[IanFromHKG]

Thanks, f_c_p and LP. I had already written to NATS and will wait for their reply before deciding on next steps. I appreciate all the help!

[LuganoPirate]

Just occurred to me, you need to be searching “historical METARS EGLL”

Here’s a sight I use before travelling so I know what to expect that has historical data

http://www.sat24.com/history.aspx

[LuganoPirate]

Just occurred to me, you need to be searching “historical METARS EGLL”

Here’s a sight I use before travelling so I know what to expect that has historical data

http://www.sat24.com/history.aspx

[IanFromHKG]

NATS said they couldn’t help and suggested contacting the airport, but I couldn’t find any contact details for HAL that didn’t require telephoning a premium number, so I sent a carefully-worded response back to BA In which I said an enquiry to NATS elicited no information about ATC restrictions (technically true), pointing out that although lightning had affected some BA flights the strikes did not affect the flight in question or any other aircraft of the same type (data from thebasource.com), and stating that since the burden of proof in establishing extraordinary circumstances lay on the airline, my position was that they had failed to discharge that burden and wanted to press my claim. It took a couple of days for them to think about that, but this morning I received an e-mail confirming that they accepted my claim and are going to cough up EUR600.

Now, of course I am glad that they are finally providing the compensation, but I have to say that I am unimpressed with the way they have handled this so far. Were I not such a travel nerd I would not have known about thebasource.com to research the affected flights, nor about flightstats.com to get (very specific) data about the delay. I also suspect most passengers wouldn’t have had the nous or the experience to understand EU261 even if they knew it existed. To that point I might add that never, in any of the various cases where we have been subject to delays etc, have BA ever lived up to their legal obligation proactively to provide information about EU261 rights to affected passengers at the time.

Add to this the various attempts that BA made in this particular case to deny liability (wrongly, as it turns out), and it seems to me likely that there are many many passengers who for one reason or another are not receiving compensation or other assistance that they are legally entitled to.

Pretty poor show, really.

[LuganoPirate]

I’m glad your perseverance paid off Ian, well done. I’m not sure I’d have had the patience to go through that.

But you make a good point, how many of the travelling public know about basource, flightsstats, flightradar24, metars and so on? Not many I bet, but that’s what airlines count on!

[canucklad]

Airlines that generate their profits by squeezing pounds out their customers wallets with all the imagination of scrooge like zealots behave like this.

Other companies who see customer’s not as the enemy,but as potential future generators of profit don’t.

[Author]

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