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Can someone remind me of the compo rules please?
Due to fly LGW to AMS next Wednesday. Flight was cancelled today. Now due to depart and arrive 5 1/2 hours earlier than the original schedule.
No indication of the reason for cancellation in the email or in flight status on the app.
Thanks
Can someone remind me of the compo rules please?
Due to fly LGW to AMS next Wednesday. Flight was cancelled today. Now due to depart and arrive 5 1/2 hours earlier than the original schedule.
No indication of the reason for cancellation in the email or in flight status on the app.
Thanks
It’s a bit messy as under EC261 you would be entitled to compensation if there are no ‘extraordinary circumstances’ which there probably aren’t five days ahead unless there is an impending strike or similar. Under UK261, there is no provision for compensation in respect of early departure which came in a post Brexit CJEU decision, so uncertain how CEDR or MCOL would address this.
Thanks @JDB that was the complication I sort of had in my mind.
I’ll put in the claim anyway once I’ve flown and see what they say.
Now a sort of what if question – if this was the return leg of a trip back to the EU (as opposed to mine which is the outbound) would the UK or EU rules apply?
Thanks @JDB that was the complication I sort of had in my mind.
I’ll put in the claim anyway once I’ve flown and see what they say.
Now a sort of what if question – if this was the return leg of a trip back to the EU (as opposed to mine which is the outbound) would the UK or EU rules apply?
Both apply in both directions, but you can’t bring an EC261 claim at MCOL. In principle CEDR should be able to consider both and the argument is that it can’t be the intention of the legislation and nor would it be fair that, for example, a Dutch passenger on your cancelled flights has greater protection than you. There is an oblique but possibly helpful reference to this unfairness in The Civil Aviation Authority v Ryanair DAC [2022] EWCA Civ 76 at paragraph 42 :-
“Mr Kennelly suggested that, were this Court to interpret the Regulation in the way that the CJEU did in Airhelp, there would be unintended consequences and perverse incentives, not least because the position of trade unions in collective negotiations would be strengthened in an undesirable way. However, in the context of international travel there is virtue in a passenger’s rights to compensation being the same whether his flight is from, say, London Stansted or Dublin. In fact, an air carrier which had to make cancellations as a result of a strike would have an incentive to cancel flights from the United Kingdom rather than European Union airports were we to accept Mr Kennelly’s interpretation of article 5(3) of the Regulation.”
I wouldn’t have accepted the earlier flights.
I generally am not able to travel earlier on any journey as I’m always so busy but given the lack of compensation for great inconvenience that could lead to, on principle I would not agree to travel earlier even if it were possible.
Did you consider refusing or did earlier happen to work for you?
You could have picked another London departure airport if that worked for you
The performance of the afternoon/evening LGW-AMS flights is pretty horrible as the aircraft is coming back off a Med sector that often picks up a long delay, likely slot related so they either run multiple hours late or get cancelled.
Not actually made the claim for this flight yet as only flew yesterday but it did prompt me to make another one for a flight a couple of months ago departing Arlanda to Heathrow.
Notified on 16 June of cancellation for flight on 23rd June so 8 days in advance.
Departure was 18.00 instead of 21.20.
Arrival was 19.40 instead of 22.45
So scheduled departing 3.20 earlier and arriving 3.05 hrs earlier
Claimed last Saturday. BA responded today saying they’ll pay £110.00.
@BAFlyerIHGStayer – thank you for sharing that. It’s very interesting that BA is acknowledging a liability which it could potentially wriggle out of, but then cuts the compensation by 50% which the original CJEU decision specifically says is not allowed…
“In addition, where a flight has been brought forward by a significant amount of time, giving rise to a right to compensation (which implies, inter alia, late communication that the flight has been brought forward), the operating air carrier is still required to pay the total amount (which is, depending on the distance, € 250, 400 or 600). It does not have the possibility to reduce any compensation to be paid by 50% on the ground that it has offered the passenger re-routing, allowing him or her to arrive without delay at his or her final destination.”
[Significant amount of time = more than one hour]
Thanks @jdb I’ll take a look at that when I get back home
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