Travel agent changing my flight times - what are my rights?

himitsunomogura

Hi all - travel company is moving our flight times, so we lose two half days of our holiday as a result - can anyone help?
Struggling with Google....hope this is the right forum to post in.
Details below:

I booked and paid for air tickets in March, for a month in Japan with my family.
I travel in 2 weeks. On Tuesday the travel agent emailed me to confirm the flight times - which have all changed, due to 'overbooking'

This means we arrive at our destination half a day later.
Our original return flight, we fly up to Tokyo on August 23rd, we booked a hotel for the night, and then were to fly out the next morning.
The new times, have us flying up to Tokyo 8 hours earlier on the 23rd, then flying back to the UK the same day. So we lose our night in Tokyo.

This was apparently due to 'overbooking'

Do we have any rights here? The only things I can find online about overbooking are for if its when you turn up to the airport and get told the flight is full. Here, they are telling us 2 weeks earlier.

Any advice appreciated. Fortunately our hotel did not require a deposit so we don't lose that - we just lose one day of our long awaited holiday.

elsien

Is it a package holiday or separate bookings?
And who had changed the flight times - is it the airline rather than the travel agent?

himitsunomogura

Hi there - not a package holiday, we booked end to end flights through the travel company.
They said that the airline had told them about the overbooking (it was one of those flight sharing things apparently).
They have not told me (yet) which airline
Outward flight was Lufthansa to Munich, then ANA from Munich to Tokyo. Now we are Eurowings to Dusseldorf, and Lufthansa to Tokyo.
ANA from Tokyo to Kochi is unchanged, just airport (we change to a domestic one) and time.

Returning, the final leg is now from Munich instead of Dusseldorf, and is Lufthansa whereas it was Eurowings on our initial itinerary.

Many thanks for your help

elsien

Is this any help?

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/flight-changes

himitsunomogura

Thanks, somehow I'd missed this before.
Looks like its the flight cancellation that impacts me (as I'm on completely different flights), although that advice is not 100% clear to my tired brain as to whether I am due compensation if I'm not actually being cancelled, but rerouted.
It seems to suggest I may get compensation from the airline due to the type of delay, which is reassuring as I'm rather cheesed off with them to say the least.
Thanks for your help

Caz3121

himitsunomogura wrote: »

It seems to suggest I may get compensation from the airline due to the type of delay,

You been given more than 14 days notice so compensation does not apply

himitsunomogura

Well, if its a cancellation (as that link suggests, because its not just times moving, its flight numbers, even airports for some of the legs) I've been given exactly 14 days from the outbound trip, as I was told on the 12th July and we fly on the 26th July.
So I'll give it a go for that one.
Our final arrival is over 4 hours late, so that suggests £460 per person.
I'm sure they will try to wriggle out of it but worth a shot. I was looking forward to a night in Tokyo as well :-(

jpsartre

himitsunomogura wrote: »

Well, if its a cancellation (as that link suggests, because its not just times moving, its flight numbers, even airports for some of the legs) I've been given exactly 14 days from the outbound trip, as I was told on the 12th July and we fly on the 26th July.

Any claim will be against the airline so what matters is when the airline notified your agent.

It's really strange that you would be moved to a different flight due to overbooking two weeks out. I suspect there was a different reasons.

Alan_Bowen

I suspect the agent failed to book the flights as originally intended and then looked round for the best alternatives. Eurowings is the low cost operation of Lufthansa, I would be tempted to ring Lufthansa in London and confirm your original booking, airlines do not announce 'overbookings' in advance, if they happen they happen on the day.

Also, if you have been advised in advance of the change of time of your return flights, that will not entitle you to compensation unless the flight is actually later than the new timings you have been given.

If you find there was no booking as confirmed, demand the agent, and why not name them, put you back on the original flights even though the cheap fare they planned to use may now be gone?

himitsunomogura

Thanks for that advice Alan - and the others who have commented.

I have spoken to the travel company twice, both on Friday and today, and given no straight answers, only lots of 'hold' time and promises for emails / calls which have never happened.
I fly on the 27th, and I still have no confirmation that tickets have even been sent.
I am suspecting that this is a !!!! up on the part of the travel company and now I'm seriously worried.
If I don't get the promised phone call tomorrow which will 'confirm everything' (that was the only answer I got to my very specific questions like 'when will I receive my tickets' and 'which was the original airline that cancelled') I don't know what I'll do.

I'm going to be contacting Lufthansa to find out from their side, as per your advice.
Cheers,
Paul

Alan_Bowen

Good luck, don't leave it any longer than tomorrow!