Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Thomas Cook ONLY

russ_nettle

russ_nettle wrote: »

Hey,

I flew with Thomas from Gatwick to Orlando (and vice versa)

12/10/12 - tcx0246 (5 hour delay in leaving Gatwick)
26/10/12 - tcx0247 (over 24 hours late in leaving Orlando)

Apart from the flights the rest of the holiday was fine.

According to the letters I have from TC on the date of both flights the issues were :
TCX0246 'Unavoidable operational circumstances'
TCX0247 'Unforeseen operationally significant defect which required rectification prior to further flight'

on on the flight out we were given about £5 to spend in the airport (fat lot of good that is in gatwick)
On the way back we were driven to a hotel and put up for the night, we were offered a buffet meal in both the morning and the evening, however these were both of poor standard so we ate elsewhere, which we were happy to do (TC were very reluctant to allow us to do this without trying to make alternative meal arrangements, which we really didn't want them to - I guess they thought we may complain about it later)

It turns out the plane we were due to catch had to make an emergency landing in iceland, so we had to wait for the next day for a replacement.

The flight delay out was a major inconvenience as our 2 your children fell asleep in the airport (been up since 4am and flight bored at 3pm ) so were ratty and agitated the entire flight.

The delay on the way back meant we had to call in sick to work as well.

I have written a letter using the helpful template in this forum, so fingers crossed we get a result from it.

Would hate to fly with Thomas Cook again as apart from the delays, the plane was pretty naff as was the entertainment and service.

Will post back here with progress, seems like a few people are getting results!

I got this back from Thomas Cook (after a lengthy delay and some chasing)
RE: OUTBOUND FLIGHT TCX0246 LGW-SFB, 12.10.2012
Having carried out a full investigation into the delay to your flight, a payment of compensation is applicable in line with Regulation 261/2004, to the value of £2080.00, which equates to a payment of £520.00 per person. This payment can be made as a voucher (which can be used against the cost of a future holiday with us) or as a direct payment into your bank account.

To arrange payment; please contact us on

RE: INBOUND FLIGHT TCX0247 SFB-LGW, 26.10.2012
I would again, like to apologise for the disruption to your flight plans.

Having carried out a full investigation the specific circumstances surrounding the delay to your own flight were of a technical nature. These were extraordinary, in that Thomas Cook took all reasonable precautions necessary to avoid the situation, and despite our proactive measures the problem could not have been prevented. All our aircraft are maintained to a very high standard, in line with CAA regulations, however, despite these steps, mechanical failures can arise without prior warning. These unpredictable events can be likened to those we encounter with our own cars, despite having full service histories, or MOT’s.

In line with Regulation 261/2004 a payment of compensation would not be considered applicable in this case.



Pleased that we are being compensated for the outward bound flight, however the 24 hour delay we experienced is not being compensated for

laserboy_2

morgana wrote: »

Hi.

I submitted my TC claim in Aug for a 23 hour delay to my flight from Calgary to Manchester TCX 313 on Sep 11th 2011. Anyone else on that flight?

At the time we were given a TC letter and I contacted them to claim compensation for losing income and other expenses incurred due to the delay (not knowing about the EC ruling) TC told me they couldn't help and advised that I contact my travel insurers.

I have had the "we can't find your details" reply and I yesterday received the standard "mechanical failure / extraordinary circumstances" reply. I was wondering when to do next. Then I saw Watchdog and put my complaint into CAA this morning.

Then I found this forum and read the FAQs
So my next move is NBA. From what has been posted here, it seems prudent to do that immediately rather than wait for a CAA reply that may not be of any use. Is it best to post the NBA recorded or signed for mail ?

Now I know the games TC play, I will pursue them to the end !

We were on that flight too. Two letters to TC with no success - also playing the extraordinary circumstances card. Contacted the CAA 6 months ago; last thing I heard from them was that I should expect a reply "in October." I'm not holding my breath. Good luck with your NBA, I'll definitely be interested to see how you get on. And if I do get anything from the CAA, it'll go on here.

grazzzz

laserboy wrote: »

We were on that flight too. Two letters to TC with no success - also playing the extraordinary circumstances card. Contacted the CAA 6 months ago; last thing I heard from them was that I should expect a reply "in October." I'm not holding my breath. Good luck with your NBA, I'll definitely be interested to see how you get on. And if I do get anything from the CAA, it'll go on here.

Are you not pursuing court action ?

dawyldthing

thomascrook123 wrote: »

sorry, I also meant to say that maybe an engine bleed seems slightly less extraordinary to me now that I know it happened to you too!

Was yours the 29th June if so we were on the same flight. I think they have certain things they just say to palm us all off. Will keep you updated. I've gone through bott and co. Mines being sent to the court but my travelling buds got an e-mail to say they are going to look further into it, so may just cough up in the end fingers crossed (not hopeful tho)

bubblesxxx68

bubblesxxx68 wrote: »

Hi All
Just sending off my template letter i got from the which website for a claim for my delayed flight.
I had a delayed flight with Thomas Cook Airlines on the 18/12/2011 flying from Cancun Mexico for over 20 hours ,We was speeding along the runway ready to takeoff when the brakes where sharply applied,Shock,Horror :-( we all had to be transfered back to the airport terminal , Then around 10 hours later transfered to Hotels overnight to await another flight the next day.
We received letters from Thomas Cook stating unavoidable operational circumstances ( That i still have ) But from what i remember the Thomas Cook Rep said there was a problem with the tyres or wheels ( Shouldn't this come under general service !!) Have spoke with the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority)0207 453 6888 (Monday to Friday 9.00am to 2.30pm) and informed me to make a complaint / claim , I will await my responce and let you know how i get on as soon as i get a reply , The CAA said to get straight back on to them if i'm not happy with the responce and they will look into it further , Will keep you posted.
**** HAS ANYONE ELSE CLAIMED THATS BEEN ON THE SAME FLIGHT AS ME !!! CANCUN , MEXICO 18TH JAN 2011,IM SURE YOUR REMEMBER AS OF THE PROBLEM ON TAKEOFF ******

Update :

Yipeeeeeeee at last , Have just been paid out via BAC'S payment from Thomas Cook .
Got the usual spill from them and wrote and complained to the CAA , 8 months on and the CAA informed me that Thomas Cook agreed to pay me , Only had to then wait 10 days .
It was [FONT=&quot]Flight TCX243 Cancun , Mexico 18th Dec 2011.

I'd like to say a Big Thank You to this Forum and also the CAA for all the help and advice received .


Good Luck To You All , Don't Give Up :T[/FONT]

bubblesxxx68

neilodds wrote: »

hi hope you can help? can we claim ? do we claim thro cancelled or delayed form?
on returning from our honeymoon in mexico with Thomas Cook on dec 18th 2011 our flight back to gatwick was at first delayed for about 3 and a half hours , when we finally boarded the aeroplane , the pilot aborted take off after just getting off the runway .the plane was shaking and vibrating so badly that the pilot decided to land.
We then had to disembark the plane and had another lengthy wait in the airport without any reps there to tell us what was going on .
Later we were taken to a Hotel for the night on the same board basis ( all inc ) We were then phoned at about 7am the next morning to tell us we were being picked up from hotel at about 9 am , when we got the airport the flight was delayed yet again
I think in total we were delayed about 27 hours , when we got on the plane we were told by the pilot that they had engineers replace the front wheels because of the vibration.
Also I am self employed sole trader so i lost a days work ,so pretty much can we claim , what can we claim for and what evidence eg flight numbers , boarding passes , food expenses and loss of earnings

Hi Ya Neil ,

Sorry I've lost your email , Just to let you know the CAA have agreed it's not [FONT=&quot]extraordinary circumstance’ and Thomas Cook should now agree you claim !! Good Luck :rotfl:
[/FONT]

morgana

laserboy wrote: »

We were on that flight too. Two letters to TC with no success - also playing the extraordinary circumstances card. Contacted the CAA 6 months ago; last thing I heard from them was that I should expect a reply "in October." I'm not holding my breath. Good luck with your NBA, I'll definitely be interested to see how you get on. And if I do get anything from the CAA, it'll go on here.

Hi Laserboy. As you have read, I sent them a NBA. Why don't you do the same (see the template on here in FAQ) We may be in court on the same day and could gang up on TC;)

thomascrook123

So, surprise surprise, we were meant to receive our pack of court docs from Thomas Cook today and have received nothing - anything we can do or do we just sit tight and wait for the court date?

chili2001

thomascrook123 wrote: »

So, surprise surprise, we were meant to receive our pack of court docs from Thomas Cook today and have received nothing - anything we can do or do we just sit tight and wait for the court date?

They didn't even acknowledge my claim from the court! I'm sure it will turn up in 3 or 4 weeks! I'm sure you can report it to the court as late. Not that they will do anything about it.

murty

fightingalltheway wrote: »

We were delayed 5 1/2 hours on a flight with Thomas cook from Turkey to Gatwick in July 2012. After being picked up late from the hotel and finally arriving at Antalya airport we only knew of the delay once we tried to check in. There were no Thomas cook representives at the airport and we were told that our plane that we were due to fly on was broken and they were having to send two smaller planes from somewhere to take us home. All passengers would have to be split onto two different flights, one leaving at an earlier time and one not till the early hours of the morning. After fighting for two hours to get onto what we thought would be the earlier flight (having 3 children the youngest being 11 months at the time ) we were checked in and sent through passport control. No offer for vouchers for food or drink were given and no representives from Thomas cook were there to give any infomation. In total we were in the airport for over 7 hours and in the end the earlier flight we were booked on was delayed again and took off at the same time as the later flight. in total we arrived back at Gatwick 5 & 1/2 hours later than our original planned time.

We were a party of 7 people flying together on the same flights and booked on the same holiday however we were booked under two different booking references to allow us to fit in the hotel rooms. My mum and dad and my son on one booking ref and my husband, myself and two daughters on the other.

I have filled in the complaint form for compensation from this site and sent it off to Thomas Cook. Firstly we both recieved the letters stating they were opening our case but now have both recieved the standard letters stating no compensation is due.... The difference though is the letters are the same apart from the reason that they are giving as to why they are not paying out. One letter states it the usual technical issues and the other states its due to adverse weather conditions!!!

There cannot be two reasons for the delay and as all of us were on the same flight I know that it was not due to adverse weather conditions. They have made a mistake by sending out any excuse they can and cannot even get the letters right for both of our bookings.

I have sent a letter back now to Thomas cook stating that im very disatisfied with their response and their poor customer service is still continuing. I know they are only trying to fob me off and ive told them it wont work. Ive logged a complaint now with the CAA to try and find out the real reason for the delay and advised them I have done this.

I am awaiting both their response's.

Does anyone have any info they could share with me on this to maybe help with my case, anything would be much appreiceated. thank you

I don't suppose your flight was flight # TCX 1517 on 23 July 2012 was it? I am just about to go to court on my claim for that flight.