Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Virgin Atlantic ONLY

David_e

iforem01 wrote: »

Quick update on my case......Virgin have filed a defence with the Court. Virgin's defence states that burning was smelt in the cabin, so they diverted to Nova Scotia.
During diversion the plane was hit by lightning, which would also require investigation for damage.
Air Canada's engineers investigated the fault, but could not determine cause of the burning smell.
Virgin had to fly out their staff and enginners from JFK to assist with repairs.
Crew had to work within their legal flying hours and the time it took to resolve the issue was longer than their hours ...
Cause of the smell was a defective fluorescent light above the toilet door.

This raises an interesting point as there are two potential causes of the delay: the fault and the crew hours.

My (non-legal) view would be that the "emergency" might be accepted as "extraordinary" but if the delay was actually longer (potentially resulting in the breach of the limit for compensation) as a result of the crew issue, would that be regarded as "extraordinary"?

What does anyone else think?

KillBetty

Okay I am claiming for Flight VS66 Montego Bay to Gatwick Aug 2nd 2008.

I posted my EU claim forms on Febuary 30th , heard nothing so emailed Virgin April 14th. To be on the safe side I then posted a second copy of the forms April 15th. Still no response so I emailed them again on June 2nd saying that if I did not receive a response within 14 days then I will be considering court action!

Today I receive a letter dated June 2nd so I guess the court action threat got their attention. Needless to say my letter said the legendary words...... "extraordinary circumstances ". The letter went on to say:

"In your particular case the flight was initially delayed due to a failure of the check in systems provided by Sangster International Airport. As all systems failed, passengers had to be checked in manually which did lead to delays on that day.

A further delay was caused by a disruptive passenger onboard the aircraft, who needed to be assessed by the crew before the aircraft could safely depart. As this delay was beyond our control and could not have been avoided or anticipated, no compensation is due."

I had to laugh when I read about the "disruptive passenger" excuse! That passenger was actually 3 seats in front of me and the incident was over within 5 minutes. What actually happened was she was shouting because she claimed to have been attacked by mosquito's in her seat. Three separate staff members approached her and told her there are no mosquito's on board and she complained loudly about being bitten! Staff told her to calm down and were actually giggling as they left her, as was I because she made a real show of herself!

Virgin should expect passengers to become a little cranky when they have been delayed in a sweating hot un air-conditioned check in cue for hours. Its amazing that virgin would bring the passenger into it when actually they had us sitting on our suitcases in check in cue for hours without any information. The delay before take off was actually 4hrs 2mins and they made up some minutes in the air thus why I'm claiming for 3 hrs delay. Virgin didn't begin checking us in manually to around 3 hours after computer failure so they sure could of done more.

I shall be posting off my NBA tomorrow

Debsyh

Hi,just wondered if you had any luck?i have today registered my claim through MCOL and would be interested to hear how you got on.

Virginairlinesarecrap wrote: »

Hi my daughter and i were delayed for 3hours50mins on flight vs073This was on april 24th 2009.
The plane had a compressor fault and the engine would not start. We were in manchester, the plane was on the ground at gatwick and had to return to its stand
Virgin claim extraordinary circumstances, however, i smell a bad odour of bovine excrement , i have put this in a solicitors hands, yes i know they will take 15 percent of the fees, but hey why should the likes of Branson the BA**a*d. Stuff me, and the eu laws by welshing on the law
Thanks john Virginairlinesarecrap

lizard123

Hi can anyone help me, I am new to this kind of thing and am looking for some advice. I have been following this forum since receiving my rejection letter from virgin on 18th April. I have been informed that our flight was delayed 25 hours due to a fault with the engine control unit. We were booked on flight VS044 Las Vegas to LGW 26 July 2010. Am I right in thinking that a faulty engine control unit is not an extraordinary circumstance and has anyone be successful in claiming compensation for this? My gut reaction was to send an NBA but would this be the correct next step? I have been reading all posts but can't find any with the same technical fault as me and the more I think about it I start doubting myself.

Is anyone able to help me please?

KillBetty

lizard123 wrote: »

Hi can anyone help me, I am new to this kind of thing and am looking for some advice. I have been following this forum since receiving my rejection letter from virgin on 18th April. I have been informed that our flight was delayed 25 hours due to a fault with the engine control unit. We were booked on flight VS044 Las Vegas to LGW 26 July 2010. Am I right in thinking that a faulty engine control unit is not an extraordinary circumstance and has anyone be successful in claiming compensation for this? My gut reaction was to send an NBA but would this be the correct next step? I have been reading all posts but can't find any with the same technical fault as me and the more I think about it I start doubting myself.

Is anyone able to help me please?

To me the technical fault on your plane seems no more extraordinary than the others noted, if I were you I would get that NBA form sent off

111KAB

twinkletoes00 wrote: »

. I would be grateful if you do know of any as I do not want to let the money go but seem to be hitting a brick wall and I would rather pay 30% to someone to do for me. Thank you for your advice very much appreciated

Not a recommendation but see > http://www.flightmole.com/

KillBetty

twinkletoes00 wrote: »

Can anyone tell me of solicitors that have taken on these cases on a no win no fee basis for a percentage. I tried EU claims but with no luck and I thought that it had to go through them. I am a complete newbie at this so any advice would be a great help as I really don't want to let this money go.

claim4flights dot com

euclaim dot co dot uk

I have had to write dot instead on fullstops as I'm a new user they won't let me post links.

I don't know how good they are, I just saw them advertising online whilst researching my claim

noddy1976

At last!
I have just received in the post cheques for all those in my party who were delayed from Orlando, May 10th 2012(vs0016)
We had sent 2 letters to Virgin and all their forms and the usual reply of EC's. Wrote to CAA and issued NBA 3 weeks ago.
Just about to issue MCOL this weekend, when common sense and a letter from CAA to Virgin seems to have paid off.
Keep on going anyone who thinks it is too hard. The law is on the side of those with rightful claims. Use the excellent advice provided in these forums(thank you all that have posted) and hold the airlines to account. Do not let them scare you off.
I will post more details of interest when my payments have cleared,that may be of use to others.

Ladylean

worriedwoman wrote: »

Just a quick update on my claim against Virgin, which they are defending.
I sent my questionnaire back to the court on 18th May but have not heard anything yet. I have just phoned the court who said that as myself and Virgin have both ticked YES to mediation, that is what will happen, and someone will be in touch within 10 days (from 30th May).
To be honest I am quite looking forward to explaining how Virgin have contradicted themselves - In their defence on the claim form they have stated that the plane was damaged and had to be taken out of service but unfortunately a replacement aircraft could not be arranged until the following day. However, in my email from Virgin last year they told me that the flight was delayed overnight due to the legalities of crew working hours. Surely they don't have a leg to stand on? Any thoughts on this?

Just to provide some reassurance, this was exactly what happened with me; the court service said I would be hearing from the mediators, but instead I received my cheque direct from Virgin about 2 weeks later. IF, and only IF, there is any mediation I think you are right that Virgin doesn't have any chance of success. I'm pretty sure "your cheque is in the post"...............

KillBetty

Just had a response to my NBA which I posted to Crawley address on June 5th.

It appears Virgin aren't even reading the letters they receive as their response was to send me back my NBA with a standard letter instructing me how to make an application for flight compensation!!! Why on earth would I need instructions on how to submit a claim when I have already done that step and received a rejection! There couldn't be any confusion as I used the NBA template, filled all details in and included claim my reference number etc etc

This is beyond a joke! I'll still give them the 14 days then I'll start my claim in court