Missed flight due to National Express incompetence

Isometra

My boyfriend was due to fly home to Slovakia with Wizz Air as usual for christmas but because of the incompetence of the National Express coach driver, he arrived after check in had closed and missed his flight.

Check in closed at 7am and the the coach was due to arrive at Luton airport at 6.10am.

The coach driver kept turning the motor off and stopped to count the number of passengers at every single bus stop and slowed down the journey so much that by the time he eventually managed to get out of London, other drivers would have arrived at the airport. As a result, my boyfriend and other National Express passengers on board missed their flight.

My boyfriend regularly makes this trip so he knows how much time it normally takes to get from London to Luton airport. Unfortunately on this occasion, he has been unable to make his scheduled flight or transfer to another one and has to spend christmas alone and away from his family due to the extortionate christmas period ticket prices.

Is there anyway he can claim back at least some of the cost of his plane/coach ticket?

custardy

a 50 minute cushion for such an important journey? What would your boyfriend have one if there was even a small amount of extra traffic?

antenna

custardy wrote: »

a 50 minute cushion for such an important journey? What would your boyfriend have one if there was even a small amount of extra traffic?

Just a little harsh...........may have been the first available coach?

SW17

Isometra wrote: »

My boyfriend was due to fly home to Slovakia with Wizz Air as usual for christmas but because of the incompetence of the National Express coach driver, he arrived after check in had closed and missed his flight.

Check in closed at 7am and the the coach was due to arrive at Luton airport at 6.10am.

The coach driver kept turning the motor off and stopped to count the number of passengers at every single bus stop and slowed down the journey so much that by the time he eventually managed to get out of London, other drivers would have arrived at the airport. As a result, my boyfriend and other National Express passengers on board missed their flight.

My boyfriend regularly makes this trip so he knows how much time it normally takes to get from London to Luton airport. Unfortunately on this occasion, he has been unable to make his scheduled flight or transfer to another one and has to spend christmas alone and away from his family due to the extortionate christmas period ticket prices.

Is there anyway he can claim back at least some of the cost of his plane/coach ticket?

For the flight ticket, the only avenue would be travel insurance, if he has it. The issue with any claim is likely to be whether he was allowing reasonable time to reach the airport (naturally insurance companies don't like to pay out and their view on this often differs from the customer).

For the coach, I suppose you could complain to National Express, but would need some evidence of the driver's activities. Don't really fancy the chances on this one, but you never know. Traffic unlikely to be an issue going out of London at that time of day.

Caz3121

Isometra wrote: »

Is there anyway he can claim back at least some of the cost of his plane/coach ticket?

separate contracts. He should be able to claim some tax back from Wizz air but it is likely that any admin fee would wipe this out
Claim from travel insurance if it covers delay in public transport but I would expect they may well reject the claim due insufficient time being allowed for the journey

PeacefulWaters

antenna wrote: »

Just a little harsh...........may have been the first available coach?

Then book a different flight or a hotel for the night before.

As it happens, there are scheduled coach services every 20 minutes from London, arriving at the airport from 4.10am. Six coaches that would have given a bit more breathing time.

Allowing 50 minutes to get from coach stop, through security and across to the departure gate is, at the most generous, cutting it fine.

Others might suggest it's lunacy.

No liability for National Express. See section 4.10b.
http://www.nationalexpress.com/assets/uploads/pdf/Conditions-of-Carriage.pdf

malkie76

It was 50mins to get from the bus stop to check in
However I'd argue that's not enough contingency time. I'd have been on the first bus out or slept in the terminal over night.

The OP has no grounds for money back from anyone - all providers fulfilled their contracts, but you didn't leave enough time.

Did you ask at checkin to move to a later flight? They sometimes waive the fees if you've turned up late due to public transport.

Nodding_Donkey

Checkins typically close 40 mins before the flight departs. That plus 50 minutes equals 1.5 hours.

Now you know why most people are advised to get to the airport 2 hrs before departure.

Seems to me that it was passenger incompetence.

Westin

I also very much doubt you will have any recourse with National Express. A polite approach my solicit a gesture but I don't believe they are liable. Your boyfriend unfortunately cut his travel time too fine by leaving just a 50 minute buffer between the scheduled arrival time of the bus and the CLOSURE of the check-in for his flight. Anything on route to the airport could have delayed his journey (as it apparently did).

The National Express website seems very clear during the booking flow for airport services regarding planning journey times around connecting to flights. They recommend passengers allow for 3 HOURS between scheduled arrival time and the departure of the flight. Your boyfriend presumably either missed this or chose to ignore and gamble on a shorter connection time.

Unfortunate, but perhaps a lesson learnt. Hope you both can accept the error on his part, more on and both have an enjoyable Christmas.

kinger101

National Express say they have no liability unless you allow 180 minutes between scheduled arrival time and check-in.

http://www.nationalexpress.com/assets/uploads/pdf/Conditions-of-Carriage.pdf

It sounds like you were planning 90 minutes before flight (check-in closes 40 mins before flight).

I think your boyfriend took too much of a risk to be honest.

Doshwaster

I sometimes take the National Express to Heathrow as it saves money on the parking and having to drive home when jet lagged but I always allow at least 4 hours from scheduled arrival time to takeoff due to the unpredictability of traffic. Far better to spend a couple of extra hours in the airport bar than stuck on the M25.