Delayed too long

Yolandolo

My flight was cancelled due to bad weather on feb 10th. I was informed of this and I realise that no compensation is due as weather is outwith the control of the airline.

However, they booked me on a new flight on Wednesday 12th even though there was a flight on the Tuesday 11th they could have booked me on.

I know this flight happened and I know there were seats available as my friend was actually on it.

In my opinion KLM caused me a 24 hour delay by not booking me on the next available flight and I am entitled to compensation. They have denied this but given me 15,000 airmiles as an apology.

Does anyone have an opinion on this ?

Caz3121

Yolandolo said:

My flight was cancelled due to bad weather on feb 10th. I was informed of this and I realise that no compensation is due as weather is outwith the control of the airline.

However, they booked me on a new flight on Wednesday 12th even though there was a flight on the Tuesday 11th they could have booked me on.

I know this flight happened and I know there were seats available as my friend was actually on it.

In my opinion KLM caused me a 24 hour delay by not booking me on the next available flight and I am entitled to compensation. They have denied this but given me 15,000 airmiles as an apology.

Does anyone have an opinion on this ?

When they rebooked you for the 12th, what reason was given for not booking you on the flight on 11th? was the flight on 11th showing available on their website at the time of rebooking? did you check? 
I am going to assume that when they rebooked on the 12th as that was the next flight with seat availability at the time of rebooking (otherwise they would have booked you on the 11th....there is no benefit to the airline to purposely not book you on the next flight and delay you further than necessary) 
Many flights have people that do not turn up or cancel that can result in flights that, at one point, were fully booked (or even overbooked) leaving with empty seats...this is not evidence that they could/should have booked you on that flight...if there was no availability at the time then booking was not an option available to them.
If in the same situation again I would consider asking whether it is possible to 'waitlist' for full flights in case of cancellation or whether the airline would offer a 'standby' where you would be at the airport waiting until the flight had closed to see how many people did not turn up leaving available seats (not all airlines will do this)

Yolandolo

The original flight had 2 stops. They do a 1 stop and a 2 stop flight on different days. I believe they booked me on the 12th because that was the original route I had booked. They did not think to book me on a different route on the 11th.

Yolandolo

Also do they not have a responsibility to put me on another airline if they have no seats ?

Justice13075

Caz3121 is quite right, but in one respect you are also right, not to compensation but you should have insisted that they book you on a flight with another airline if need be on the 11th. If they failed or refused you could have booked your on flight and they would have had to pay for it. I assume they put you up at a hotel and paid for your food?. For peace of mind put your cancelled flight details into euclaim and bottonline and just lake sure you are not due compensation for the cancelled flight.

Yolandolo

They contacted me on my phone app on the 9th to say my flight was cancelled. Then they contacted me on the phone app on the 10th to say I was booked on the 12th. All done by app. I contacted them yesterday to ask why I was not put on the earlier flight on the 11th, here is what I wrote

My flight MME-MCT was cancelled on Jan 10th due to bad weather.
You booked me on an alternative flight on Jan 12th.
The next available flight MME-MCT was next day Jan 11th.
Please explain why you did not book me on this next flight.
I know there were seats available as my friend was on it, he said it was very empty.

And here is their reply

I hope you're doing well. Thank you for reaching KLM by email. 
We are very sorry to hear regarding this and I know this caused confusion and stress to you. However, during that time, we checked the history of your booking and Schiphol Airport Ticket Office was the one that changed your flight to the 12th of February. We are also not sure if you contacted us to inform us back then that you're not okay with the flights. As of now, as much as I want to give you an answer on why you weren't rebooked to the 11th, I won't be able to do so since the booking is already past-dated.
On behalf of KLM, I really apologize for this inconvenience. Please let us know how to make it up to you.
I hope this informs you well. Should you need further assistance, feel free to contact us back.

And hear is my intended claim application which I have not yet filed

Defendant, KLM,  is an airline. Claimant booked a flight (code JWVLJV) MME-MCT on Jan 10th 2020.
Flight was cancelled due to bad weather, it is acknowledged that compensation is not applicable under these circumstances. The cancellation was made through the KLM phone app, there was no direct contact to inform of cancellation.
KLM booked me on another flight MME-MCT on Jan 12th 2020.
The next available flight MME-MCT was Jan 11th 2020. This flight took off and landed on schedule and there were spare seats (as a friend who was on the flight will testify and KLM’s own manifest will show it was never at any time full).
Article 8 1 b of EU 261 states passengers must be transported on the next available flight.
(b) re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at the earliest opportunity
Claimant states “the earliest opportunity” was Jan11th and that KLM had ample opportunity to book this. They could have informed me, at any time, via the phone app in the same way they informed me of the cancellation. Any allegation that they had no time to book me on this flight is negated by the fact that KLM did not cancel this flight, inform the original passengers it may be cancelled or make any plans for possible cancellation. Therefore they were confident it would depart on time.
Claimant maintains he was delayed 24 hours due entirely to mismanagement by defendant in not booking him on the next available flight.
Defendant has offered 15,000 air miles as compensation which I respectfully submit is an admission of responsibility by the defendant. Claimant has refused offer and claims 600 euros under EU 261.

Justice13075

Have you put your cancelled flight details into euclaim and bottonline if not do it now. Don't accept what an airline tells you. Don't send that reply as you are admitting you are not due any compensation because of the weather. What are you actually claiming compensation for? If your cancelled flight was indeed cancelled because of bad weather it would have had to have been bad weather at Your airport. Where was the bad weather.

TELLIT01

It's possible that the flight on the 11th was fully booked but there were a number of 'no-shows'.  KLM would not book you on as a standby passenger, so the flight you were assigned may have been the earliest they could see with capacity at the time you were transferred.

Justice13075

Quite possibly, but they should have still booked them on a flight with another airline if requested.