BMI Baby cancels Cardiff - Almeria route

fan-of-ezio

help!!! I have tickets to fly BMI Baby in September from Cardiff to Almeria. I have found out that they have cancelled the route for the entire season, but they insist that anyone who has bought tickets will still be travelling!

Does this mean they are going to transfer my ticket to another airline? The only other flights to Almeria I can find go from Gatwick or Stansted, and I can't get there!

Or are they going to send me from Cardiff to Malaga or Alicante, both of which are 3 or 4 hours drive from Almeria so i don't want to go there either!!!

What rights do I have in getting my money refunded? I have also heard that they don't like to refund credit card charges (which were as much as one of my flights!).

Has anyone any suggestions?

omelette451

Have you asked the airline what's happening, or have you just heard it from someone else?

The answer depends what the airline has decided will actually happen. If there is an alternative service you can go on, whether on the same or on a different airline, they'll probably just transfer your booking across. If the transfer option is for a different time or a different airport you will be entitled to a full refund of the price paid if you decide you no longer wish to travel. You may need to ask for this but you will definitely get it, including any fees paid. If they offer a flight from a different UK airport or to a different Spanish one they should offer to provide a free connection (or agree to pay your expenses), and while you should obviously consider this carefully first, remember that they can't force you to take it and must offer a refund if you decide it's no good.

richardw

Have a look at https://www.bmibaby.com and see if the timings to Murcia are similar to the ones you have to Almeria on the same dates.

fan-of-ezio

Cheers Omlette451! Yes, I have spoken directly to BMIBaby. Couldn't really get any answers from them, even after speaking to a 'manager'. They just said they would be notifying customers by email at some point (I dread to think how many email systems will 'spam' this message and leave passengers unaware of changes.) I shall just have to wait to see what they have to say.

richardw: Cardiff to Murcia flights would be an OK alternative on the outbound, but they don't fly this route on they day I want to return.

omelette451

fan-of-ezio wrote: »

Cheers Omlette451! Yes, I have spoken directly to BMIBaby. Couldn't really get any answers from them, even after speaking to a 'manager'. They just said they would be notifying customers by email at some point (I dread to think how many email systems will 'spam' this message and leave passengers unaware of changes.) I shall just have to wait to see what they have to say.

In that case you're best off waiting until they email you. If you think it may be sent to your junk folder change the settings now, or look at the confirmation email and add the address they use to your safe list (in case they use the same one again). When you get it you will know what your options are, but by the sounds of it the airline itself hasn't yet decided what they're going to be so you're not going to get anywhere with them now. In any case though, just remember that they have to offer you a refund if you're not happy with the alternative provided and you'll be fine.

Jans

Hi

We also found out the flights to Almeria from Cardiff have been cancelled but only because we were looking to purchase an additional ticket. The call centre is in India and not very helpful when phoned. We were told an email would be sent in a couple of days and they are going to refund all passengers minus the credit card charge. My husband said he didnt agree with this and was told to contact Customer Services, however no phone number for this only and address. We took the plunge and have booked more tickets with Monarch from Birmingham but costing over £300 more, if we had booked them at the same time as the BMI tickets it wouldnt have been so expensive. I am appalled that airlines can cancel without letting their passengers know. One of our relatives is flying three times from next month until August with them and they havent been informed of the cancellation either. We have taken a chance with the booking of other flights as we dont know we are definitely getting a refund but did ring Cardiff Airport who also confirmed BMI have cancelled all Almeria flights.

omelette451

Jans wrote: »

We were told an email would be sent in a couple of days and they are going to refund all passengers minus the credit card charge. [...] I am appalled that airlines can cancel without letting their passengers know.

They can't - by law they have to tell people about it. And as you yourself said, they're planning to do just that by sending an email. I know it's annoying but sometimes you just have to be patient: there will be a reason they haven't sent it yet, most likely it's that they're still considering whether there are any practical possibilities to offer to transfer people to other flights and not just say 'tough luck'.

And just so you know, if you do take the refund they must offer a full refund of the price paid, which will include any card charges.

dzug1

omelette451 wrote: »

They can't - by law they have to tell people about it. And as you yourself said, they're planning to do just that by sending an email. I know it's annoying but sometimes you just have to be patient: there will be a reason they haven't sent it yet, most likely it's that they're still considering whether there are any practical possibilities to offer to transfer people to other flights and not just say 'tough luck'.

And just so you know, if you do take the refund they must offer a full refund of the price paid, which will include any card charges.

Regardless of whether they 'must' offer a full refund, in reality they don't offer it.

omelette451

dzug1 wrote: »

Regardless of whether they 'must' offer a full refund, in reality they don't offer it.

True. OK, to clarify what I said, they may not offer a full refund inclusive of card charges but they must (and will) provide one on request. They can't punish people who haven't broken any rules!

nil_desporandum

fan-of-ezio wrote: »

help!!! I have tickets to fly BMI Baby in September from Cardiff to Almeria. I have found out that they have cancelled the route for the entire season, but they insist that anyone who has bought tickets will still be travelling!

Does this mean they are going to transfer my ticket to another airline? The only other flights to Almeria I can find go from Gatwick or Stansted, and I can't get there!

Or are they going to send me from Cardiff to Malaga or Alicante, both of which are 3 or 4 hours drive from Almeria so i don't want to go there either!!!

What rights do I have in getting my money refunded? I have also heard that they don't like to refund credit card charges (which were as much as one of my flights!).

Has anyone any suggestions?

I had booked 3 flights on this service for this year a total of over £600, did not know anything until Friday evening when received e-mails. If you check Cardiff Airport the service has disappeared before it started in May and a new service from East Midlands to Almeria is being publicised, Great yeh! I have had to booked from other airports at increased prices because of booking so late. BMI Baby appear to have a history of this and I think anyone booking East Midlands should be aware of this. In the meantime I have demanded a full refund (inc. credit card fees) within 7 days as is stipulated in Article 8 of the [FONT=&quot]EU Flight Delay Regulations 261/2004.

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kchad

I'm in the same boat as all of you. Booked my flights to Almeria from Cardiff in March, booked accommodation separately and now they have cancelled saying that I can have my money back within 28 days! Well I need to book another flight and don't have £500 hanging around to book the extra flights!!
They didn't give me any alternatives just an email saying they've been cancelled and
I have phoned consumer direct today for their advice and will be calling the Air Transport Users Council tomorrow.
What are operational reasons anyway? Just that they didn't sell enough flights. I am fuming!! Do they think we just have money to spend on other flights while they get more interest on our money in their bank accounts?
I want my money back now!!!!! And I want my £20 credit card fee. If we don't get our cc fees back shall we all get together and take them to county court? I'm up for it!! GRRRRRR!!!!!!! :mad: