Cancelled Norwegian Air flight

rorylando45

Hi all,

Was hoping for a bit of advice as I have never been in this situation before. On Monday I had a flight booked from Gatwick to Copenhagen with Norwegian Air. It was my first flight with Norwegian. There were initial announcements that the flight was delayed, then further delays, then further delays until ultimately they announced that the flight was cancelled.

No real reason was given other than that there was no crew available to work the flight. It was an utter shambles but that's not really the point, I don't have a particular issue with that. I phoned up their helpline and they were unable to move me onto the next flight later that day (as it was full), the next flight they could get me on wasn't until the following morning, which I accepted.

I then went to the help desk and they put me into the Gatwick Hilton for Monday night, along with arrangements for dinner and breakfast. On the whole I am happy enough with these arrangements, it was inconvenient but I think they've met all their obligations.

The annoying thing is that I had to take Monday off of work as holiday. Is there any chance I can claim for loss of earnings through my travel insurance?

My other concern, is that I have a flight to Copenhagen booked for early next year with Norwegian Air, and then a separately booked Norwegian flight from Copenhagen to Vegas for about 4 hours later - my confidence in this airline is now virtually zero so I'm concerned that any delay or cancellation on the LGW-CPH flight would mean I'd miss my CPH-LAS flight. Do you think in the context of what happened on Monday they might allow me to cancel the flight so that I can rebook it with another (more reliable) airline? The category of the ticket is LowFare which typically doesn't allow for free cancellation but I wonder if in this circumstance they might allow it.

I suspect the answer to both these questions is a big fat no, but worth asking I suppose! Thanks for any help anyone can offer.

Caz3121

you may be due compensation of €250 from the airline for your cancelled flight
have a look here https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5279551
I doubt they will allow you to cancel a separate booking based on a previous poor experience and would expect the fare rules to apply

agrinnall

Sadly I think you are right. As we can't see your travel insurance policy from here it's hard to be sure, so your best bet is to read it yourself, but it would be unusual to cover loss of earnings. I'd also doubt if Norwegian will cancel your next flight but it can't hurt to ask, you never know. Alternatively, could you ask if they would change the flight to the day before so you could stay the night in Copenhagen and just have a bus ride to airport for your Vegas flight?

richardw

No crew is not extra ordinary circumstances and they should have taken reasonable measures, i.e. an adequate standby crew system to avoid the cancellation.

jpsartre

rorylando45 wrote: »

Do you think in the context of what happened on Monday they might allow me to cancel the flight so that I can rebook it with another (more reliable) airline? The category of the ticket is LowFare which typically doesn't allow for free cancellation but I wonder if in this circumstance they might allow it.

No, they won't. One cancelled flight does not make an airline unreliable. In fact, Norwegian's on-time performance record is fairly good. You can name any airline and I'd probably be able to find a flight they cancelled on the day you travelled. That said, you are definitely running a risk having booked separate tickets and if you miss your flight in CPH, Norwegian will have no obligations to rebook you on another flight to LAS (and most likely they won't, unless you buy a new ticket). I would personally look to get the ticket changed so you have everything on one ticket.

Out of curiosity, what led you to book the flights separately?

littlereddevil

Two different airlines?

agrinnall

jpsartre wrote: »

Out of curiosity, what led you to book the flights separately?

The obvious reason would be to only pay APD on the first leg rather than the extortionate amount required for the full journey (Disclaimer: I have no idea whether Denmark has a similar tax or what it's rates are if they do).

jpsartre

littlereddevil wrote: »

Two different airlines?

Both flights are with Norwegian. I'm guessing price is the answer although any savings will be quickly gone if the OP misses his flight at CPH.

rorylando45

Thank you for the advice everyone.

I booked the CPH-LAS flights initially, and was planning on sorting LON-CPH a bit down the line. Then I saw the LON-CPH flights with Norwegian at a reasonable price so just booked those up. I don't even know if it's possible to book London to Vegas via Copenhagen through their website on the one ticket is it?

jpsartre

If it isn't it doesn't change the fact that you bear all the risk with separate tickets. It's not necessarily a problem as some people are less risk aversive than others but it's something to keep in mind when you make your booking decision.

rorylando45

Yep. I've done this sort of thing before, dozens if not hundreds of flights around Europe with various low cost airlines (Easyjet, Ryanair, Wizzair etc.) and in virtually all cases have had almost no experience with delays and certainly none with cancellations. So at the time of bookings I was very relaxed, but after Monday I'm now suddenly far less relaxed! Might just bite the bullet and book an earlier flight to Copenhagen with Easyjet, only about £30 I think which is well worth it for the peace of mind it would provide.