Austrian Airlines Compensation

Joe000000

Hi,


I was wondering if anyone has had any experience trying to get compensation inline with EC261/04 from Austrian Airlines.


I had an issue with a flight from London to Tirana (changing in Vienna) A flight delay resulted in a missed connection and arriving around 11 hours late.


I struggled to get a reply regarding my complaint, it was only 11 weeks later when I complained to the Austrian regulator that the airline contacted me. They have offered me a €150 E-voucher and said I can't get cash compensation, as the delay was out of their control.


They blamed the delay on air traffic congestion on the previous routing of the plane, not at London where I was departing.

Should I take this further or just take a voucher that I would be reluctant to use after the way they treated me?


Any help appreciated!!

Vauban

Joe000000 wrote: »

Hi,


I was wondering if anyone has had any experience trying to get compensation inline with EC261/04 from Austrian Airlines.


I had an issue with a flight from London to Tirana (changing in Vienna) A flight delay resulted in a missed connection and arriving around 11 hours late.


I struggled to get a reply regarding my complaint, it was only 11 weeks later when I complained to the Austrian regulator that the airline contacted me. They have offered me a €150 E-voucher and said I can't get cash compensation, as the delay was out of their control.


They blamed the delay on air traffic congestion on the previous routing of the plane, not at London where I was departing.

Should I take this further or just take a voucher that I would be reluctant to use after the way they treated me?


Any help appreciated!!

Depends when the disruption happened. The Regulation is weirdly specific on this: "Extraordinary circumstances should be deemed to exist where the impact of an air traffic management decision in relation to a particular aircraft on a particular day gives rise to a long delay." So if the delay happened on the same day then arguably it's extraordinary.

Joe000000

Vauban wrote: »

Depends when the disruption happened. The Regulation is weirdly specific on this: "Extraordinary circumstances should be deemed to exist where the impact of an air traffic management decision in relation to a particular aircraft on a particular day gives rise to a long delay." So if the delay happened on the same day then arguably it's extraordinary.

Thanks, I will see if I can get details off them of where they are saying the delay was.

Jim_Bruce

Hi, I was delayed on a Brussels Airlines flight operated by their partner Austrian Airlines, and I wrote to Austrian Airlines to claim compensation (October 2015) They replied at the time, giving me a reference number, but have since not replied to any of my emails. From reading threads on this forum (I'm not used to using this/any forum, so please excuse mistakes), I'm not sure whether to:
1) switch the claim from Austrian Airlines to Brussels Airlines
2) write to the Austrian regulator, but I don't have their contact details, or
3) hand it to a NWNF company, but don't know which one to use as I've never done it before.
Any advice appreciated.
Jim

111KAB

Jim - read Vauban's guide. Unlikely that UK based NWNF will take on so after reading said guide decide if you want to DIY.

Jim_Bruce

Hi, I've read the guide thanks. I'm happy to continue DIY, but don't know how to contact the Austrian regulator as the airline won't reply. I noticed that one of the NWNF companies was registered in the Netherlands, so if I go this route, I'll try and pick a NWNF based outside the UK.

Caz3121

Jim_Bruce wrote: »

1) switch the claim from Austrian Airlines to Brussels Airlines
Brussels Airlines were not the operating carrier so have no liability and will refer you back to Austrian
2) write to the Austrian regulator, but I don't have their contact details
If anything like the CAA, they may well find in your favour but cannot force the airline to pay
3) hand it to a NWNF company, but don't know which one to use as I've never done it before.

You could try checking the flight details on a site such as EUClaim to see if they agree compensation applies and, if so, follow Vauban's guide re issuing NBA and court process

Jim_Bruce

Hi, thanks for your reply.
I contacted several NWNF companies, Bott don't handle flights which didn't originate in the UK. I contacted Euclaim, which don't handle flights which don't originate in the UK, Netherlands, or Germany. Both companies were helpful. I note that both their fees are a whopping 27% plus admin per passenger, all PLUS vat. I then contacted the CAA who are going to send me details of their equivalent in Austria. I'll post details of how I get on!

111KAB

Jim - the Austrian 'equivalent' may well agree with you but their agreement hardly worth the paper it is written on .... you have 4 alternatives 1) DIY using Vauban's Guide 2) Resolver 3) Find a Austrian NWNF. 4) Walk away
Sorry to say I think you are wasting your time with an Austrian NEB .... NWNF fees at c27% may seem high but if you are not prepared to DIY not much else you can do.

Jim_Bruce

Hi 111KAB, thanks for your reply. The CAA gave me contact details for their equivalent in Austria, and I've sent them a claim which has been acknowledged.
1) I've re-read Vauban's guide and haven't found anything to add to what I've done
2) I'll look at this, thanks
3) If my claim to the Austrian CAA fails, I'll try and find an Austrian NWNF when I'm visiting Austria in a few weeks.
4) I'm happy to use a NWNF if I can find one who will handle my case. See my earlier post.

I forgot to mention in my previous post that both NWNF companies I contacted, their website "checker" said my claim was eligible for compensation, and only when I tried to submit a claim, did they say they couldn't do it because the flight originated in Austria. This doesn't say much for the thoroughness of the NWNF companies I contacted.

111KAB

The Austrian 'CAA' will be their NEB ..... you do not claim via a NEB you merely seek their comment on the validity of any likely claim. The Austrian NEB may well say you have a valid claim .... if they do support you this gets you no further on however their support may assist if the matter goes to court (ie DIY).


If they do not support your potential claim the airline will use this as ammunition should you decide to pursue a DIY court claim.


The main reason a UK NWNF will not take your case on is more likely due to the fact that they have no other claimants on your flight. The NWNF firms prosper when they have multiple claims on the same flight which is doubtful if an Austrian airline was involved.


I would have thought it possible to research Austrian NWNF firms availability by searching the web prior to your visit.