Travel Question: Which carrier will pay for late flight?

Q I booked with British Airways to fly from Edinburgh to New York JFK and back. The BA flight was operated by American Airlines (AA). My return flight was delayed by 26 hours. I wrote to American Airlines seeking EU compensation, only to be told: “We’re not bound by that scheme, here’s some vouchers.” Do I have a case for flight delay compensation against AA or BA? It seems that BA can escape their responsibilities under the scheme by code sharing a flight. Doesn’t seem right.

Name supplied

A I am glad you have some vouchers after your long and frustrating delay, because I cannot see much hope for anything more.

British Airways and American Airlines are close partners, and “code share” on a vast number of flights. The term “code share” is a little misleading; they share the plane, not the code. British Airways applies a BA flight number to many American Airlines operations, such as the Edinburgh-New York link, while AA does the same on dozens of BA routes across the Atlantic and in Europe. The arrangement allows each airline to offer more route options than it could on its own.

You can book an entirely British Airways-operated itinerary through American Airlines – and, as you found, the converse. I trust that during the booking process with BA, you were reminded that you would actually be flying with AA.

By choosing American Airlines, you were surrendering half your entitlements under the rather unbalanced European air passenger rights rules. The regulations apply to all flights from EU airports, such as Edinburgh. But for flights from airports outside the European Union, they apply only to EU carriers. For delayed flights, whatever the cause, the EU rules stipulate you must be provided with accommodation and meals; and unless the airline can plead “extraordinary circumstances”, it must also pay €600 for long delays.

The fact that you booked through BA is irrelevant; what counts is who operated the flight. If the delay was due to American Airlines (rather than bad weather, a security issue, strikes …) and you can demonstrate actual financial harm, you could submit a claim under the Montreal Convention. But if the airline has offered a decent amount in vouchers and you can schedule a future trip, I would settle for that.

Every day our travel correspondent Simon Calder tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder