Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Jet2.com ONLY

derrybhoy

Botts have replied to say they have looked at my case and are taking it on so I guess they are happy that they have the time to deal with it. Cheers

The_13th_Duke

Hi, I was one of the "lucky ones" to spend 12 hours on the Jet2 flight to Budapest from Manchester on Friday 4th March 2016. There was some heavy snow that morning so we sort of knew we had a chance of being delayed but taking off 8.5 hours late was a bit of a joke. We were told that Manchester Airport should have had 6 de-icing trucks operating but in fact only had 2 working. The pilot was telling us over the hours that this was all the airports mis-management and running pt of de-icer and how poor the whole show was. Do we have a leg to stand on trying to get compensation from Jet2 and if not can we claim against the airport ?

David_e

The_13th_Duke wrote: »

Do we have a leg to stand on trying to get compensation from Jet2 and if not can we claim against the airport ?

If the delay was due to inadequate airport facilities, Jet2 aren't liable. Were other planes taking off when your was supposed to? It's always possible that the snow is used as an excuse but if it was snowing heavily, that may indeed be the reason.

I'm pretty sure you would struggle to get any compensation from the airport. It wouldn't be the fixed amounts provided for by the EU regulation, in any event.

The_13th_Duke

David_e wrote: »

If the delay was due to inadequate airport facilities, Jet2 aren't liable. Were other planes taking off when your was supposed to? It's always possible that the snow is used as an excuse but if it was snowing heavily, that may indeed be the reason.

I'm pretty sure you would struggle to get any compensation from the airport. It wouldn't be the fixed amounts provided for by the EU regulation, in any event.

Yes other planes were taking off, and several of them scheduled for take off after we were (presumably because they were the bigger players in the game such as Virgin, BA etc). As daft as it sounds, the actual snow itself wasn't the issue in that the runways were blocked or inaccessible, it was solely due to the airport not having enough trucks available (2 out of 6 working) to de-ice the planes and we kept getting put back. As I said the pilots (yes we had a new crew after take over) were both expressing their exasperation at the incompetence and lack of information saying their main people were talking to the airports main people at the highest level but getting nowhere until 5.30pm when the truck finally turned up. We boarded at 09.00am and were kept on the plane which was very claustrophobic and eventually offered a free glass of water after several hours and the chance to buy some sandwiches - buy them !!! We eventually got a free muffina and a beer but only after take off.

David_e

The_13th_Duke wrote: »

Yes other planes were taking off, and several of them scheduled for take off after we were (presumably because they were the bigger players in the game such as Virgin, BA etc).

Think you've got a less than ideal fact pattern. Might be worth writing to them and asking why they weren't able to secure a take-off slot when others did.

Tyzap

The_13th_Duke wrote: »

Hi, I was one of the "lucky ones" to spend 12 hours on the Jet2 flight to Budapest from Manchester on Friday 4th March 2016. There was some heavy snow that morning so we sort of knew we had a chance of being delayed but taking off 8.5 hours late was a bit of a joke. We were told that Manchester Airport should have had 6 de-icing trucks operating but in fact only had 2 working. The pilot was telling us over the hours that this was all the airports mis-management and running pt of de-icer and how poor the whole show was. Do we have a leg to stand on trying to get compensation from Jet2 and if not can we claim against the airport ?

My understanding of the situation is that airlines contract ground handling agents at every airport to supply various services. These include de icing aircraft when required.

Manchester Airport does not own or operate the de icing equipment so I don't believe they directly enter into this problem.

I do not believe that what your pilot said was accurate but it may have been conveinient. He was just as trapped as the passengers and must have been frustrated. Many other aircraft were also caught up in this with similar time delays

The runways were open and did not cause the backlog.

I believe the problem was between the airline and it's contractor at the airport. As such you may be able to claim from J2.

Try putting your details into a couple of NWNF flight delay calculators or even phone them up.

It's an unusual case but I know that many thousands of passengers were also affected.

Good luck.

DrA_Harrogate

A most puzzling scenario and very trying for His Grace. If the problem, as averred by Jet2, was that the airport would not allocate a slot for any reason, he has no case. Writing to Jet2 will either produce nothing at all or a letter repeating their position. One might inquire of the airport authorities as to the apparent favouritism for other airlines. I guess the 'evidence' as in airport logs etc will be a mess. The facts as written seem to indicate Jet2 were as fed up as the passengers. No harm in trying Botts website etc. but I fear that the Duke will have put this horrid experience down to -um- experience. Unless an esteemed colleague has another idea?

DrA_Harrogate

I see Tyzap and myself were typing simultaneously and with about the same optimism. Does the airline not contract with the airport rather than every sub-contractor?

howticklediam

derrybhoy wrote: »

Botts have replied to say they have looked at my case and are taking it on so I guess they are happy that they have the time to deal with it. Cheers

Good luck with it. Let us know how you get on.

The_13th_Duke

Thanks for the interest, I am by no means hopeful but have just completed a claim via Botts to see how it goes - I'll let you know