Compensation for flight delay

MrsBee_3

My son and his girlfriend we delayed for over 6 hours on an American Airlines flight from Manchester to Tampa (via Chicago). The delay meant that they missed the last flight out of Chicago and didn't get to Tampa till the following day.

I've tried contacting AmericanAirlines with no success and Opodo (the agent I booked with) - can't get through to either of them.
I'm wondering if they might be due any compensation for this delay.

Thanks in advance

thedriver

I had a similar problem a few years ago where the flight from manchester to heathrow was delayed, the airline did reroute me via san fransico, instead of LA, but I did end up missing the last flight out of san fran as I was flying to hawaii. The airline offered me nothing and I got nothing as it was due to adverse weather the delay occured.

However I did manage to claim from my holiday insurance as I was late at my destination by over 24 hours. This got me £200 compensation. This is worth a try.

Steve_xx

You may well be entitled to some compensation, depending on the nature and length of the delay. You would not be entitled to compensation in the event of an industrial dispute. See here for the details of what redress you may have:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4267095.stm

I believe it will be the case that as you made the contract with Opodo, that you will seek redress from them. They in turn may seek redress from American Airlines.

MrsBee wrote:

My son and his girlfriend we delayed for over 6 hours on an American Airlines flight from Manchester to Tampa (via Chicago). The delay meant that they missed the last flight out of Chicago and didn't get to Tampa till the following day.

I've tried contacting AmericanAirlines with no success and Opodo (the agent I booked with) - can't get through to either of them.
I'm wondering if they might be due any compensation for this delay.

Thanks in advance

Jaws_2

If you arrived at your final destination more than four hours after originally scheduled, you are probably entitled to compensation under the EU regulations. There are exceptions which the airline will not doubt try to use, but if it's their fault then they have to pay. This thread on holidaytruths.co.uk covers the issues:

http://www.holidaytruths.co.uk/viewtopic.php?p=727345#727345

Notice that I have just made a successful claim without having to resort to the courts - I'm Jaws on there as well (don't ask). I would strongly suggest that you make your claim by letter, so that you have an audit trail.

PM me if you would like more help - good luck!

MrsBee_3

Many thanks for all your replies.

They were over 6 hours late at their first stop which caused them to be 17 hours late at their final destination. The problem was a technical fault (apparently the plane had had to return to Chicago on it's way out to Manchester) and they had to wait for a part from London.

This was the first time they had travelled alone, were very worried about what to do, and although they were given an overnight room (note just one room although they are not married, engaged and are aged 17 and 18) they were offered very little help at the airport. We were due to meet them when they arrived in Tampa and managed to find out which hotel they had been put in and so were able to advise them on what to do.

My frustration arised from the fact that I can't contact American Ariways by phone, and have left several messages for Opodo to phone me back but as yet they haven't done so.

I plan on telephoning the Airline Users Council tomorrow to see if they can help.

Diana

WiseInvestor_2

As the delay was caused by a technical fault, it is highly unlikely that any compensation is due as the airline will plead 'extraordinary circumstances'. If the courts push the airlines to pay out for fixing aeroplanes, how long before an aircraft takes off when it shouldn't?!

You seem unhappy that AA put two unmarried teenagers in the same room but surely it's not up to them to police their behaviour - if they're old enough to travel round the world on their own they should manage a night in a hotel room. Airlines generally allocate 1 room per booking.

MrsBee_3

Hello Wiseinvestor

AA were aware that there was a problem with the plane when it left Chicago on it's way to Manchester where my son was due to board. I would have thought that they could have been prepared, with the spare parts etc by the time it arrived in Manchester rather than then having to wait till the part arrived from London.

And if I was travellling with a gentleman friend and was forced to overnight somewhere I wouldn't expect to share a king bed with him just because I was on the same booking. We were travelling out on the same day but with a different airline because our flight was booked up when they decided to come with us. We put them on the flight in Manchester and were due to pick them up in Tampa - they are both quite un worldly wise teenagers and I wouldn't have expected them to travel entirely alone.

Steve_xx

Technical faults of the nature that you describe are classified as "Acts of God". Therefore you will find that you will be unable to claim compensation for the delayed flight.

MrsBee wrote:

Many thanks for all your replies.

They were over 6 hours late at their first stop which caused them to be 17 hours late at their final destination. The problem was a technical fault (apparently the plane had had to return to Chicago on it's way out to Manchester) and they had to wait for a part from London.

This was the first time they had travelled alone, were very worried about what to do, and although they were given an overnight room (note just one room although they are not married, engaged and are aged 17 and 18) they were offered very little help at the airport. We were due to meet them when they arrived in Tampa and managed to find out which hotel they had been put in and so were able to advise them on what to do.

My frustration arised from the fact that I can't contact American Ariways by phone, and have left several messages for Opodo to phone me back but as yet they haven't done so.

I plan on telephoning the Airline Users Council tomorrow to see if they can help.

Diana

WiseInvestor_2

MrsBee wrote:

they could have been prepared, with the spare parts etc by the time it arrived in Manchester rather than then having to wait till the part arrived from London

Perhaps the spare parts were flown into London from AA's base in Dallas, hence the extended delay? Or perhaps the precise nature of the fault wasn't known until engineers were able to investigate in Manchester?

MrsBee wrote:

I wouldn't expect to share a king bed

The best way to get separate rooms is to make separate bookings so the airline is unaware you're together, although occasionally even strangers may be asked to share if there aren't enough rooms for everybody. Most hotels have some Twin Rooms.

Jaws_2

Steve_xx wrote:

Technical faults of the nature that you describe are classified as "Acts of God". Therefore you will find that you will be unable to claim compensation for the delayed flight.

That's what Kenya Airways tried with me, as well as the 'extraordinary circumstances' line, but clearly neither are correct for a technical fault, unless the fault compromises flight safety. I urge you to put your complaint in writing, as telephone calls will not give you a record that you can use if you have to make a claim in court. Also just state the basis of your claim in the first letter, and see what the response is. If they claim 'act of god' or similar, that line is easy to refute.

I found that contacting the ATUC was a waste of time. They just said that they noted that the airline claimed extraordinary circumstances. As far as they were concerned that was the end of the matter, and they made no representations on my behalf.

Write to the airline and keep writing - it took me six months to get them to pay the compensation, but the amount (looks like 600 euros pp in your case) makes it worth persevering.

One Q - do you have the reason for the delay in writing? If not, ask the airline for it.

Steve_xx

Jaws wrote:

That's what Kenya Airways tried with me, as well as the 'extraordinary circumstances' line, but clearly neither are correct for a technical fault, unless the fault compromises flight safety. I urge you to put your complaint in writing, as telephone calls will not give you a record that you can use if you have to make a claim in court. Also just state the basis of your claim in the first letter, and see what the response is. If they claim 'act of god' or similar, that line is easy to refute.

I found that contacting the ATUC was a waste of time. They just said that they noted that the airline claimed extraordinary circumstances. As far as they were concerned that was the end of the matter, and they made no representations on my behalf.

Write to the airline and keep writing - it took me six months to get them to pay the compensation, but the amount (looks like 600 euros pp in your case) makes it worth persevering.

One Q - do you have the reason for the delay in writing? If not, ask the airline for it.

I disagree with you. The problem described is an 'act of god' if it is as described and that as such, no compensation will be due. However, as you say, if you write to the airline (though in this case the op should take the matter up with Opodo) they may be prepared to offer compensation if a threat of court action is imminent. But on the other hand, they may not.