Chat thread – Tuesday 19th September

[BA Flyer IHG Stayer]

They will pay for the buggy but not any compensation for inconvenience.

[JDB]

byronlewis wrote:

Hello, any thoughts on a lack of ground handling staff being a reason for EU261 compensation? A group of us had a flight with Lufthansa from BHX to MUN last week at 7am. The previous night at around 10pm the cancellation came through via e-mail. This was picked up at 2am by one of the group and we then got on to Lufthansa. They rebooked us all on the the much later 1745pm flight, which we took as we had no other option.

Their response reads ‘The reason for the flight irregularity was Ground handling. Unfortunately we have no influence over circumstances, which are the responsibility of third parties. Such a flight irregularity does not warrant a claim for damages against Lufthansa. Please understand that we do not assume any liability for situations for which we are not responsible’

If they knew the night before, wouldn’t they have had overnight to sort this out? I assume they use agents at BHX??

Anyone had success with this sort of problem?

Thanks in advance!

This is pretty dubious. If the ground handling staff were LH’s own contracted agents/ground handlers then it’s exactly the same as if they were LH employees; it makes no difference that they work for another company.

It seems highly unlikely but if they were claiming that the cancellation related to a shortage of BHX airport staff, ATC staff or similar then they might have an ‘extraordinary circumstances’ get out. I would challenge them to specify which ground handlers they are claiming was insufficient staffed and if they don’t cooperate you will have to take them to MCOL or söp.

[DollarBill]

NorthernLass wrote:

What cabin do you want to fly in? Unless it’s F, there’s no saving by doing this as all other cabins now benefit from RFS pricing.

But if F – how are you doing the booking? You should be able to just put DUB-XXX into the search for avios seats and it should price up accordingly.

If you’re seeing higher cash amount than you expect, you may have too long between the DUB and LHR departures, I think this would need to be less than 24 hours?

Remember there will be a small avios and cash charge for the DUB-LHR leg as it’s not a domestic connection.

You don’t need to do this via a booking agent and also it’s probably not a great idea to draw attention to what is probably something BA may decide to rectify at some point!

Thanks for the help NorthernLass, cabin will be J. CE first and then CW as no F out of Dublin to LHR. It’s a open jaw redemption of a two for one Amex voucher so I need to book through the agent rather than a standard avios booking online.

There has been a good few insightful articles over the years on H4P about starting a journey in Inverness/Jersey/Dublin to avoid the tax so not really drawing attention to any secrets. As the quote was over the phone, it’s probably best if I ask whether they can email the breakdown of charges to see if the LHR connection is charged correctly.

[JDB]

@DollarBill as @NorthernLass says above, with the advent of RFS, the previous APD savings departing from those places have been eroded as it’s built into the extra Avios now charged, plus from Dublin you have to pay extra for the first leg, the cost of getting there, maybe staying overnight and a connection risk. Dublin works a lot better as a departure point for cash fares.

[degsy]

Amy C wrote:

Currently in Aspire lounge Belfast city. It’s lovely! Food and drink offerings are wonderful too. Only flew into Belfast this morning and am already leaving in a couple of hours. Wanted to do the Titanic Experience. Well worth it.

Quality city. We (3 couples) went for three nights in March this year – cracking weekend. As you say, the Titanic Experience is great, one of the best UK tourist attractions (imo).

[strickers]

@ross No change in the availability for Rio tomorrow. Still 1 in J.

[AJA]

@ross I do hope you get 2 seats next to each other in Club! Do let us know how you get on.as we can also advise if you do get downgraded.

If they do that at check-in ask the checkin agent to make a note that you’ve been downgraded against your wishes and that you’re only accepting in order to not be off-loaded.