Cancelled / delayed flight compensation

I have just been reading an article on Money Saving Expert which says that you can claim compensation for cancelled or delayed flights dating back to 2005. I was on a flight VS77 from Barbados to Manchester in August 2009 which was delayed for around 12 hours. Does anyone know if I have a valid claim for compensation? The flight date was 31st August but should in theory have been on 30th if it had been on time. I have no record of my original flight reference, would there be any way of finding this out?

thanks

Whether you have a valid claim depends on whether the delay was within the airline's control.

So weather or air traffic control delays wouldn't qualify but crew shortages or technical problems should (although airlines are notorious for trying to wriggle out of paying).

You will need proof that you were checked in for the flight. As the MSE article explains:

"Passengers will need to prove they were at the check-in. The best way to do this is to either submit:

a) Your boarding pass.
b) Email confirmation of boarding passes being issued and other forms of acknowledgement if you don't still have your boarding pass.
c) If you've lost your boarding pass or other form of acknowledgement, ask the airline if it has confirmation you checked in. We've heard of success when trying this."

Thanks for the reply. I will have to try and get some paperwork from VA.

Just filled in the paperwork downloaded from VA website and within a couple weeks 4 nice cheques turned up. Thank you VA.