Is there anything I can do to get British Airways to cover the cost of a return flight?

Question

My wife and I were meant to fly from Vienna to London with British Airways at 11:05 on Sunday, 24 September. That morning we received an email from BA to say that the flight was cancelled, with no reason given. The rebooked flight was for 19:50 on Monday, 25 September. We had to get back to London on the 24th so I bought return flights with another carrier as there were no BA flights available.

I eventually got an official receipt from BA stating that the cause of the cancellation was "Operational".

My insurance company will not cover the cost. It says:

If I may refer you to the policy wording under Section 4 Page 32 (Travel delay or Abandonment) where it states that:

"If your outward or return flights, sea crossing, coach or train departure to or from your home country, which is due to commence within 36 hours after the departure date and time of the start of your outward or return journey, are delayed for more than 24 hours beyond the intended departure time (as specified on your travel ticket) as a result of":

a) Strike or industrial action (provided that when this policy was taken out, there was no reasonable expectation that the trip would be affected by such cause);

b) Adverse weather conditions if these are the underlying and continuing cause;

c) Mechanical breakdown of the aircraft, coach, train or sea vessel

As detailed above, the policy does not provide cover for flight cancellation/delay due to any reasons outside the policy coverage as stated above.

Also

The Airline/operator are legally obligated to compensate you for the delay with any additional travel and accommodation expenses incurred.

I contacted BA but they say:

I'd like to inform you that when a flight is cancelled, we offer passengers the options to either rebook, reroute or a refund of their tickets. Since, you made your own travel arrangements, I'm afraid we cannot reimburse the cost of your new flight ticket. I'm sorry to disappoint you.

However, I was never given any option to return to London with BA that day. As far as they are concerned I had to pay for another nights stay in Vienna and travel with them the next evening, over 32 hours from the original departure.

Is there any way I can convince BA that this was unreasonable and that they should cover the cost of the return flight?

BA did give me a partial refund for the return tickets and also the EC261 refund from BA. So I have received some compensation, but that is all that they will do.

Edit: This is the main text of the email from BA to say that the flight was cancelled:

We're really sorry that your upcoming flight to London Heathrow on Sunday 24 September 2023 has been cancelled. To get your travel plans back on track, you can review your options below: To help get your travel plans back on track, we've rebooked you onto the next available flight.

What do I need to do? Please let us know whether you'd like to travel on this flight by selecting 'accept' in Manage My Booking. You can review other available flights and also claim a refund here too.

Your new flight details are saved under the same booking reference number: XXXXXX. You can find useful information at ba.com/helpme, however if you'd like to talk to someone, please call us and we’d be happy to help: 0800 727 800 - if you're calling from inside the UK +44 203 250 0145 - if you're calling from outside the UK We ask that customers only make their way to the airport if they have rebooked onto a new flight.

Edit: I did 'accept' and cancelled the rescheduled flight and then got a refund of the unused portion of the ticket.

Answer 1

The airline has to give you the choice between:

• re-routing at the earliest opportunity
• re-booking (later, at your choice)
• a refund

In their e-mail, they made a suggestion of a possible re-routing, and pointed you towards their website which gives you all these options, but with a caveat, which I'll discuss below.

Once you have chosen an option, that's it (unless the new flight itself gets delayed or cancelled, and then the whole process starts again). You chose a refund, and they paid the refund, so for them, the case is closed, they have fulfilled their obligations.

Here's the caveat: they didn't really suggest a re-routing at the earliest opportunity.

"At the earliest opportunity" really means that.

• If they have to upgrade you to fly you earlier, they should.
• If they have to re-route you on a partner airline, they should.
• If they have to re-route you to nearby origin/destination airports and you are OK with it, they should.
• If they have to re-route you via a third airport and that makes sense and you are OK with it, they should.
• And in some circumstances (generally if there are no other options the same day), if they have to book you on another airline, they should.

So they didn't really fulfil all their obligations by not offering the option of rebooking you on the flight you found independently.

The UK's CAA, who is their infinite wisdom compiled relevant case law and issued guidance tell us (emphasis mine throughout):

C-354/18 Rusu v SC Blue Air — Airline Management Solutions SRL

The case of Rusu v SC Blue Air4 confirms that Article 8 requires airlines to offer passengers the option of reimbursement or re-routing. It also states that airlines must provide comprehensive information to passengers about the re-routing options, including flights on other airlines, to allow them to make an informed choice. The Court also found that there was no obligation on the passenger to do their own research to find information on alternative flights. In addition, the Court found that airlines were responsible for offering and organising re-routing and had the burden of proving that the re-routing offered was at the earliest opportunity.

(...)

European Commission Interpretative Guidelines

(...) The air carrier has to bear the costs for re-routing or a return flight, and must reimburse the costs for the flight borne by the passenger where the air carrier does not comply with its obligation to offer re-routing or return under comparable transport conditions at the earliest opportunity

(...) re-routing should be offered at no additional cost to the passenger, even where passengers are re-routed with another air carrier or on a different transport mode or in a higher class or at a higher fare than the one paid for the original service

(...)

Guidance on identifying re-routing options, including on other airlines

(...) However, in circumstances where there is no re-routing option under Article 8(1)(b) on its own services or, where applicable, on the services of its partner airlines, on the same day as the original flight and via the same route, the CAA’s view is that the airline should next seek to identify re-routing options on the services of alternative airlines on the same day as the original flight and via the same route. If such a re-routing option is available, affected passengers should be offered the choice of this option at the same time as they are offered the choice between the options set out in Article 8(1)(a), (b) and (c).

So they didn't do their job, and they're still on the hook. If you hadn't received a refund, they would have to reimburse you the full cost of the new flight. But since they issued a refund, they owe you the difference between that refunded amount and the cost of the new flight.

But expect them to fight tooth and nail to try to avoid that. Good luck!

Answer 2

The ticket is covered by EU 261 and hence BA should be liable to

1. Refund of the unused portion of the ticket
2. Delay compensation (assuming you got to London sufficiently later than planned)

BA DID inform you about your options:

Please let us know whether you'd like to travel on this flight by selecting 'accept' in Manage My Booking. You can review other available flights and also claim a refund here too.

If you did not actively select any of these option, BA may claim that you "silently" accepted the new flight and that you were a no show. They probably did hold the seats for you, so they may be able to claim they fulfilled their part of the contract at non-trivial cost (since they didn't resell those seats). Whether that would hold up in court or not is anyone's guess.

BA will not reimburse you for the new ticket. I suggest filing a EC261 claim with them and then see what happens.