I am suspicious of the flight change... I think it was done for financial reasons. CO is in the Star Alliance. The Star Alliance don't have any direct flights from LHR to NICE. BA is OneWorld. I think you paid for a 1 leg flight and got a two leg flight. As the second leg of your flight originated in London, you try and claim compensation under EU Regulation 261/2004. Write to Continental and claim your rights, specifically mentioning this law. Now, here is the good bit. In a ruling by the European Court in 2009, a delay of more than 3 hours is to be compensated as if it was a cancellation.
Quote:
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Articles 5, 6 and 7 of Regulation EC 261/2004 must be interpreted as meaning that passengers whose flights are delayed may be treated, for the purposes of the application of the right to compensation, as passengers whose flights are cancelled and they may thus rely on the right to compensation laid down in Article 7 of the regulation where they suffer, on account of a flight delay, a loss of time equal to or in excess of three hours, that is, where they reach their final destination three hours or more after the arrival time originally scheduled by the air carrier
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I think you are entitled to €250 compensation, although it is possible, depending how they measure the distance (ie, direct or via Munich), you may be entitled to €400.
Give it a try and let us know how you get on. You must cite the regulation, so the airline is aware that you are claiming your rights under EU regulations as your second journey was on a different carrier and originated in the EU.