Lost cruise due to flight problems

mazco

A bit complicated but I hope someone can help.
We were due to fly to Singapore last night. The flight was booked from Heathrow to Kuala Lumpur with a connecting flight to Singapore. We booked the whole thing as a package through an agent.
The plane didn't take off last night and we were put in a hotel. This morning they told us that the flight would go but would not get us to Singapore in time to catch the boat.
At this point they were predicting a delay time of 16 hours. We decided not to fly as the whole point was to go on the cruise. We returned home and have started the process of compensation.
I understand that we are covered by the EU regulations for compensation except that the airline were talking about repairs to the plane and used the phrase "safety issues" so may plead exceptional circumstances. However I have a couple of other questions.
1) As we didn't fly we should be entitled to a refund for the ticket. I have checked with the agent and there is no individual price for the flight We only have a package price. How do we go about claiming a refund for the flight we didn't use?
2) We have also contacted our insurance company. We would expect that if the airline refund is for the ticket cost that the insurance company will not pay that to. However they say that we MUST apply for the EU compensation and that anything we get will be deducted from their payment.
That seems all wrong to me. Surely this is compensation to us for the hours spent sitting round the airport and the inconvenience of losing or holiday. The insurance company is simply refunding the cost of that holiday. Are they entitled to do this?

NoviceAngel

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5173888

DrA_Harrogate

mazco wrote: »

1) As we didn't fly we should be entitled to a refund for the ticket. I have checked with the agent and there is no individual price for the flight We only have a package price. How do we go about claiming a refund for the flight we didn't use?
2) We have also contacted our insurance company. We would expect that if the airline refund is for the ticket cost that the insurance company will not pay that to. However they say that we MUST apply for the EU compensation and that anything we get will be deducted from their payment.

As NoviceAngel says read all the background info and you will be well informed. It is concerning that you did not say you contacted the tour company and give them the opportunity to remedy the situation i.e. by transferring you to the first port of call or some such. They should be your first contact.

mazco

We did contact the agent as soon as we could but we would have lost days of our holiday or ended up without our luggage. They we very helpful but there didn't seem to be much they could do.

Alan_Bowen

If a flight delay prevents you from starting the cruise you should be entitled to a full refund of all money paid for the holiday but you should have contacted your operator before abandoning the whole holiday. Presumably you were flying Malaysia Airlines whilst at an additional cost, to the operator but far less than a full refund, they could probably have rebooked you on Singapore or BA to get to the starting point. You should have been given a contact point to call, if you were and you didn't use it, you may find the operator considers you acted unreasonably

The problem is the cruise company won't be offering any refund at all unless they were the ones who organised the flight, and from what you say, it was a UK operator who did so, so you can see why the UK company may be looking for any excuse not to pay. You should have had a valid claim against the airline for 600 Euros for the delay but a you didn't wait that doesn't come into play. If the airline makes a refund, it will be to the operator and included in their refund to you

mazco

I'm sorry but there are a couple of important points you are missing here.
1) There was another flight with Malaysian airlines which they said they'might' be able to get us on. However they said that wouldn't work as our luggage was on the original plane and couldn't be removed until the plane was repaired. We only had the clothes we stood up in without even a toothbrush between us. If we had boarded any other plane we would have had none of our belongings for at least48 hours. No one we spoke to suggested that this was an option. We are expecting it to be Monday before we get our cars delivered to our home here. How long would it take for them to catch up with a ship?
2 ) We did speak to the agent who organised the trip but they had no other options.
3) We are not trying to get a refund from the agent or the cruise line. Our travel insurance covers us for abandonment of a trip if the plane is at least 12:hours late. Our plane was actually 18 hours late and we are therefore covered. I am simply surprised that they say we MUST claim from the airline first and they will deduct the compensation from what they pay us. This seems unfair when they should be covering the cost of the holiday and the compensating is purely for the inconvenience of the delay (not for the loss of the holiday).

Tyzap

I feel you may have to go down this route....

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/making-a-complaint-about-an-insurance-company

mazco

Alan_Bowen wrote: »

You should have had a valid claim against the airline for 600 Euros for the delay but a you didn't wait that doesn't come into play. If the airline makes a refund, it will be to the operator and included in their refund to you

I'm sorry but I don't understand this comment at all. Are you suggesting that we would only be entitled to compensation if we were prepared to sit at the airport until the flight took off 18 hours late. Where is that in the rules? We should get compensation for the flight being late NOT for actually flying on it.

I still haven't had an answer to my original questions
1) How can we claim a refund on the flight when it was part of a package?
2) Can our travel insurance company make it a condition of our claim to them that we claim compensation from the airline and are they then entitled to deduct any payment from their refund of our holiday costs? They will not consider paying us anything until the airline compensation has been sorted. That could take months.

111KAB

1) This forum is dedicated to seeking statutory compensation for a flight which is either delayed (beyond 3 hours) or which is cancelled. All the information as to your suitability to achieve the requisite level of compensation is covered by EU statute 261/2004 but more adequately explained by 'Vauban's guide' which you should read yourself so as to ascertain if YOU BELIEVE you are entitled to a refund when a flight was part of a package.
2) The terms and conditions of the insurance you took out are, presumably, clearly (if only in small print) stated. You willingly entered into the insurance accepting same. The only way to really challenge this (if the insurance company will not budge) is to take the matter up with the insurance ombudsman. This forum does not concern itself with insurance claims. Your suggestion that any delay compensation claim could take months would be music to many as there are a considerable number of claimants who post on these pages who have been waiting years for the airlines to cough up.


Finally I feel Alan in #5 above has provided you with a full adequate response which covers the aspects a travel agent would consider in respect of your abandoned trip.