Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Thomas Cook ONLY

y-o-r-k-y

Regarding flight TCX2663 Schedualed to land at Manchester at 11.35Pm on 25/9/2012. According to Flightstats.co.uk the official landing time for this flight was 04.40Am on 26/9/2012

I sent an email to TC claiming for this delay on 25/10/2012 . I now have had a reply from them. This is the relevant part of the letter.


'Although delays are rare, they can arise for a number of different reasons, and having carried out a full investigation the specific circumstances surrounding the delay to your own flight were of a technical nature, which were extraordinary, despite Thomas Cook taking all reasonable precautions necessary to prevent the situation. All aircraft can experience technical problems that are totally unforeseen, despite all reasonable attempts to ensure they are maintained to a good standard, in line with CAA regulations. These situations can be compared to the maintenance of your own car, which can break down at any time without prior warning, regardless of it's service history, and would be considered completely beyond the owners control.'

I have emailed them back asking for details of the 'Technical problem' so that I can pass this on to the CAA for their interpritation and also as evidence in a law court..
Will post any reply I get.

wendyjaycee

MCSAVE wrote: »

I was on this flight, TC are claiming a hydraulic failure on a separate flight in the fleet with my case, I'm at the court stage now. What reasons have they given to you?

Hi MCSAVE
This is a copy of the letter they sent me. I recall the pilot on the flight saying he had no idea why the flight was delayed and that for some reason it had flown in from Istanbul. Will i need to get a report stating the exact nature of the technical difficulty to take this any further?
Wendyjaycee


I am writing in response to your letter regarding your recent travel arrangements with Thomas Cook.

It is with regret that I note your flight with us was delayed. Whilst delays are an accepted part of air travel, I would like to assure you that a lot of work goes on behind the scenes to ensure that any disruption to our passengers is kept to an absolute minimum.

When a delay is initially identified, it is not always immediately apparent as to when a revised take off time can be secured. A number of factors have to be considered, which can vary dependent on the reason for the delay, and quite often we are reliant on outside influences, such as Airport Authorities or Air Traffic Control. Throughout, however, as soon as confirmed information is available, this is passed onto our customers as quickly as possible through our handling agents at the airport.

Although delays are rare, they can arise for a number of different reasons, and having carried out a full investigation the specific circumstances surrounding the delay to your own flight were of a technical nature, which were extraordinary, despite Thomas Cook taking all reasonable precautions necessary to prevent the situation. All aircraft can experience technical problems that are totally unforeseen, despite all reasonable attempts to ensure they are maintained to a good standard, in line with CAA regulations. These situations can be compared to the maintenance of your own car, which can break down at any time without prior warning, regardless of it's service history, and would be considered completely beyond the owners control.



I can see that customers were provided with welfare during the delay, in line with our obligations under EU Regulation 261/2004. As the events were defined as “extraordinary” no payment of compensation is considered appropriate in this case.

Please be assured that on-time performance is a key measure for us as a business, and we constantly review our operations to ensure we deliver the best results, and service. I would like to offer our apologies for any inconvenience you were caused on this occasion and I hope that despite this, your stay was found to be an enjoyable one.

[text deleted by MSE Forum Team]

MCSAVE

wendyjaycee wrote: »

Hi MCSAVE
This is a copy of the letter they sent me. I recall the pilot on the flight saying he had no idea why the flight was delayed and that for some reason it had flown in from Istanbul. Will i need to get a report stating the exact nature of the technical difficulty to take this any further?
Wendyjaycee


I am writing in response to your letter regarding your recent travel arrangements with Thomas Cook.

It is with regret that I note your flight with us was delayed. Whilst delays are an accepted part of air travel, I would like to assure you that a lot of work goes on behind the scenes to ensure that any disruption to our passengers is kept to an absolute minimum.

When a delay is initially identified, it is not always immediately apparent as to when a revised take off time can be secured. A number of factors have to be considered, which can vary dependent on the reason for the delay, and quite often we are reliant on outside influences, such as Airport Authorities or Air Traffic Control. Throughout, however, as soon as confirmed information is available, this is passed onto our customers as quickly as possible through our handling agents at the airport.

Although delays are rare, they can arise for a number of different reasons, and having carried out a full investigation the specific circumstances surrounding the delay to your own flight were of a technical nature, which were extraordinary, despite Thomas Cook taking all reasonable precautions necessary to prevent the situation. All aircraft can experience technical problems that are totally unforeseen, despite all reasonable attempts to ensure they are maintained to a good standard, in line with CAA regulations. These situations can be compared to the maintenance of your own car, which can break down at any time without prior warning, regardless of it's service history, and would be considered completely beyond the owners control.



I can see that customers were provided with welfare during the delay, in line with our obligations under EU Regulation 261/2004. As the events were defined as “extraordinary” no payment of compensation is considered appropriate in this case.

Please be assured that on-time performance is a key measure for us as a business, and we constantly review our operations to ensure we deliver the best results, and service. I would like to offer our apologies for any inconvenience you were caused on this occasion and I hope that despite this, your stay was found to be an enjoyable one.



you need to ask them what the actual technical reason was, they sent me one saying it was hydraulic failure. I remember the pilot saying that it was something to do with delays in the Greek Islands the day before, which is a knock on effect and technical issues which case law suggest is not EC. good luck,PM me if you need anything

y-o-r-k-y

Hi Wendy,That's exactly the same letter I got, they can't even be bothered to do individual responces..

wendyjaycee

Hi Yorky
Worryingly, they do seem to have rather a lot of exceptional technical difficulties!!

I have requested a detailed report from then regarding the technical difficulties so will see if they claim the same as they did with MCSAVE

Mark2spark

Don't forget Guys, that the onus is on the airlines to *prove* that there were exceptional circumstances, not just *claim* that they exist.

Gorbar

They informed me that they had not heard from the Greek authority regarding the delay. I contacted the Greek authority & requested a copy. it was sent on 6/12/2012 and I have now sent it to them at dob@thomascook. Hope they don't deny it again. I think I heard that they could face a hefty fine for not replying, if they have any sense they will provide the answers, much cheaper to pay out.

Gorbar

I have now heard back from them & their excuse they used the wrong FAX no., from reading this forum everybody must have the wrong number. They have also informed me that they will ignore whatever the authorities tell them

maghater

Gorbar wrote: »

They informed me that they had not heard from the Greek authority regarding the delay. I contacted the Greek authority & requested a copy. it was sent on 6/12/2012 and I have now sent it to them at dob@thomascook. Hope they don't deny it again. I think I heard that they could face a hefty fine for not replying, if they have any sense they will provide the answers, much cheaper to pay out.

Wouldn't hold my breath if I was you, wrote to AESA (Spanish agency), after a delay of 10 weeks, got a response from them TC had not responded to their request for an explanation, after two months, therefore "AESA considers the company has not proven that the long delay was caused by extraordinary circumstances........"etc. and should therefor stump up. They wrote to TC, I have sent TC a copy of this ruling to TC without response. Have issued a claim against them, they have until 3rd Feb to respond.

Mark2spark

There's little more you can do maghater, except to proceed to court.