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This is the sister website to our main 'nostalgia' pages on Facebook...
and contains more in the way of basic information for everyone.
The same rules apply with regard to you having to be either current or
former crew with British Airways, its predecessors or associated companies.
Either way, if you have any queries, please contact us at:-
'crewsocial@yahoo.co.uk'.
Court rules against BA
A ruling by the UK's Supreme Court against flag carrier British Airways means passengers are now entitled to compensation if their flight is delayed or cancelled due to airline staff sickness. The legal precedent will likely lead to tens of thousands of passengers receiving mandatory compensation each year in a win for passenger rights.
When British Airways passengers Kenneth and Linda Lipton were delayed by more than two hours during their BA CityFlyer flight from Milan to London back in January 2018, they believed they were entitled to around £220 in compensation as per EU261 regulations. However, they were informed by the airline that because a pilot had fallen ill and couldn't show up to work, it constituted "extraordinary circumstances," and two British courts initially backed the airline's position.
However, the UK Court of Appeals reversed the decision and ruled in favor of the Liptons, so British Airways took their appeal to the highest court in the land, The Supreme Court. On Wednesday, five justices of The Supreme Court unanimously dismissed the appeal in a ruling that could impact thousands of yearly compensation claims.
The crux of the case was whether crew illness would count as extraordinary circumstances - in their judgment, Lord Sales and Lady Rose said:-
"If, for whatever reason, [staff] are unable to attend for work as a result of something going awry during rest periods, whether it is their fault or not, that failure to attend is not an extraordinary circumstance."
The ruling went on to state that the term extraordinary circumstance "must be given its usual meaning, which denotes something out of the ordinary," adding that employee sickness is "commonplace for any business." One of the justices, Lord Green, added that "the risk of non-attendance of workers is an inherent risk which any airline needs to cater for."
Law firm Irwin Mitchell, representing the Liptons, said in a statement that the decision was "a victory for people who are prepared to fight for common sense and justice against corporate behemoths who have access to every resource."
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for BA said,
"We are disappointed with this decision and respect the judgment of the court."