Missed flight due to time change - whose fault?

dmg24

x3ja wrote: »

I'm not sure what you mean. We went to Morocco and spent a few days in Marrakech at the beginning and end of the holiday - that's where we flew to & from. We also went to the desert and the beach. The reason we went to 2 different RAM offices was because when we checked the flight times, we were in Agadir (beach) and then when we missed the flight, we were in Marrakech.
Does that answer your question, or were you getting at something else?

Yes, that makes sense now. Your OP reads as if your return flight was from Agadir, hence the confusion.

I would not put too much weight on the argument that you should have been at the airport two/ three hours before. This is only a recommendation to ensure that you complete the relevant formalities on time (and that you are not delayed), not to allow them to change flight times!

Did RAM offer you an alternative flight? Did you eventually fly with them or an alternative airline? Did you contact STA at the time of the problem, or when you got back to the UK? (Apologies if you answered this in the OP, my computer won't let me check!)

I am in two minds about this. You were clearly misadvised by the RAM representative, however their liability is limited as they were not a direct party to your contract. Therefore I do think it hinges on whether STA made best efforts to inform you of the change, and I fear that they did (even though the information did not reach you).

Rachel85

I have to say I am still mighty confused - I don't get how the time change is relevant. Surely when the clocks change here that's all that changes - I still have to get to work at the same time, tv programmes still start at the same time, trains (and dare I say it, flights) still leave at the same time, I'm not sure why there was ever a suggestion of the flight time changing (unless it was because the change in local time was at relatively short notice?).

However, regardless of this I'd say there are two issues you need to play on (I would leave the change local time out of it completely as its confusing and not actually relevant).

1. You did not receive information from STA regarding a change in flight time.
2. When you went to reconfirm your departure time with RAM they told an incorrect time.

I'd return to STA and RAM with these issues and see if you can get anywhere...

omelette451

twelfthknight wrote: »

An airline must contact a passenger regarding any schedule change at least 14 days in advance to avoid paying compensation, including to agency-booked passengers. The bit I'm unsure of (without checking) is that I can't rememebr if this is UK law or International law.

It's EU law. The bit I'm not sure about it whether it applies to non-EU carriers (I remember the American airlines kicking up a fuss when it was introduced, but can't remember whether they were forced to comply. I think they were but would need to check).

x3ja wrote: »

That's useful information - thanks. In this case they claim they attempted to notify us via email but we did not receive it. I wonder if their attempting to contact us (despite it being unsuccessful) would be enough to satisfy their legal responsibilities. Any ideas?

If it was in the original Ts&Cs that information about changes would be sent by email then I would assume that proof at their end that they sent one (or tried to send one) would be sufficient on their part, whether or not it was actually received. That's only a guess, but it seems logical to me. In any case it is definitely the agent's responsibility to contact you, not the airline's.

Apart from the possible lack of contact by the agent, which may well be an avenue to follow for compensation, I think the OP's 'problem' comes down to a simple misunderstanding about timings. It might seem hard to believe, but the time of the flight itself never actually changed; rather, the time in the country of Morocco changed (if you think of it all in standard GMT terms it was always the same, and its arrival/departure time in the UK was the same as planned). I think you were unlucky that the airline couldn't offer you a better transfer to an alternative return flight, but ultimately I think the 'mistake', as far as there was one, was yours. I wish you luck pursuing the matter with STA, but suspect you may just have to cut your losses and move on.

Cumbrian_Male

The way I see it is local time went from GMT +1 to GMT+2 therefore as the flight time UK- Morocco is still the same then the flight arrives an hour earlier local time.

Debt_Free_Chick

You're confusing things by suggesting that the flight left an hour earlier.

The departure time on the ticket is local time - wherever you are in the World, your watch needs to be set to the local time. Once your watch is in local time, you'll make your flight.

It sounds as though you didn't change your watch/clock. The flight still left at 12.10 local time.

x3ja

Debt_Free_Chick wrote: »

It sounds as though you didn't change your watch/clock. The flight still left at 12.10 local time.

No, this is incorrect. We had changed our watches to local time, and then had adjusted them for the hour change that happened whilst we were there. They were correctly set. The flight left at 11.10 local time, but the tickets said 12.10.

Anyway, on reflection I think I have to just acknowledge, as a previous poster did, that STA probably tried to contact us and between me and the local RAM office, we made a mistake over the time. So it's maybe just an expensive lesson learnt.

QQuaver

Did you have any travel insurance? Perhaps you could claim for missed departure?