Delayed and then cancelled flight

[Candor]

Hi All
Looking for some advice here
Me and my partner were due to fly back yesterday from Kingston Jamaica following a lovely 7 day trip
Flight was booked using 2 for 1 voucher (180,000 avios + £900)
Everything seemed to be running fine , even called from the longue to the gate on time only to be told the flight was delayed (7.45 pm local.time ) for an hour , 3 consecutive 1hr delays later we were then told the flight was cancelled due to a hydraulic leak
And so had to collect our bags and they would update us on what to do next
Once back in the departure area we were told that BA hasn’t got any hotels, transfers and so we would have to arrange it all and just await news regarding a new flight and reimburse it back from BA
Around 1am local time finally manage to get back to a hotel in Kingston with some very other friendly travellers
Most of the travellers were obvious on holiday as well in resorts well away from Kingston
New flight has been arranged for today at 9.20 pm local time so a delay of over 24hrs
We have collected all receipts regarding hotels, food spent , taxis etc
Anyone know what the next steps are regarding compensation and what to expect roughly regarding its a rewards booking
Thanks

[NorthernLass]

Have a look in the delays and compensation threads here for lots of good advice, but briefly it makes no difference that yours was a reward booking.

Make a note of who told you about the hydraulic leak and when because technical issues are not considered to be extraordinary circumstances and you should be eligible for the maximum compensation of £520 each for such a long delay. See also EU/UK261 threads on this.

There is now a very user-friendly online form on ba.com to claim for the various elements of this.

I hope your new flight departs without incident tonight!

[Candor]

Thank you , that’s very helpful

I hope so

Thankfully due to hotel status with Marriott have been able to secure late check out upto 4pm and also being in buisness longue was basic but comfortable enough to spend a few hours in so won’t have to worry about how spend 6/7 hours in Kingston or the airport terminal

[owjey]

Claim for the cancellation and expenses through BA’s website here: BA compensation page

There’s lots of information and how-to. The link to the actual form is at the bottom of the page. I claimed for a cancelled flight on the 24th, and they’ve already approved my claim. I’ve also had to claim for expenses in the past with similar luck. I know not everyone has had similarly smooth experiences, though, but there’s the link anyway. I’m glad you had a lovely stay in my other home country. 🙂

[SamG]

BA are pretty reliant on their handling agent in these situations so I’m quite surprised they couldn’t figure something out ! I think if they can’t find a couple of hotels that can take all of you it gets quite impractical for them to sort out.

But actually BA are very happy to pay hotel costs so it’s usually better to just sort yourself out somewhere and not end up coached an hr away to a flea pit anyway

As others have said once you’re back you can use the online form to claim your £520 compensation and your expenses back. If you want to complain about anything else do that separately, simple claims with as few words as possible get paid the fastest

Don’t forget to check any travel insurances as they often include cash payments for delays and cover any extra car parking etc