was credited with €250.

Vueling in the other hand ….. see you in court.

[PeterCoultas]

Interesting comments re BA being a Spanish or UK company… EU261 is potentially affected but also where a BA package holiday is booked it seems that IF BA is Spanish registered then ABTA & ACOL protections do not apply. What a mess.

[IanFromHKG]

[quote quote=920368]Interesting comments re BA being a Spanish or UK company… EU261 is potentially affected but also where a BA package holiday is booked it seems that IF BA is Spanish registered then ABTA & ACOL protections do not apply. What a mess.[/quote] (emphasis added)

It isn’t. It is a UK-incorporated company, and its Operating Licence is granted by the UK CAA

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PeterCoultas

[capetonianm]

I was rather surprised to read this comment about Edelweiss (Swiss) on AirlineQuality.com (I know that the site is generally a waste of bandwidth but that’s not relevant here).

………… it was impossible to get to Zurich in time to catch the delayed flight to Cape Town. Edelweiss offered no explanation, apology or assistance so had to rebook flights for my family and I, ……… as would now be arriving after midnight (meaning that we lost a day of our holiday as well). On our return I wrote to Edelweiss to request compensation only to be told that as they are a Swiss airline they do not need to do so and therefore would not – their reply as follows:

“Edelweiss adheres to the legal texts of the prescribed ordinances and we therefore stick to our previous statement. The legal text of Regulation (EC) 261/2004 does not provide for compensation in the case of delayed flights. For final clarification, we refer to the judgment of the district court Bülach, 02.02.2016, which has become legally valid and published: No compensation payments are due for late flights to and from Switzerland.”

I was under the impression that EU261 applied to Switzerland as if it were EU.

Consequently I searched found this :

For anyone departing from a Swiss airport or returning from a third country (not EU, Norway or Iceland) with a Swiss or EU airline, the same passenger rights apply as those in the EU. The National Enforcement Body for Passenger Rights is responsible for ensuring that the rights of passengers are duly complied with. The Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) monitors compliance with European Regulation (EC) 261/2004. This service is provided free of charge for passengers.

For which flights do passengers rights apply?

Regulation (EC) 261/2004 governing the rights of airline passengers is applicable in all Member States of the European Union. Switzerland, Norway and Iceland have also formally adopted this Regulation, so wherever the EU is referred to, this also includes those three countries.

Passengers rights apply to all flights:

departing from an EU airport
departing from a third country to the EU and operated by an EU airline

https://www.bazl.admin.ch/bazl/en/home/good-to-know/air-passenger-rights.html
Federal Office of Civil Aviation FOCA
Passengers’ Rights
3003 Bern

I know we have a couple of Swiss experts here. Any comment?

I would add that on behalf of friends I was able to get compensation for a delayed Vueling flight ZRH-LPA a couple of years ago.

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Ahmad

[Swissdiver]

Interesting. I always thought Swiss was voluntarily applying EU261/2004. But apparently not… So, the rule applies. Now we all know it is matter of interpretation. And Swiss courts will not accept EU courts’ ruling. It seems in the Bülach case that the court accepted force majeure, hence denying the compensation.

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Ahmad

[Author]

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