Compensation for delayed flights Discussion Area

Alan_Bowen

Highly unlikley the airline would email 5 times as suggested if the cancellation only occurred the week before. If you identify airline and route, we may be able to help you more

dzug1

I suspect you should have been offered an alternative flight rather than the refund - or at least given the choice.

I would assume there is a read receipt on the emails, so they should know I had not been informed.

Not necessarily a realistic assumption - even if there was you could have declined to send one. Could they (the e-mails informing you) be in your junk e-mail?




When you say 'the route was cancelled' do you mean your own particular flight or the whole service? How does the schedule of the return flight compare to your original flight?


The advice given in earlier posts looks sound.

littleseapig

Hi

Thanks to you both - they didn't say when they'd sent the emails, so I have no idea when they tried to contact me (supposedly). I worded that incorrectly - the last flights were the week before, and I have found an article online from July saying they are to cancel the route but not when this decision was made.

In regards to the fair comment, surely this goes against the customer responsibility legislation? They did not make sure I was aware of the the cancellation?

littleseapig

dzug1 wrote: »

I suspect you should have been offered an alternative flight rather than the refund - or at least given the choice.




Not necessarily a realistic assumption - even if there was you could have declined to send one. Could they (the e-mails informing you) be in your junk e-mail?




When you say 'the route was cancelled' do you mean your own particular flight or the whole service? How does the schedule of the return flight compare to your original flight?


The advice given in earlier posts looks sound.

Hi - as chance would have it, I cleared out my emails entirely on the Thursday or Friday before travel as I kept getting notifications about a full inbox etc.

No the route was stopped - no longer fly direct to Berlin. The return was again longer but by about 2 hours instead of 7 like the way there.

I have contacted them through their form online (only mail address is in Germany..) and their phone line is surprise surprise expensive...

I printed off my boarding things etc the DAY BEFORE and the booking was still there. Handily enough for them it isn't now..

littleseapig

Alan_Bowen wrote: »

Highly unlikley the airline would email 5 times as suggested if the cancellation only occurred the week before. If you identify airline and route, we may be able to help you more

This is what the woman behind the desk said. It was a Germanwings flight 4U 8331 from BHX Birmingham to TXL Berlin.

Again, wrongly worded - it stopped running the week before. I have no idea when they decided it was to stop

David_e

littleseapig wrote: »

In regards to the fair comment, surely this goes against the customer responsibility legislation?

I was just pointing out that the law is what it is and takes no account of passengers' individual experience. As far as I am aware, there is no law of the kind you suggest that will help you - other than EU 261/2004.

littleseapig wrote: »

They did not make sure I was aware of the the cancellation?

As I said, the legislation says:

"The burden of proof concerning the questions as to whether and when the passenger has been informed of the cancellation of the flight shall rest with the operating air carrier. "

So the onus is on them to prove you were informed.

littleseapig

That's a helpful thing to know thank you - I contact my insurer on the da to find out if they could help and they mentioned something about a new legislation on customer responsibility? This is what I make reference to.

David_e

littleseapig wrote: »

Again, wrongly worded - it stopped running the week before. I have no idea when they decided it was to stop

This article dated 4 July:

http://buyingbusinesstravel.com/news/0422741-germanwings-end-birmingham-berlin-route

says "The airline ... will end the service from August 31".

The burden of proof is on them but if they say they sent an email (and can prove that), then the only counter argument is you saying you didn't receive it. If you were the only passenger who didn't get the message, the judge might side with the airline. Were there other passengers at the airport with you who were not aware of the cancellation?

littleseapig

That is the article I found.

No we were the only ones, but that doesn't mean I didn't receive them. I was also at the airport by 6am, getting up at 4, and had booked parking etc - I wouldn't have done that if I had known.
When some colleagues discussed us standing there, we heard them say 'oh' and raise their eyebrows when they found out we were there for the Berlin flight. This could obviously mean anything, but when I asked if this had happened before she said a bit too quickly that it hadn't.

I think I will try one of the air compensation companies as its a little complicated... if its no win no fee I have nothing to lose

David_e

littleseapig wrote: »

No we were the only ones, but that doesn't mean I didn't receive them.

It doesn't but if it comes to the crunch, a judge has to decide and he/she might say that "on the balance of probabilities" if all the passengers, apart from your party, were aware then they did send an email. Worth seeing what a no win no fee fim says; it's certainly not clearcut.

Did they have a phone number? If they did and they didn't try to call you, that should be in your favour.