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4h delay on BA364 to Lyon tonight… as I write this the plane still hasn’t left the tarmac.
Small silver lining, I thought, with the EU compensation. But then they said the reason was thunderstorms… is there any way of checking how much of the delay was due to weather and how much due to BA incompetence?
Is it even worth me submitting an EU261?
Don’t bother. Big disruption yesterday due to weather. 4 hour delay for me sat on tarmac awaiting a slot due to thunderstorm at LHR.
I hope the pilots made up for some of the delay and that both of you got to your destinations rather sooner than the 4 hour delay.
You could submit a short 2 sentence claim expecting a refusal on the basis of the weather. It is up to BA to justify the reason for refusal.
But personally I wouldn’t bother as I think it’s bad form to waste BA’s time on what is more than likely to be a negative result and clearly was weather related.
BA doesn’t like delaying aircraft any more than you do as a passenger. It screws up so many things, not least for the cabin crew, who must also be as frustrated as you were at the delay.
But they delay aircraft because of the best of reasons – safety. No one wants an aircraft to crash.
I remember years ago being on a Lufthansa plane that was delayed on departure from FRA because it needed de-icing a second time due to an earlier delay when they missed their departure slot. The passenger next to me was particularly annoyed and was vociferous about the extra delay. He tried to get the attention of cabin crew to make a complaint until I turned to him and explained that if the pilot did as he requested and took off without de-icing we would probably make it as far as 1km from the airport before crashing. And that I would far rather be delayed another two hours, if necessary, rather than die attempting to leave ASAP. It shut the passenger up and I got a round of applause from my fellow passengers and, on landing at LHR, as I left the aircraft the pilot personally thanked me for handling him.
We were delayed 4 hrs from CPH last night. I decided to submit an EU261 claim with full knowledge that it will be turned down. We sat over 2 hrs on the tarmac in CPH (not sure why they didn’t let us sit in the terminal/lounge instead), with the usual small water/pretzels for subsistance and another hour at LHR waiting for a gate. In total 3+ hrs on tarmacs, under 2 hrs of a flight…
We were so late, we missed the last Piccadilly line train, so had to battle with the ride-sharing apps to make our way home. I put in a claim for transportation costs, and I’d be very pleased if that’s the only thing that gets reimbursed.Appreciate BA has no desire to keep us waiting for longer than needed, but equally I feel they could have handled this a bit more effectively.
Totally agree AJA. Happy to seek compensation and recompense when due, but non legitimate claims dilute worthier claims.
Several people deplaned last night rather than wait it out, this didn’t help as pilot could not reconfirm a slot until baggage offloaded. Tried to explain to several passengers that by aborting thier journey that they may loose BA’s duty of care and rerouting. One passenger offloading and shouting odds at crew who tried hard to look after passengers, particularly deserves to find themselves stuck and out of pocket!
B lounge comfortably busy and chilled this morning.
But personally I wouldn’t bother as I think it’s bad form to waste BA’s time on what is more than likely to be a negative result and clearly was weather related.
BA doesn’t like delaying aircraft any more than you do as a passenger. It screws up so many things, not least for the cabin crew, who must also be as frustrated as you were at the delay.
We sat over 2 hrs on the tarmac in CPH (not sure why they didn’t let us sit in the terminal/lounge instead)
MZB, this is so the aircraft is ready to depart should a slot time change and comes forward which it frequently does.
We sat over 2 hrs on the tarmac in CPH (not sure why they didn’t let us sit in the terminal/lounge instead)
MZB, this is so the aircraft is ready to depart should a slot time change and comes forward which it frequently does.
Yes, it is absolutely not in the interests of the passenger (or BA) to have people sitting in the terminal in these circumstances. An estimated slot won’t be confirmed, nor a new one given until the captain advises the aircraft is ready to push back.
It’s particularly important to have everyone on board with weather related issues as it can be very dynamic. Clearly, if there is a specific issue causing delay with a clear time identified, it is better to be in the terminal.
Several people deplaned last night rather than wait it out, this didn’t help as pilot could not reconfirm a slot until baggage offloaded. Tried to explain to several passengers that by aborting thier journey that they may loose BA’s duty of care and rerouting. One passenger offloading and shouting odds at crew who tried hard to look after passengers, particularly deserves to find themselves stuck and out of pocket.
In the US, where they have relatively new tarmac delay rules, if you choose to deplane after the specified time, the airline has no obligation to let you back on. They can simply close the doors and go while you are in the loo. There is also a specific exemption that hold luggage can travel on the aircraft in these circumstances so as to avoid additional delay. You can thus end up with no refund and no luggage.
@MZB I’m not sure BA will pay your taxi costs home. Their responsibility is to get you to the destination airport. Which they did.
You’d have more luck if you were travelling outbound and were trying to get to a hotel but as you were travelling home I suspect that they will deny your claim.
Yep, appreciate all the reasons to board everyone and have us sit on the tarmac (especially before we take off), but I’d say the duty of care provisions were rather meagre on board.
Anyway, not one to battle it out, I am glad we made it eventually – still much more pleasant than my 10hrs on the tarmac 10 years ago at ORD :). It’s all about perspective I suppose.I think it’s bad form to waste BA’s time
I agree with much of your sentiment and of course I accept they didn’t WANT to be losing time and money on this flight, but equally… a bottle of water and bag of ready salted crisps for a 4 hour delay that wasn’t communicated is exceptionally poor. It was so delayed that it was at Copenhagen when we were meant to be boarding. You’d think they’d use their app / contact info to relay this, but no, they just leave people guessing and hoping.
It’s also annoying that most of their later flights I’ve been on recently are delayed by 1-2h… it’s never enough for compensation but always enough to cause so much waiting and annoyance.
@executiveclubber I don’t think BA people In Copenhagen know anything! Last month for my flight, they made a boarding announcement at the gate, people came down from the lounge and the gate agent had scanned a few boarding cards when someone rushed over to stop the process as the crew hadn’t arrived and ETA unknown! How they didn’t already know that is a mystery. The excuse for crew absence/delay was that they had been held up owing to the Copenhagen marathon road closures, but then of course most of the passengers faced the same issue and had arrived on time. Crew was extremely sheepish when they eventually arrived.
Vaguely off ropic but tarmac delays haunt me to the extent that I travel with the Trtl neck pillow, a neck fan, water and snacks. Even in the forward cabin, if the staff are strapped in you could be given nothing. And it can get very warm, hence neck fan.
+1 – we were diverted to another island a few years ago due to high winds and sat on the tarmac for 2 hours in sweltering temps. Ryanair, bless them, refused to supply any refreshments unless pax paid the full price.
You could try and get compensation for inadequate right to care, but how do you prove it and what’s inadequate to you might be adequate to someone else.
BA used to be great at duty of care and just rolled out proper food during long delays.
…pretzels for subsistance…
I’m sure there’s a joke in there somewhere! I think you meant “sustenance”.
You could try and get compensation for inadequate right to care, but how do you prove it and what’s inadequate to you might be adequate to someone else.
BA used to be great at duty of care and just rolled out proper food during long delays.
Bag of pretzels and water is nowhere near “reasonable relation to the delay” for a 4 hour delay. So if the crew are willing to sell stuff, pay and then claim back afterwards.
To give BA a bit of credit, they have given lounge access to my in-laws who missed their connection to MAN at 1000 this morning after being delayed inbound from BDA. They are having to wait for the first available seats which are not till 2105 so even the BA lounge is a lot better for them than sitting in the terminal for 11 hours!
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