Compensation for delayed flights Discussion Area

mugshot05

ian41 wrote: »

As laymen, both Centipede100 and I have pursued our own cases through to successful hearings in the County Court. In addition, I have had the misfortune to seek compensation for cancellation from three other airlines - all successfully. So we have been successful litigants.

....

Your experiences sound very interesting and this is just what I'd like to learn more about. The airline seems to be forcing me to take them to court as I am quite convinced my claim is justified.

What I need to know is what I may need to do as part of this court battle before I enter the battle arena and whether the effort is worth it for 600 Euros payout.

This sounds very similar to the situation I am currently in and you say you have already been there.



Are your own 3 cases and the details already discussed somewhere on here? Do you have links to these 3 stories so I could read them?

airplane500

(You can read my previous posts and the help I got #1140-1326)
An update about my claim against BMIBaby ww1104 16/4/11 – WE WON! Quick recap, there were 5 of us travelling Geneva to Birmingham. Arriving at the airport, we were told the flight was cancelled and we had to buy our own Easyjet flights back to the UK.
On writing to BMIBaby to request the relevant compensation (250 Euros each), they claimed extraordinary circumstances so were not liable to pay. I had to go via the small claims route to get them to pay (and even then, they carried on denying they were liable (and still do) before sending me a goodwill gesture (of the exact amount of money I was owed - £234.16 + £25 court fees) on the final day before I could request judgement. My brother then wrote an email saying how I had been paid in full so the remaining four people in our party should be paid. BMIBaby wrote back saying they would defend in court because of the amount of people now claiming, and offered £100 “goodwill gesture”. After he refused this, they upped the offer to £150, then £200 before sending the full amount (£234.16) to the remaining members of our party when my brother imposed a deadline before he would start legal action (again, they paid up on the very last day they could).
I’ve had to learn quite a few things during this process and have made a list of some things I found quite useful to know (and might help anyone else claiming compensation for cancellation/long delayed flights). I’ve put them in a separate post (# 1464).

scorpiouk

Hi All,

Been a long time follower but my first post..:j

May 2010 I was delayed returning from La Palma.. 15 hours in total, with the aircraft leaving the following day. Looked after in part by Tui, but on requesting compensation they refused..

First they dont "accept the law as definded in 261/2004." After geting no reply, letters were sent recorded delivery. However each time it was still we dont accept the law, and we will reply in 28 days... It never happened.

The CAA said in response to me "we believe you were treated unfairly and there is a case for compensation"

ASEA (CAA for spain) agreed with me, sending me an Tui a copy of a letter stating...

"in our view the reason stated for the delay, by the company does not constitute extraordinary circumstances. As such your flight is deemed to be cancaled. Thus Tui should pay compensation of €600 per passanger"

No response was recived to this, Letters and phone calls... Again nothing.. So I put them in court..

Thier defence was the law is wrong.. But also filed an "in the alternative" of Technical problmes but refused to say what they are..

Today was my day, they did not turn up! :mad:

45mins late (and in the hearing) they fax a copy of thier defence to the court... eg, it should wait until the ECJ rules. Least now they accept there might be a law they have to comply with. Previously it has been there is no case to respond to.

I asked the judge to rule on the basis of the flight been cancaled as stated by the AESA, but she refused this saying it would just be appealed.

What is the point of the CAA, AESA etc if their version of events it not accepted as fact? AESA are there to run the airspace, look after airports and air safety.. But is seems there view as a national body counts for nothing.

Anyway my case is now wating along with everyone else pending the ruling of the ECJ...

What is the feeling on this, will it go with passangers? Or side with big buisness?

If its Passangers, do we all have to go back to court to be paid out?

Or will it be like the PPI and bank, once the court rules they just sorted most claims..

Again many thanks for all the advice..

richardw

scorpiouk wrote: »

Anyway my case is now wating along with everyone else pending the ruling of the ECJ.....

Not long to wait though.

ian41

airplane500 wrote: »

An update about my claim against BMIBaby ww1104 16/4/11 – WE WON!

Once again, many thanks to Ian41, without the help offered I probably wouldn’t have gotten very far with my claim.

Many congratulations on your efforts. I am pleased to have helped but am very grateful for your courtesy in remebering it! You will now be able to help others here.

Well done.

Ian41

ian41

mugshot05 wrote: »

Are your own 3 cases and the details already discussed somewhere on here? Do you have links to these 3 stories so I could read them?

I am trying desperately to be polite and helpful to you as a newbie - please re-read my earlier post. Also see replies from others.

Until you can be bothered to post details of your problem here, I will not waste my time with a one-way dialogue after this post.

And yes I do resent your request - how and where I post my personal experiences as opposed to forum matters is my own business. After all, I am not the one seeking help or guidance without giving any information.

We might be knowledgable about EC Reg 261/2004 matters but we are not psychics so as suggested by others, please post details or ........

airplane500

A few things I have learned from winning my compensation from the airline (read about it at post #1456):

1) Post the details of your cancelled/delayed flight number and date here. I was reluctant at first, but the advice I’ve been offered by Ian41 has been invaluable during the whole process and really you have nothing to lose by doing this - you (the passenger) are backed up by EU law which has been written (and subsequently clarified) to be on your side. Also read about other cases on flightmole dot com which has a wealth of information.

2) Stick to the facts – nobody really cares if you missed an important meeting or your kids were bored at the airport or how unfair the situation is. Keep to the facts that you might have to rely on in court.

3) Check your contents insurance as you might be able to get legal representation (meaning you don’t have to mess around with letters). Unfortunately, my insurance policy only covered claims over £250 AND within three months of the incident so was of no use to me.

4) Remember with cancellation, it’s the airline that has to PROVE both how the circumstances were extraordinary AND how the cancellation could not have been avoided. If they’re unable to do either of these things then they’re obliged to pay the relevant compensation.

5) It’s worth writing to the relevant Air Authority (I was advised it should be the Air Authority of the country you departed from - Six months after writing to the Swiss Aviation Authority, I am still waiting to hear back from their investigation), it’s still worth logging your complaint with an official body.

6) Even after threatening BMIBaby with court action they didn’t budge their position. I had to start small claims proceedings to get what I was owed. The MCOL form is easy to fill in and nothing to stress about and it might be that you have to do this to get the airline’s attention. It will probably take a very long time to wrench the money you’re owed out of the offending airline, but it’s worth it.

7) Although there were 5 of us on the same cancelled flight (and all due exactly the same amount of compensation) I thought it best to just claim for myself first using MCOL (Moneyclaim Online). You can only really use this online facility for yourself (as the space where you enter your details doesn’t have enough space to add other claimants names) but it meant reduced legal costs. Once BMI Baby paid me in full, there is no way they could refuse to pay the other members of my party (although they certainly tried to weazle out of it!). Despite saying my payment was a “goodwill gesture” and not compensation, it would be very difficult for them to explain to a District Judge why they’d paid me and not everyone else.
If you do want to take an airline to small claims court for a group of people, you need to fill out an N1 form and post it via snail mail.

Finally, I got so much help from this website – the people who are giving advice are very knowledgeable and are doing this in their own time so if you post asking for help, try and write back as soon as possible (or at least click the “thanks” button to show you’ve read their advice). They take a lot of their personal time to research and reply to questions – and I’ve seen several people ask for help, then taking ages to respond or even not responding at all when they’re given advice.

Once again, many thanks to Ian41, without the help offered I probably wouldn’t have gotten very far with my claim.

mac54

Hi all.
I have just received a reply from Thomas Cook and as you will see the letter covers both of my complaints, delay and downgrading.
Their letter states,
“Thank you for your recent correspondence. I note the reference to Article 10 regarding upgrading and downgrading and I would like to offer the following comments.
The premium seat that you purchased was not in a different class to any other part of the airline, so there was no downgrading. Nevertheless, I understand that you have received a refund via P & O for the cost of the seat.”
Having reviewed everything that you have said, I do understand that the delay was excessive and whilst we tried everything possible to ensure that the flight left at the earliest opportunity, we understand the frustration and inconvenience that this caused passengers.
Taking the above into consideration, I have enclosed a cheque for £50.00 as a gesture of goodwill for the delay.
In closing, I would repeat my regret that your experience on this occasion was not as we would wish for our guests. I do hope, that my foregoing remarks will provide you with some reassurance that your comments have been taken seriously and that you will not be deterred from using our services again in the future.

The letter we were originally given advising of the change of aircraft for our return flight states,
“Premium cabin seats
As you are now travelling on a Boeing 767 instead of an AirbusA330, the configuration of the seats on this aircraft is different to the original that you were due to fly on. Unfortunately we are unable to offer any premium cabin seats with the new configuration. If this does affect you then a refund of £99 per person will be sent to your home address as reimbursement for any upgrade payment previously paid and no further action is required to obtain the refund.”

The letter from P & O accompanying the cheque for reimbursement of the seat upgrade says,
“I regret that it was necessary to downgrade the aircraft operating your inbound flight from Barbados to Manchester”
“As a result of this downgrade, I regret that we were unable to offer the premium seats that you had paid for”

I still presume that we were downgraded within the meaning of Article 10 and therefore entitled to refund of 75% of the ticket price. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

With regards to the delay side of the complaint. As you can see they are trying to dismiss it with the £50.00 payment.
A couple of questions.
As I do not wish to accept the payment, do I return the cheque to them or simply destroy it.
Do I need to raise my complaint with the CAA, as so far I have not done so?
I appreciate that we are all awaiting 20th March.
Thanks again for all the help and advice.

richardw

mac54 was the premium seat wider than a regular seat?

mac54

richardw wrote: »

mac54 was the premium seat wider than a regular seat?

richardw,

I am struggling to find seat width information. A large number of websites list the info that a premium economy seat is wider than economy but provide no specific detail. I appreciate that not all information on the net is accurate.

The following is from P and O's website and was used by us when considering our holiday and options.

[FONT=&quot]What are the benefits of Premium Economy seats?[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]If you book a Premium Economy seat on one of our charter flights you will receive:

Larger, more comfortable seats
An enhanced meal choice
Complimentary glass of sparkling wine
Dedicated check-in where available
Upgraded entertainment package
An amenity kit and headset.[/FONT]


Our flight should have been and Airbus A330 and it was changed to a Boeing 767. I appreciate that this doesn't directly answer your question. If it is vital that I get the specific seat width details please repost and I will do so, but it may take me a day or 2 due to work commitments


[FONT=&quot]many thanks
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