Compensation for delayed flights Discussion Area

Stevelon24

Hi Cityboy

I had already written to Thomas Cook informing them that I do intend to rely on the case but they haven't replied. I might remind them and send a not to the Court as well. Will let you know how I get on!

nickbennison

I too have had problems with Thomas Cook
My flight to the Gambia was delayed by 6 hours. After 5 weeks of getting no response I got some excellent advice from this site leading to the following response;
I would also advise that the Regulation on Denied Boarding, Cancellation and Delay provides that no compensation should be payable in the event that the delay was caused by extraordinary circumstances beyond the control of the airline. You have also indicated that you believe that because your flight was delayed due to technical problems with the aircraft, and have questioned whether this amounts to extraordinary circumstances. We would suggest that this flight delay was caused by circumstances, which are not inherent in the normal exercise of the activity of Thomas Cook Airlines and are beyond its actual control.
In the circumstances, we regret that we cannot therefore entertain any claim for compensation for your flight delay.

They give no reason for the delay so I was wondering if anyone thinks it is worth taking this matter further. I think that I am simply being fobbed off and am quite happy to go to the small claims court
Many thanks

23rdspiral

hi, i just got back from a great holiday with a horrible ending!

in Gran Canaria with a Thomson package.

Flight home left on time, we heard a very loud odd noise after take off but the hostess just kept talking about duty free and the tea trolly! after a while my o/h noticed a big island underneath us - we were still over Gran Canaria! only then did they bother to tell us there had been a fault with a 'green hydrolic' and we would have to return to GC as they have a nice long runway, and lots of fire trucks on standby!

Anyway, we made it down safely - some people really didnt cope well with the prospect of crashing and it was a very unpleasant experience. the captain told us we had to wait for a taxi to take the plane in as he'd "lost all nose steering".

we were eventually taken back to 'boarding' and abandoned. each monitor said something different so we were walking up and down needlessly between gates. (and i have the biggest blister you've ever seen!) we gave up on what the monitors said and tried an info point (only to be waived away). eventually we found a Tompson person who said it would be 30min till we flew away again so no water or call needed...

Even though they kept saying it would be only 30min more, so no water allowed, it was 5 hours later that we finally flew out. Our flight was Cancelled, we were dispatched on vacant seats all over the country (we were lucky and got back to our starting point), and we had to go collect our baggage and que through checkin exct again. of course i'd bought alcahol (first time leaving) and water (had to!) on the leaving side, and the Size of Liquid people were very horrible and i had to argue a lot with them to keep my liquids (many people didnt win that argument).

We should have landed at 5.30, we didnt land till after midnight. we had a 2 1/2 hr drive after to get home - which was not a good experience. i've had to call in sick today as i'm so overtired and exhausted.

(oh, and my case was smashed to pieces during the 2nd flight. seriously only the foam inner was holding my clothes in. what a nice finishing touch!!)

sorry for the long post, but i really would appreciate any advice. i can return info on Old Style or sewing or something! i've read over the last few pages but am so fuddle-headed i'm so confused.

geckofabulous

It's frustrating as the ATUC hasn't got back to me yet and it's been nearly a month (22nd Feb 2010) . Are they normally this shoddy? They're no better than the airlines It's a farce.

ailuro2

Can someone give me an idea of how many times I should write to the airline and be ignored before we take our case to ATUC,

most recent letter of complaint posted (recorded delivery) on 23rd February but the airline has not been in touch.

TIA

Kev86

Hi,

I am hoping for some advice.

We were due to fly out from Gatwick to Domincan Republic at 10:00am on 24th March '10. After taking off and being airbourne for 2.5 hours we were called back to LGW due to 'rubber debris' being found on the runway. We had to circle the south coast for 2 hours to burn fuel and eventually landed at LGW. The airport was closed for 30 minutes to allow us to land and there was a mass of emergency services waiting and following us up the runway - not a pleasant experience!

After exiting the plane we could see a wheel down to the 'canvas' and with no rubber on.

Thomson put us up in a hotel overnight and we took off the following day at 9:30am - a 23.5 hour delay which Thomson have confirmed in writing.

I have phoned my insurance company who only cover overnight accomodation, food and drink - this was provided by Thomson so no claim back. The holiday itslef was a 24 hour all inclusive which of course we lost out on.

We did however lose a full day of our holiday which was a big chunk on a 7 day trip, especially as it was a suprise for my partners 21st birthday. More worringly the incomplete check of tyre condition could have caused a much more serious incident, as demonstrated by the emergency response awaiting our landing.

Do I have any chance of claiming back and if so how is best to go about this? What terms do i need to know and can a template be accessed at all?

Thank you for reading this far and hopefully someone can help!

Kev

rob_thompson

My flight back from Prague to Gatwick on Monday the 29th of March was cancelled and I ended up (luckily) flying back with easy jet on the 30th having managed to grab one of the last tickets back to Stanstead the next morning.

My flight was cancelled 15 minutes before the scheduled departure and and I landed at a different airport approximately 12hours later than my original flight would have landed. I think this entitles me to compensation. After speaking to Easyjet they told me the reason for the flight cancellation was a technical fault with the reservation system, and this counts as extraordinary therefore they don't need to pay me compensation.

I think this is outrageous and how can that be classed as an extraordinary circumstance! How do I pursue this further? does anyone know?

Thanks
Rob

scoot23

Hi

I'm having real problems trying to get any form of compensation for an Iberia flight that went terribly wrong last year from London to Sao Paulo connecting in Madrid. It was in January 2009, and most of the disruption was due to the snow. But the service and response by Iberia and their staff was appalling.

My initial flight to Madrid was diverted to Valencia because Madrid was closed due to the snow. Fair enough- but we were then stranded in Valencia for two hours with no information, before being told to board a bus to Madrid airport. They obviously didn't tell the bus driver this as he left us stranded in the centre of Madrid. Despite protestations that the driver should take us to the airport he refused, and we had to then make our own way to the airport at our own cost.

The Iberia desk at the aiport did not provide or offer any hotel accomodation, food vouchers or information as to what we should do or when the connecting flight to Brazil was likely to be. It took 20 hours waiting in the airport before we were told anything. They said we were likely to be able to get a flight the next day, and after 26 hours of waiting I was offered a seat on the next flight.

When we arrived in Sao Paulo, we discovered our baggage had not been loaded onto the plane, and had to wait a further 16 hours at the airport for its arrival.

I understand that the adverse weather conditions will allow them to avoid paying compensation for the flight delay. But am I entitled to anything for
1) The bus from Valencia to Madrid Aiport dumping us in the centre of Madrid.
2) Having to stay in Madrid airport without being offered Hotel/Food despite requests for 26 hours
3) The luggage not arriving with me in Brazil, and having to wait 16 hours for it.

I have complained to Iberia, but they said my complaint does not fit their criteria for compensation so I am poondering whether it is worth my time taking my complaint any further. I have to say dealing with Iberia has been a nightmare and I have had to get the Airline Users Council involved to get to the this stage.

Is it worth spending any more time on this? If I do what kind of compensation could I realistically expect to recieve?

morningtheft

Last night I was scheduled to fly on Virgin Atlantic flight 12 from Boston to London. The flight left pretty much on time.

A few minutes into the flight, the plane started making a really frightening noise (I've flown over 100 times and never heard anything like it), which the pilot told us was because the 'undercarriage retraction system' wasn't working. After a few more tries to fix it, the pilot decided to turn back to Boston (he announced this 10 minutes into the flight).

It took a further 50 minutes to land in Boston, because they had to jettison fuel to make the plane lighter.

When we landed, we had to sit in the plane on the runaway for a further two hours while the engineers investigated the problem. After two hours the pilot announced the flight was cancelled.

We were offered a hotel room, which was useless for me since I live in Boston. I was re-booked onto a flight 24 hours later (but that flight was delayed too, making the total delay 27 hours)

I asked about compensation when I came back tonight for my re-booked flight. I was given a $10 meal voucher (great. I ate before I came to the airport.) and was told that I would be given 12,000 extra air miles.

Is $10 worth of food and 12,000 miles really sufficient compensation for a 27 hour delay and 4 hours spent on a failed flight? I am shocked if this is the case.

GRAHAM1_3

hi am new to this site i wander if anyone can give some advice ?
i have just got back from the dominican republic yesterday 27th april 2010 i was ment to be back the 22nd april 2010 but our flight was cancelled and the flights that did get in other people who were stranded too were put on them thompson kept us in the same hotel but were not too clear info wise can i claim from my travel insurance or thompson for the delay or cancellation ?
thanks .