Skyscanner Compensation advice?

Spenc

Hi,

I booked a direct flight from Birmingham to Copenhagen to meet a friend who travelled from the Netherlands.  I arrived at around 8am (flight at 10:15) to find that the flight had been cancelled and was never scheduled to fly.  The people at the airport stated the airline SAS have not flown out of Birmingham for 18 months.

I booked via Skyscanner so called them to find out that the flight had been cancelled but on their system they had not sent any notifications.  As I had informed them the notification then pinged through, showing they had all the correct details.  They offered me a refund, but I was now stuck in an airport trying to find a flight to meet my friend at the last minute through no fault of my own.

In the end, I only had one flight option which cost 4 times the original amount with both outbound and inbound flights requiring a connection.  this added around 12 hours to the round trip, which is a huge amount when only going for the weekend.  Had they informed me in August, when SAS informed them they cancelled the flight, I am 100% sure I would have chosen a different flight, potential airport and/or even destination to meet my friend.  

Should i be pushing for at least the flight cost difference, or even more to what was a huge headache at the last minute.  Thank god it was only a couple of us travelling and we had the means to purchase other tickets.  God knows how unhappy a family may have been had this happened to them.

Is there a body that I should write too regarding the compliant if Skyscanner only stick to the refund value?  Is it ATOL or someone else.

Thanks for any help,
Ashley

Westin

I thought Skyscanner was just a meta-search engine for travel. From search results you then clicked links to airlines or third-party booking agents. I didn't realise Skyscanner actually took and fulfilled bookings for flights.  Does your confirmation paperwork definately show the booking made with Skyscanners?

ATOL (or rather the CAA) is not an option.  They typically cover packaged travel arrangements and provide a financial safety net for when travel firms fail.

Penguin_

Did you get an email saying to check in etc which you normally do a couple of days before hand when flying?

Spenc

Thanks for the reply.  The details of the invoice and the e-tickets were all issued by Skyscanner.  I have called them up and they have confirmed the booking details on their system.  They just didn't inform us that the flight had been canceled, well up until the point I called them. They acknowledged that we should have been informed and offered the refund.  Not really what i wanted when sat in the airport.

Is there an equivalent body that covers complaints for companies like Skyscanner.  You have OFWAT, OFCOM and the financial ombudsman but not sure who would be best in regards to them.

Spenc

Penguin_ said:

Did you get an email saying to check in etc which you normally do a couple of days before hand when flying?

No we didn't get anything - but with the covid passport checks we were always planning to check in at the airport.  

Caz3121

how frequently were you checking your booking on the SAS website? With so many cancellations and reschedules currently it is pretty key to keep a close eye on your booking. Had you booked direct with the airline you would have received direct notification, choosing to add a third party makes it even more important to check your booking regularly with the airline.

Spenc

Caz3121 said:

how frequently were you checking your booking on the SAS website? With so many cancellations and reschedules currently it is pretty key to keep a close eye on your booking. Had you booked direct with the airline you would have received direct notification, choosing to add a third party makes it even more important to check your booking regularly with the airline.

Thanks for the comment but what I am trying to establish is what compensation, if any such a situation should warrant.  I didn't book directly with them and have outlined the details of the situation, nor was I checking regularly.  I would have thought any changes to bookings I would have been informed of.  The fact Skyscanner did send the update after I had informed them show's the mechanism worked, when implemented correctly.  I'm not quite sure how stating things I should have done really helps.

sheramber

How much compensation do you want?

Spenc

sheramber said:

How much compensation do you want?

The cost of the new tickets would be a minimum as our hands were forced due to their system not sending the information that the flights had been cancelled.  Booking flights on the day of departure is never a cost effective way of doing things.  I would have thought if others had found themselves in that situation, they may even want more given the undue stress caused of trying to find alternative flights at the airport whilst also adding 12 hours on to the round trip.  What would you consider an appropriate amount? 

Westin

Spenc said:

Thanks for the reply.  The details of the invoice and the e-tickets were all issued by Skyscanner.  I have called them up and they have confirmed the booking details on their system.  They just didn't inform us that the flight had been canceled, well up until the point I called them. They acknowledged that we should have been informed and offered the refund.  Not really what i wanted when sat in the airport.

Is there an equivalent body that covers complaints for companies like Skyscanner.  You have OFWAT, OFCOM and the financial ombudsman but not sure who would be best in regards to them.

Any of your paperwork mention Travix Nederland BV or BudgetAir or Vayama?

There are a couple of travel trade associations and bodies that complaints can be raised with but these typically relate to U.K. businesses.  SkyScanner/ Travix is a Dutch business.  In turn they are ultimately owned by the Chinese conglomerate, Trip.com.   

It could be argued that a ‘good’ travel firm that made such a mistake would own the problem and have found and rebooked you on to alternative flights. Unfortunately many of these online and often overseas businesses trade purely on price and low margins. Customer service and problem resolution rarely seen.  Very disappointing and unfair but offering just a refund of your original purchase price (perhaps a future discount voucher as well) I suspect will likely be the only outcome. 

I don’t think you will have any luck finding an overseeing body to further your complaint.

For future travel plans I would suggest booking directly with the airline or to find a good and reputable U.K. travel agent or operator.