[Tom]

I know I’ll need to claim back via Virgin. I’ll contact them when back in the UK.
I’m interested to hear other peoples experience as opposed to advice.

[Tom]

Good news. We finally got both bags. One was delivered to our hotel at 18.30 on the 14th and one arrived at 05.00 on 15th, three hours before I left New York for Chicago. Close call but very pleased to get my suitcase back.

[Tom]

Misty wrote:

@Tom such bad luck.

This might be a bit of an off the wall suggestion, but if two people have lots of clothes and you only have a shirt, could they maybe share some items with you to save all the aggravation of having to go out and shop and claim the monies back ?

Sadly, not possible. One of the bags belonged to my wife and one to my son, presenting a few size and gender issues if I were to try and use their clothes.

[Tom]

AndrewT wrote:

Obviously an unwelcome situation, but I too couldn’t help wondering what was in the three bags that made it.

Four passengers travelling for a month. We each checked one large bag. Each bag was individual to that person. The fifth bag (one of the ones that made it) was a bag of shoes and trainers shared between all passengers.

We are left with two people with all of their clothes, toiletries, etc. Two of us have nothing at all other than a selection of shoes.

[Tom]

JDB wrote:

Tom wrote:

Have you been affected by todays baggage issues at Heathrow? It would be useful to share experiences of how quickly people are being reunited with their bags. Where they were travelling to, etc.

Two of our five bags are still at Heathrow. Three made it to New York with us. Huge queue at JFK to report the issue.

Good luck to everyone affected. I literally have the shirt on my back and nothing else.

I’m sorry to hear this, but “literally” is a rather overused word these days – what happened to your trousers and pants?

I did get a few funny looks on the plane JDB. Is it customary to wear trouser when flying?

[Tom]

I’m guessing so probably not the most helpful reply, but the 4 nights will count as they start first. The 2 in London probably not as they’ll be the overlapping nights. However, I wouldn’t be that surprised if you get all 6 as they are different hotels.

I once got 6 qualifying nights from booking 3x rooms for 2 nights at the same hotel.

[Tom]

Retron wrote:

Incidentally I’m surprised that BA allow the scraper sites to do what they do – as they will be using accounts to repeatedly check every date for every flight, on a repeating cycle. If there’s money to be made from it you’d have thought BA would have offered the option for cash (perhaps delaying by 15 minutes or so for alerts), or maybe restrict the number of searches per account to a certain number per day (or per hour, per minute etc).

I would have thought BA charge for the data. They must have to provide a data feed for sites such as SeatSpy rather than SeatSpy manually searching each and every route every 5 mins.

Admittedly, this is just my assumption rather than any specific knowledge I have.

[Tom]

JDB wrote:

@Tom – aviation ADR cases aren’t published but, in any event, each case turns on its own facts and other decisions set no precedent. In view of the nature of the cancellations, I was rather surprised by your post of 20 June at 11.33 referring to some claims having been awarded compensation on the basis of the cancellations being an operational issue – you should ask wherever/whoever you got that info from.

The CAA’s view, which carries considerable weight even if it’s not binding, is that such cancellations did constitute ‘exceptional circumstances’. To the extent that there was a different reason for cancellation, waiting for three years to claim unfortunately doesn’t help in the obtention of contrary evidence.

https://www.caa.co.uk/media/i5yiuujb/15-july-guidance-to-industry.pdf

Thanks for the CAA guidance JDB, that’s pretty damning so I’m not feeling confident. I think my original comments were based on a response I got from searching via ChatGpt.

[Tom]

I’d keep it simple and stick with a European city break. 2/3 nights in early September. Is there anywhere you haven’t been? Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Milan, Madrid, Copenhagen, Nice, Zurich are all great places to visit. With £400 you could fly business class return and use points for hotels. If it’s a very short flight and you have status (lounge, etc) maybe consider economy and include part of the hotel costs within your voucher.

Recently went to Bilbao which was above expectation. Great food, enjoyed the Guggenheim, friendly locals, easy to get around. I think closest BA get is San Sebastián which is pretty close.

If you want long haul. Dubai or Antigua should both be accessible for £500 return in economy, so you’ll need to top up your voucher and find accommodation on top. You could get to New Orleans for £600 ish, that would be a nice trip.

[Tom]

JDB wrote:

@Tom – aviation ADR cases aren’t published but, in any event, each case turns on its own facts and other decisions set no precedent. In view of the nature of the cancellations, I was rather surprised by your post of 20 June at 11.33 referring to some claims having been awarded compensation on the basis of the cancellations being an operational issue – you should ask wherever/whoever you got that info from.

The CAA’s view, which carries considerable weight even if it’s not binding, is that such cancellations did constitute ‘exceptional circumstances’. To the extent that there was a different reason for cancellation, waiting for three years to claim unfortunately doesn’t help in the obtention of contrary evidence.

Thanks for the CAA guidance JDB, that’s pretty damning so I’m not feeling confident. I think my original comments were based on a response I got from searching via ChatGpt. I have a response that I’ll post below, but based on the CAA doc, I fear I’m clutching at straws

[Tom]

BA Flyer IHG Stayer wrote:

There really is no need to start a new thread on this.

I’ve already posted my advice on the original.

The cancellations of your flight aren’t the same as mass weather ones where the airlines get to choose which are cancelled.

If you think you have a case then you need to make it. Other cases don’t set precedents you can rely on and will (a) be challenged by VS and (b) likely be ignored by the arbitor.

And both will know about the CAA document @JDB posted.

The reason I started a new thread is that it was a separate question and I didn’t want the topic heading to confuse what I was now requesting help with. The original question referred to calculation of the 14 day period. Luckily Virgin has conceded this point when submitting there defence.

[Tom]

I’m no expert on the issue, but I think due to the length of notice the airlines were given about the capacity restrictions it has been seen as an operational issue, when claims have gone to arbitration, and compensation has been awarded.

[Tom]

It was 2022 and was LHR to LAX. Reason given was:

“This difficult decision has been taken following recent passenger capacity restrictions imposed by Heathrow to support overall operational resilience.”

I’m pretty sure about the other details. I think due to the restrictions being notified to airlines quite far in advance, other claims for compensation have been approved. I have been looking at EU261 regs. I think the calculation for the 14 days excludes the day of departure, so for a 5th August departure they would have to notify me by 22nd July at the latest, but I wanted to check as I know lots of you have a more detailed understanding of the rules than I do

[Tom]

Found some issues with inaccurate data for AMS to LCY though. Not showing some seats that are available and showing some flights that don’t even exist. Would be happy to send you details if you want.

[Tom]

It looks good Charlie. I like that you can see individual flights on each day, how many seats on each at a glance. I also like that clicking in you can see aircraft type. I couldn’t see how to set up alerts.

[Tom]

charlie wrote:

https://www.flighttimecalendar.com/
Reward flight availability & alerts for BA, IB, VS and more soon.

Thanks Charlie, I’ll have a look. I have first class seat spy so might not be that useful for me.

[Tom]

What is flighttimecalendar?

[Tom]

Blair Waldorf Salad wrote:

Yellow taxis remain fixed price JFK-Manhattan each way. Usually undercut the apps. However you have to endure the scamminess of the drivers. Maybe I have been unlucky but 3/3 times this year I’ve had the driver try to scam me as if I didn’t understand the concept of fixed price. I have just given up and gone back to the apps for less stress.

Note that at present pick up is unavailable at JFK T4, T7 and one other terminal (maybe 5). The apps advise taking the Air Train to Howard Beach station and picking a car up there. Ignore that advice; instead if arriving at an affected terminal, take the Air Train to T8 or T1.

How much is the fixed price from JFK to Manhattan (time square area) in a yellow taxi?

[Tom]

I thought some sections of the road south of Monterey are still closed.

[Tom]

PCH is an amazing drive and if you go from SFO to LAX then you’ll be on the side of the road closest to the coast.
Some great advice above. I second the recommendations for the Kimpton Alton, in San Francisco. We really enjoyed staying there and remember them having a nice restaurant where we had breakfast. Alcatraz sells out quickly so make sure you book in advance. Really great tour. I’d say 3/4 nights is good for San Francisco, depending on how early/late you arrive on day 1.

We also stayed at the HIE in Monterey, which was ok. It’s definitely more about location as we found it a little bit dated overall. I would stay there again though as it was really convenient. Having looked at prices for a recent trip there, the IC seems to be a bit closer on price than it used to be and despite never staying there it has come well recommended to me. I’m a big fan or Monterey and would plan to stay for a night or two if you have time. Make sure you go and see the sea lions.

If you’ve got 14 days then I would look at heading east to see Yosemite. You’ll need to make a reservation during the peak months but it’s definitely worth visiting if you can.

If you’ve got young peopple with you or enjoy that sort of thing as adults, the beach boardwalk at Santa Cruz is worth a stop. It’s a great example of an original pier fairground with lots of rides, games and attractions. We also went to the mystery house in Santa Cruz which was a fun couple of hours although nothing you’ll be upset about if you don’t go.

Enjoy your trip, we loved doing the PCH

[Tom]

My understanding (and this might be a bit out of date now) was that not all Iberostar properties are part of the IHG scheme. Might be worth checking if the one you’re staying at is part of the scheme.
I would love to hear your experience and any extras provided by the hotel after your stay. I’ve never stayed at an Iberostar, but they look like they have some nice resorts.

[Tom]

Someone made a similar comment on the Marriott thread, about them trying to dodge their price match.

[Tom]

IHG do. I used it successfully to book rooms for a group of us visiting Amsterdam.
Have a look here:
https://www.ihg.com/hotels/us/en/customer-care/forms/claim-lowest-internet-rate

No idea about Hilton. Don’t use them enough.

[Tom]

Fair point John.
I guess it depends on your perspective. I would go the other way and say if I had a lot of IC stays in the pipeline then the renewal fee is a justifiable expense and you don’t need the free extension. I would save the extension for a period of low usage when I’m not sure if I want to renew or not.
In reality I just renew every year anyway and use that as a reason to travel and use my voucher.

[Tom]

OP- Have you considered contacting IHG. If you have been an Ambassador member for a while you might be able to get their ‘one off’ 6 month extension for free.
I’m guessing you’d still get the 15k bonus if you renew at the end of the extension.