Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Tui/Thomson ONLY

BearWhite

Hi,

I was recently delayed for 23.5 hours for a package holiday I had booked with TUI flying from East Midlands to Ibiza with my family.

I'm planning on claiming for 4 * 400 euros for the flight delay, as well as making a claim on my travel insurance.

Am I also able to claim against TUI for losing a day of our holiday? The link below seems to suggest this is possible although it is a few years old https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/what-to-do-if-a-flight-is-delayed-compensation-claims-package-holidays-a7374046.html


Thanks

legal_magpie

I would certainly pursue a claim for loss of part of your holiday although you haven't said what the problem was

BearWhite

legal_magpie wrote: »

I would certainly pursue a claim for loss of part of your holiday although you haven't said what the problem was

Thanks. The plane had a technical fault which meant it couldn't fly.

Timothea

I have offered to help three people I know personally who were caught up in the Beast from the East disruption in March 2018. They were booked on a package holiday from Bristol to Cape Verde with First Choice, a TUI brand.

They managed to get to Bristol Airport with some difficulty, only to discover (from airport staff, not TUI) that their flight and most other flights were being cancelled due to the very bad weather. They hung around at the airport for several hours before anyone from TUI appeared. Eventually, they were given the option of taking the same flight the next day or cancelling the holiday for a full refund.

They decided against cancelling their holiday and were rebooked. However, they had not been given or offered any food or refreshment vouchers and nobody could tell them when or where they would be staying overnight. So, they decided to make their own arrangements and the TUI representative confirmed that they would be refunded for legitimate expenses.

They arrived at the airport the next day and were told that their flight was likely to depart as scheduled unless the weather turned bad. Luckily, the weather held off but then their flight was cancelled again! The reason given by a TUI representative for the cancellation was that the pilot allocated to their flight had been reassigned to another flight because he was the only available pilot who was qualified to fly that aircraft, and there were no other pilots available.

They were then given the same option: cancel for a full refund or rebook. As it was only a short holiday and the weather was forecast to get much worse the next day, they decided to cancel and go home while they still could (which, as it happens, was a smart move).

Once home, they contacted TUI about refunds for their (very reasonable) expenses and flight delay compensation. TUI point blank refused to pay for either, claiming that the cancelled flights were due to extraordinary circumstances (extreme weather) and therefore zero compensation was payable. Correspondence back and forth has got them nowhere, so the question now is how to escalate this.

I am happy to issue a letter before claim, and take them to court if necessary. However, I wonder whether it may be better to go with Resolver and mediation. I would be most grateful for any advice about how successful Resolver is with TUI.

Obviously, TUI must reimburse their food and accommodation expenses, but the flight delay/cancellation claim is trickier. My assessment is that flight cancellation compensation is due because the rebooked flight was cancelled for operational reasons, not extraordinary circumstances.

Any thoughts?

legal_magpie

Unless you are a solicitor you have no legal authority to act on their behalf

Timothea

legal_magpie wrote: »

Unless you are a solicitor you have no legal authority to act on their behalf

Could I not be granted power of attorney in this matter? I can be a lay representative in the small claims court.

Tyzap

Timothea wrote: »

I am happy to issue a letter before claim, and take them to court if necessary. However, I wonder whether it may be better to go with Resolver and mediation. I would be most grateful for any advice about how successful Resolver is with TUI.

Obviously, TUI must reimburse their food and accommodation expenses, but the flight delay/cancellation claim is trickier. My assessment is that flight cancellation compensation is due because the rebooked flight was cancelled for operational reasons, not extraordinary circumstances.

Any thoughts?

Hi Timothea,

It’s not worth arguing about the first delay, just accept that it was an EC due to the bad weather.

Any costs or expenses incurred overnight are due for repayment by TUI.

If the second delay was due to the reason you mentioned, compensation would be more clear cut. It was not due to an EC and so compensation would be due.

Provided TUI have given their final position, or that 6 (possibly it may be 8) weeks have passed from the first application, they can refer their claim to CEDR for independent adjudication.

I would expect CEDR to find in their favour and award them costs too.

Legal Magpie is the authoritative figure when it come to legal issues, so I would head his advice about legal representation, not that you (they) need to go down that route just yet.

Good luck.

BrianC500

On 22 September 2018 we were delayed by just over 5 hours leaving Verona for Manchester. We had nobody from TUI to tell us why, we were offered no food or drinks (we were at the gate waiting) they changed the gate with no announcement, they miscalculated the amount of passengers so had to do a head count, another plane was then parked behind us so we could not move. It was a total farce.
I applied via there website for delay compensation to which their reply was "Your claim is not valid as the Airport was closed" During our wait there were flights leaving for Russia, Israel and a few other non European destinations.

Would any body be able to tell me how I can find out if the Airport was officially closed?

Thanks in advance

JPears

Hi, its not for you to prove this. Tui are reknowned for coming up with false excuses. Ask for a deadlock letter and take the matter up with the ADR tui are signed up to, or the CAA if they are not signeed up to an ADR.

bigbill

Flight delayed more than 24 hours so straight forward claim.

Put my claim in via Resolver on 25th May as I could not get the tick box thing on TUI web site to load over 2 days, message said recieved and would be done in order recieved by TUI.

Someone else on the same flight put a claim in via their local TUI shop the following day 26th and had a cheque for £353 paid within a week, over a month and still waiting?

Called TUI but always time out or when I did eventually get through on Friday systems were down, how long should I give them?