Ryanair is not alone in allegedly cheating passengers out of millions of euros in compensation for flight delays. According to UK consumer magazine Which?, Norwegian, Thomson and Emirates are among the worst offenders, along with British Airways.
Passengers flying from the EU or with an EU airline are entitled to €250 (1,500 km or less), €400 (more than 1,500 km within the EU) and €600 (all other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km).
BA had 1,166 flights delayed by more than three hours last year and was advised by the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority to pay up in 48 percent of cases.
One of the problems is that airlines in Europe have 28 get-out clauses when it comes to paying compensation for delays, including the catch-all “operational reasons”. However, there are several specialist agencies that can take up the case for individual passengers and push a claim for compensation directly with the airline, albeit taking a hefty commission in the process.
In the meantime, there is more trouble looming at BA this summer with the latest strike of cabin staff having started on Saturday, July 1.
Howard Beckett, Unite Assistant General Secretary, said that BA has penalised cabin staff who went on strike earlier this year and promised that the latest stoppage will last for 16 days.
He added: “Unite believes the divisive way British Airways has targeted striking members of cabin crew is unlawful. The airline should be under no illusion of Unite’s intent to pursue justice on behalf of its members all the way to the highest court in the land.”
There have been 26 days of strikes at BA since January cantered on pay differences between “mixed fleet” crew (those who joined BA after 2010) and longer-serving cabin crew. It remains to be seen how much disruption the current strike will have on BA’s European routes.