I took BA to the small claims court last year because they cancelled the flight when they were short staffed and tried to claim it as an "exceptional circumstance".
I claimed the compensation, inconvenience, additional flight expenses, the court fees and a refund of the flight they cancelled, and got the lot paid before the case came up.
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When I had a flight cancelled, I made a claim for the European set amount. They tried to wriggle out of paying. So I sent them a letter stating I had sought independent legal advice (
google) and would pursue a claim if they didn't pay out.
Cheque arrived a few weeks later (without prejudice).Leave a comment:
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Cue predictable warnings from aviation industry that this will put prices up and cost jobs .........Leave a comment:
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Compensation from airlines - worth keeping a note
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2009...e-compensation
The judgment was given in December last year, when it probably became known to the industry, but was only formally published earlier this month. This has a personal resonance, as I suffered a Swiss International Air (SIA) cancellation on Boxing Day due, apparently, to a failed autopilot.
My compensation claim – I only sought out-of-pocket losses, not the full EU set sum – was initially met with the same response as the Wallentin-Hermanns'. A couple of stroppy emails did persuade SIA to pay up, but it was disappointing that the airline continued to argue this issue even after the European Court decision.
Airlines have no excuse now for not paying up; some will doubtless continue to try it on. Anyone encountering this who refers specifically to the "European Court case of Wallentin-Hermann v Alitalia" may impress the airline sufficiently so that it does not waste time trying to bluster its way out of paying up.
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