Aer Lingus Cancelled Flight - Out of their hands

SimlarGent8

My wife and I had a flights booked with Aer Lingus.  It was Manc to Dublin then connecting flight Dublin to Boston.

Our flight from Manc to Dublin was delayed 3 times.  I called the airline on the third delay to speak about concerns about our connecting flight.  Got told it wouldn't be an issue.  Flight started to board and as we gave our boarding card we were told we wouldn't be going that day and would be staying overnight and flying the next day.

We lost a night in Boston and had to pay for the night due to being too late to cancel and then today we have been told the delay was out of Aer Lingus control therefore we are getting nothing in terms of compensation.

I mean !!!!!!.  Where do we stand with this?  It's surely not acceptable this.

eskbanker

SimlarGent8 said:

Flight started to board and as we gave our boarding card we were told we wouldn't be going that day and would be staying overnight and flying the next day.

Did the flight operate (and you were denied boarding) or was it cancelled? [edit: think thread title answers this!]

If the flight was cancelled then fixed-rate compensation would be payable but only if the reason for the cancellation was within the airline's control - if they assert that it was unavoidable extraordinary circumstances then you'd need to identify what the actual reason was in order to challenge them:

An operating air carrier shall not be obliged to pay compensation in accordance with Article 7, if it can prove that the cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.

On the other hand, if the flight operated but you were denied boarding then the compensation would be payable.

Either way, Aer Lingus were obliged to pay for that night's accommodation (unless you just went home again) and associated extra meals.

If it was a flight-only booking then the airline has no liability to you for loss of a day's holiday or accommodation at your destination, so that would be a matter for your travel insurer.

SimlarGent8

Thanks for the reply.

The flight went ahead but we were denied boarding as we wouldn't have made our connecting flight apparently.

They paid for the over night stay and the evening meal.

It's taken them almost 15 weeks for them to get back to us to say 'Sorry, but delay was out of our control' Appalling. 

eskbanker

I think I'd continue to pursue them then, as denial of boarding gives rise to compensation rights regardless of the reason for the delay, under article 4 of the regulations.

They don't seem to be part of an ADR scheme so you may need to take them to court (potentially in Ireland) if you don't get anywhere with their complaints department....

Westin

Whilst a disappointing start to your holiday, was it a better thing to be delayed and accommodated by EI at your departure point (MAN) rather than stuck for 24hrs in Ireland?  Whilst they may have offered accommodation in or around DUB after you flew that first sector perhaps there was good reason they could not.  Perhaps accommodation was at a premium in Dublin.

SimlarGent8

Whilst waiting to one side to wait for the rest of the flight with some others who would miss their connection, I asked one of the gate staff when they knew we wouldn't be boarding.  Apparently they knew almost 2h before our gate was called. 

There was nobody available in Manc airport to contact, I had to call Aer Lingus direct when I was concerned about connecting the flight.  Then got told to we wouldn't be boarding AFTER the Aer Lingus people said there wouldn't be an issue was a kick in the teeth.

It's taken the airline 15 weeks for them to answer us and get a reply of basically 'Sorry, but tough cheese'  It's just not good enough customer service to be honest.

Westin

I can understand the upset but I'm not sure that this would be classed as denied boarding. Seems more like preemptive action taken for a missed connection.  There intentions to accommodate and look after you at MAN may have been well intentional vs. issues to do the same half-way through your journey at DUB. 

Do you know why the MAN DUB flight was delayed?  Was this something within Aer Lingus control?

As another poster has remarked, Aer Lingus are not responsible for consequential losses (of your BOS hotel for one night).