Compensation for delayed flights Discussion Area

ian41

DSA_ wrote: »

Hi Guys,

I recently flew out with thomson to Cancun in mexico from manchester on a package deal including accomodation. The outbound flight was OK, but the return flight was delayed for 24 hours. Me and my wife were meant to fly back on 13/03/2012 and arrive back in manchester on 14/03/2012 08.00am but instead left cancun on 14/03/2012 and arrived in Manchester on 15/03/2012 08:05am.

Thomson did put us up in a hotel for the night and gave us breakfast and lunch and were treated well so not complaining. Also the reason for the delay was that when the plane was coming into mexico there was a disruptive passenger onboard that got violent and they had to stop off in halifax, Canada to have him arrested. This caused the flight we were meant to catch being delayed and caught it 24 hours later.

Am i still able to claim as i was a day late for work. I do have travel insurance but state they only compensate £20 for each 12 hour delay. I do i claim direct with thomson for 600e?

andy advice on this would be greatly appreciated

Sympathy but sadly, no compensation is my view - assuming that is the official explanation.

This would be classified as an extraordinary circumstance (outside the airlines control) and provides a defence against paying compensation.

Would imagine that the impromptu stop at Halifax caused problems with crew hours etc and this would have had a knock-on effect on the delay.

Separately, and until the ECJ announce the result of their deliberations, airlines based in the UK or flying to/from the UK are invariably not recognising delay claims. English and Welsh courts have also stayed any legal claims based on delayed flights pending the ECJ ruling.

So perhaps try to remember the great holiday and forget the awful problems on the return leg.

DSA_

Thanks Guys,

I won't waste my time in proceeding with my claim, as I said i'm not complaining about the airline as they did everything they could, but can't do much about a drunken idiot on a plane, that affected so many people.

Once again thanks for your time.
D

gobbo

airplane500 wrote: »

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.

Jet2 LS 880 alicante to manchester 16th march 2012 , scheduled take off 12:10 , actual take off 19:00 ,

ian41

gobbo wrote: »

Jet2 LS 880 alicante to manchester 16th march 2012 , scheduled take off 12:10 , actual take off 19:00 ,

To understand the background, you might find it worthwhile to read post # 1484.

Were you given any reasons/explanations for the delayed arrival at MAN?

stickyfingers85

Ref # 1485

Thanks for all the advice Ian

I received the 50USD service voucher from Cathay in the post this morning. I will keep hold of it just in case

With regard to compensation for delay, I will wait to see what the outcome of the hearing on the 20th March is.

In the mean time i've gone back to Cathay trying to put forward a claim of compensation for cancellation as in the original letter they gave out on board the flight it said "we applogise for the cancellation of your flight" and again on the email they sent me it states "the captain decided to cancel the flight". I figure there is no harm in trying!

Thanks again for your help, i will let you know if i actually get anywhere!

Chrishazle

First poster alert - please be gentle!

Referring to DSA_'s post 1486 above, my wife and I (plus 2 friends) were caught up in the "knock on" effect of the unscheduled stop-off in Halifax.

We were in Dominican Republic and scheduled to fly back on TOM071 14th March, departing about 18.30hrs local. The aircraft due to carry us was the one that had the Halifax stopover, so was not available. A second aircraft was pulled out of maintenance - but was deemed unservicable. A third aircraft was taken off their Scandanavian contract. We finally left DomRep (Punta Cana) after 6pm 15th March, arriving back at LGW 25 hours and 1 minute late. Thomsons did sort out accommodation etc to a good standard, but messed us around all afternoon getting rooms sorted out.

We have a letter from Thomson Airways stating "Your flight was delayed due to technical issue before the departure from the UK. Spares were sourced. This then affected the legally permitted working hours of the operating crew. Your flight operated at the earliest opportunity the following day."

To add insult to injury, we'd paid for premium economy seats, but as the replacement aircraft only had 5 rows of 2-3-2 premium compared to 12 rows outbound, we had standard economy seats instead. Thomsons have already given us a letter stating that the cost of our upgrade seats will be refunded through their office where we booked the trip.

First, is it worthwhile using Ian41's proforma letter to register a claim for 2 x 600 euro comensation for the 25 hour delay, bearing in mind that the ECJ hearing starts tomorrow?

Second, I've seen suggestions that a seat downgrade on this length of flight could entitle us to a refund of 75% of the flight cost, and/or that such a long delay could entitle us to a refuns of the full flight cost - or have I misread something?

One thing for sure - Thomsons are unlikely to get any business from the 4 of us again!

Thanks for any assistance (and boy, is it good to be abck in UK!!)

ian41

stickyfingers85 wrote: »

Ref # 1485

Thanks for all the advice Ian

In the mean time i've gone back to Cathay trying to put forward a claim of compensation for cancellation as in the original letter they gave out on board the flight it said "we applogise for the cancellation of your flight" and again on the email they sent me it states "the captain decided to cancel the flight". I figure there is no harm in trying!

Thanks again for your help, i will let you know if i actually get anywhere!

?????????????????????

In summary, I believe that I have given you a fully comprehensive view and a disproportionate amount of time and advice - often repeated - and each time you eventually manage to reply - usually after many days waiting and wondering if you have even bothered to read my posts and links - it is clear that none of my replies have registered completely with you for one reason or another. It is akin to nailing jelly to a wall! Very frustrating.

So having failed on several occasions, I am sure that you will understand why I have now closed my file on your problem so that I may devote my time and attention to clearing problems elsewhere.

I wish you well.

richardw

Will this week's anticipated Sturgeon news be 'buried' by the budget news?

eddie23

Hi hopefully somebody can shed some light. I booked a flight through flight centre in October 2011 to fly out of Manchester on 21/3/2012 at 17:35 to arrive at Madrid at 20:55 and wait for a connection at 00:10. Only to find out today the Manchester to Madrid flight didn't exist. After contacting flight centre a few times they stated the airline(iberia) did not inform them and they have rebooked me on a flight to heathrow leaving at 12:55 to arrive at 14:00 then departs at 16:00 and arrives at Madrid at 19:20. This now means I have to take time off work, pay for a taxi(would have got a lift) and have a longer travelling time. Would the delay rule apply here?!

ian41

Chrishazle wrote: »

First poster alert - please be gentle!

Referring to DSA_'s post 1486 above, my wife and I (plus 2 friends) were caught up in the "knock on" effect of the unscheduled stop-off in Halifax.)

Short on time tonight but sorry the answer is the same as given to DSA - in my view compensation is extremely unlikely.

Second, I've seen suggestions that a seat downgrade on this length of flight could entitle us to a refund of 75% of the flight cost,.

That is correct regarding the downgrading - see Article 10.2(c) of EC Reg 261/2004.

First, is it worthwhile using Ian41's proforma letter to register a claim for 2
x 600 euro comensation for the 25 hour delay

Yes by all means have a go but keep your expectations realistic and in tight control - as suggested above.

Hope that was gentle enough for you