Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Flybe ONLY

the-siren

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if someone could give me a bit of advice. Apologies in advance for the length of this but a lot went wrong on my last flight with Flybe and I wanted to give all the info.

On Saturday 29 June, I was due to travel from Belfast City Airport to Glasgow Airport. I had already checked in and when I got to the airport, the display screen showed that the flight was cancelled. No notification had been given, there was no tannoy system, and there is no general information desk in Belfast City Airport. I was meant to travel over to visit my ex, who was travelling to Glasgow to meet me, he tried the Flybe website whilst I tried to get through to their 'customer service' line. this was utterly useless as it just had automated messages stating that the flight was cancelled and no actual suggestion of what to do. At a complete loss, I ended up joining a queue to the Flybe check-in desk in the hope that someone would know what was going on, as there were no other Flybe staff about. A few others in the queue were there for the same reason as me. Half an hour later, a staff member appeared from nowhere and asked if we were in the "Flybe Glasgow cancellation queue". there was no indication that this was a queue for Glasgow passengers, but it actually was, and I was told I could transfer to a later Glasgow flight or an Edinburgh flight. As I really needed to get to Scotland I chose this option, was told I was on the Edinburgh flight and was given a £5 voucher that could only be used in the most expensive restaurant in the departure area, and that was it - the staff member couldn't even tell me or the others why the flight had been cancelled.

I then went to wait for the Edinburgh flight. this was delayed by over an hour, but no information was given on this at all. Many of the passengers were those from the cancelled Glasgow flight, all of whom had to get to Glasgow (including one girl who had to get to her friend's wedding and therefore had missed the ceremony). One air hostess had no idea that the Glasgow flight had been cancelled and said that we would be able to get transportation from Edinburgh to Glasgow if we asked staff at the flybe desk in Edinburgh airport. Weirdly enough, the staff had all 'suddenly gone home', according to the BA staff at the neighbouring desk. So I had to end up staying in Edinburgh that night with my ex, then pay to travel to Glasgow the next day for my return flight (I was only going overnight, this was extra hassle and expense I did not need).

When I got back to Belfast, I complained to Flybe regarding this. I received no reply within their 28-day reply period. I contacted them on twitter about this and was told to email another Flybe email account, which I have now done, but still no reply. Could anyone advise what my rights are on this if they do get back to me? As far as I am aware (from speaking to a friend who is a barrister), it was their duty to get me to Glasgow as that is where my ticket was for, and the fact that they didn't do this because there weren't enough staff, and that they never provided transport from Edinburgh to Glasgow for a randomly-cancelled flight means that I'd be entitled to a few hundred quid compensation.

Caz3121

the-siren wrote: »

....and I was told I could transfer to a later Glasgow flight or an Edinburgh flight.
...
Could anyone advise what my rights are on this if they do get back to me? As far as I am aware (from speaking to a friend who is a barrister), it was their duty to get me to Glasgow as that is where my ticket was for, and the fact that they didn't do this because there weren't enough staff, and that they never provided transport from Edinburgh to Glasgow for a randomly-cancelled flight means that I'd be entitled to a few hundred quid compensation.

The cancelled flight alone should yield you €250 compensation

Assuming you are wanting to claim for the travel from Edinburgh to Glasgow it may be a little more difficult as, although you are correct that they were contracted to get you to Glasgow, the issue may be that you declined the offer of a direct Glasgow flight to take the Edinburgh flight. I would guess at the point you had this choice you should have confirmed with them whether the choice of the Edinburgh flight included transportation to Glasgow. (I would guess they may have said 'no' to this as they could offer you a direct flight to Glasgow) - the crew on board that directed you to the desk to sort out the transportation would have been unaware that there would have been an option to fly direct which you declined

hopefully the €250 will make up for this...good luck

bathtub

Anyone else booked on Flybe flight BE 162 (scheduled departure 14:30) from Luton to Ronaldsway on 14/7/13?

The flight was cancelled just over an hour before scheduled departure and we were bussed (well, some were, they provided a 38-seater for 44 passengers!) to Birmingham for Flybe flight BE 196 scheduled to depart 18:00. It eventually took off at 19:45.

We arrived Ronaldsway20:20, more than four and a half hours later than the original flight was due.

I emailed Flybe customer relations three weeks ago, but have heard nothing apart from an automated reply.

I've emailed them again today.

Anyone else on that flight had any luck?

the-siren

Caz3121 wrote: »

The cancelled flight alone should yield you €250 compensation

Assuming you are wanting to claim for the travel from Edinburgh to Glasgow it may be a little more difficult as, although you are correct that they were contracted to get you to Glasgow, the issue may be that you declined the offer of a direct Glasgow flight to take the Edinburgh flight. I would guess at the point you had this choice you should have confirmed with them whether the choice of the Edinburgh flight included transportation to Glasgow. (I would guess they may have said 'no' to this as they could offer you a direct flight to Glasgow) - the crew on board that directed you to the desk to sort out the transportation would have been unaware that there would have been an option to fly direct which you declined

hopefully the €250 will make up for this...good luck

Hi, I've just had an update and would be grateful for any advice as this is the first time I've ever had problems with flight cancellations etc:

Flybe got back to me, they claim the flight was cancelled due to technical problems (from what other passengers have said to me, we actually believe it was due to staff not showing up). Anyway, I have been offered a refund for the travel expenses I incurred travelling from Edinburgh to Glasgow if I can send in receipts. I have also been offered £75 voucher for future Flybe flights. Is this a good form of compensation or would I be entitled to more, even though I did transfer onto another flight?

the-siren

Caz3121 wrote: »

The cancelled flight alone should yield you €250 compensation

Assuming you are wanting to claim for the travel from Edinburgh to Glasgow it may be a little more difficult as, although you are correct that they were contracted to get you to Glasgow, the issue may be that you declined the offer of a direct Glasgow flight to take the Edinburgh flight. I would guess at the point you had this choice you should have confirmed with them whether the choice of the Edinburgh flight included transportation to Glasgow. (I would guess they may have said 'no' to this as they could offer you a direct flight to Glasgow) - the crew on board that directed you to the desk to sort out the transportation would have been unaware that there would have been an option to fly direct which you declined

hopefully the €250 will make up for this...good luck

Sorry, I forgot to mention as well: when I was at the desk to get transferred onto another flight, the woman told me that the only option was an Edinburgh flight as someone had just booked the last tickets for the later Glasgow flight, and when I (and someone else who was booked onto the Edinburgh flight) asked about transport from Edinburgh to Glasgow, she said she didn't know. So I'm hoping the fact that I couldn't get direct to Glasgow will work in my favour regarding compensation

y_geordie

y_geordie wrote: »

We were delayed by nearly 4 hours yesterday. Very sunny in Newcastle and Exeter.

As usual, they kept us hanging on an hour at a time, teasing us with imminent departure, then moving the goalposts again. We had 2 small children and live quite close to the airport so could have gone home and come back if they had been honest.

Explanation given was:
1) Plane was held up at Gatwick due to adverse weather conditions there
2) When it arrived, crew was over 8 hours so needed a new crew, adding another 1.5 hours to the delay. They must have known this when the plane left Gatwick

Do you think they will pay out or claim adverse circumstances?

Got a reply within 2 days of posting it off. I waited until I was back in Newcastle before posting as I was scared they would not fly us back! It looks like an automatic letter saying it was 'extraordinary circumstance'.

I have just appealed to CAA....

*manda*

I had success with our delayed Dublin Southampton flight from 14 July, offered cash or vouchers valid for 9/12. Opted for cash, paid promptly, all done within 14 days. They replied after 9. I emailed and also sent same letter recorded delivery.

Thanks all for your advice, going to use the cash towards a weekend in Belfast!

the-siren

Hi everyone,

Bit of an update on the cancelled Belfast-Glasgow flight and transfer onto the only available flight (Edinburgh). Although I had initially been offered a refund for my travel between Edinburgh and Glasgow, and a £75 Flybe credit note, I also contacted the Consumer Council in Northern Ireland as this is where my flight originated. I made it clear that although I was offered an alternative flight, the law states that you are entitled to a refund if your alternative flight arrives in your destined country more than 2 hours after the cancelled flight was due to land (and this was the case with me).
I was then contacted by Flybe who said they had 'reviewed my case' and that in addition to a refund for my Ed-Glas travel costs, they would now pay me £200 either in cash or vouchers. I selected cash, this will apparently be paid onto the card I used for the booking, although I've yet to receive it.
So provisionally, it looks good, fingers crossed the money goes through soon as I have a zillion bills to pay right now!

the_laughing_cow

Further to recent articles on flight cancellations/ delay I fail to see how the new guidance can help matters. Under unexplained flight safety shortcomings there is a section 26 that basically says any other technical reason is an extraordinary circumstance. This in effect is a catch all get out for the airlines who continually quote extraordinary circumstances. I believe ec261/2004 was judged on because far too many airlines claim these circumstances. I have a letter from the CAA stating it appears you have a case under ec261/2004 and referred it back to Flybe, who are now citing number 25 and 26 of the new guidelines in order not to pay the claim. Has anyone actually been to court since the printing of the new guidelines? And if so what was the result?

bathtub

bathtub wrote: »

Anyone else booked on Flybe flight BE 162 (scheduled departure 14:30) from Luton to Ronaldsway on 14/7/13?

The flight was cancelled just over an hour before scheduled departure and we were bussed (well, some were, they provided a 38-seater for 44 passengers!) to Birmingham for Flybe flight BE 196 scheduled to depart 18:00. It eventually took off at 19:45.

We arrived Ronaldsway20:20, more than four and a half hours later than the original flight was due.

I emailed Flybe customer relations three weeks ago, but have heard nothing apart from an automated reply.

I've emailed them again today.

Anyone else on that flight had any luck?

I've had no response from Flybe after more than a month other than automated replies, so I've now gone to the CAA.

Am I doing something wrong?