Flight Delay Compensation, Lufthansa Only

Caz3121

saayinla wrote: »

I ll put in a claim with CAA then, on another note I did a check for same flight as mine for past 30 days prior to my flight and 16 out of 30 flight arrived at least 2 minutes behind schedule at frankfurt, a few 30 minutes and above late. So lufthansa does infact know from that stats that at least 16 flight would have been delayed and in effect be unable to catch a connecting flight based on their MCT ( minimum connection time) required at franskfurt being 60 minutes.

MCT is the minimum time required to ticket as one journey (and the airline to be responsible for missed connections) It does not mean that if your flight arrives a few minutes late you will necessarily miss the connecting flight

saayinla

Caz3121 wrote: »

MCT is the minimum time required to ticket as one journey (and the airline to be responsible for missed connections) It does not mean that if your flight arrives a few minutes late you will necessarily miss the connecting flight

Oops thanks for the correction but do you care to explain that a little bit more? Don't understand "minimum time required to ticket as one journey"

But I understand that if your flight arrives a few minutes late you don't necessarily miss the flight and from the little stat that I can see, there is a higher chance that you might miss the connecting flight seeing as the arrival time and the departure time between both Flight is exactly 60 minutes and considering having to pass through security all over again during the connection.

gmb42

Flying back from Malta to Aberdeen via Frankfurt on Sat 7th Sept, the flight from Malta was delayed, eventually arriving at Frankfurt 3hrs and 34 mins late, meaning a missed connection. Lufthansa put us up in the airport hotel for the night, along with meals, until the first flight the next day, eventually arriving in Aberdeen some 13 hrs late.

I used the form letter from this site and sent it via the Lufthansa feedback form on Sunday 15th. Got an acknowledgement straight away and a reply this morning:

Thank you for your online feedback dated 15 September 2013. We appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns.

It was with great regret that we learned of the disruption to flight LH1311 from Milan to Frankfurt on 7 September 2013 and that as a result of this irregularity you have missed you connection flight LH974 from Frankfurt to Aberdeen on the same day. We understand how upsetting it is to have your journey disrupted in this way and regret any inconvenience this may have caused you.

As you may be aware, this delay was due to an unforeseen technical issue with the aircraft. Our engineers repaired the defect which allowed the aircraft to depart with a delay of 3 hours and 34 minutes.

Safety is Lufthansa’s first priority. We therefore maintain our aircraft regularly according to the instructions of the manufacturers. The defect which led to the delay in this case is a rare occurrence and could not be foreseen.

Even with the best of intentions, unexpected problems can occur in exceptional cases and at short notice. However, you can rest assured that we are doing everything in our power to ensure that such isolated incidents are kept to a minimum

Since the delay of the flight was caused by unusual circumstances which could not be prevented although all feasible measures were taken, in this particular case we consider it possible to exonerate ourselves from liability in accordance with the stipulations of Article 5 Paragraph 3 of European Union Regulation 261/2004.

However, on this occasion, we will be pleased to exceptionally offer compensation. We are happy to confirm we will pay compensation to the amount of EUR400.00 per person reflecting an overall total of EUR800.00. Please understand this offer is final and non-negotiable. Therefore, we hereby confirm that the payment of EUR800.00 which converts today to GBP690.86 has been credited into your account. Please allow 14 days for the payment to clear.

We would like to thank you once again for your patience and understanding and again please accept our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience caused. We hope to welcome you onboard a Lufthansa flight in the future.

So although Lufthansa claim they did not need to pay compensation due to the "unusual circumstances" they went ahead and did so!

Great result, thanks for all the advice on the site and in the forums.

principlecounts

I get the impression this is a lost cause, as it will just be our word against theirs, and the BA flight in question is pretty good defence for them.

Thank you for your letter dated 19 June 2013. We appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns.

It was with great regret that we learned of the disruption to your flight LH907 from London Heathrow to Frankfurt. We understand how upsetting it is to have your journey disrupted in this way and regret any inconvenience this may have caused you and your travel companions.

Of course, we do everything in our power to adhere to our flight schedule and to spare you from waiting. We are very sorry when delays occur in some isolated cases despite our efforts. We hope for your understanding that, where flight irregularities are caused by circumstances beyond our control, it can be difficult to predict the extent of the disruption.

According to our records flight LH907 had an arrival delay of 1 hour and 27 minutes as a result of an issue with the crew boarding the flight. Regrettably, such unexpected problems can never be completely eliminated in exceptional cases. However, you can rest assured that we are doing everything in our power to make sure that these isolated incidents are kept to a minimum.

We must respectfully advise you that as our Contract of Carriage was completed by transporting you and your travel companions on flight LH1402 to Prague the same day, Lufthansa is not liable to pay for costs beyond the Contract. In addition, as the delay of flight LH907 was caused by exceptional circumstances which could not be prevented although all feasible measures were taken, we must respectfully inform you that we must deny your request for compensation. We hope for your understanding of our position in this matter.

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank you for your comments regarding our onboard snack service and were sorry to learn of your disappointment with the snacks provided onboard our flights.

Your comments are most welcome on this matter and we agree that a healthier variety of snacks should be provided, especially to cater to vegetarians and passengers with other special dietary requirements. We therefore informed our service provider accordingly so that they can review their procedures.

We are very grateful for your remarks as we naturally set a high standard for the quality and presentation of the snacks and meals served onboard and ultimately your satisfaction is our goal. Our caterers and our product management have already been notified of this matter.


Mit freundlichen Grüßen/ Yours sincerely,

Elleray_May

In January 2008 all the Manchester passengers connecting to the Cape Town flight were informed that because of a technical fault Lufthanza had been obliged to put on a smaller aircraft and there was no room for the twenty or so passengers arriving from Manchester and we were therefore obliged to wait 24 hours for the next flight. This we did. At the time I had no idea the EU would decide such delays were due for compensation and so I have no boarding card or other supporting documents. Is it worth pursuing with only flight number and request with details? Your previous comments have been well worth reading. Thank you!

Elleray_May

Many thanks for your response. I will let you know how I get on.

Gigglepig

Lufthansa declined my claim for compensation. Here is their justification. Any advice on what i should reply or any additional info I could request?

According to our records, flight Xxxx was delayed for 7 hours and 13 minutes due to an unexpected technical problem. Safety is Lufthansa’s first priority. We therefore maintain our aircraft regularly according to the instructions of the manufacturers. The technical defect which led to the delay in this case is a rare occurrence and could not have been foreseen. Even with the best of intentions, unexpected problems can occur in exceptional cases and at short notice. However, you can rest assured that we and our partners are doing everything in our power to ensure that such isolated incidents are kept to a minimum.

I don't feel that their answer in any way demonstrates that the delay was due to an extraordinary cause. Secondly, the repair could have been done quicker or they could have used another aircraft?

Caz3121

you could start with this thread here https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4395437

Gigglepig

I have had a look at the lufthansa thread but did not see any relevant info there specifically regarding what info to ask for in respect of the 'unexpected technical problem'

David_e

Gigglepig wrote: »

I have had a look at the lufthansa thread but did not see any relevant info there specifically regarding what info to ask for in respect of the 'unexpected technical problem'

To be fair to Caz3121, I suspect they were just trying to be helpful to you and the rest of us by pointing out that a thread already exists for that airline (and most others). If we all started a new thread we wouldn't be able to see the wood for the trees.

Anyway, the question that you ask is not Lufthansa specific. If you read the FAQs and the recent Huzar case ruling, you will see that Lufthansa's response isn't a defence that would stand up in court (assuming that the judge applied the law correctly).