Just back from a holiday where the return flight was 36 hours late, and was wondering if this qualifies us for compensation under the EU Air Passenger Rights.
According to the above we do "If your flight arrives in the EU from outside the EU and is operated by an EU airline"
The flights were bought from BA's website as a return flight with connection of both routes:
- Outbound: operated by BA, from point A (in the UK) to point B (in the US) via point C (also in the UK).
- Inbound: operated by American Airlines (under their OneWorlds alliance), from point B (in the US) to point A (in the UK) via point D (in the US).
The delay occurred in the D->A leg of the return flight, and was due initially to a very short rain storm (perhaps an hour). Then they identified a mechanical fault with the plane, tried to fix it, but then decided to bring a replacement plane. This could not be used for a few hours since the bridge ("sleeve") to access it failed to function. After a few hours they simply cancelled the flight altogether (we were told that a new crew - pilots + stewards, was also brought in and was available). No reason was given for the cancellation.
We were then re-booked onto a replacement flight from D to A via Amsterdam, resulting in a total delay of just under 36 hours.
Do we qualify considering that our contract was with BA, an EU operator? Or do they mean the airline that operated the flight in question, i.e. AA, and then I assume that we don't....