Thomas Cook/Funway Flight disaster

davidlpool1982

Hi guys and gals

Sorry if this is in the wrong place, but it seems like the best fit even if it isn't about delay (technically).

6 of us went to Dallas for Wrestlemania this year. We booked through Thomas Cook, who arranged it through a company called Fun Way.4 of us booked originally, then 2 more booked later through Thomas Cook/Funway on the same flight details etc. Thomas Cook then treated us as a 6 and gave out the tickets all together etc.

Alas, the Flight on the way back was going from Dallas, to Washington, to Brussels then home to Manchester (phew!). The Brussels bombing happened a few days before we left, and a week and a half before we were due to fly back.

So, day before our flight back, we go to check in online and it doesn't exist on the United Airways site. So we checked Brussels airport website which confirms the flight was cancelled (understandably to be fair). However, Thomas Cook hadn't notified any of us, we had to find out ourselves through the internet. So we played phone tag with Thomas cook in uk (9 hours ahead of us!) who insist the flight is still on. They then check with funway who say it's still on depsite us telling them to look on both the United and Brussels website. After a few hours wasting our last day of holiday sorting it out, they basically said phone us in the morning (we were due to leave at 10am ish, so cutting it fine).

Morning comes and we phone Thomas Cook who send the original 4 of us replacement flights (Dallas to Newark to Manchester). However the other 2 were completely forgotten about again. No email, no replacement flights nothing. The advice from Thomas Cook was for them to go the airport ASAP and see if you can get on a flight.

the 4 of us got home ok, inconvenienced as we had to arrange new travel home time with the minibus company, but none the worse for wear. The other 2 had to wait around Dallas Airport for about 6 hours, then get on a 12 hour flight to frankfurt and then wait for another 3 hours or so before a flight to manchester. They then had to pay out of pocket for new travel home to Liverpool. Between all that and the Uber's to get us from the hotel to Dallas we were out of pocket by 100 odd quid, combined with the extra time and Jet Lag effecting work/plans for the other 2 guys as well as us having to find all this out, sort ourselves out and pay lots of expensive phone charges to Thomas Cook etc.

TC/Funway offered us £100 compensation, then after we complained further they have now offered 203.00. After all this hassle, we are tempted to take it just to get it sorted, even if in reality we think we have a case to get more as if we hadn't discovered this ourselves, we'd have been stuck up a certain smelly creek without a paddle in Dallas with no idea how to get home.

Do you think we should settle to end this, or carry on and see where the chips fall?

Ta for any advice peeps. Appreciated in advance

richardw

It is in the wrong place.
Eu compensation doesn't apply on flights from the US on a non EU air carrier.