How do I find out why the flight was cancelled?

bouicca21

I recently had a nightmare journey to London from JFK. I arrived in good time for my flight only to find it had been cancelled. I was rerouted eventually arriving back four hours later than originally scheduled. I was offered a chitty for a meal but it wasn't enough to cover the cost of a meal at JFK let alone the cost of an in flight meal on the alternative airline.

So I am wondering about compensation - but I have no idea why the flight was cancelled and it may well be that there was good cause. The on,you thing approaching an explanation I got was that my plane was still in London. No point in making a claim if it was down to the weather, that's just bad luck. On the other hand if the delay was caused by some vital bit of engine falling off ...

How on earth do I find out?

Caz3121

Firstly, what airline was it? only EU carriers would qualify for EU261 compensation
Use one of the NWNF sites (EUClaim, Bott&co) and plug the flight number in. They should give a good indication on whether the reason qualifies for compensation or not

bouicca21

I don't think there is any doubt that compensation is due unless there were extraordinary circumstances. What I need to know is whether there were extraordinary circumstances, no one told me why the flight had been cancelled.

Caz3121

what do the NWNF sites show when you put the flight details in? If a technical problem etc...it will show a potential claim of x. If there were legitimate extraordinary circumstances affecting that flight then the sites will say so and confirm no compensation due

bouicca21

Ta. Those sites do show a potential claim, but I thought that might be simply based on the lack of notice of the cancellation and the length of the delay. I was thinking that bad weather or a terrorist alert might have been the cause of the delay, but it seems like the only way I will find out is by putting a claim in.

Caz3121

bouicca21 wrote: »

Ta. Those sites do show a potential claim, but I thought that might be simply based on the lack of notice of the cancellation and the length of the delay. I was thinking that bad weather or a terrorist alert might have been the cause of the delay, but it seems like the only way I will find out is by putting a claim in.

If there had been bad weather other extraordinary circumstances Bott&co would show "N/A" as the compensation amount and EUClaim would say something like "our information shows there were extraordinary events that mean compensation is not due" (or something very similar)
They will not waste their own time indicating there is a claim when there is not
The fact that both sites show a claim mean it is unlikely to be extraordinary so get your claim in and see what the airline comes back with...hopefully a payment

Voyager2002

Was it an EU-based airline? If not, you have effectively no rights.

If it was, then no matter what the reason for the delay you were entitled to 'care': appropriate meals, accommodation if needed; use of telephone or internet. If you spent more than the value of the voucher (and ideally kept the receipts) then you have a right to reimbursement, so put in a claim anyway.

In addition, you MAY be entitled to 'compensation' depending on the reason...