Flight Delay Compensation, Lufthansa Only

kuepper

kuepper wrote: »

Had a booking from Manchester to Chisinau with Austrian airlines. The booking involved 2 changes - at Frankfurt and Vienna - and the 1st flight was operated by Lufthansa, the other 2 by Austrian. My Lufthansa flight was a tad late arriving in Frankfurt so I just missed my connecting flight to Vienna. At Frankfurt, Lufthansa customer services rerouted me to Chisinau via Istanbul with Lufthansa and then from Istanbul to Chisinau withTurkish airlines. I eventually arrived in Chisinau 5 hours 30 minutes later than I should have done had my original booking connections worked out.

I complained to Lufthansa and suggested I was entitled to 400 euros compensation. Credit to them they have replied in 12 hours, though not saying what I wanted to hear:

"Even with all of the effort we make to always maintain the flight schedule and avoid waiting times: We unfortunately cannot fully rule out occasional delays at the airport. Congestion in airspace or restrictions by the authorities may lead to delays from time to time and can affect subsequent flights in the aircraft’s rotation that cannot always be made up. Unfortunately, this was the case regarding your flight.

As safety in air traffic is always a top priority for Lufthansa, such situations cannot be always be avoided. As an airline, we will do our utmost to get you to your destination as fast as possible in spite of the circumstances.

There are no grounds for compensation against Lufthansa for such delays. We therefore hope for your understanding that we cannot meet your request for compensation of your additional costs."

However this seems a limp reply which doesn't even seem to suggest any exceptional circumstances whatsoever, have I got a good case - and which is the relevant regulatory authority in my case, CAA or German equivalent?

I subsequently replied to Lufthansa and in their reply they introduced a new excepttional circumstance - that the flight was delayed because luggage had to be removed because of a non-show passenger. However my initial flight wasn't hardly delayed departure-wise, the delay was on tarmac waiting for a gate at Frankfurt, so I assume their defence must refer to an unspecified flight at Frankfurt which was delayed for that reason and so occupying our gate. I complained to the CAA and they have eventually replied and simply said that there were exceptional circumstances due to the baggage of a non-shower ie totally ignoring there was no non-shower on my flight and simply accepting Lufthansa's excuse. I also don't think non-showers' luggage getting removed is that uncommon anyway these days so hardly exceptional. Does my case seem worth taking legal action on?

JPears

If the issue wasn't on your flight then that really isn't n EC. Probbly worth pursuing.

drdpj

Hello, I wonder if anyone can advise: I'm about to serve papers for a delayed flight. The flight in question was operated by Lufthansa CityLine (wholly owned subsidiary of Lufthansa), but they use Lufthansa for all of their communications/customer service and bookings. The question is whether I should be serving the papers on Lufthansa as the parent company (in which case I can probably just use the standard small claims procedures), or CityLine - in which case I'll have to go through the European small claims route? I've already sent a notice before action which was copied to both.

metalstardust

Hi


Question


Lufthansa cancelled a flight within the EU (Strike). They have refunded the taxes only. Are they supposed to refund the full amount?

JPears

Hi, your information is far too brief to give definitive answer.
If it was a strike by Lufthansa staff (not an ATC or airport staff strike) then yes. If they cancelled with less than 2 weeks notice you are probably also due some compensation under reg 261/2004. Provide us with far more details - times flights etc and we can let you know

Sam10000

Hello everyone,

First, thank you for your various guides and support available in relation to flight delay compensation, good work! I've spent a few hours trying to find the answer to my questions without luck so I thought I'd quickly check here.

Context: Lufthansa ticket from Amsterdam to Auckland, original flight from Amsterdam to Frankfurt delayed by two hours led to Frankfurt flight being missed and arrival in Auckland being delayed by 24 hours (so 600 Euros per passenger).

Question 1: This thread is unclear as to whether initial compensation complaints should be sent via the online Lufthansa complaint form or to one of the various snail mail addresses, what is the current viewpoint on this?

Question 2: While I will still seek Lufthansa's official viewpoint, the reason for the delay appears to have been a power outage at Frankfurt airport which brought down the radar, freezing all incoming and outgoing flights. On the face of it, it seems to be an ATC issue, but it could also potentially be a Huzar-type technical issue. What are your thoughts on this being extraordinary circumstances?

Many thanks for your help.

JPears

If ATC was down, unfortunately you probably have no claim

Caz3121

Sam10000 wrote: »

the reason for the delay appears to have been a power outage at Frankfurt airport which brought down the radar, freezing all incoming and outgoing flights.

In this instance EU261 entitles you to duty of care during the delay. If you were delayed overnight you should have been provided with hotel accommodation, meals etc during the wait. If you were not provided with these you can reclaim by sending receipts to the airline
No €600 due as the power outage is not something the airline could control

Sam10000

Okay, thanks guys.

Ninnytendo

Hello,

Does anybody know whether you can claim compensation if your flight is delayed due to “late loaders” and you miss your connecting flight as a result?

I have contacted Lufthansa a couple of times and they said that our flight was “delayed as a result of the late loaders. Please be advised that Lufthansa will not be held liable in this instance as the reason of flight delay is outside our sphere of influence” and they refuse to offer any compensation even though we missed our connecting flight and arrived at our destination 4 hours late as a result.

I also checked Flightstats and it says “Runway Delay N/A”.

Should I insist to Lufthansa that we are owed compensation in this case?

Thank you for any advice you may be able to give us.