Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Tui/Thomson ONLY

Simmo_13

Hi everyone!

Just after some advice really on dealing with an ongoing issue with TUI.

I have just created a new thread but then found this existing one.

In August we were due to fly back from our family holiday & when I went to check in online for our return flight home it had vanished from our booking reference number.

The final two days of our holiday for me were then spent on the phone to TUI trying to find out what had happened & how we were getting home!

To cut a long story short, TUI's system had 'lost' our return flight & we ended up landing back at Manchester airport over 8 hours later via a JET2 flight (which TUI paid for).

I filed a complaint with TUI when we got home & received a phone call yesterday saying in this instance they were prepared to compensate us with a £100 holiday voucher.

I suppose my question is, Can I claim for a delay or cancellation of flight with TUI if I never actually got on the flight?

I obviously had seats booked on the plane but due to a 'technical issue' at their end I was never even informed we no longer had a flight home & dread to think what would have happened if we had just rocked up at the airport ready to check in to fly home.

Just wondered if anybody has had any similar issues or could advise how best to proceed with my complaint.

Thanks for reading!

Ricey87

Hi all,

Our flight from Dalaman, Turkey to East Midlands was delayed by over 18 hours due to the flight from the UK leaving 5 hours late and then the cabin crew being over their regulated hours. The reason for the delay was the cabin crew being stuck in traffic Near East Midlands due to Download Festival.

We arrived at Dalaman airport but no one could tell us why the flight hadn’t left the UK. When the flight left the UK we were finally checked in and told they are aiming to do a quick turnaround. 7 hours after being in the airport they finally boarded us, only to then tell us that they were given incorrect info and the cabin crew were now out of regulated hours. We then had to get off the plane and stay the night in a hotel before flying home the next day.

I have a couple of questions:
- As the flight was from outside of the EU and it was a Sunwings (Canadian) plane, but with Tui cabin crew and a TOM flight number, am I eligible for compensation?
- As the whole thing was an absolute mess and a series of easily avoidable events, is it worth complaining to Tui to try and get a bigger refund than the compensation alone?

eskbanker

Ricey87 said:

- As the flight was from outside of the EU and it was a Sunwings (Canadian) plane, but with Tui cabin crew and a TOM flight number, am I eligible for compensation?

It's the identity of the 'operating carrier' that determines eligibility, so if it was definitely a TUI/TOM flight then I believe it falls within the regulations even if they used someone else's plane to operate it.  However, there are other posters with a more detailed knowledge of the aviation industry and the complexities of subcontracting, codeshares, wet/dry leasing and so on, so happy to be corrected if necessary....

Ricey87 said:

- As the whole thing was an absolute mess and a series of easily avoidable events, is it worth complaining to Tui to try and get a bigger refund than the compensation alone?

No harm in complaining if you feel they handled it badly but you wouldn't actually be legally entitled to any more money (assuming they complied with all of their obligations under the regulations, in terms of funding meals and accommodation, etc) and would be reliant on their willingness to offer an additional goodwill gesture.

MidnightWolf

My wife and I have today returned from Antalya, Turkey following a 31 hour delay on TUI (also on a Sunwings plane from East Midlands, but operated by TUI and with a TOM flight number - possibly even the same aircraft as Ricey87).

The flight was supposed to leave at 2:30pm on Saturday 24th June. Everything seemed ok until we got to the top of the steps to board the plane (most of the other passengers were already on booard), and the crew suddenly said to stop and turnaround as the needed to deplane everyone. From then on it was a complete mess with no information coming from anyone to the passengers. No TUI representatives or ground handling staff were to be found. After a couple of hours everyone was told to go from the gate area up to Burger King in the airport where they provided some sorry looking burgers (only choice of beef or chicken, so nothing for vegetarians) and we got some garbled-English instructions to go to a different gate. After waiting there for a while we were taken out of the gate and up to the next door back into arrivals where we had to go back through passport control and collect our luggage. After this some TUI reps had appeared and directed us to coaches where they took us to a hotel (the shambles of the hotel is another story!).

We then received an email just before 7am saying that the flight had been arranged for 7pm that evening (Sunday). All the passengers were collected at 4pm and bussed back to the airport where we all checked in and went to the gate at the right time. The time got closer and closer to 7pm with no sign of boarding. The first notification that anything was wrong was a PA announcement for everyone to go back to Burger King. That produced a lot of anger from all the passengers and we all refused to go. Yet again, there was no-one there giving us any information. I ended up finding a ground handling employee standing by Burger King and she told me he colleague was at the gate giving information. I didn't believe her but I went back down to check and found that no-one was there or had been in my absence. I then went all the way back to find her and she let me speak to her colleague on her mobile as they were clearly lying to me. He just told me they were waiting for information, but no-one was willing to go the the gate to give any information to the passengers and we needed to ring TUI's call centre (what call centre, and on a Sunday evening?).

After another hour there was finally activity at the gate and they started getting us on to the buses to the plane whcih finally took off at 9:45pm and landed just before midnight at East Midlands. The captain was the only person who apologised and gave us any information. Apparently the pre-flight checks had given them a warning light and it required a new part to be flown to Antalya that only arrived at 3pm on Sunday. Communication from TUI was terrible throughout and their idea of providing refreshments is rubbish from Burger King.

I've just filled out the flight delay claim form on TUI's website, but am I able to claim for extra expenses that have left us out of pocket, such as the £40 overstay parking charge and having to pay for wifi in the airport just to try and find any information (such as the email updates that TUI sent)?

eskbanker

MidnightWolf said:

I've just filled out the flight delay claim form on TUI's website, but am I able to claim for extra expenses that have left us out of pocket, such as the £40 overstay parking charge and having to pay for wifi in the airport just to tray and find any information (such as the email updates that TUI sent)?

As per the post before yours, you can submit a claim for anything you like, but the regulations don't oblige airlines to cover such expenses, so don't be surprised if they reject it.

Ricey87

Ricey87 said:

Hi all,

Our flight from Dalaman, Turkey to East Midlands was delayed by over 18 hours due to the flight from the UK leaving 5 hours late and then the cabin crew being over their regulated hours. The reason for the delay was the cabin crew being stuck in traffic Near East Midlands due to Download Festival.

We arrived at Dalaman airport but no one could tell us why the flight hadn’t left the UK. When the flight left the UK we were finally checked in and told they are aiming to do a quick turnaround. 7 hours after being in the airport they finally boarded us, only to then tell us that they were given incorrect info and the cabin crew were now out of regulated hours. We then had to get off the plane and stay the night in a hotel before flying home the next day.

I have a couple of questions:
- As the flight was from outside of the EU and it was a Sunwings (Canadian) plane, but with Tui cabin crew and a TOM flight number, am I eligible for compensation?
- As the whole thing was an absolute mess and a series of easily avoidable events, is it worth complaining to Tui to try and get a bigger refund than the compensation alone?

Further to this. Tui rejected our claim and have then rejected it again via the ADR process.

Despite the traffic being caused by a planned event of which potential traffic problems were communicated in the media beforehand, TUI have claimed that the delay was due to extraordinary circumstances that was out of their control. Furthermore, any further precautions to get the cabin crew there earlier weren’t deemed necessary as the traffic was “unexpected and unprecedented”. It was most definitely not unexpected.

Delays as a result of Download Festival was even featured on Martin Lewis’s ITV programme and he confirmed that we should be entitled to compensation.

I’m currently contemplating my reply for the next stage of the ADR process, but I’m unsure how to approach it from here.

Any advice?

eskbanker

Ricey87 said:
Despite the traffic being caused by a planned event of which potential traffic problems were communicated in the media beforehand, TUI have claimed that the delay was due to extraordinary circumstances that was out of their control. Furthermore, any further precautions to get the cabin crew there earlier weren’t deemed necessary as the traffic was “unexpected and unprecedented”. It was most definitely not unexpected.

Delays as a result of Download Festival was even featured on Martin Lewis’s ITV programme and he confirmed that we should be entitled to compensation.

I think it'll come down to degree - a quick search on 'download festival traffic' would seem to indicate that the issues seen this year were indeed unprecedented, and, although heavier traffic than usual would have been anticipated, I suspect it's probably accurate to say that the level of chaos (5-7 hour jams, etc) was unexpected.  Although he's not in a position to 'confirm' anything, do you have access to a recording or transcript of Martin Lewis's TV show and if so, what was his line of argument?

Ricey87

His reasoning was “staff not getting there, same as a strike, is not defined as an extraordinary circumstance”.

eskbanker

Ricey87 said:

His reasoning was “staff not getting there, same as a strike, is not defined as an extraordinary circumstance”.

Not convinced that the strike analogy fits, but would be interested to hear if it works!  There isn't a common agreed definition of exactly what does and doesn't constitute extraordinary circumstances, but there have been a variety of court cases setting precedents, some of which have involved strikes, but I don't recall anything relating to traffic incidents....

Anon

I am hoping someone can offer advice please.

We missed our flight due to a major accident which blocked the motorway for many hours. We had to pay to rebook new flights and for overnight accommodation at the airport. We paid using Amex Gold which has travel insurance and I also have travel insurance with my Nationwide Flex Plus. We also lost a day and one night's accommodation of the package holiday. Which of these two would be the best option for claiming the extra costs (flight and accommodation) please, and can you claim for a missed night of unused all inclusive hotel?

Our second issue (hence on the TUI thread) is we arrived at the airport the following day to find there was no record of us on the flight number showing on the booking confirmation (nor any other). After a phone call by the TUI staff member to some other department, it turns out the Dreamliner plane had been changed to a smaller one with that same flight number, and a second plane put on 15 minutes later for all the remaining passengers. We were then booked at the airport onto this second plane - which subsequently left over 2 hours late. 

Is there likely any compensation due for this flight due to not having places nor leaving on the original flight number? I appreciate the subsequent late take off was not 3 hours so would get rejected on flight delay (over 1500km), but is not having seats allocated on the original flight number (or any plane when we arrived at the airport) and leaving on a different flight number effectively some form of cancellation/denied boarding/re-route? It may be the scenario isn't covered but thought there was no harm in checking.

Finally, if claiming on the insurance (for missed flight) and with the airline, can both be claimed now or is there a particular order?

Thank you