American airlines cancelled flight UPDATED

Sues48

duchy wrote: »

Don't you have a hotel booked at the airport for tonight or did I misunderstand that bit ?

We did, but the earliest flight from Manchester to Heathrow is 6.15 am, and the only suitable flight I can see which has availability is to JFK which leaves at 8.30am so there wouldn't be enough time for check in.

gem75

Sues48 wrote: »

We did, but the earliest flight from Manchester to Heathrow is 6.15 am, and the only suitable flight I can see which has availability is to JFK which leaves at 8.30am so there wouldn't be enough time for check in.

You won't need to check in again at Heathrow, your bags will be checked straight through to JFK. You should arrive in Heathrow at around 7.15 so plenty of time to make the 8.30.

bagand96

Ask them to book you on another airline. The EU 261/2004 regulations state the following:

1. Where reference is made to this Article, passengers shall be offered the choice between:
(a) - reimbursement within seven days, by the means provided for in Article 7(3), of the full cost of the ticket at the price at which it was bought, for the part or parts of the journey not made, and for the part or parts already made if the flight is no longer serving any purpose in relation to the passenger's original travel plan, together with, when relevant,
- a return flight to the first point of departure, at the earliest opportunity;
(b) re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at the earliest opportunity; or
(c) re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at a later date at the passenger's convenience, subject to availability of seats.
2. Paragraph 1(a) shall also apply to passengers whose flights form part of a package, except for the right to reimbursement where such right arises under Directive 90/314/EEC.
3. When, in the case where a town, city or region is served by several airports, an operating air carrier offers a passenger a flight to an airport alternative to that for which the booking was made, the operating air carrier shall bear the cost of transferring the passenger from that alternative airport either to that for which the booking was made, or to another close-by destination agreed with the passenger.

It says the earliest opportunity. It does not say it has to be the same airline. And there are opportunities to get you to Denver from Manchester tomorrow on other airlines (United, US Airways, KLM, Lufthansa, Air France)

Quote this regulation to them. Don't be fobbed of that they are a US carrier either, as it applies to them when departing the EU. Not sure if it will work but it's worth a try. Stay on the phone and keep asking to speak to someone higher up.

Another option, they do have availability tomorrow but in Business. I very much doubt you'll get the upgrade, but again.... Ask.

Finally, whatever you get resolved, when you return from holiday you may be able to claim €600 each compensation from American (as long as the cancellation was not extraordinary circumstances)

Caz3121

agree with above - United are showing availability for 3 people
MAN - EWR - DEN
dep 09:25 tomorrow, arrive 17:44 Den

cubegame

Echoing the above post and if you have booked on a credit card, tell them that you will also consider claiming via the credit card company if they won't reroute on another airline.

callum9999

bagand96 wrote: »

Ask them to book you on another airline. The EU 261/2004 regulations state the following:



It says the earliest opportunity. It does not say it has to be the same airline. And there are opportunities to get you to Denver from Manchester tomorrow on other airlines (United, US Airways, KLM, Lufthansa, Air France)

Quote this regulation to them. Don't be fobbed of that they are a US carrier either, as it applies to them when departing the EU. Not sure if it will work but it's worth a try. Stay on the phone and keep asking to speak to someone higher up.

Another option, they do have availability tomorrow but in Business. I very much doubt you'll get the upgrade, but again.... Ask.

Finally, whatever you get resolved, when you return from holiday you may be able to claim €600 each compensation from American (as long as the cancellation was not extraordinary circumstances)

It doesn't say you can pick and choose your replacement flights though because you find the timing "inconvenient". There are apparently early morning flights available that they are dismissing.

And looking on the AA website now, there are 10 routing options available tomorrow morning leaving Manchester at 8.20AM.

richardw

jpsartre wrote: »

... If the crew was missing because they were supposed to come in on a flight that was cancelled due to bad weather for instance, you're out of luck.

er nope. Airlines have standby systems to avoid crew problems. It is no fault of the passenger if an airline can't run an adequate crew standby system.

richardw

callum9999 wrote: »

It doesn't say you can pick and choose your replacement flights though because you find the timing "inconvenient".

What about 'unreasonably inconvenient'?

jpsartre

richardw wrote: »

It is no fault of the passenger if an airline can't run an adequate crew standby system.

I didn't say it was, I'm saying that if the cancelation is due to knock-off effects of weather, cash compensation doesn't apply.

richardw

jpsartre wrote: »

..knock-off effects of weather...

Why are they 'extraordinary circumstances' and in accordance with recital 14 of EU Regulation EC 261/2004 then?