MSE News: Flight delay compensation floodgates open

richardw

michaels wrote: »

...Claims handling companies will get a bigger windfall....

Why would they bother with a very difficult claims process?

They're only interested in simple claim things like that payment protection insurance reclaim.

mrscb

Just wondering if this is worth pursuing..
Jet2 due to leave Malaga at 1pm to Leeds Bradford on 22/10..arrived at airport to be told due to fog we would be delayed..and rather than the larger plane we were meant to be on ,2 smaller ones came..1 of which left at 5pm and were were on the 2nd which left at 6pm..whilst on board steward said it was all caused by fog the night before resulting in our plane landing at a different airport and thus causing problems the next day. We got 8 euro vouchers for food at airport. we were told we should also have been on the first plane as travelling with a child in a wheelchair.
My thinking is, as there was no fog in Malaga they cant use that a reason.(although will probably try)
we also had to go back to LBA on way out due to a smashed windscreen half an hour into flight,,,thats a different story!!
TIA

richardw

Mrscb - do you think they should've had more resources to avoid the knock on effects of fog causing delays of 3 hours or more?

scotoz

Long time reader, first time poster. Please help...

On Monday my BA 340pm flight from London Heathrow to Edinburgh was cancelled due to fog.
We stood in line for ten hours waiting to rebook. I tried to reobook on their phoneline but after half an hour was still on hold - an expensive business on a mobile. Little information was forthcoming from BA staff in the airport. Around 11pm they told us that we wouldn't get rebooked that night.

This meant that I would not be able to go on the football away trip which was leaving at 715am Tuesday from Glasgow. This being a pre-paid trip with Thomas Cook. The latter said that i would be posted as a no-show but they could offer no refund. So I am £350 out of pocket for that alone.

BA offered us a city centre hotel but many of us decided to sleep on the floor in the queue as otherwise we would have returned to the end of a line featuring a couple of hundred people in the morning.

At 530am after the desks had reopened, the first flight they could confirm me on was 3pm. I suggested Glasgow and bussing/training it to Edinburgh from there.
The desk attendant did try unsuccessfully for a 645am flight to Edinburgh.

I was booked onto the 955am to Glasgow which eventually left at 1050am. I bought breakfast while i waited and kept the receipts hoping to claim them back.After landing in Glasgow i discovered that my bag hadn't made the flight. I took the bus and train back to Edinburgh.I arrived in Edinburgh 22 hours later than originally scheduled.
I have kept my receipts for the public transport as well.

The bag eventually was delivered to me 24 hours later still (Wednesday afternoon).

First contact with my travel insurers (AA) told me that i could not claim back the £350.

So my question to fellow forumites is who should i chase up, how and for how much compensation/refund?
BA/Thomas Cook/AA/ or my credit card company as i paid for the football trip package on my card?
Or all four?

I have a credit card through my bank and always pay off in full.

Many thanks indeed for any advice or thoughts based on any similar experience you may have had.

LadyDee

Oh this is great - who the heck do all these people think pays all the compensation? Where does the money come from? Like all these schemes there is always the case that does require compensation but we all pay for it - higher prices paid by the average person who doesn't claim!

Yet another bandwagon created for thousands to jump on.

My heart sinks when I see these headlines - it means there's another price rise around the corner.

Bridgie1962

Have been on the FlightStats website but because I don't have a note of the flight number it's telling me "this occurred in the past".
Can someone advise me how to navigate the site to access how many hours we were delayed back in January 2011.

richardw

LadyDee wrote: »

.....who the heck do all these people think pays all the compensation?.....

The airlines will continue their current policy of resisting payouts under EU Reg 261/2004 as much as they can, they are well practised at it and their methods are very sophisticated.
The airlines won't be making mass payouts and increasing prices.

Kushan

LadyDee wrote: »

Oh this is great - who the heck do all these people think pays all the compensation? Where does the money come from? Like all these schemes there is always the case that does require compensation but we all pay for it - higher prices paid by the average person who doesn't claim!

Yet another bandwagon created for thousands to jump on.

My heart sinks when I see these headlines - it means there's another price rise around the corner.

If you pay for a flight and have to get a later or delayed flight because the Airline was in some way negligent, then why shouldn't they pay out? This is specifically for those instances where the airlines are at fault. Bad weather? Tough luck, it happens - no compensation. Plane broke down because it wasn't properly maintained, or the airline forgot to allocate fuel? Hey - their fault, the onus is on them. That's what this is about and it's less about forcing airlines into compensation as it is about improving the overall service. If the airlines keep standards up, they won't have to pay out as delayed/cancelled flights will be out of their control. However, yes there will be a rush of people from the last few years trying to get compensation, so be it. Ultimately, it will all level out.

jacksback

I understand people complaining that flight prices will increase but I also feel the airlines need to answer to somebody and not be allowed to treat passengers like cattle!

I flew with Thomas Cook at christmas and my outgoing flight was delayed for 6 hours which I accepted but when checking on my return flight the day before it was due to fly I was told it was delayed for 6 hours! I was then informed I needed to check in at the normal time.. So they were actually planning for their customers to sit in the airport for 8 hours when obviously this was avoidable.

I think this is shocking customer service but Thomas Cook don't seem to think its a problem!

LadyDee

For heavens sake - someone above is looking for compensation for a flight nearly two years ago - they can't even remember how long they were delayed! That's the sort of thing that winds me up. How long will it be before we have new 'claims companies' advertising on TV - "been delayed 3 hours 1 minute? Claim Now!"