Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Flybe ONLY

scottymcguire

hi wanted some advice on the 11th oct 2013 we were to go on a flight to Belfast city with flybe we were both getting married on the sat in Belfast but we were to be there for 4pm for wedding arrangments . after several attempts to get information regarding the flight we were told nothing we were to fly out at 13.20 but at 1pm the info on the screen was further information was due at 1.30 .then after getting rather distressed we eventually were told after again approaching them again the flight had been cancelled and there was know way they could get us to Belfast city for 4pm the pilot was sick so they had to cancel the flight and they told us to approach easyjet because they were the only ones flying to Belfast at 4pm if not there were no other flights till the sat evening so we would have missed our wedding we had to pay an extra £380 to get us to Belfast and missed our wedding rehearsals ect ,,, I have approached flybe and they said we are entitled to nothing but the ticket price refund and nothing else because it was extreme circumstance with the pilot and they are adamant we will not be getting nothing back :mad:

richardw

Would it be a reasonable measure to have had a standby pilot system to minimise the delay/cancellation?

David_e

richardw wrote: »

Would it be a reasonable measure to have had a standby pilot system to minimise the delay/cancellation?

For a UK airline at (any) UK airport, I would say most definitely.

The point is that when the Regs were finalised in 2004 (or 2005) airlines should have looked at their operations and decided where the balance lay between the costs of avoiding delays/cancellations and the costs of compensation. That's what you do in business! Their fares should then reflect the need to cover costs of the desired level of contingency plans and also compensation for cases that fall outside those plans. Each airline would make its own decision as to where that balance lies. What's happened is that airlines simply continued to scrimp on their spare parts and standby crew while at the same time refusing legitimate compensation claims. Hopefully the chickens are now coming home to roost.

scottymcguire

well flybe have sent another email this morning saying sorry for inconvenience but the pilot was sick before the flight was due so he is covered due to medical grounds so compensation will not be due on this occasion regardless what we spent for alterative flights :mad:what now

111KAB

scottymcguire wrote: »

what now

Off to Court

richardw

Yes, they're fobbing you off.

scottymcguire

is there positive results when you do take FLYBE to small claims court and do the CAA INVESTIGATE quickly and respond

Vauban

scottymcguire wrote: »

is there positive results when you do take FLYBE to small claims court and do the CAA INVESTIGATE quickly and respond

1. Yes. 2. No. (3. Er, that's it.)

Flounder

Just received a payment from Flybe but I had to resort to using euclaims on the web. After 2 weeks of filling in the info on their website Flybe had agreed to pay up. I had sent at least 10 emails even letting them know I would as a last resort use euclaims (as they take a chunk of the compo). Still, I get a result for very little effort as I couldn't be bothered with taking legal action on my own but I wonder if Flybe might have paid up if I'd sent the letter threatening an appearance in court.

Persevere, it's worth it.

parko85

scottymcguire wrote: »

hi wanted some advice on the 11th oct 2013 we were to go on a flight to Belfast city with flybe we were both getting married on the sat in Belfast but we were to be there for 4pm for wedding arrangments . after several attempts to get information regarding the flight we were told nothing we were to fly out at 13.20 but at 1pm the info on the screen was further information was due at 1.30 .then after getting rather distressed we eventually were told after again approaching them again the flight had been cancelled and there was know way they could get us to Belfast city for 4pm the pilot was sick so they had to cancel the flight and they told us to approach easyjet because they were the only ones flying to Belfast at 4pm if not there were no other flights till the sat evening so we would have missed our wedding we had to pay an extra £380 to get us to Belfast and missed our wedding rehearsals ect ,,, I have approached flybe and they said we are entitled to nothing but the ticket price refund and nothing else because it was extreme circumstance with the pilot and they are adamant we will not be getting nothing back :mad:

I am new to this too, but one thing I've found is this is a bit of a minefield and whilst everyone is very helpful on here and there is a raft of information/FAQs, frankly you just need to have a go.

Try writing to Flybe, using the template letters in the FAQs, and see where you get to. It may be worth (on the basis they have already said no to you) tailoring that letter to say you don't consider a pilot being ill as "extraordinary".

Ultimately, my understanding is that you have four choices/outcomes

1) you pursue flybe via letters/emails and get some compensation (probably unlikely, but as it's free, it's the best option to start with)

2) you get nowhere with flybe and drop the claim

3) you get nowhere with flybe so decide to issue court proceedings against Flybe. This in practice means you need to issue a claim in the Courts (see FAQs again) but realistically it means paying a small fee to issue a claim, and then being prepared/able to attend Court and put forward your case. You also potentially face adverse costs risks of pursuing this option - i.e if you lose it's possible the Court would order you to pay (or pay some) or Flybe's costs

4) as an alterantive to 3) therefore, you could pay a no win no fee solicitor to take your case up. Not sure if you're meant to name particularl firms on here - but just in case I won't name any. If you google the air delay compensation/no win no fee you'll find results - particularly one who ask for a small (£20 ish) payment up front and then run your case for you (if they think it;s good). The benefit of this is that you have an actual solicitor who knows the law pursuing your case for you, at a minimal upfront outlay and also avoids any risk of costs being awarded against you personally. Obviously if you win they take a cut of the winnings but that's the risk/return for being no win no fee.

hope that helps. I'm pursuing a claim by corresponding directly with them at the minute, but we'll see. ultimately I suspect you will hit a brick wall and have to decide whether to continue - and if so, whether that's yourself or via a no win no fee solicitor.

keep your progress updated on here - be nice to see a few success stories with flybe or any general patterns they are employing to fob people off.