Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Tui/Thomson ONLY

clemm28

Hi,
first time using this site so hear goes.
Booked package holiday with first choice /TUI, departing Doncaster Sheffield airport.
all correspondance etc was with first choice all booking details from them.
we have all the documents regarding the holiday and return boarding cards.
We did not realise that TUI had contracted the outward and return flights to Freebird Airlines( Turkish ).
we had a great holiday upto day before we were to fly home.
there was no rep at hotel and no return flight details of when we were to be picked up at the hotel.
we contacted the TUI no and was told to be ready for pick up at 0745am 24/07/18.
we were there early and the transfer bus came and we were scrubbed from the list, the driver saying problem with flight will be told later.
we contacted TUI again on the emergency no and they were useless and new nothing promising to return our call( they didn't).
after waitng until around 10am, we the lady at our hotel reception and she contacted(TUI) local office and said we had a 7 hour delay and would be picked up at 1445pm
we were actually picked up at 15 20pm.
our flight FHY693 which was supposed to depart at 11:10am left at 20:00hrs Antalya time, we should have landed at 13:40pm at doncaster and actually landed at 22.00pm a delay of 8.5hrs.
wee have placed a flight delay compensation claim to TUI and was told would take 28 days, we also contacted Freebird airlines customer services, who promptly returned their apologies , placing all the return flight details down including flight scheduled time and actual landing time, but said as a non eu airline were not part of the EU 261/2004 compensation scheme.
who is it who will be responsible for us to claim for 8.5hrs delay and 400 euros each for 1900miles return journey.
if anyone could help this would be a great help one way or another,
clemm

Justice13075

Non-EU airline flying from a Non-EU country no compensation. Check their website to see if they have their own flight delay compensation

Westin

Freebird are correct in what they are telling you. As a non-European airline and on a flight going TO Europe, EU261 compensation is not payable.

To rub salt in the wound, those flying back on the same aircraft FROMthe U.K. back to Turkey would however be able to claim compensation if the delay was within the airlines control and not an : extra ordinary circumstance :.

Hopefully you were able to make the most of your extra time around the pool.

jpsartre

A recent ruling from the ECJ contradicts the above advice. Basically, when one airline leases its aircraft and crew as part of a wetlease agreement to another (in this case TUIFly), the latter is to be considered the operating carrier. A summary of the ruling can be found below:


https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2018-07/cp180100en.pdf


So the OP should pursue compensation from TUIFly.

**Juice**

I got a cheque for the full amount of compensation today after my flight was delayed for 24 hours back at the end of May. I was pretty on their case throughout and this cheque is the first acknowledgement I've actually had from them about any of the process.

Result, I thought it was going to drag on forever.

Justice13075

:T:T:T:T Was it the correct amount? 600euro per passenger.

Justice13075

Great Find, but is that binding now on the airlines.

JPears

Reading the whole document it would appear so, in that is binding on each country's legal system.

bagand96

A recent ruling from the ECJ contradicts the above advice. Basically, when one airline leases its aircraft and crew as part of a wetlease agreement to another (in this case TUIFly), the latter is to be considered the operating carrier. A summary of the ruling can be found below:


https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2018-07/cp180100en.pdf


So the OP should pursue compensation from TUIFly.

Do not think this applies here as this isn't a wetlease situation.

This is a Freebird flight on an FHYxxx flight number. Freebird are the operating air carrier. Although it is chartered by TUI, it is operated as a charter for TUI UK (the tour operator).

TUI Airlines have no involvement here at all. When you book a holiday from Doncaster to Antalya with TUI the website states "Freebird Airlines". If the tickets were TOMxxx, but a Freebird aircraft and crew then that would be a wetlease and TUI Airlines would be liable.

The difference between charter and wetlease are intricate. But in this case TUI UK (the tour operator) have chartered Freebird Airlines to operate the flight. Tour operators are not liable under EU261, it is the airline, which in this case is Freebird.

Tyzap

This is recital 7 from the regulations and has been there since they came into being. The Wirth v Thomson case just confirms what the regulations have already stipulated, nothing new here.

(7) In order to ensure the effective application of this Regu- lation, the obligations that it creates should rest with the operating air carrier who performs or intends to perform a flight, whether with owned aircraft, under dry or wet lease, or on any other basis. (my bold)