Flight Cancellation Advice

Bell22

Please could someone advise me of my rights regarding a flight cancellation with Easyjet.

Basically, we were due to fly back home (to Stansted) from Denmark on 20th December but about an hour before the flight was due to leave it was cancelled. At the time of cancellation we were offered no return flight but were told to try and rebook online - the next available Easyjet flight was 3 days later (but for two families travelling with four young children this was not an option). Therefore, we managed to find a flight with an alternative carrier leaving the next day (although this was going back to London City).

On our return Easyjet informed us that we could claim a full refund of the cost of the new flight but we could not claim for the portion of the Easyjet ticket we did not use as well – is this correct or should we receive this plus the return leg of the Easyjet flight which was cancelled?

It gets more complicated – as we had to book the alternative carrier while we were in Denmark (online) we had to pay in Danish Krone. When we finally received the refund from Easyjet (which took approximately 45 days and numerous emails and phone calls !!) we are down by just under £100 due to foreign exchange rates. We have proved to Easyjet the sterling cost but they are refusing to pay the full amount. Should Easyjet be refunding us the full amount considering it has taken well over a month for them to reimburse us?

To top it all off, when the fight was cancelled at Denmark and we were told to pick up our case, Easyjet had managed to lose ours !! They are offering us £25 to cover the cost of the sundries we bought (we spent £40 for a family of 4) – are we entitled to the full amount to just the £25?

Any advice would be gratefully received.

Thank you.

richardw

Perhaps just ask persuasively and friendly again.

isplumm

Bell22 wrote: »

Please could someone advise me of my rights regarding a flight cancellation with Easyjet.

Basically, we were due to fly back home (to Stansted) from Denmark on 20th December but about an hour before the flight was due to leave it was cancelled. At the time of cancellation we were offered no return flight but were told to try and rebook online - the next available Easyjet flight was 3 days later (but for two families travelling with four young children this was not an option). Therefore, we managed to find a flight with an alternative carrier leaving the next day (although this was going back to London City).

On our return Easyjet informed us that we could claim a full refund of the cost of the new flight but we could not claim for the portion of the Easyjet ticket we did not use as well – is this correct or should we receive this plus the return leg of the Easyjet flight which was cancelled?

Don't see why you should be entitled to the refund of the original flight - otherwise you would get the flights for free

It gets more complicated – as we had to book the alternative carrier while we were in Denmark (online) we had to pay in Danish Krone. When we finally received the refund from Easyjet (which took approximately 45 days and numerous emails and phone calls !!) we are down by just under £100 due to foreign exchange rates. We have proved to Easyjet the sterling cost but they are refusing to pay the full amount. Should Easyjet be refunding us the full amount considering it has taken well over a month for them to reimburse us?
I would have thought so


To top it all off, when the fight was cancelled at Denmark and we were told to pick up our case, Easyjet had managed to lose ours !! They are offering us £25 to cover the cost of the sundries we bought (we spent £40 for a family of 4) – are we entitled to the full amount to just the £25?

Any advice would be gratefully received.

Thank you.

There is some European compensation you might be able to claim - mad-coupon might be able to advise further ....

why was you flight cancelled?

Edited - cause I meant Cityboy!!!!

Mark

Bell22

Thanks for your reply, Mark. We were not given a reason and to be honest we were so flustered that day (what with losing our case and all) that we did not ask. It cannot have been due to snow as both Stansted and Copenhagen had flights arriving and departing that day. If I call Easyjet must they give me an "honest" reason for the cancellation - would they keep details like that from that long ago?

Bell22

Cityboy wrote: »

You will need to ask the airline for the exact reason in writing for the cancellation. Once you have that you can decide what you do next regarding the entitlement to compensation under Art 5 of EC 261/2004.

Regarding the refund for the alternative flight on which you returned home, this is quite unusual for EZ to pay this for an alternative carrier so you seem to have struck lucky!

If you have it in writing that they will refund the alternative flight you paid for in full then it should mean precisely that: in full!

You should not be expected to pick up such a big difference in currency movement if it is because they have delayed refunding you that has made this difference.

Just to be clear that if they have refunded the alternative flight then you will not be refunded your original fare in addition.

Could I ask whether the airline picked up your overnight accommodation/meals costs due to the cancellation as you are entitled to reimbursement of these expenses.?

Thanks for your reply Cityboy. I will contact Easyjet in writing to find out why the flight was cancelled.

With regard to getting the refund in full, we have an email confirming we will get the full payment back but this is in DKK and they have given us the full DKK value but with it taking so long to refund us we have lost out with the FX rate. We have an email saying they delayed it due to recalculating - maybe we should make a stronger point of this.

The airline did provide us with accommodation and a taxi to it from the airport. They did say that they did not have to pay our return taxi journey from the hotel back to the airport though !!

One other point, was it down to the airline to pay our taxi costs getting us from London City back to Stansted ?

Thank you for the copy of the regulations - very helpful.

Bell22

Cityboy wrote: »

You will need to ask the airline for the exact reason in writing for the cancellation. Once you have that you can decide what you do next regarding the entitlement to compensation under Art 5 of EC 261/2004.

Hi Cityboy, we had an email from Easyjet stating the following

"We are sorry to inform you that your easyJet flight to STN on 20/12/2010 has been cancelled due to the knock-on effect resulting from the recent severe snow disruption across the UK and Mainland Europe. Given these circumstances in many places throughout our network, aircraft have been restricted from flying due to adverse weather conditions and air traffic restrictions. As a result some of our aircraft have not been able to return to their originating base and we regrettably have had to cancel a number of flights, including yours."

How does this affect us with regard to the EC 261/2004 regulations?

Thank you, in advance, for your help.