Connecting flights + compensation rules - can anyone help?

GILLA999

Hi there

Hoping someone can help shed some light on this for me!

Last week I had flights booked through Expedia going from Dublin - Las Vegas.There were two legs to the journey - the first was with Aer Lingus from Dublin to Gatwick, with a 1.5 hour layover and then Gatwick-Vegas with Virgin Atlantic. The whole thing was bought via Expedia one on itinerary and one ticket number, although there are two booking ref numbers for each airline.

On the morning of the flight everything was fine until we got to the Gate in Dublin where we were told there was a delay in our first flight to Gatwick of 2 hours due to "operational reasons" (wouldn't elaborate) which meant we would miss our connecting flight to Vegas.

Aer Lingus then put us on an Aer Lingus flight to Chicago, followed by a United Airlines flight to Vegas - all of which totalled 22 hours of travel time, and a final destination 7 hour delay. I wasn't offered any vouchers for food etc (though subsequently discovered others were).

Because of the Dublin-Vegas distance and duration of delay (7 hours) I was under the impression I'd be entitled to compensation under EU law and have applied to Aer Lingus, but the response has been that because there were two airline carriers involved, they hold no liability. This seems absolutely crazy to me if true, and a massive loophole in the law. The flights were booked as a 'through flight' - so once checked in at Dublin my luggage would have gone all the way to Vegas etc - and on one ticket etc, yet because the second airline was different, I'm entitled to nothing? It is so frustrating because to me it's irrelevant who the second airline was with - the length of delay and who was to blame for it remains the same.

I also contacted Expedia who said because they met the minimum changeover guidelines advertised by Aer Lingus (55 mins) that they are not accountable either.

(By the way, on the return leg of my journey exactly the same thing happened - Virgin were delayed, so we missed our connecting flight at Gatwick and ended up stranded there because Aer Lingus wouldn't put us on another flight back to Dublin.)

Has anyone got any experience or can shed any light on these kind of issues with connecting flights with different airlines? Is there anything that can be done at all? It seems like a complete flaw in the system to me.

Thanks very much!

Caz3121

GILLA999 wrote: »

Virgin were delayed, so we missed our connecting flight at Gatwick and ended up stranded there because Aer Lingus wouldn't put us on another flight back to Dublin.)
!

it was not up to Aer Lingus to put you on another flight, this was for Virgin to sort out as it was their delay that caused you to miss the flight

JPears

Oooh this is an interesting one)
The fact that (and a surprising & unusual one at that) Aer Lingus put you on a flight direct to the States implies that they felt liable for the whole journey and are therefore admitting liabilty in the sense that you booked a "single through ticket" As you point out the delay, was with Aer Lingus, so they are liable for the compensation under reg 261/2004, unless the delay was due to exceptional circumstances.
HOWEVER, is it possible that your actual booking is with Virgin, as Virgin did "wet lease" aircraft from Aer Lingus for some domestic connections in the past?
In which case Virgin are liable!
How long was your return flight delayed ie scheduled arrival time at Gatwick compared to actual doors open time?

Alan_Bowen

The delay was not with VS, we assume they took off on time, it was with Aer Lingus but would have only been two hours, but too long to meet the connection. Expedia have a terrible habit of finding the cheapest fare by combining airlines, often entirely different ones outbound and back and the fact they sold you one fare, does not mean it was all on one ticket.

Aer Lingus are not listed as a codeshare partner on Virgin's own website and if the agent has booked the tickets separately, I don't think there is any liability on either airline.

Aer Lingus being one of the better legacy carriers appears to have tried to help by re routing you, they did it for a friend of mine who was frankly simply too late to check in for his long haul flight and knowing Virgin only fly once a day they seem to have done their best to get you there. If Aer Lingus had only sold a ticket to Gatwick, technically they only had an obligation to get you there, two hours later than planned and the fact you said there were two booking references makes me worry that is what they did.

I know many people love Expedia but I have found them diabolical and avoid them like the plague but if they sold a legitimate connection, then they walk free as EU261 can only be claimed against airlines that delay you by more than three hours. If it was all on one through reservation, then by all means claim but I suspect that may not be the case

JPears

Alan I am very surprised that Aer Lingus gave a flight to Vegas via Chicago, when their only obligation was to get the pssenger to Gatwick?

leylandsunaddict

EI and VS are a strange combination. Now if it had been EI and BA. Are you sure this was all booked on one PNR?

GILLA999

Thank you all for your replies!

I found out that the actual delay of the Aer Lingus to Gatwick flight was over 3 hours - but apparently that's irrelevant as it's about actual time you arrived at your destination, not how long the delayed flight was. It seems crazy to me that I cannot qualify for either scenario? So I arrived 7 hours late at my destination, but because the second leg of the flight - which I didn't even get on - was with another airline, I'm not entitled to anything?

I have heard of Codeshare but not quite sure what it means (I know Expedia said it to me). Can anyone enlighten me? Is there any way of checking this info on my flight - who the tickets were booked with etc? On both legs the boarding passes for both Virgin and Aer Lingus flights were printed out for me by first point check in (ie. Aer Lingus/Dublin there and Vegas/Virgin back), so it felt like it was one "through flight" - not two separate things.

@leyland Can you confirm what a "PNR" is and I'll let you know?

On the return leg, I'm aware that the fault lies with Virgin and not Aer Lingus. The Virgin flight from Vegas to Gatwick was actually only delayed by 20 mins max - yet we were told on arrival at Gatwick by Aer Lingus that we had missed the connection. The layover was supposed to be 1 hour 25 mins.

I agree wholeheartedly on the Expedia point. They are trying to sell the cheapest possible flights (obviously) and sticking to within official airline layover guidelines.However when things go wrong... which, it would seem from my research over the last week is happening a LOT.... neither the airline or the agent is responsible for compensation, because the two legs are with different airlines.

If anyone has any advice on what I can possibly try, I would be very grateful.

GILLA999

I seem to be unable to quote anyone in these replies!

JPears

OK Gilla. As far as I can see and probably the other "vets", you are probably not due compensation.
Your outward journey depends on timings.
What was your flight date, time and number. If your flight (which you didn't actually take) from Dublin to Gatwick arrived (doors open) more than 3 hours late, you maybe due compensation.
Now a critical point (and as I say almost unheard of) is that Aer Lingus seemingly took responsibilty for your delay and rerouted you Dublin/Chicago/Las Vegas - is that correct? In which case they are probably still liable since you arrived more 7 hours after your scheduled arrival time, due to your initial delayed flight.

GILLA999

JPears wrote: »

OK Gilla. As far as I can see and probably the other "vets", you are probably not due compensation.
Your outward journey depends on timings.
What was your flight date, time and number. If your flight (which you didn't actually take) from Dublin to Gatwick arrived (doors open) more than 3 hours late, you maybe due compensation.
Now a critical point (and as I say almost unheard of) is that Aer Lingus seemingly took responsibilty for your delay and rerouted you Dublin/Chicago/Las Vegas - is that correct? In which case they are probably still liable since you arrived more 7 hours after your scheduled arrival time, due to your initial delayed flight.

Actually I've made one error. My initial flight was EI 230 on Weds 6th April - I just checked info I'd been told via a Flight Stats website and my original flight from Dublin-Gatwick (that I didn't end up taking) only ending up arriving 15 mins late - not over 3 hours! This makes me want to sob. WHY OH WHY did Aer Lingus re-route us onto another flight? The plane ended up arriving at Gatwick at 9:20 and was originally scheduled for 9:05! My Vegas flight was scheduled to depart at 10:30 - surely 1 hour and 10 mins would have been enough time to pass through connections? Obviously I realise it is irrelevant now, but it rubs salt in the wound thinking about what a nightmare 22 hour total travel time I had.

So - to summarise, the original flight I was scheduled on was NOT delayed by over 3 hours, but yes, you are correct that Aer Lingus re routed me. When we got to the Dublin gate Aer Lingus told me there was a delay, and after about half an hour announced to me (and the others due on the connecting Vegas flight) that we wouldn't make the connection and they were rerouting us on an Aer Lingus flight from Dublin-Chicago and then a United Airlines flight from Chicago-Vegas. This landed at approx 7pm and I'd been due to land at 1pm - so six hours delay to my original landing time.

Wow, I had no idea it would be such a complex one. To me Aer Lingus re-routing us seemed perfectly normal at the time as, to me, I booked it as a "through flight" and they were the ones causing the delay.

JPears

Although your flight was only 15min late arriving it was 45 mins later departing (flights often have an arrival time scheduled later than the normal or usual arrival time) so Aer Lingus were probably justified in their decision.
I'm still perplexed why they rerouted you all the way to your final destination when their obligation really stopped once you got to Gatwick (or didin't as the case may be). That will have cost them ALOT of money.
I'm minded that they are still liable for compensation, given the above.
What were the details of your missed flight to Vegas? And are you certain it was VA, not BA, whoose flight is 40 mins later than the VA. The BA flight is a codeshare with Aer Lingus.