How I claimed my €250 EU261 compensation from British Airways
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A couple of weeks ago I was out of the office on a week long review trip (Ibiza, Madrid and Frankfurt … you may have read about it). As I wanted to be back in London for the weekend, I booked a Friday late afternoon flight back to Heathrow.
I got to Frankfurt, had food and drinks in the JAL lounge (the review of that is still to come) and boarded the plane on time. The crew did the safety briefing, the plane taxied around for a bit – and then stopped.
After a while we were told that the engine was broken and an engineer would have to look at it. He would decide whether or not we could fly to London.
What followed was a back and forth of information and decisions that went a bit like this: we will stay on the plane, we need to get off, we will wait, ok we will get off in a bit and go back to the terminal, [more waiting and crew serving water], we are going to leave now, ok we might need to stay in Frankfurt, LONDON IS SENDING A NEW PLANE.
As confusing as this sounds, I did appreciate that the crew gave us every update they had and that the captain came through the plane to answer questions.
After two hours on the runway the plane taxied back to the terminal. We were told that we’d have to be back by the gate in 30 minutes. I went back to the JAL lounge where the receptionist assured us that she’d make an announcement. After another hour the plane from London landed. Unfortunately there was no food on board but at least I didn’t have to spend another night in Frankfurt.
Claiming compensation
When I got back to the office, I decided to seek EU261 compensation.
Under EU law you can claim compensation for flights that are more than 3 hours delayed:
Up to 1,500km within the EU – €250
Over 1,500km within the EU and all other flights between 1,500km and 3,000 km – €400
All other flights – €600
Confusingly, flights TO the EU must be operated by an EU airline for your claim to be valid. Flights FROM the EU are valid irrespective of the nationality of the airline.
My flight was 4 hours delayed so I decided to make a claim. As Frankfurt is under 1,500km from London I was theoretically due €250.
How do you make your claim?
Unfortunately there is not an easy click through menu to claim your compensation on the BA website. You have to file your claim using the general ‘Contact Customer Relations’ form.
Bad IT design or a cunning plan to make it more confusing to claim? You decide …..
You need to go to this page of the BA website and fill out your personal details, flight information and a detailed description of your request.
I put:
‘I’d like to claim EU261 compensation’
The answers that followed on the screen did NOT provide me with immediate help:
…. so I clicked ‘Submit’.
Three days later I received an email from an Andrew Washburne apologising for the delay and informing me that
‘the distance of [my] disrupted journey (calculated in accordance with the Regulation) was less than 1,500km, and this means entitled to €250.00 in compensation. This equates to £213.86 in local currency.’
I had to go back to the BA website and enter my case reference number as well as my bank details for the money to be send to my account.
Three days later I received an email that the payment had been made and after another three days the money was in my account.
Conclusion
Once I had figured out how to make my claim the process was straightforward. A few emails back and forth and the money was in my account within 9 days of my initial contact.
The email mentioned the option of getting Avios instead of money, but it didn’t say how many. Rob’s recent article on BA’s Avios offer to people who are due €600 suggests that it would probably not have been close to 21,386 Avios (1p per point).
Flight delays are annoying, but when they do happen it’s good to know that it’s fairly easy – although not quite as easy as it could be – to claim the compensation you are due from British Airways.
How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (March 2024)
As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!
In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.
You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:
Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
British Airways American Express
5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £12,000 Read our full review
You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review
Run your own business?
We recommend Capital On Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.
Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa
Get a 10,000 points bonus plus an extra 500 points for our readers Read our full review
You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.
British Airways Accelerating Business American Express
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.
SPECIAL OFFER: You receive a huge 120,000 Membership Rewards points if you apply for American Express Business Platinum by 9th April 2024. You receive 80,000 points for spending £12,000 within 90 days and a further 40,000 points if you retain the card for 14 months. Click here to apply.
SPECIAL OFFER: You receive 60,000 Membership Rewards points if you apply for American Express Business Gold by 9th April 2024. Remember that the card is FREE for the first year. You receive 40,000 points for spending £6,000 within 90 days and a further 20,000 points if you retain the card for 14 months. Click here to apply.
American Express Business Platinum
Crazy 120,000 points bonus (to 9th April) and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
Huge 60,000 points sign-up bonus (until 9th April) and free for a year Read our full review
Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.
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