Accommodation & Meals for Cancelled flight.

[luckyjim]

My daughter’s flight back from Switzerland today has been cancelled ‘due to a technical issue with the aircraft’. BA invited her to rebook onto a flight tomorrow which she has now done. They’ve made no mention of their obligation to provide accommodation and meals due to this delay.

What are people’s experiences in these circumstances? I’ve claimed compensation for a delay before but I’ve never had to claim reimbursement for the cost of an overnight stay. I’ve booked the Radisson Blu at the airport for her. Can I expect a battle in getting this reimbursed as it was not the cheapest option?

(Sorry if his has been asked before, btw, I did try google searching the thred)

[NorthernLass]

There are forms on the BA website to claim for these expenses; BA usually pays out without quibble as long as the claim is reasonable (which is relative, I imagine accommodation in Switzerland at the last minute isn’t cheap and they should take this into account).

For a technical issue she’s probably also eligible for cancellation compensation. IIRC, the claims can all go on the same submission.

[AJA]

BA is on the hook for hotel and food and drink as well as potentially for the cancellation. There is no official statement of how much they will pay for hotels but anything up to £200 for a night per person seems to be paid without quibble. They will pay more than that but it’s just a case of being reasonable.

Food and drink excluding alcohol will also be paid if it’s reasonable ie don’t expect to automatically get refunded if you spend £150 on a meal for one. I take the attitude how much would I like to spend and not be refunded and spend below thar.

[Froggee]

As above. It is believed that these forms are processed using AI so anything simple and reasonable with properly scanned receipts should sail through.

As an example Mrs Froggee submitted a claim for £219 for the Sofitel yesterday (for two passengers so well within the £200 per person) after her flight was cancelled and got the approval email back shortly after.

[John]

If all reasonable hotels are ridiculously priced, take a screenshot of what’s available in case you need to escalate it further.

[luckyjim]

Thanks all. Very reassuring. Some availability has come up on Swiss Air from Zurich so we are now looking at that. She really wants to get back today if possible.