I am trying to establish whether the delay, which caused them to arrive at LHR 24 hours late, is covered under the above.
According to the CAA website :
The information on this page only applies to flights covered by EU law. These must be either:
departing from an EU airport and operated by any airline
or
arriving at an EU airport and operated by an EU airline
That being the case, it would appear that the following journey might give rise to a valid compensation claim :
LHR - MS - CAI - MS - JNB - BA - CPT - BA - JNB - MS - CAI - MS - LHR
The delay was on the return leg.
The carrier whose flight was delayed was BA - an EU carrier but operated in ZA by a local franchise operator.
The ticketing carrier, and the one providing the long haul transportation was a non-EU carrier.
The passengers were ticketed through from origin to destination on one ticket and one PNR, with transfers in both directions at CAI and JNB which were compliant with Minimum Connection Times.
On the return leg, the BA flight from CPT - JNB was delayed for technical reasons causing them to miss the JNB-CAI-LHR. Egyptair said it was BA's problem as the delivering carrier (correct) and refused to offer any help. The BA offices at JNB were closed. The passengers booked and paid for their own overnight accommodation and were rerouted the next day, arriving in LON 24 hours later than scheduled.
This would give rise to compensation, as it was a long haul (>3500km) :
For delays of more than four hours, you can claim €600
What is unclear to me is the definition of 'the flight'. If they look at it as the CPT-JNB flight being delayed, then there is no valid claim, but in my understanding, the entire journey, i.e. CPT - LHR should be covered.
The legislation was drawn up, like everything else related to the EU, by people with limited practical experience of the industry, and is not clear on several points.
Specifically :
As the round trip journey began and ended in EU, then the reulations should apply, or can they wriggle out on the basis that the delay occurred on a flight departing from a non-EU country?
What is the definition of 'flight' in this context? Is it the delayed segment, or do they look at it on an origin to destination basis?
I have just spent some time on the 'phone with a friend who work in the relevant department of an EU carrier and from her perspective it would give rise to compensation, but the fact that the ticketing carrier and main transporter is a non-EU carrier somewhat muddies the waters.
Any ideas?