Wizzair flight cancellation - just checking my rights - UPDATED INFO, HELP WOULD BE GREAT

danlightbulb

On a recent trip (1517km BHX to KRK) our outbound flight was repeatedly delayed and then eventually cancelled/rescheduled to the following day. Original flight 01/10/21 08:35, eventual rescheduled flight 02/10/21 17:25. We were only told this was due to a technical problem. 

There was no Wizzair representative in the airport so the issue was being dealt with by airport gate staff. Information was poor. Food/drink was not offered as the gate staff did not have authority to do this. Overnight accommodation was arranged by Wizzair at a local hotel and people were transported off site by bus after a 'route' was created back through border control.

Instead of doing this, my party (and several other groups on the flight) booked ourselves onto an alternative flight (Ryanair), leaving at 15:50 on the original day, at our own expense. We were told that Wizzair would not do this for us, but a list was being taken by gate staff of those who took this option for themselves. These people remained in the departure lounge until the new flight time.

I believe we can claim the full £350 per passenger plus costs for food whilst in the airport plus the cost of the alternative flight.

Just hoping someone will be able to confirm/agree with this interpretation?

Thanks

Worried_fool

I agree with your interpretation (right to re-routing) but since the cost was so high you will have to fight for it.

CKhalvashi

I agree with the compensation (whichI believe will be in Euro as this was a W6 operated flight), but the duty of care (and right to re-routing) will effectively have ended when you cancelled the booking,  which it looks like you did when you were checked off the list of people to re-route.

Apart from this, the right to food can be claimed, as can the right to a refund on the ticket after a delay of 5 hours, which it looks like you had.

Once applied, it will be to your Wizz account which you can transfer back to bank or spend as you wish.

I would encourage you to push for the original claim, but do not believe you will get it.

danlightbulb

Hi all, just to feed back.

They were quick to respond to be fair and have offered us 400 EUR each + the food costs. We've accepted that.

They did offer 120% of the above if we took credit to the account but it seemed that wasn't withdrawable so we've took the cash option.

CKhalvashi

danlightbulb said:

Hi all, just to feed back.

They were quick to respond to be fair and have offered us 400 EUR each + the food costs. We've accepted that.

They did offer 120% of the above if we took credit to the account but it seemed that wasn't withdrawable so we've took the cash option.

Yes. The additional 20% is subject to additional terms, mainly if you're a regular user of the airline it's worth taking it, if you're not then it's probably not. €500 in my account will probably last 6 months, but for many people it'll expire before used, so it's always coming down to what your circumstances are as to whether a 'free' €80-ish is worth it.

danlightbulb

Hi all. Complication has arisen with this so I'd like some opinions please.

Wizzair agreed the full compensation originally, and I have this in writing by email. We accepted their offer, and were expecting this to be paid into our bank account. We also had an email confirming the amount that would be paid.

A few days later we had another email, essentially saying that the cause of the delay had been re-evaluated, and that they'd essentially changed their minds, now blaming bad weather for the delay. Now, they only offering us the payment for the meals, which was paid into the bank account a few days later.

We have today replied and rejected this decision, but I'd like to know where we stand here.

They had already offered us the full compensation, which we accepted, AND stated it would be paid into the bank account. To me, this is clearly admitting liability and agreeing to a binding settlement. Regardless if they believe the cause of the delay is now different, which reeks of them attempting to get out of making the payment.

What would be the next steps if they continue to reject the claim?

CKhalvashi

Pop them an e-mail asking for METAR reports for the day for both airports and the aircraft type expected to be used on the day.

It pay be worth e-mailing both airports in addition for the requested info, also asking if this was an operational or non-operational cancellation.

If Wizz don't cave, this can then be compared against the performance limits to give you a clear answer.

danlightbulb

Ive emailed Krakow airport and they have replied asking for the flight number. I can't find the historic flight number that the flight would have had on that day, as I only know the flight number that was assigned to the flight leaving Birmingham.

Basically what happened is that the flight leaving Krakow was cancelled, hence the same plane was meant to turn around at Birmingham a couple of hours later. How can I find out the flight details of a flight from 1st October, Ive tried a few websites and none have historical flight data?

CKhalvashi

danlightbulb said:

Ive emailed Krakow airport and they have replied asking for the flight number. I can't find the historic flight number that the flight would have had on that day, as I only know the flight number that was assigned to the flight leaving Birmingham.

Basically what happened is that the flight leaving Krakow was cancelled, hence the same plane was meant to turn around at Birmingham a couple of hours later. How can I find out the flight details of a flight from 1st October, Ive tried a few websites and none have historical flight data?

Take that number and subtract 1.

bagand96

CKhalvashi said:

Pop them an e-mail asking for METAR reports for the day for both airports and the aircraft type expected to be used on the day.

It pay be worth e-mailing both airports in addition for the requested info, also asking if this was an operational or non-operational cancellation.

If Wizz don't cave, this can then be compared against the performance limits to give you a clear answer.

Historic METARs (Meteorological Aerodrome Reports) can be viewed on this site: https://www.ogimet.com/metars.phtml.en

A quick browse shows a very foggy morning in Krakow on 01/10, but it cleared up later on.  Nothing untoward in Birmingham other than a bit breezy.

I guess it depends if the early morning fog in Krakow was bad enough to stop the outbound aircraft departing.  Would have to see if other flights were operating from Krakow at the same time.

CKhalvashi

bagand96 said:

CKhalvashi said:

Pop them an e-mail asking for METAR reports for the day for both airports and the aircraft type expected to be used on the day.

It pay be worth e-mailing both airports in addition for the requested info, also asking if this was an operational or non-operational cancellation.

If Wizz don't cave, this can then be compared against the performance limits to give you a clear answer.

Historic METARs (Meteorological Aerodrome Reports) can be viewed on this site: https://www.ogimet.com/metars.phtml.en

A quick browse shows a very foggy morning in Krakow on 01/10, but it cleared up later on.  Nothing untoward in Birmingham other than a bit breezy.

I guess it depends if the early morning fog in Krakow was bad enough to stop the outbound aircraft departing.  Would have to see if other flights were operating from Krakow at the same time.

This would be first wave, so the first check would be to see if the 5001 was W6 or W9 operated, if W6 then did this go (it's the flight to Luton).

5000, 7000 and CAVOK (10000+) seems to be present on this morning at relevant times, which would suggest there wasn't an issue with fog, so this may be worth confronting the airline on.