Compensation for delayed flights Discussion Area

jpsartre

In that case, the potential for compensation comes down to the reason for the delay. Did they give a reason?

111KAB

Liquorice_Twirls wrote: »

Well I did confirm it by ringing Manchester Airport and they say that the flight arrived at 11.55 and it was due to land at 8.55. They have to keep flight stats and I would have thought their data would have been regarded as more impartial than that of the airline.

Additionally I have looked online at the flightstats.com data on landings and it states 11.55 as the landing time also.

Personally think the airline would defend their position as you are talking seconds/minutes at best and the figures are so close to the 3 hour cut-off. As Centipede suggests I would only go for it if you are sure of your position and I see no harm in seeking the airline's data now if only to dispute at this stage. By disputing you may well receive an early offer of some kind of compensation rather than waiting for ages for the ECJ ruling.

Liquorice_Twirls

I made a note of the reasons they gave for the delay which were:

* technical issues "earlier in the day"
* this being the first available plane they were able to send

I am prepared to go to court and also knew another family on the plane who can confirm what we were told in terms of why the plane was delayed.

So do you think I should send a letter now stating intent or hang on until the ruling in September?

(Thanks also for all the replies so far)

Liquorice_Twirls

Thanks 111KAB. I've spoken to Flybe and they acknowledge a 3 hour delay in arriving at Manchester and confirm that the flight was delayed due to a technical fault with the plane which meant it had to be repaired at Manchester prior to flying to Belfast.

111KAB

Ruling may not be in September (could be later) ..... if you are 100% regarding going to Court then yes send a letter now (Centipede100 has provided an excellent template earlier in this thread) ..... I do however think you should contact the airline re their record of flight times and the reason for the (technical) delay.
^^^^ You posted at same time as me!

Liquorice_Twirls

I meant to add that I explained about the delay and that I might send a claim letter and asked if Flybe would just reply with a holding type letter until the ruling, which the CS chap said would happen.

He also said that they would probably offer vouchers which I am guessing would be an alternative to going ahead with the claim, although I think will be a lot less than 250 euros.

111KAB

If you read my earlier posts you will see I received vouchers + acknowledgement of my claim subject to ECJ ruling however my delay was 26 hours ie my vouchers were not an alternative ~ they were in addition however a 26 hour delay is slightly different to a 2h 59m or possibly 3h 01m delay :-)

Liquorice_Twirls

Well I'll post back if they get back in touch when they receive my letter. Not very often that companies offer more than the legal minimum (if that) these days, so although you had a horrendous delay at least they did demonstrate that they were trying to compensate you over and above the minimum.

I guess we all have different views on what is unacceptable, but for me a 3 hour delay on a 55 minute flight is significant and resulted in us driving home in the middle of the night which was not what we had chosen and was extremely tiring and has meant my husband taking this morning off work which he hadn't planned.

111KAB

From today's press....

"JetBlue was fined $90,000 by the U.S. Department of Transportation for failing to tell passengers on flight delayed at John F. Kennedy International Airport that they could leave the plane as it sat at the gate with the door open, the DOT announced today.
Apart from the fine, the DOT also ordered the no-frills airline not to repeat the March 3 failure, which violated new airline consumer protection rule requiring that passengers be notified of their right to deplane from a delayed flight still at the gate. The rule calls for announcements that passengers can leave the plane every 30 minutes after the scheduled departure time, the DOT said.
JetBlue Flight 645 to San Francisco was scheduled to depart JFK at 7:30 p.m., and boarding began at 7:06 p.m. But the flight was delayed and the doors to the aircraft did not close until 9:55 p.m., the DOT said.
“Airlines may not leave passengers stranded indefinitely aboard an aircraft, whether on the tarmac or at the gate, and passengers must be told if they are able to leave the plane,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement. “At DOT, we are committed to protecting consumers when they travel by air, and will continue to take enforcement action when our rules are violated.”
Jet Blue released a statement vowing not to repeat the failure.
"Customers were free to deplane and also given water and access to the lavatories. When the aircraft door was closed and the plane initially pushed back, three customers requested to return to the gate. At that time, the aircraft immediately returned to the gate and one customer elected to deplane," the statement read. "Our policy regarding onboard ground delays, outlined in our Bill of Rights, is industry-leading. However, we did not provide our customers with regular updates in this instance. This is not an example of the JetBlue experience. For this, we fully acknowledge our fault and will comply with the DOT ruling. We now have a solid plan in place." "

Johnster

Johnster wrote: »

Thanks Centipede

Letter will go in the post tomorrow :T

J & Co

Well it's now 14 days since the date of the letter and we've heard nothing. No money in the bank account. No letters or emails.

What do we do now?

Ta. John