Emirates Airline - Please help!

MooSah_2

Hi all.
Just a quick question to clarify about the point in terms of flight delays/connecting flights.

I booked a flight to Cairo via Dubai. So flying from Heathrow --> Dubai --> Cairo.

The initial flight from LHR was delayed by around 1.5 hours. This caused me to miss my connecting flight thus having to take the next available which meant I arrived at my final destination of Cairo around 7 hours late (great start to the honeymoon!)

I've just received a response from Emirates stating that....

"For further clarification to avoid any doubt, your departing flight from Dubai to Cairo, has no connection with the EU and does not involve an EU carrier and is therefore not governed by EU regulations."

HOWEVER, since I booked the connecting flights together, can anyone tell me whether the above is true and I have no claim for compensation or does that fact I arrived at my final destination over 7 hours late whilst my initial departure was from an European airport (LHR), mean I should go ahead and fight for compensation?

Any advice would be *greatly* appreciated!

Vauban

MooSah wrote: »

Hi all.
Just a quick question to clarify about the point in terms of flight delays/connecting flights.

I booked a flight to Cairo via Dubai. So flying from Heathrow --> Dubai --> Cairo.

The initial flight from LHR was delayed by around 1.5 hours. This caused me to miss my connecting flight thus having to take the next available which meant I arrived at my final destination of Cairo around 7 hours late (great start to the honeymoon!)

I've just received a response from Emirates stating that....

"For further clarification to avoid any doubt, your departing flight from Dubai to Cairo, has no connection with the EU and does not involve an EU carrier and is therefore not governed by EU regulations."

HOWEVER, since I booked the connecting flights together, can anyone tell me whether the above is true and I have no claim for compensation or does that fact I arrived at my final destination over 7 hours late whilst my initial departure was from an European airport (LHR), mean I should go ahead and fight for compensation?

Any advice would be *greatly* appreciated!

If it was one ticket, with final destination on your initial boarding card as issued in Heathrow, and with luggage checked all the way through, then I believe you would have a case. See this judgement from the European Court here: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:62011CJ0011:EN:HTML

MooSah_2

Vauban wrote: »

If it was one ticket, with final destination on your initial boarding card as issued in Heathrow, and with luggage checked all the way through, then I believe you would have a case....

Do you know if it would make a difference as the airline is Emirates (Dubai-based), thus they make a case for saying that European law does not apply. (Only Leg 1 of my journey was carried out in European airspace).

Thanks...

Vauban

MooSah wrote: »

Do you know if it would make a difference as the airline is Emirates (Dubai-based), thus they make a case for saying that European law does not apply. (Only Leg 1 of my journey was carried out in European airspace).

Thanks...

Well that is the argument. If you were flying Emirates to Cairo from the EU directly and were delayed by more than 3 hours you would have a clear case (assuming the delay was not caused by "extraordinary circumstances"). It does not matter if the carrier is not an EU airline.

The Folkerts judgement says that, in the case of directly connecting flights, it is the arrival time that counts for the purposes of determining compensation. So if this is a directly connecting flight - the criteria for which I described earlier - then I believe you have a case. The Folkerts judgement does not stipulte that the connecting flight leg needs to begin in the EU.

Others might take a different view though, and you are likely to have to start legal proceedings to secure any compensation.

MooSah_2

Vauban wrote: »

Well that is the argument. If you were flying Emirates to Cairo from the EU directly and were delayed by more than 3 hours you would have a clear case (assuming the delay was not caused by "extraordinary circumstances"). It does not matter if the carrier is not an EU airline.

The Folkerts judgement says that, in the case of directly connecting flights, it is the arrival time that counts for the purposes of determining compensation. So if this is a directly connecting flight - the criteria for which I described earlier - then I believe you have a case. The Folkerts judgement does not stipulte that the connecting flight leg needs to begin in the EU.

Others might take a different view though, and you are likely to have to start legal proceedings to secure any compensation.

Thanks for the clarification. I will search MSE for the next steps to take. (Argh - why can't it all be simple!?)

Vauban

MooSah wrote: »

Thanks for the clarification. I will search MSE for the next steps to take. (Argh - why can't it all be simple!?)

Look at the FAQs stick - including the link "What to do next"!

MooSah_2

Thanks for all the help

MooSah_2

Hello.
I've recently complained to CAA following the airline's reponse which was not satisfactory.

I received a letter from CAA, stating that I should complain online - an attempt to be more efficient and respond to complaints quicker, according to them.

Hence I thought it might be an idea to put the link on here so people don't have to go through to sending a letter to CAA only to find out that they have to complain online.

The link is: www.caa.co.uk/passengercomplaints (This link takes you to the main page).

To complain online, the link is: https://caaportal.icasework.com/servlet/ep.app?Type=Complaint&db=caa&title=none&Login=false

Please remember that you MUST complain to the airline first before you go through CAA.

Good luck to all.