Easyjet Dropped Route - Glasgow to Venice

noteasyatall

Hi

This is not just a cancelled flight question, but a cancelled route.

On the 8th January I booked a flight and hotel package via Expedia from Glasgow to Venice.

On the 18th January I received an email from Easyjet saying that outbound and inbound flights have been cancelled and I can get a refund or book different flights.

Unfortunately I couldn't book another flight from Glasgow as Easyjet had dropped the service. This is not a normal flight cancellation where I could just book using the same airport. The only one near me now flying direct to Venice is Edinburgh and as I live near Glasgow I did not want the additional hassle. 

My take on this is that Easyjet must have known about dropping the route and planned for this before the 8th January and would have had to notify the airport about dropping the slot. But they were still taking bookings to at least the 8th January.

I would not have booked my package via Expedia if I could not get direct flights from Glasgow. Therefore, I've asked them:

- why was the route dropped?

- when was it decided that it would be dropped?

- why was booking for this route still available up to the 8th January and probably beyond?

Easyjet also announced a new route to Lisbon from Glasgow several days later so I assume they dropped the Glasgow - Venice route to accomodate this.

Unfortunately I booked non-refundable hotel rooms which the hotel will not refund. I hadn't booked insurance yet as I thought I would have a couple of weeks so can't claim for that.

Easyet are refusing to refund for the hotel citing their terms and conditions although this isn't a normal flight cancellation.

My question is : Are they liable for the hotel refund as they were still taking bookings when they were planning to drop the service.

Thanks for any advice.

TELLIT01

They are not liable to cover the cost of your hotel accommodation.  They only sold flights, not the hotel.  Not taking out insurance at the time the first element is booked is a bad idea, but I'm not sure insurance would cover this situation anyway.

eskbanker

noteasyatall said:

I booked a flight and hotel package via Expedia from Glasgow to Venice

If this falls within the scope of the Package Travel Regulations 2018, and it sounds like it should, then if the package organiser (Expedia) needs to make a significant change, such as this, then they're obliged to offer you a refund (of the full cost of the package) if there isn't a reasonable alternative that you deem acceptable:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/634/regulation/11/made

noteasyatall

Thank you both for your answers. I will look at the legislation link you posted.

My complaint really is the fact that if the flights hadn't been available for the dates in May from Glasgow I would not have booked the trip. But the route was open and the flights available 10 days before they cancelled the service, despite my thought that the airport must have been informed before this about the cancellation. I certainly hope Easyjet will answer my questions about this.

Thanks

Westin

Easyjet don’t have to answer your questions or justify the commercial decisions.  IMO this should not be your focus. This is just a distraction.

As eskbanker points out, if you booked a package then Expedia is responsible for finding you alternative flights or refunding the package in full.

noteasyatall

ok, thank you. Contacting Expedia now

JPears

Does any other airline fly Glasgow to Venice? If so, easyjet are obliged to put you on those flights. Likely they will refuse, in which case, pay for them if you make the arrangements.

bagand96

JPears said:

Does any other airline fly Glasgow to Venice? If so, easyjet are obliged to put you on those flights. Likely they will refuse, in which case, pay for them if you make the arrangements.

This is correct. The OP could exercise their right to rerouting if there are alternative flights to Venice on another airline. Problem being no other airline operate GLA-VCE. 

However as the OP booked a package with Expedia as package organiser then it's protected by the PTR's so they can also ask Expedia for a rerouting or a full refund. 

eskbanker

bagand96 said:

JPears said:

Does any other airline fly Glasgow to Venice? If so, easyjet are obliged to put you on those flights. Likely they will refuse, in which case, pay for them if you make the arrangements.

This is correct. The OP could exercise their right to rerouting if there are alternative flights to Venice on another airline. Problem being no other airline operate GLA-VCE. 

However as the OP booked a package with Expedia as package organiser then it's protected by the PTR's so they can also ask Expedia for a rerouting or a full refund. 

Yes, OP made it clear that there weren't any acceptable alternative flights, and that they wanted a full refund for the whole trip, rather than just the flights, so that's why I was directing them towards the package organiser.