Claiming money back from airlines - what are our rights?

compulsivespender

Hi all,

This is my first ever post so please bear with me. But I have a problem.

Last night I flew from Glasgow to Birmingham (well sort of). We were meant to land in Birmingham at 10pm.

However because of the snow we were forced to circle Birmingham for an hour and half waiting for them to clear the runway. When that didn't happen, as we were running out of fuel we had to divert to Nottingham East Midlands. As they weren't expecting us we were stuck on the plan for a further half and hour or more waiting for transport to the terminal.

They had laid on coaches to take us all the way back to Birmingham airport but by the time we got there it was 1.30am.

Now we had planned to get the train from Birmingham International to New Street and then a cab from New Street home (total cost around £8) however by the time we arrived all trains had stopped running for the evening so we had to take a cab from the airport which cost us £28!

My question is this - what are my consumer rights - can I claim money for the flight back from BMI Baby (it was £50 each) as we were so delayed and messed around? Although I except the snow wasn't BMI Babies fault!

I was more annoyed at the cab expense as the only reason we had to take one was because we were so late back.

Sorry for the rambling - as I got to bed at 2.30am I'm quite tired today!!! Can anyone advise!?!?

Thanks!

shammyjack

As you say snow is not BMIs fault, claim the extra expense on your travel insurance if you have it . IMHO a full year travel insurance policy is worth paying for as not only is it MSE but gives you UK cover as well .

shammy

dmg24

Very few policies will cover for such a short delay, though I would agree an annual policy is well worth the investment

All the airline is liable for is care during your delay and to get you to your final destination.

PBA

Maybe not the delay, but insurance ought to pay the out of pocket expenses, ie the cab home. However it probably wouldn't be worth it in the end, as any excess is likely to be more than £28 and the fact that you'd made a claim would have to be disclosed when buying insurance in the future, which may increase the premium.

seftonsun

As said above, the airline have no control over the weather and appera to have done all that could be expected to get you to your final destination. Had you flown with a certain low cost Irish airline, the chances are you would have been left to your own devices at east Midlands!!

Unfortunately it's just one of those things and this is where a good travel insurance policy may have helped with those extra costs, although you only incurred an additional cost of less than £20 (i.e £28 less the £8 you would have paid plus the cost of the train fares) so it's likely you would not have been able to claim as the excess would probably have been more than this sum. Additionally, any insuance would probably not allow a claim for delay as this is normally based upon departure time and not when you arrive and I assume you left pretty much on schedule from Glasgow.

photome

I guess I am with the rest on here, you were only a few hours late and only £20 out of pocket.

I dont think you have much of a claim unless you have a good travel policy with no excess

bagand96

You don't have any claim against bmibaby. As you said the snow was not the airline's fault. The snow last night was fairly unpredicted, and obviously at first Birmingham assumed they could get their runway operational again. However as the snow went on (and it was fast and heavy) the captain obviously decided you had to divert to East Midlands. He/She did that for the safety of their aircraft and passengers.

Also as you said Eastr Midlands weren't expecting you. I also assume you were not the only aircraft that diverted from BHX last night, so they probably had a few on their hands. At that time on a Sunday night the handling agents wouldn't have many staff working, probably just enough to cover their planned inbound flights. All of a sudden they have extra aircraft on their hands to unload, as well as having to sort out coaches to get you back to Birmingham, sure thats no mean feat at 10pm on a Sunday night either. Half an hour delay on the ground is very good going considering, a lot of airports that is normal anyway!

A lot of people at bmibaby operations, Birmingham and East Midlands Airports and the handling agents would have been working very hard last night to ensure you made it to BHX safely and with minimal disruption, in what were very difficult conditions. I appreciate it would have been very frustrating for you - everyone hates travel delays - and that £28 is a lot of money. But to suggest bmibaby delayed you and messed you around is unfair. It seems they did all in their power to help you.

compulsivespender

Thanks for the advice. We do have travel insurance but I agree it's probably now worth it.

I didn't want to come across as a serial moaner but I think I was questioning it because if the journey had been by train they have standard policies to refund (as has happened to me in the past when the tracks were 'too hot' and we were bused to our station, Virgin refunded the ticket and covered cabs etc)

I don't normally travel by plane so I don't know the protocol for delays / diversions!

bagand96 - I wasn't in any way blaming BMI or airport staff for the delay I've got a number of friends in the industry and I know how hard they work (and the hassle they get) when delays etc occur!

It was more the fact that we physically didn't have the cash to pay the cabbie (thank god for credit cards and ATMs!)

Thomask

shammyjack wrote: »

As you say snow is not BMIs fault, claim the extra expense on your travel insurance if you have it . IMHO a full year travel insurance policy is worth paying for as not only is it MSE but gives you UK cover as well .

shammy

I'm interested in this. I have a multi trip annual policy with Direct Line. What do you mean exactly by a full year travel policy gives you UK cover?

Thanks

DUKE

Compulsivespender - check your insurance policy as you may be able to claim for taxi fares, £20 quid's £20

Missed my 1p flight today through no fault of my own - yet ANOTHER car hit the bridge, cancelling all trains, by the time they told us I wouldn't even have made it to the airport in a taxi :mad:

bagand96

Thomask wrote: »

I'm interested in this. I have a multi trip annual policy with Direct Line. What do you mean exactly by a full year travel policy gives you UK cover?

Thanks

Think they mean most Travel Insurance Annual policies also cover you for trips away in the UK. Check your policy it should clarify this in there, and any restrictions.