Diverted flight taxi fare refund

Littlemadam83

spiro wrote: »

If there were lots of diverted flights due to snow then the judge may well accept that it would be difficult for an airline to arrange several coaches at short notice at 10pm on a Saturday night.

Agreed.

The unscheduled airport is not a bas of Thomsons and the flight got rerouted what appears an hour before landing. It is late, airports start shutting down at 10pm, where are you supposed to get coaches from in the snow at that time of night? Although Thomson already have the contacts it is no mean feat drafting these drivers out at no notice, and I would expect to wait a hell of a long time, although not be happy with it. Of course Thomson were never going to leave people stranded there, but they are not miracle workers, it doesnt hurt to be patient, rather than take things into your own hands.

Also, not very MSE as you could have shared a cab or mini bus with others just as desperate

Incapuppy

I have to agree with Littlemadam83's way of thinking. Sometimes people need to accept that !!!!!! happens due to circumstances beyond anyone's control. The diverted travellers were not left there indefinitely; annoying and frustrating perhaps, but c'est la vie!

I think its ridiculous to expect Thomson's to fork out £300 on a private taxi fare.

mystic_trev

I've got to agree with the above. It looks like Thomson have met the legal obligations regarding onward travel to Gatwick. I'm actually surprised they managed to get the coaches that quickly!

bagand96

I have to agree with Littlemadam83's way of thinking. Sometimes people need to accept that !!!!!! happens due to circumstances beyond anyone's control. The diverted travellers were not left there indefinitely; annoying and frustrating perhaps, but c'est la vie!

Sense!

People need to sit down for 5 minutes and actually think about the scenario. Gatwick, as well as many other airports were closed. Thomson, through no fault of their own, couldn't operate to Gatwick and the flight ended up at Doncaster, this was probably one of the only airfields available to them to put their aircraft down.

So Thomson find themselves in Doncaster. Its a very quiet airport with very little airline traffic, and it was late at night. Probably minimum staffing on at that time, and the place doesn't have the infrastructure somewhere like Gatwick does. I would suggest getting coaches for 180 odd people that late at night was no mean feat.

Granted, it wasn't ideal being delayed for so many hours, but they said they would provide onward transport, and they did. The entire country was in chaos due to the weather. Would the OP prefer to have been left in Lapland? At least Thomson operated the flight.

The hotel is inconsequential and nothing to do with Thomson either way.

mcc100

Most hotels offer late checkouts for a fee.

I'm sure that if you had called the hotel and explained your situation they would have offered you the chance of a late checkout, which would certainly not have cost anywhere near the £324 you would have had to pay for an extra night.

Gert_Lush

jimd-f wrote: »

all thomson have to do is to get you back to your original airport.
TIME is not an issue in this matter.
thomson laid on coaches, as they had told you they would do. they have met their requirements under the law ie they have transported you from a to b.

Time is an issue. Waiting a week in an airport for example would not be acceptable. Regardless if they string you along with the 'coaches are on their way' line.

littleadam83 wrote: »

Also, not very MSE as you could have shared a cab or mini bus with others just as desperate

You have no idea how big my family is, or what size taxis were available that night.

mcc100 wrote: »

Most hotels offer late checkouts for a fee.

Yes they did, it was £324, or the cost of a nights accommodation for both of our rooms.

apt wrote: »

Of course time is an issue. Would you expect to be kept sitting around at an airport uniformed for hours on end? The OP may well win a small claims case if a judge decides that taking 7 hours to provide a coach or failing to inform passengers of when a coach would be provided was unreasonable.

That is precisely what my complaint is based on. No one can help the weather, I understand and accept that. However, poor weather conditions cannot be used as an excuse for poor customer service, inadequate communication or lack of contingency measures.

bagand96

However, poor weather conditions cannot be used as an excuse for poor customer service, inadequate communication or lack of contingency measures.

But, landing at a small regional airfield, late at night, where there isn't any of your own staff, and a skeleton of airport staff may well be. Ring up your local coach company now and ask how long to organise 3 coaches ASAP. (Bearing in mind that tonight any potential drivers of said coaches wouldn't have to face snow and ice to get to the coach in the first place).

Gert_Lush

bagand96 wrote: »

But, landing at a small regional airfield, late at night, where there isn't any of your own staff, and a skeleton of airport staff may well be. Ring up your local coach company now and ask how long to organise 3 coaches ASAP. (Bearing in mind that tonight any potential drivers of said coaches wouldn't have to face snow and ice to get to the coach in the first place).

The second the flight got diverted in the air, Thomson must have known this. Then the wheels should be in motion to organise onward transfer for passengers. If coaches were difficult to come by for whatever reason, or waiting times are excessive, this needs to be communicated. It wasn't. And in the absence of a crystal ball, I had no idea how long we were going to be there.

I don't believe it is acceptable to just say 'coaches are being looked into' and that be satisfactory, with no expectation of when they will arrive. People cannot be kept waiting indefinitely, so there must be a time by which it is unreasonable to wait further, and that the airline reimburse personally incurred costs in getting yourself to your destination.

Also, seeing that Thomson 'don't recognise EC261/2004', it seems unfair to keep people waiting as they can't even claim compensation under the EC regulation in this instance!

silvercar

Were the trains running?

Gert_Lush

silvercar wrote: »

Were the trains running?

No idea to be honest. I doubt it at 0130 from Doncaster.