Turkey / EU question and Resolver problem

Schnurrbart

Hi, I'm trying to submit a flight delay claim through Resolver on the MSE site but have hit an obstacle at the very start!

Firstly, the flight in question was from Bristol, UK to Antalya, Turkey, but I don't know whether Turkey is considered part of the EU from an airline perspective - Turkey's EU member status seems to be a bit of a grey area from what I can gather. So, I'm not even sure I'm eligible to make a claim...

Assuming that I can claim for a delay on a UK to Turkey flight, the next snag is this: The flight was booked with Thomas Cook Airlines, but, according to the letter we were handed at Bristol, "Due to unavoidable operational circumstances, the aircraft operating your flight is no longer available. Our operations department have arranged an alternative aircraft for you and your flight will now be operated by Air Via". The problem is that the first field in the Resolver tool will not accept Air Via as an entry - unless an operator from the drop-down list is selected (and Air Via is not on the list) one cannot select a departure point in the next field ("Flying from (choose airline above first)") . I could enter Thomas Cook, but the light text visible in the field before one starts typing says, "Airline you flew with (not necessarily booked with)". My intuition is that I could legitimately select Thomas Cook, since they effectively sub-contracted the flight to another operator, presumably due to there not being any other Thomas Cook planes available. However, I'm not entirely sure.

So I'm a bit stuck at the moment. Any assistance with either point would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Caz3121

start here https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5173888
whether Turkey is or is not in the EU is completely irrelevant as you were departing from Bristol which is in the EU
Thomas Cook Airlines is the airline to claim against as they cancelled their flight (you did not have a reservation with Air Via
The comment relating to "who you flew with (not necessarily booked with)" relates to those people who book a Thomas Cook holiday whose flight is not necessarily a TCX flight

Schnurrbart

Many thanks Caz3121.

I was obviously unaware that only the country of departure had to be in the EU for the purposes of a claim (note to self: check basic facts). I've checked again and, most embarrassingly for me, the answer to my question is in the very first sentence of point 1 of the compensation rules. I now feel suitably stupid, and the dunce's cap is firmly in place...

Thank you also for confirming what I suspected (and hoped) would be the case regarding Thomas Cook / Air Via.

Looks like my claim can go ahead!