Flight cancelled whilst travelling on points and free flight

Canarychick

Our Virgin flight from Las Vegas to Gatwick was cancelled last week, after boarding, due to a technical fault with the planes air con. Virgin, provided a shuttle bus to a hotel, paid for the accommodation and meals and rescheduled the flight for the next day (more than 12 hours since the scheduled time of the original flight) My husband's was travelling on a free ticket gained previously because a flight was overbooked and he agreed to take a delayed flight. My ticket was purchased using Virgin Atlantic Flying Club credit card points and I paid just taxes. Are we entitled to the £540 compensation? We've been given a claim form to claim air miles back of 12500 miles but everyone was given these and the staff would have had no way of knowing that we travelling under a non cash paid ticket.

Caz3121

as per Vauban's guide
2.3 To qualify for compensation, each passenger needs to have paid a fare available to the general public. This means that children and infants do qualify for compensation, if they were not travelling on a free child place. Tickets bought with airmiles also qualify for compensation.

You should be able to claim EU261 for delay on miles ticket but not husband on free ticket

jamski07

If it was a technical fault with the plane, I think they would claim exceptional circumstances too and probably win on that case. It's something they couldn't foresee or plan for.

Justice13075

A fault with the aircraft aircon is not an exceptional circumstance and compensation is due for those eligable. €600 for you nothing for your husband

jamski07

Justice13075 wrote: »

A fault with the aircraft aircon is not an exceptional circumstance and compensation is due for those eligable. €600 for you nothing for your husband

I'm all for people getting compensation having been through my own very recent battle, just trying to be realistic. The plane wouldn't be able to fly without the aircon surely? Why wouldn't this be exceptional circumstances?

jpsartre

jamski07 wrote: »

The plane wouldn't be able to fly without the aircon surely? Why wouldn't this be exceptional circumstances?

Those two sentences have nothing to do with each other - exceptional circumstances are not defined as those under which an airplane is unable to fly. Technical faults are non-exceptional because the ECJ has decided that they are not.

Caz3121

jamski07 wrote: »

The plane wouldn't be able to fly without the aircon surely? Why wouldn't this be exceptional circumstances?

exceptional circumstances are those that are completely outside the control of the airline e.g. weather, ATC where they have no power to overrule or avoid the situation
Maintaining an aircraft is the responsibility of the airline and their engineers should be keeping it serviceable...so completely within the airlines control

DrA_Harrogate

To add a sprinkling of explanation to m'colleagues' correct advice, airlines argued for years that they could not be held responsible for an aircraft's sudden mechanical failure resulting in later delays. This resulted in a number of court cases and appeals (read Vauban's guide) which eventually led to the European Court deciding that it is an airline's legal duty to provide a fit-for-purpose aircraft at the correct time and place, and having that aircraft suffer a breakdown on an earlier flight does not relieve the airline of that duty. Some commentators think this a bit harsh, but there we are.

jamski07

Good info and happy to be proved incorrect. I was sent a link by Norwegian to a case of a failed engine I think it was, as proof as to why they wouldn't settle my case. This had nothing to do with our delay, so was purely a tactic to try and get me to go away (which I didn't!). That's why I thought technical faults were classed as exceptional circumstances. I was obviously mistaken, and happy that the OP has a genuine case.