Flight delay compensation, all other non-EU airlines

TravelCork

This is my first post and I don't know if there is anybody out there who can help me with this question but would appreciate any advice. I was recently delayed by just under 5 hours on a flight from London to Kuala Lumpur. The airline, Malaysian Airlines, at no point offered an explanation as to why the delay occurred. Subsequently, on my return to the UK, I followed the template on MSE and emailed the airline. They cited the fact that the airline had a technical problem that couldn't have been expected and was included in a list of accepted exclusions and they turned down my request. My question is, do they have to prove that this is the reason for the delay or at least lodge the reason with some authority? If not, presumably they could use this excuse to anybody bringing forth a compensation claim. Part of the reason for my scepticism is that when I checked in for the flight I was offered 600 euros by the check in staff if I elected to take the much later evening flight which I was unable to do because of work commitments!!

richardw

The regulation says they have to provide proof of ECs

"Article 5
Cancellation
.......
3. An operating air carrier shall not be obliged to pay compensation in accordance with Article 7, if it can prove that the cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken....."

TravelCork

Sorry for not replying earlier and thank you for your response. Just as a follow up, do you know how they prove that what they say is true? I asked them if they had logged this problem with the CAA and they told me that they are not obliged to!!

111KAB

TravelCork wrote: »

Sorry for not replying earlier and thank you for your response. Just as a follow up, do you know how they prove that what they say is true? I asked them if they had logged this problem with the CAA and they told me that they are not obliged to!!

Doesn't really matter .... they have admitted that a technical problem delayed your flight .... technical problems are not extraordinary ...... Wallentin and Huzar confirm this .... you have a legitimate claim.

TravelCork

I appreciate your help but Malaysian airlines are claiming that it was the manufacturers fault and not theirs. They explain this as follows:

'The Civil Aviation Authority are encouraging us when writing to the claimants to refer to the list. This particular flight delay falls under No 24 ‘Failure of on-condition/condition monitored parts i.e. parts which should not require unscheduled maintenance or replacement during normal operational service’. This is a case that falls squarely within that definition.'

However, is there any way I can verify that? As I mentioned earlier my suspicions were raised by the fact that when I checked in (3 hours prior to the scheduled departure time) I was offered 600 euros to change to the later flight (13 hours later) but was unable to because of connections and work. It may have just been coincidental I guess!!

Careyhullfc

The airline is stating the delay was due to a fault after the plane had been "pushed back" and therefore is not liable to any reimbursment even though we had to get off and be taken to another airport for a departure over 11 hours later.

Tyzap

Would you be referring to an Emirates flight from Manchester that was delayed just recently?

David_e

Careyhullfc wrote: »

The airline is stating the delay was due to a fault after the plane had been "pushed back" and therefore is not liable to any reimbursment even though we had to get off and be taken to another airport for a departure over 11 hours later.

Try posting to the thread for the relevant airline (there will probably be one).

Then have a read of the FAQs where you will find lots of very useful information which should give you a good idea how to proceed.

TravelCork

Just an update and thanks to 111KAB & Centipede100 for their advice. I have replied to Malaysian Airlines and quoted the Wallentin-Hermann ECJ judgement. I requested a reply within a 14 day period and am currently awaiting their response as 'the person' who deals with such issues is out of the office!!

Butterfly05

Hello,

I am going through the steps in this section to try and claim for a 15 hour delayed flight in 2009 from London to Dubai which then meant I missed a connecting flight from Dubai to Entebbe.

I can't seem to find anywhere online of where or who to write a letter too when it comes to claims. There must be an office in the UK surely that deals with this?

Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.