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Hi all, wanted to check some preliminary thinking regarding a slight hiccup en route to a BA Holiday in Corfu.
Corfu airport was closed on Saturday due to a biblical thunderstorm. We circled seeing if it would clear but ultimately had to divert to Athens. We then sat on the tarmac in Athens for hours while BA figured out what to do.
All in all we spent 8 hours on an A320. No blame to BA – totally caused by extreme weather. The pilot and cabin crew were superb.
When we deplaned at Athens it was chaotic. Multiple planes were in a similar situation. Ground agents announced there weren’t enough hotels to go around. With an infant and a three year old, we self-booked into a hotel to avoid the chaos. I’m confident it’s a totally routine UK261 claim for expenses. Not seeking compensation.
The next day we spent another 3 hours on the plane, 2 on the tarmac and 1 in the air before we arrived in Corfu 24 hours later than planned.
As a result, we lost a night at the hotel which was the subject of our very pricey BA Holiday.
My understanding of the Package Travel Regulations (reg 16(2)), is that a part refund is due to “lack of conformity”, and that this provision is not qualified in relation to extraordinary circumstances.
1 – can anyone confirm my assessment?
2 – any advice how to bring a dual UK261, PTR claim against BA? I can see there is a standard UK261 form (and my instinct is to keep the claims separate), but I cannot see a form for PTR claims against BA Holidays. Is that a case of writing a written complaint?
Many thanks
I agree it’s separate claims.
I’d do the 261 first as they can sometimes be slow, particularly after peak travel periods.@hingus2000 – it’s definitely two claims as the EC261 Article 9 claim is vs BA whereas the issue with the missed hotel night is something separate vs BAH. I do not believe that PTA2018 Part 2 Section 16(2) applies to your missed night. That section applies if there’s a failure to provide or a problem with the accommodation. You should write to BAH and ask for that night to be refunded anyway, but you may find they say it’s a matter for insurance which will then depend whether your insurer covers missed nights or only pays for any additional costs incurred. Your insurance may offer some modest sum of compensation per person, calculated on the length of the delay. Check your policy for both.
It’s worth noting that strictly speaking (although they may not look at it like that or be sufficiently joined up), as you are asking BA to cover the cost of your hotel in Athens, you would only be entitled to the difference in price/quality rather than a full refund. The purpose of the legislation (PTA and 261) is to indemnify you, not to enrich you (eg by double paying the night).
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