Flight cancelled without notification to customer

Robjhicks

Hi everybody,

I’m looking for some advice on the following situation. My wife and I were booked to fly on Czech Airlines OK710 Prague to Lisbon July 15th 2019. We booked through ExploreTrip.

We couldn’t check in on the morning of the flight so called the airline, who informed us that the flight (the whole route, in fact) had been cancelled in mid-June 2019. Until that point, we had received no notification of the cancellation from either airline or agent.

We called ExploreTrip who confirmed the cancellation (although as of today they have still not issued a refund for the original tickets...) and could not connect me to the right team after trying 3 times, could only promise a scheduled call back. We had to arrive in Lisbon that day, so had to book another flight that night with TAP Portugal at a cost to us of $1400 CAD.

I have been pursuing both airline and agent for compensation for the additional flight we had to book due to them not informing us of the cancellation. I am confident a refund from ExploreTrip will also be forthcoming, so I’m focusing more on the price of the extra tickets. I have so far received the following from the two parties:

- Airline claims they informed the agent of the cancellation more than 14 days before the flight, and as my original booking is not with them they have no further responsibility to me. I have requested that they provide me with dated proof that they informed the agent.

- Agent claims they were not informed by the airline. They have also confirmed to me, by phone and in writing, that at no point did they inform me of the cancellation, again claiming they themselves were not informed of it. Have submitted to them the airline’s claim that they did inform agents, and will also pass on proof of this if it is forthcoming from the airline.

Can anybody help me with understanding my rights in this situation? I’m confident that the service provided (no notification of cancellation until day of the flight) falls short of EU law in this area, but who does the ultimate responsibility lie with - airline or agent? My instinct says agent, as it is with them that I had the contract, not the airline.

Should I be further fobbed off by either party, can anybody recommend the next step for me to take? Which regulator and/or ombudsman should I take my claim to? The problem here seems obvious, but I’m struggling to get either party to take responsibility.

Thanks a lot for any help you can provide.

Rob

onwards&upwards

Are you resident in the UK? It looks like you might be Canadian, so might find a Canada based site more helpful.

eDicky

These days it's unusual and unnecessary to wait until the morning of the flight to check in for it, and, especially when booking though an agent instead of direct with the airline, it's very unwise not to regularly check the status of your booking for any schedule changres or cancellations. Neglecting this, particularly if the travel is so vital, is the primary cause of your extra expenses.

Voyager2002

You have rights under EU law: since Canada is not part of the EU I do not suggest exploring a Canadian site. In particular, you had a right to "re-routing" and should have been informed of this at the time you were made aware of the cancellation. Note that people in your situation are normally able to choose between a refund and rerouting: I would imagine that the cost of your replacement flight was greater than the amount of any refund, so take care not to accept a refund unless you have been advised to do so.

If you wish to become expert in how to use EU law to get your rights then this site has all the resources you need. Alternatively, you might consider engaging a 'no-win no-fee' lawyer: the firm that is often mentioned on this board is Bott and Co, trading as EUClaim (their website is the obvious). I believe that their fee is 25 per cent of anything they recover for you.

onwards&upwards

Voyager2002 wrote: »

You have rights under EU law: since Canada is not part of the EU I do not suggest exploring a Canadian site. In particular, you had a right to "re-routing" and should have been informed of this at the time you were made aware of the cancellation. Note that people in your situation are normally able to choose between a refund and rerouting: I would imagine that the cost of your replacement flight was greater than the amount of any refund, so take care not to accept a refund unless you have been advised to do so.

If you wish to become expert in how to use EU law to get your rights then this site has all the resources you need. Alternatively, you might consider engaging a 'no-win no-fee' lawyer: the firm that is often mentioned on this board is Bott and Co, trading as EUClaim (their website is the obvious). I believe that their fee is 25 per cent of anything they recover for you.

The problem with that is that the flight was cancelled weeks in advance, the airline are claiming they fulfilled their responsibility by informing the agent. If this is true EU law on cancelled flights won’t come into it.

eDicky

Voyager2002 wrote: »

You have rights under EU law: .

Or would have had - it's a bit late in the day now, but maybe not too late that morning of discovery, if the US OTA could be contacted for a reroute. But it sounds like a Californian OTA is no better than European ones. Hopefully at least the refund goes through...

Robjhicks

Thanks for your advice everyone. To clarify, I’m British and the flight was an EU flight hence me posting here.

I appreciate the distinction between the airline fulfilling their duty to inform of cancellation (subject to EU law) and the agent not doing so (not necessarily subject to EU aviation law).

Would anyone recommend engaging a law firm to try and recoup some of the costs of the new flight? We will pursue a refund for the original flights through the credit card we used to book with.

Thanks again,

Rob

Voyager2002

Robjhicks wrote: »

Thanks for your advice everyone. To clarify, I’m British and the flight was an EU flight hence me posting here.

I appreciate the distinction between the airline fulfilling their duty to inform of cancellation (subject to EU law) and the agent not doing so (not necessarily subject to EU aviation law).

Would anyone recommend engaging a law firm to try and recoup some of the costs of the new flight? We will pursue a refund for the original flights through the credit card we used to book with.

Thanks again,

Rob

If you pursue a refund for the original flight then you renounce your rights to anything else.

In your position I would seek to speak with a lawyer (such as Bott and Co.) to see if you have any claim.

Caz3121

Robjhicks wrote: »

I appreciate the distinction between the airline fulfilling their duty to inform of cancellation (subject to EU law) and the agent not doing so (not necessarily subject to EU aviation law).

the challenge will be in the detail. In common with most third parties they state

"All flight reservations should be confirmed with the airline directly. We recommend that you do so at least 72 hours ahead for International travel. Many airlines offer online check-in where you can confirm your seat, verify flight times, and print your boarding pass. You can find related links on our Airline Information screen."

had you done this you would have noticed the issue and they would have had time to try and resolve (although they should still notify you)

Checking a booking regularly is good practice, even if booking directly with the airline - my previous schedule changes have all been spotted and dealt with before being notified