Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Thomas Cook ONLY

David_e wrote: »

I see what you are trying to do and forewarned is forearmed. Having said that, to some extent you are playing them at their own game by arguing about the frequency of a particular fault.

Para 26 of Wallentin says (my emphasis):

"technical problems are covered by those exceptional circumstances to the extent that they stem from events which are not inherent in the normal exercise of the activity of the air carrier concerned and are beyond its actual control"

That basically says, forget what the technical problem was, what matters is the event(s) that caused the problem. If it was wear and tear, unexpected failure (excluding reported manufacturing defect) or anything else that happens in the routine course of operating a aircraft it's not EC. It doesn't matter if it's a blocked toilet or a misaligned outboard turbo thrust flange valve bracket edge trailing flap aileron unit which only fails once every time Halley's comet comes round - it's not EC!


Judge Platts in Huzar summarize the same point - and doesn't even make mention of what the fault was:

"Against that background I am persuaded that in this case the cause of delay or cancellation was the need to resolve the technical problem which had been identified. That being the case, in my judgment it does not matter how the technical problem was identified. Whether it was identified by routine maintenance (as was the case in Wallentin) or as a result of a warning light during flight (as in the present case) seems to me to be irrelevant. Equally and for that very reason the fact that it was unexpected and unforeseeable is also irrelevant. The reality is that once a technical problem is identified it is inherent in the normal activity of the air carrier to have to resolve that technical problem. Further, the resolution of the problem, as was demonstrated in this case, is entirely within the control of the carrier."

Whatever else you do, just make sure you don't lose sight of the law which supports your interpretation!