Flight delay and cancellation compensation, KLM/AF ONLY

Ich_2

i have sent the first letter to air france and they have responded with the below information. please let me know where i go from here.

An ATC delay is not within the control of the airline and is specified as such in the regulations (you have read them?).
Therefore you do not have a claim

Ich_2

AF1981 refers to London Heathrow to Paris CDG flights.
In 2010 this flight was used as the launch & tests of the Airbus A380 when AF got them

Ich_2

Not sure what relevance 2010 has to this question...

Just a bit of passing interest!

Though in 2010 this flight was timed at lunchtime

Also the fact that other flights departing LHR around the same time took off on time and other flights arrived at CDG ontime at around the scheduled arrival time of this flight suggests that the ATC excuse is a rather lame one at best.

Bear in mind that as well as the airport ATC the flight will go through at least 3 other UK en-route sectors and probably a similar number in France. The restriction could have been in any of them.
Generally where there is talk of slot delays, regulation and such, it is limitations imposed en-route that are the cause.

The airport slots are usually confirmed years in advance, en-route only when individual flight plans are submitted.

waterbaby1

waterbaby1 wrote: »

hi i was wondering if you can help me. i have sent the first letter to air france and they have responded with the below information. please let me know where i go from here.

reply from air france

Dear Mrs. xxxxxxx

I am writing to follow up on our telephone conversation of the 18th of March regarding the delay of your flight AF1981 of the 23rd of September 2008.
From the outset, I wish to reiterate my sincere apologies on behalf of Air France due to inconvenience caused to you and Mr xxxxx.
Our records show that your flight was delayed due to air traffic regulation on that day. For our airline, one of, if not the major performance indicator, is on-time delivery. The ability to adhere to a published schedule is an important ingredient of any airline product. The delay of a flight, however rare, is therefore a major frustration to our aim of providing passengers with the reliable service they demand.
Decisions made by Air Traffic Control affecting the departure and arrival time of a particular aircraft on a particular day which results in a long delay, an overnight delay, or the cancellation of one or more flights operated by that aircraft, are considered as extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.
As you may be aware, compensation is laid down and paid in accordance with the EC regulation 261/2004. In line with this regulation - and our General Conditions of Carriage - I must respectfully inform you that no compensation can be awarded.
I hope that the above explanation will help soften the negative impact of this situation and that you will afford us with yet another opportunity to serve you to your entire satisfaction.
Yours sincerely

sorry i booked my flights directly with air france. we departed on the 23 of september 2008. our flight was due to leave heathrow at 6.40am however we were delayed by an hour give or take. this delay meant that i missed my connecting flight from france (on air france) to south africa johannesburg. this fight left france at 10.15. they managed to get us on a 8pm flight that night as i was travelling with an infant child. they gave us a 1 voucher for a sandwich and drink. we eventually arrived in south africa the following morning on the 24th almost 24 hours later.

waterbaby1

Centipede100 wrote: »

I would be most interested to eventually see whatever contemporary records they offer as proof of the ATC delay! I would be fairly sure this was the result of a small technical delay rather than ATC....

What can I do now should I still pursue this or do I not have a case

emma-mark

I have had some success with KLM - I had my flight from Dubai back to London (via Amsterdam) cancelled two years ago because our flight was practically empty so they brought forward our flight by a day. Sent an email with the standard wording to their customer services department at the beginning of March and heard back last week that they are sending me the full €1200 compensation. Now to start claiming with some more airlines...!

waterbaby1

Centipede100 wrote: »

Pursue it!

Sorry to be a pain, do you have a template or what should I request from them or should i tell them i will take it further

dkelly84

Any advice would be appreciated re below situ:

Booked journey as one ticket - MCO-ATL-CDG-NCL

We missed the Atlanta - CDG flight as flight arrival time from Orlando was 20:15, Atlanta departure was 20:45.

We were rebooked ATL-AMS-EDI so have to make our own way from Edinburgh to Newcastle, and arriving 24hrs+ later than originally planned.

What, if anything, can we claim for?

Any help would be appreciated, all flights were under the "Skyteam" Group - Delta/Air France/KLM

Thanks

marinedale

Hi, all.

This is my first post. I've already emailed and written to Air France regarding a 24-hour delay in Paris in December 2010. The reason for the delay was a burst tyre during taxiing before take-off. Everyone was required to leave the plane and were flown on to Beijing the following day. Air France have stated in response to my email enquiry:

"Thank you for your recent communication regarding the disruption to your flight AF126 from Paris to Beijing on 9th December 2010. I am sorry for any inconvenience the disruption to your journey may have caused. I can assure that this in no way reflects the standard of service we aim to provide.
Your flight was delayed as a result of a burst tyre when the aircraft was on the runway. Following this, it was necessary to postpone the departure and change the aircraft to ensure the health and safety of our passengers and crew. We took all the reasonable measures we could under these particular circumstances and every effort was made in order to offer you the best possible care and assistance.
According to EU recommendations, airline passengers are entitled to compensation in case of delays longer than 3 hours - unless the delay was caused by extraordinary circumstances over which we could not exercise any influence.
We have carefully considered your request and taken into account all relevant details for your delayed flight. Consequently, we confirm that the circumstances which caused this delay are considered 'extraordinary' according to the European Union regulation. As a result, I must respectfully decline your request for legal compensation.
Thank you for allowing us this opportunity to explain our position in this matter. I do hope that we will have an early opportunity to serve your travel needs again in the future."

I disagreed with their analysis of the situation and wrote to them (by recorded delivery) saying so. This was on 26th February and I've not heard back from them yet. I just want to hear other people's views on burst tyres and if these are considered to be "extraordinary circumstances" before I take this matter further.

Thanks for reading.

Ich_2

Is a burst tyre within the airline's control?