Compensation for delayed flights Discussion Area

mac54 wrote: »

richardw,

I am struggling to find seat width information.

If you dig around on the following website, there is info on TC seats on the 767

http://www.seatplans.com/airlines/Thomas-Cook-Airlines/classes/Short-haul-1

Don't be put off by the fact it says short-haul. On this page, you will find the info on Boeing 767 which TC tend to use for medium haul flights as well as short-hauls.

The seat dimensions are 29" (28" on short haul). These are the pitch of the seat (leg-room) rather than the width

On the following page, the info is given for its long haul aircraft the Airbus 330.

http://www.seatplans.com/airlines/Thomas-Cook-Airlines/seatplans/A330-200-20/classes

Here it shows the pitch at 33" for economy and 35" for premium economy. The seat config is 3-3-3 and 2-3-2 respectively.

So going from 35" to 29" is a dramatic reduction and TC will know this but will wish to fight you tooth and nail because of the cost implications.

Why not wait now and see what happens the week after next? If the ECJ judgment is not forthcoming, then suggest we should tackle TC again on this issue separately.

Now how accurate this website info is, I cannot say. But, and its a big but, we can now quote figures to them and they will have to correct if they are wrong

Hope this helps but do advise what you would like to do.

mac54 wrote: »

just had chance to check e-mails and saw ian41 had replied, many thanks. Is the seat width the primary distinction? I believed I had upgraded to a package of benefits.

just found this on the seatplans website.

The separate cabin is configured 2-3-2, like normal premium economy cabins, and seats are wider than those in economy.

mac54

For the A330, as I said to you in my post, the economy config is 3-3-3 and premium is 2-3-2 so we know the premium seat is wider - but at present we do not know the exact width.

For the 767, TC use a config of 2-4-2.

As the internal width of a typical 767 is narrower than an A330 by 0.5m, the standard seat in the TC 767 is not going to be as wide as the Premium Seat in the A330.

You are correct there are other benefits but pitch and width of seat are very important.

ian41 wrote: »

To help you decide whether the flight was delayed or cancelled, we need to know the date and time of the original flight and the time of the departure the next day.

It is likely to be a delayed flight but if you give chapter and verse, I will try to get it checked.

Despite the reply from robot1000, it makes a huge difference if it is a delayed or cancelled flight. A cancelled flight also gives additional passenger protection eg Article 8 provisions

If the flight is cancelled, then you can make an immediate claim from the airline and if you wish, take legal action through the small claims court again immediately.

Conversely, if it is a long delay, then you need to wait for the result of the ECJ deliberations on Case C-629/10 before you can claim from the airline. We have been waiting well over a year and there is a hearing in March 2012. We could get a decision then or maybe not until 2013 or 2014!

Whether it is a cancellation or long delay, the airline can put forward a defence of extraordinary circumstances and if it can prove it, compensation will not be paid.

If you give further information, I will check out the flight data.

Thanks for info

The original flight was CX252 on 28th January 2012 @ 11:25

I borded the flight and after sitting on the tarmac for 6 hours it was cancelled due to a technical error with the plane

The Flight i eventually took was CX252D on 29th January 2012 @ 15:30 (can't remember the exact time but it was 15:00 somthing)

I received an email back from Cathay Pacific offering USD50 "services voucher"

WHat should i do?

THeir email is as follows:

"
Dear Mr *

We write with reference to your email dated 19 February 2012 in relation
to your flight CX252 / 28 January 2012. Please accept our sincere
apologies for not getting back to you sooner.

We are concerned to learn of your experience with us. Unfortunately, a
technical failure on this flight was discovered prior to take off and to
ensure the safety of all passengers, the Captain made the decision to
cancel the flight and conduct a thorough inspection of the aircraft. I
agree that this was not the most ideal situation and we are sorry for
the inconvenience caused.

We understand that there is always a better and more pro-active approach
to take in handling any delay situations, and we are sorry that we let
you down on this occasion. We continually assess and seek to improve the
way in which disruptions are handled and your feedback is an essential
part of this process. Please be assured that the respective line manager
will look into this in order to make improvement and ensure that in
similar incidents, should they arise, inconvenience to passengers is
kept to a bare minimum.

Mr *, in view of the inconvenience caused to you, we would like to
offer you services voucher to the value of USD50, which we hope you will
accept together with our sincere apologies. Please note that the
services voucher will be sent to you under separate cover.

In closing, thank you for sharing your concerns with us and we look
forward to welcoming you on board our flights again soon when we hope
you will enjoy our normally highly commended service.


Yours sincerely

Shalini Pillai"

Thanks for the advice and sorry it took so long to reply.

I understand what you have said but flight CX252 on 29th January wasn't my flight, i was never booked on that flight.

I was booked on CX252 on 28th January, which was cancelled after heading the runway but before actual takeoff.

An additional flight, CX252D was then scheduled for the 29th which took all the passengers from the original cancelled CX252 the day before

Am i still wrong in thinking its a cancelled flight, especially the alternative flight they put me on had a different flight number and in their email to me they state that the flight was cancelled due to a technical error

Sorry if I'm being a bit dumb but obviously want to make sure on this

Thanks in advance

ian41 wrote: »

Unfortunate but as predicted. US Airways are hoping that you will go away. I would reply

1. rejecting their offer of a voucher - you will only accept cash

2. reminding them as you said in your first email/letter, that they cannot just claim extraordinary circumstances, they are required to prove it to you. Just mentioning a technical problem is plain stupid and in itself means zilch.

3. The rulings in both the Wallentin-Hermann and Sturgeon cases, emphasise the high standards that airlines have to meet and US Airways has not bothered to offer any specific evidence of a defence.

4. You can point out that you are aware that US Airways have had to cancel several flights over the past year from the UK to the USA all due to "technical problems". It is not an occasional event.

If it was me, I would say that if I have to take legal action, I would ensure that the court is made fully aware of

(a) US Airways record of cancelling flights from the UK due to "technical problems". This is not an isolated example which makes it even more difficult for US Airways to claim and prove extraordinary circumstances. Perhaps this is down to continued lack of investment in maintenace personnel at UK airports - as a result short delays to fix even the simplest problem become cancellations?

(b) US Airways willingness to offer vouchers but not cash to settle this claim.

If you are willing to do so, you should give them 21 days to give a satisfactory response before your wife files her claim in court.

Ian,

I have another response and once again you hit it on the head. They have once again claimed that no compensation is payable as all maintenance records are in order! They have however increased their offer of a travel voucher to $1000.

Clearly an acknowledgement of likely defeat in court, but I think I will accept this offer as we do have a further US trip planned later this year and it saves the possible hassle of a court case. I will ask them to confirm that any use of that booking voucher could be in my name rather than hers.

Many thanks for your expert advice on here as otherwise I wouldn't have known how to proceed.

Richard