Flight delay compensation, all other EU airlines

Justice13075

Mark your email Notice Before Action and give them 14 days. The process of going through the process is online just google Small Claims Court.

Lblace

Hello, 
Newbie here, I hope I’m posting in the correct thread. 

After spending a lot of time googling I haven’t found anything that concretely confirms we can claim compensation for our rescheduled flights below so would welcome some advice.

13 days before the flight, TAP Portugal rescheduled & brought forward our return Lisbon-Manchester flight on 8.5.22 from 1415 departure to 0720 departure. We decided to cancel, and they have since given us a partial refund of the ticket which we presume covers the cancelled return leg. (We ended up getting a return flight from Faro that evening…)

We have found some information that states if an airline reschedules the flight to depart more than 2 hours earlier - and arrives at least 2 hours later - then compensation is due. However we were wondering if the earlier departure (and earlier arrival) still qualifies?

Advice welcome!

eskbanker

Lblace said:

13 days before the flight, TAP Portugal rescheduled & brought forward our return Lisbon-Manchester flight on 8.5.22 from 1415 departure to 0720 departure. We decided to cancel, and they have since given us a partial refund of the ticket which we presume covers the cancelled return leg. (We ended up getting a return flight from Faro that evening…)

We have found some information that states if an airline reschedules the flight to depart more than 2 hours earlier - and arrives at least 2 hours later - then compensation is due. However we were wondering if the earlier departure (and earlier arrival) still qualifies?

That information doesn't sound right, flights would very rarely be departing more than 2 hours early and arriving more than 2 hours late!  What source are you getting that from?

Anyway, much will depend on whether it was a schedule change for the same flight, i.e. retaining its number, or if it was a cancellation of the original flight and rebooking you onto a different one, which was it here?

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/flight-changes/

Lblace

eskbanker said:

Lblace said:

13 days before the flight, TAP Portugal rescheduled & brought forward our return Lisbon-Manchester flight on 8.5.22 from 1415 departure to 0720 departure. We decided to cancel, and they have since given us a partial refund of the ticket which we presume covers the cancelled return leg. (We ended up getting a return flight from Faro that evening…)

We have found some information that states if an airline reschedules the flight to depart more than 2 hours earlier - and arrives at least 2 hours later - then compensation is due. However we were wondering if the earlier departure (and earlier arrival) still qualifies?

That information doesn't sound right, flights would very rarely be departing more than 2 hours early and arriving more than 2 hours late!  What source are you getting that from?

Anyway, much will depend on whether it was a schedule change for the same flight, i.e. retaining its number, or if it was a cancellation of the original flight and rebooking you onto a different one, which was it here?

It was a cancellation of original flight and rebooking onto a new flight.  

The source for the above was the MSE flight compensation guide 😊 I can’t post the link here (“haven’t been around long enough” is the reason given). I’m guessing perhaps if the rerouted flight involved connecting flights?? 

As the new flight would have arrived well before our original flight was due to arrive, does that mean we are not eligible for compensation, despite the flight change being significantly earlier?

Thank you

eskbanker

The regulations state that (as well as refunding or rerouting) the airline must pay compensation for a cancelled flight, except where it's caused by extraordinary circumstances beyond its control, unless (inter alia):

they are informed of the cancellation between two weeks and seven days before the scheduled time of departure and are offered re-routing, allowing them to depart no more than two hours before the scheduled time of departure and to reach their final destination less than four hours after the scheduled time of arrival

so if you were offered rerouting on a flight more than two hours before the scheduled time of departure, that doesn't extinguish your right to compensation.

Lblace

Ah so it’s worth a shot then! Thank you, I’ll get on it 😊

djcal_uk

Hi there, First time poster.

I was wondering if anyone could help me with a problem I am having with TAP Portugal. In brief, had a flight delayed by almost 5 hours from Lisbon to Manchester way back in March. After being ignored by TAP, I raised the issue with the Aviation ADR, who helped me. The problem now is this: I received the settlement offer but I am slightly confused. TAP state "We also inform that the orthodromic distance is 1429 km , so the compensation according REG261/2004 is €250, for each passenger."

In every possible website for flight tracking and calculation of the orthodromic distance (great circle distance), I consistently get the distance between Lisbon Airport (LIS / LPPT) and Manchester Airport (MAN / EGCC) as 1702 km, so over 1500km.

Please can you help me as I do not know whether the companies calculations are right or the 20+ websites I have used are all wrong. I appreciate any guidance you can give me in this claim. I only have 6 days to accept or reject the offer and I don't know what to do. There are 10 passengers so the difference is quite big, 2500 versus 4000 euros.

Alan_Bowen

Yes, it is definitely 1700 km minimum so it falls into the next category and you should make this clear to Aviation ADR and TAP themselves, although I expect they know already but hope you do airline....not. They are not the world's greatest airline...

Sheepfan

If it helps anyone in terms of timing, I lodged an EU261 complaint with KLM in early April (flight moved by 24 hours with less than 14 days notice).

I received the email confirming I will be paid yesterday (almost 5 months on).  I did submit a file via ADR Eu in August, but I don't know whether than helped the process or not.  KLM have paid the claim in full - €250 x 4 passengers.

Next challenge is trying and successfully submit a claim for a doctor's visit in Austria with an EHIC!

jsloko

Hi there, can someone advise on next steps dealing with Wizzair refusing compensation for >3hour flight delay.
I used their official claim route via my profile as outlined in their support pages.
After just under 30 days from submission they closed my claim and replied with the below:

Thank you for contacting Wizz Air Customer Service Department.
We are sorry to hear about this unfortunate situation, and after thoroughly investigating your case we confirm that flight REDACTED on 03/09/2022 was delayed/canceled as a result of air traffic control restrictions
The above referenced circumstances, as per the European Regulations 261/2004, fall into the category of Extraordinary Circumstances therefore, we regret to inform you that no compensation is due.
“(14) As under the Montreal Convention, obligations on operating air carriers should be limited or excluded in cases where an event has been caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken. Such circumstances may, in particular, occur in cases of political instability, meteorological conditions incompatible with the operation of the flight concerned, security risks, unexpected flight safety shortcomings and strikes that affect the operation of an operating air carrier.”
as per the European Regulations 261/2004:
“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."
If you want to claim additional costs, like meals, transportation or accommodation, please submit a new complaint on our website under the subject Welfare.
Please be informed that if you are dissatisfied with the solution, you can send a complaint to the Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform. More information is available at http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/.
When filling out the information about the seller on the ODR platform, please enter the e-mail address odr@wizzair.com. The e-mail address provided is used only for complaints sent via the above-described ODR platform. Other complaints and emails received at this address will not be considered.
Best regards,

The link they shared for escalation (ODR) is not relevant in the UK anymore.
I did find Aviation ADR (Airline Complaints | We Can Deal With | Aviation Dispute Resolution (aviationadr.org.uk)) but as I understand it this is a later step?

My main point is we were told a different reason at the airport by staff, namely a previously delayed flight.
There were earlier flights than ours that left on time and ours was the last flight to leave from airport (everything was shut for a while at this point).
Therefore Wizzairs claim is dubious unless they are trying to blame ATC at whatever airport our plane was prior to ours?

Is my best course of action to ask for evidence from Wizzair, giving them e.g. 2 weeks to supply it.
And then using this in an Aviation ADR claim?

Has anybody gone through the same?
Wizzair are very sneaky and I struggle to even find an email to complain to as it was all done in a claim through their system that is now shut and not monitored.