Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Virgin Atlantic ONLY

Mark2spark

iforem01 wrote: »

Good Morning,
I was on flight VS006 from Miami to Heathrow on 12th April 2009, banks of tv screens and ovens were not working in economy at point of take off, suggesting an electrical fault. After a couple of hours smoke was smelt in the cabin and the pilot diverted the plane to Halifax Nova Scotia.
In my opinion they could have returned to Miami as soon as the tv and oven issue was spotted or could have diverted to any of the main airports on the Eastern Seaboard, during the flight.
Virgin state that they do no use the Halifax airport, did not have a spare plane and had to borrow parts from another airline, so we had an overnight stay.
At the time Virgin said we had to stay overnight due to flight restriction times on their staff, nothing to do with parts.

I'm now in the same situation as Worriedwoman, having received a Service of acknowledgment after submitting my MCOL, with Virgin intending to defend.

Would I stand a chance with my case against Virgin in court?

111KAB,
Did you have mediation and then Virgin settle or are you still awaiting a payout?

Were spare parts used to rectify the fault? Put them to strict proof on this.
But smelling smoke during mid flight is a tough one to combat.

normansbaby

As expected I got my rejection letter today after about 13 weeks.Declined on grounds the delay was caused by extraordinary circumstances beyond the control of Virgin.
Quote "In this case the flight was delayed because the aircraft scheduled to operate your service to Johannesburg was unffortunately stuck in JFK due to harsh weather conditions in the local area.
We were advised shortly before this particular flights departure that aircraft could be affected by very strong gusting winds & the associated severe wind shear. Whilst the aircraft made it into JFK and Newark, the approach was careful and at times the flight deck was not sure if they would be able to make a landing.
After careful consideration it was deemed unsafe to depart in such treacherous conditions and so this flight was delayed until the following day. As a direct result ,I'm afraid this affected your VS601 service to South Africa.Due to the number of flights we operate to and from New York, at the time we had several aircraft stuck there so this placed a huge strain on our resources and were restricted to what we could actually go on to operate on time.
No one can predict the weather to its full force so these events were completely unforseen.Passenger safety is our top priority and so if our flight deck and crew deemed it unsafe to try and depart in such hazardous conditions then we would take their advice."

So there we have it. The flight from JFK that was cancelled was the Saturday evening, my flight that was cancelled to South Africa was the Sunday evening, some 24 hours later.
I will now start the court process.

PabloefcMaghull

Good morning , virgin have sent me a cheque for £203.34 ,for compensation for a flight that was delayed in 2007 to Orlando .flight vs75 25 th may which they say was only delayed for 3hours56mins .the points being the flight should have departed at 10.25 but never actually left till approx 3pm well over four hours but made time up on journey to arrive just before the four hour cut off for extra compensation, Can they really bring the departure time back at manchester to suit them I would like to know the exact departure times ,but flight aware must use virgin times on departure not the actual ones to suit arrival times in Orlando .another thing is the cheque they have sent me for£203.34 is equivalent to €300 exchange rate 1.47531=£1.00 are they avin a laugh or can they do this many thanks Paul

simples83

weybridge147 wrote: »

Many thanks to Ladylean, a very determined lady!, We were on the same flight to Vegas, and suffered the same delaying tactics(See previous post). On seeing her great result, I emailed Virgin on 8th May stating I was aware of her result through Martin's Forum, and as I was on the same flight I would be taking the same course of action. However Virgin might like to consider saving the £70 court fee, and settle direct. I asked for a response within 72 hours. Imagine my surprise when today I received a recorded delivery letter from Virgin stating they had reviewed the claim, and enclosed a cheque for the full amount(£ equivalent of 1200 euros) Thanks again Ladylean. Shows persistance pays!

Following on from weybridge's post I would also like to thanks Ladylean on this matter. Following her posts on chasing up with Vrigin and threatening legal action, last week I received compensation for 1200euros from Virgin for the delayed Las Vegas flight in April 12

I have seen some criticism of the CAA on here, and prior to this final settlement I would have concurred; however once I had pointed out to the CAA that staff sickness did not constitute an extraordinary circumstance they took my claim back to Virgin and even followed up with a courtesy call to advise me that Virgin had agreed to settle. My accompanying letter from Vrigin also contained "following investigation from the CAA"...

Mark2spark

normansbaby wrote: »

As expected I got my rejection letter today after about 13 weeks.Declined on grounds the delay was caused by extraordinary circumstances beyond the control of Virgin.
Quote "In this case the flight was delayed because the aircraft scheduled to operate your service to Johannesburg was unffortunately stuck in JFK due to harsh weather conditions in the local area.
We were advised shortly before this particular flights departure that aircraft could be affected by very strong gusting winds & the associated severe wind shear. Whilst the aircraft made it into JFK and Newark, the approach was careful and at times the flight deck was not sure if they would be able to make a landing.
After careful consideration it was deemed unsafe to depart in such treacherous conditions and so this flight was delayed until the following day. As a direct result ,I'm afraid this affected your VS601 service to South Africa.Due to the number of flights we operate to and from New York, at the time we had several aircraft stuck there so this placed a huge strain on our resources and were restricted to what we could actually go on to operate on time.
No one can predict the weather to its full force so these events were completely unforseen.Passenger safety is our top priority and so if our flight deck and crew deemed it unsafe to try and depart in such hazardous conditions then we would take their advice."

So there we have it. The flight from JFK that was cancelled was the Saturday evening, my flight that was cancelled to South Africa was the Sunday evening, some 24 hours later.
I will now start the court process.

How pathetic a response is that? :mad:
Off to court you go.
You could write back one more time I suppose and state that you have started the court process, and that EU 261 specifically states that ONLY meteorological conditions affecting the flight concerned (ie *your* flight) are valid EC's, so if they care to reconsider then they will save themselves 8% interest claimed *from the date of the delayed flight*.

And there was I thinking that Virgin were a bona fide airline..... :cool:

PS you might like the look of this wording to include in any reply
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.php?p=61350951&postcount=85

thalia22

I am enquiring regarding a family of three we met on our cruise table which finished on Friday the 17th May.
They travelled via virgin, and had booked hotel stays in-between, and after the cruise. I am trying to help them?. After the cruise they had pre booked a 3 day hotel stay, and after the stay a virgin flight, (number not yet known), to LHR from Vancouver BC. The flight was pre booked presumably prior to the cruise. When they went to book via the internet their return flight seat positions, it was noticed that the date was one day latter than originally booked. When they phoned their booking agent, and virgin, they were verbally told that the flight was cancelled due to operational reasons. Now I am assuming they only found out by chance, and it could have been outside the 14 days notification of cancellation. Now neither the Agent or themselves were officially notified of cancellation, just by a fluke was it discovered, when trying to book seat positions. Virgin has not offered anything at all. In my opinion it is a breach of duty of care. surely under the Montreal convention, and or EU261/2004, they are entitled to meals and accommodation at the very least. In this particular incidence, they explained the situation to the hotel, and negotiated a reduce rate for another days accommodation. I believe they are entitled to the cost of the additional days hotel bill, and the cost of additional meals. I also am of the opinion, even if cancellation was outside the 14 day period, the fact they or their agent was not informed, then compensation of 3 x 600 Euros should be paid, owing to the failure of Virgin to notify them. Also one of the three people will have to loose a days pay, and has exceeded his holiday allowance, which is non claimable. I do not have the specific dates at this time, as the cruise was 11 nights, plus travelling to Hawaii, plus a pre cruise hotel stay 2 nights, plus 3 nights post hotel stay enforced to 4 days. At what time period the cancellation was actually discovered is currently not known, until they arrive home on the 23/5/2013. Clearly I explained my Battle with Iberia, and I believe even if they cannot claim for the cancellation, they must be entitled to one days extra expenses incurred as a direct result of the flight cancellation. I do not know the Flight number, (which apparently is the same), which indicates to me it was a standard scheduled flight, I will check on Flightstats.com.

I am doing some research on their behalf in the meantime, and require clarification on the 14 day rule, and what the chances of a claim for cancellation when they were not informed?
regards Thalia 22

Happycomper

Happycomper wrote: »

Absolutely fab news that people are now getting paid out on this, albeit we are seeming to have to submit a claim to the small claims court.

I had my claim rejection letter yesterday. We had a 25 hour delay back in 2007. The reason for decline was given as
'.... a bodygear steering warning that came to light after the aircraft had pushed back from the stand in preparation for departure...'. Quoting EC because it is a mechanical discrepancy outside of the standard maintenance manual.

I'd love the advice of the people on the forum - Do I have a strong enough claim to take this to the small claims court?

Just typing out my NBA now, although I know nothing will come of it at this stage.

Congratulations again to those that have been paid out.

Thanks for the advice in advance.

As per my post above, I'd duly sent my NBA. Annoyingly, I got a reply yesterday which basically said thanks for your letter, please fill out the claim forms online to submit your claim, so they're sending me back to square one. :rotfl:
Looks like its off to the small claims court then. It just seems like a big outlay when you're not sure of the outcome or how strong a case I've actually got. I think their defence will rest on the fact that they're saying the fault with my flight wasn't covered by the maintenance manual and is therefore extraordinary. This is utter rubbish, isn't it??

Thanks for your advice in advance....

twinslog

I am now into my fifth month of waiting for a reply from Virgin Atlantic. I wrote in January with a claim for 2x 600 Euros for my husband and I for flights from Heathrow to Johannesburg on 15 November 2007. It was our honeymoon flight and although due to take off in the afternoon, we did not actually fly until the following morning. I remember being told at the time it was due to a techincal error and they had to wait for a part to be flown in from somewhere. Putting the terrible customer service aside, we both had an acknowledgement letter saying the claim would be investigated and it would take 6-12 weeks. That came and went so I rang customer services and was told that I couldn't speak to anyone in the claims department as it was "legal" and they only dealt with letters. I was also told claims were now taking up to 16 weeks to investigate. That deadline came and went so I have written to them giving them two weeks to come up with a response before I issue an NBA letter and proceed to the Small Claims Court. Part of me thinks they will try to drag this out until November so the six-year deadline passes! Was anyone else on this flight and heard anything? Unfortunately I cannot find the flight number but know we were due to take off early evening and didn't end up leaving until 10am the following morning. Thanks!

111KAB

twinslog wrote: »

Part of me thinks they will try to drag this out until November so the six-year deadline passes!

Well make sure you submit your Court claim prior to the 6 year deadline then

Vauban

twinslog wrote: »

Unfortunately I cannot find the flight number but know we were due to take off early evening and didn't end up leaving until 10am the following morning. Thanks!

This will have been (according to flightstats) VS601, which was scheduled to depart at 5.55pm but didn't leave Heathrow until 10.40am the following morning. The flight was 16 hours and 47 minutes late.