Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Virgin Atlantic ONLY

mattl2002

mattl2002 wrote: »

We flew back with Virgin from Antigua to Gatwick in January 2013, the plane developed a fault (with the flaps on the wings) after taking off from Barbados on its outbound trip and had to return there. We were delayed for over 24 hours and, although Virgin did arrange overnight accommodation and paid towards the additional costs we incurred for meals, we each had to take an extra day's holiday and incurred additional petcare costs.

We made an initial claim to Virgin, which they of course rejected immediately, and so took it to the CAA. Today we finally received a response, stating that they had investigated and concluded that the fault was beyond Virgin's control and unavoidable, so falling under the "Extraordinary Circumstances" exception to EC261/2004. They therefore conclude that we are ineligible for compensation, and advise that, whilst we could pursue it through the County Claims Court, our chances of success would be low.

Has anyone else had this experience? This seems to suggest that any fault with a plane is ineligible so how do the airlines ever have to pay out?

Well after taking advice of others on this forum we decided to appoint someone to take our case on a No Win No Fee basis (Claim4Flights.com) and have had another response from Virgin citing Category 25 of the Extraordinary Circumstances developed by the CAA and other EU bodies. They claim that because the fault (with a flap on the wing) only became apparent after the plane took off from Barbados for Antigua then this is an EC - it had flown there earlier that day from LGW without any indication that there might be a problem. Apparently Antigua has a short runway (long enough for a fully laden 747 to take off though!) and so it would not have been safe to land there with a fault of this nature.

I am still not convinced and my view is that they are still trying to fob us off (naturally) - this must occur frequently. Presumably Claim4Flights will now need to take a view as to whether it is worth pursuing but I wondered if anyone on here had a view or a similar experience?

111KAB

mattl2002 wrote: »

.....citing Category 25 of the Extraordinary Circumstances developed by the CAA and other EU bodies......

List is a load of bull, it is not law and therefore has no legal standing. If your NWNF do not accept this then find a reputable firm who do and go from there.

Hedobaby

Just wondering if anyone has had a claim upheld for a fuel gasket being replaced?? We were delayed over 6 hours and I was sure it would be under technical fault but one never knows what Virgin will say on the matter despite it being entirely their fault in this case.

David_e

Hedobaby wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone has had a claim upheld for a fuel gasket being replaced??

These are my thoughts:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...postcount=4238

GalaxyTwirl

goobervision wrote: »

Well, my court date looms. 10th April... Anyone else been to court yet?

Hi Goobervision
Just seen your post as was on this flight and given same excuse re extraordinary circumstances. Was debating whether to pass to claims management company when noticed you were taking them to court. How did you get on?
GalaxyTwirl

Yorkshire_user

Centipede100 wrote: »

I am starting this thread for those claiming flight delay or cancellation compensation from Virgin Atlantic.

Any posts regarding any other airline in this thread will be ignored (at least by me).

I was denied a compensation package due to rule 26 "Unexpected flight safety shortcomings" and I feel this is incorrect. The Incident requirements state that the failure is "immediately prior to departure" when the aircraft was delayed due to the incoming flight was delayed in the first place. My flight was turned around on the ground in normal time, but was late due to the arrival flight. How do I reclaim...I feel this rule is not the correct one.
Thanks

Yorkshire_user

Virgin Atlantic Flight VS76 delayed by 3 hours 19 minutes due to Virgin Atlantic Flight VS75 being late to arrivals. Any technical defects were with the VS75 Flight and not mine (VS76)

Doodledog_2

Had long haul flights with Virgin Atlantic in 2009 delayed by 24 hrs
Wrote to Virgin in 2012 to request compensation - claim rejected due to unforseen circumstances clause.
Filed a claim with CAA in late 2012. Heard back 16 months later- CAA agreed with Virgin. Last resort used an on line compo solicitors Bott online 12 weeks ago - OK they charge 27% but now Virgin agreed to settle claim in full.

Doodledog_2

tell me about it:)

spikey001

millsmum wrote: »

yes and no, will check the court bundles thread.

I'm wondering how you got on with the court process?

I was on the same flight as you and have gone as far as sending the NBA.
Next step would be the MCOL and court action - I'm hoping you've set me a precedent