Easyjet flight cancellation: 'accepting' change of route = no compensation for costs

doodaf

My family and I were booked on a flight from Pisa to Bristol on Tuesday 6 September. On Monday evening, we heard from a friend (not Easyjet, they emailed the wrong address) that the flight was cancelled because of industrial action at Italian airports. We didn't have easy internet access so we asked our friend to investigate - he said that Easyjet were offering a free transfer to a different flight. The next day's flight from Pisa-Bristol was full and the next one with seats wasn't until Friday, but we were able to book on a flight from Verona to Gatwick on Wednesday instead, which our friend did for us.

We incurred around £500 extra costs: extending car hire for a day, hiring another car to get us from Pisa-Verona as we couldn't keep the same one, extra fuel, train from Gatwick-Bristol, taxi from station to home.

Easyjet are refusing to compensate us for the cost of travelling, saying that by transferring the booking to the Verona-Gatwick flight we accepted a change of route and they are not liable.

As far as I could see on the Easyjet website (only had access on my phone so difficult to navigate properly) there was no mention of this, and nothing in the email that they sent which I received on an old email address when I got home.

Our travel insurance only seems to cover us for a fixed cost of £20 per person per 12 hours that we were delayed.

Does anyone have words of advice?

richardw

Perhaps easyJet need to remember that because you returned to the Uk on the Wednesday and not the Friday, they have been saved an extra 2 days Article 9 Right to Care costs.

apt

As the delay is over 5 hours you are entitled to get easyJet to re-route you. That shouldn't really mean Verona to Gatwick rather than Bristol to Pisa. However, you need to get the airline or its representatives to make the arrangements to get you from Pisa to Verona and Gatwick to Bristol or to get their explicit agreement that they will pay if you make the arrangements. If you do things on your own initiative the airline does not have to pay.