Compensation for delayed flights Discussion Area

jmcdyre

Hi all,

My mum and dad have just got to Derry Airport about 5 hours later than planned.
They took off on time but were forced to land in Dublin because of a fault.
They then sat on the plane for around 4 hours awaiting the fault to be fixed before carrying on to Derry.
They're not normally ones to moan or make any kind of claim, but the fact that Ryanair staff still charged £3 for a bottle of mineral water and offered no free refreshments at all has really annoyed them! So they've asked me to have a look at one they can get back.

Any ideas?

dzug1

jmcdyre wrote: »

Hi all,

My mum and dad have just got to Derry Airport about 5 hours later than planned.
They took off on time but were forced to land in Dublin because of a fault.
They then sat on the plane for around 4 hours awaiting the fault to be fixed before carrying on to Derry.
They're not normally ones to moan or make any kind of claim, but the fact that Ryanair staff still charged £3 for a bottle of mineral water and offered no free refreshments at all has really annoyed them! So they've asked me to have a look at one they can get back.

Any ideas?

There is no compensation for a delay of this sort. Ryanair are supposed to provide appropriate refreshments - and they will argue they did, though they should be free.

dasbooty

Hello everyone,

I was recently on a Thomas Cook package holiday to Egypt with three friends. The return flight to London was delayed by 24 hours at late notice. Thomas Cook put us up on full board in a hotel for an extra night. I was wondering if we would still be able to claim compensation or whether the EU legislation is only applicable to scheduled airline flights.

Thanks in advance for your help.

luci

You should be able to claim on your travel insurance provided you got proof of the delay from the airline.

dzug1

dasbooty wrote: »

Hello everyone,

I was recently on a Thomas Cook package holiday to Egypt with three friends. The return flight to London was delayed by 24 hours at late notice. Thomas Cook put us up on full board in a hotel for an extra night. I was wondering if we would still be able to claim compensation or whether the EU legislation is only applicable to scheduled airline flights.

Thanks in advance for your help.

The EU legislation does apply to both charter and scheduled flights - but it doesn't provide compensation for delays unless the delay is caused by cancellation of the flight or by overbooking. It provides for you to be looked after during the delay - which you were.

mandyc

We were bumped of the Virgin flight from Hong Kong to LHR last Friday night and I must say they could not have treated us better.

We were given overnight accomodation including dinner at a five star hotel adjoining the airport plus a six minute international phone call.

We were put on the next mornings QANTAS flight (extra leg room seats) and they rebooked our shuttle from LHR to MAN.

The icing on the cake thought was free tickets on any Virgin flight (except to Sydney) to be used within the next eighteen month.

We actually arrived in MAN about ten hours later than we would have done but we were in much better shape having had a good nights sleep before our flight.

So three cheers for Virgin Atlantic!!!

tony53708

Hi,

My wife and were returning home from Bodrum, Turkey on 9/7/09 at 0455 local time on a Thomas Cook flight to Manchester, connecting to Flybe flight to Belfast.

We were delayed in Bodrum for 10 hours due to crewing issues on the incoming flight from Manchester which was to take us home.

Thomas Cook looked after all the passengers very well, taking us to a good hotel for a few hours sleep and providing us with breakfast and then a burger and drink when we returned to the airport.

We eventually departed Bodrum at 1505 local time but the delay meant that we missed our prebooked connecting Flybe flight to Belfast when we arrived in Manchester.

I had to pay Flybe a further £204 to get home to Belfast. Thomas Cooks reps in Bodrum had told us that Cooks would be liable to get us home to Belfast if we missed our connection and the Cooks reps in Manchester told us that we should pay any additional costs and claim back on our insurance.

I have approched our insurance company (comprehensive policy with Atlas) and they say we are not covered for this loss.

Thomas Cook have also said that they are not liable for these extra costs either, even though it was 100% their fault that the flight was delayed as they could not get a crew to man the flight.

I would be grateful if anyone could advise if I would be eligible to claim under EC Reg 261/2004 for the cost of our Thomas Cook flight home or how I should go about trying to claim the additional £204 we had to pay Flybe to get home.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

mad_rich

Unfortunately, you're not entitled to help with the additional £204; this is one of the absurdities of the regulation.

Because the flight was delayed, not cancelled, you are only entitled to assistance (meals, accommodation, phone calls), which you got at Bodrum. No compensation.

I presume the Flybe flight was on a separate booking? This is one of the risks of separate bookings. Neither airline is responsible for ensuring the connection - or rebboking you if there's a delay. Some insurance will cover it, but it varies from policy to policy (check your policy, rather than taking their refusal at face value).

It's worth pursuing Thomas Cook for what the rep told you at Bodrum (that they would sort out your connection to Belfast). You will probably get nowhere, but this is the sort of annoying thing that airline staff do: promise something they know you won't get because they know it will shut you up long enough to stop being their problem...

Carra

I have recently returned from a holiday in Cyprus and on the flight home into Manchester the flight was cancelled due to a technical fault. We arrived at the airport expecting to depart at 20:15 and at 20:20 there was a announcement saying "The flight to Manchester has been cancelled due to a technical fault". :mad: I was then given a 10 euro voucher and advised to get some food at the cafe until further notice. After sitting in the cafe for around 30 minutes a Thomas Cook rep advised we were being transfered to a hotel until the following day. We were given breakfast and lunch in the hotel and advised that the flight estimation time was at 17:00 but this was only a estimation. When we arrived back at the airport the flight was still a estimation of 17:00. We eventually departed at 19:00 and being delayed on the plane due to a crack in the window and we had to wait on the plane while this was fixed. There was no air con as the engine was off and we were not allowed to leave the plane.

After reading marins comments regarding the test case in December 2008 as shown below i am wondering if i am entitled to compensation and how i would go about claiming.

Matins comments:

"A Dec '08 test case went some way to making the law clearer by ruling that technical faults, unless they stem from 'events which, by their nature or origin, are not inherent in the normal exercise of the air carrier', DO NOT count as examples of extraordinary circumstances. In the past, airlines have routinely cited them as such to excuse themselves from paying out, so this is great news for consumers."

Would i be entitled to claim money for this cancellation, i missed a days work as i did not make it home the following day and was therefore not paid.

Any information would be great

dzug1

Carra wrote: »

I have recently returned from a holiday in Cyprus and on the flight home into Manchester the flight was cancelled due to a technical fault. We arrived at the airport expecting to depart at 20:15 and at 20:20 there was a announcement saying "The flight to Manchester has been cancelled due to a technical fault". :mad: I was then given a 10 euro voucher and advised to get some food at the cafe until further notice. After sitting in the cafe for around 30 minutes a Thomas Cook rep advised we were being transfered to a hotel until the following day. We were given breakfast and lunch in the hotel and advised that the flight estimation time was at 17:00 but this was only a estimation. When we arrived back at the airport the flight was still a estimation of 17:00. We eventually departed at 19:00 and being delayed on the plane due to a crack in the window and we had to wait on the plane while this was fixed. There was no air con as the engine was off and we were not allowed to leave the plane.

After reading marins comments regarding the test case in December 2008 as shown below i am wondering if i am entitled to compensation and how i would go about claiming.

Matins comments:

"A Dec '08 test case went some way to making the law clearer by ruling that technical faults, unless they stem from 'events which, by their nature or origin, are not inherent in the normal exercise of the air carrier', DO NOT count as examples of extraordinary circumstances. In the past, airlines have routinely cited them as such to excuse themselves from paying out, so this is great news for consumers."

Would i be entitled to claim money for this cancellation, i missed a days work as i did not make it home the following day and was therefore not paid.

Any information would be great

On the face of it you are entitled to €400 a head compensation. To get it just write to Thos Cook (assuming that's the airline) asking for it.


Two snags MAY occur (and I'm not saying they will, just being pessimistic):

the airline may plead extraordinary circumstances. Whilst it's up to them to prove this, you may have to take them to court to get them to do so

the airline may claim it wasn't (despite what you were told) a cancelled flight, but only a delayed one - in which case, no compensation is due


Don't forget you may have a claim on your travel insurance as well.