Easyjet Flight Cancellation

Fugazi247

I was supposed to be returning from Sharm in Egypt last Sunday night to Gatwick. It was only when I got there I saw an airport rep who was trying to deal with the news that Easyjet had cancelled the flight. She didn’t have much to say apart from this. No Easyjet rep turned up, no vouchers, no direction. I just got an email sent half an hour before getting to the airport. It suggested I go onto the Easyjet app and click the ‘manage disruption’ tab. This gave me three choices - and this is important - refund, voucher or alternative flight. There was no alternative flight back for at least 5 days and I have evidence of this. No idea how I would get the funds for accommodation or food even if my work allowed me to stay in Egypt for another week.

My only option seemed to be getting another flight to Cairo and then staying somewhere cheap overnight and then flying to Heathrow the next day. I got the last seat in the last plane to do this that night. 

It cost me about £600 to get back (flights £490), hotel (£70) airport transfer in UK (£27).

I made the decision, because I felt I had no option at the airport, to accept a refund and I clicked on this. I have also applied for compensation and for the cost of my return flight and sundries.

What doesn’t seem to be clear is what my rights are to recover my extra costs of getting back if there was no option given to me by Easyjet to fly back with another operator. EU law seems to say that if you have no choice but to fly with another operator - keep your receipts. You should be entitled to a refund AND the extra cost of getting back. Other websites say you can’t claim both a refund and alternative travel together. But this doesn’t seem to be fair in circumstances where the airline didn’t give the option to get back to the UK using another operator and claim the cost back in their options.

I am waiting for whether the compensation comes through but even if it does, surely that is supposed to be stand-alone compensation for the inconvenience and not for Easyjet to avoid the costs of having left me stranded more than 3500 km from home with no rep or help?

Thanks in advance for any help

Fugazi247

* to clarify - the EU websites seem to say that if you claim a refund and use an alternate route - you should be eligible for the refund and the difference between the refund and the extra cost of the replacement travel. Which seems more fair to me.

Exodi

Particularly on the point regarding compensation - what was the reason for cancellation? You probably need the airline to confirm this as it may differ from what the ground crew may have told you (yes, I understand this is a giant conflict of interests).

I believe compensation is only payable if the cancellation is found to be the airlines fault, and not something like the weather.

Exodi

Fugazi247 said:

EU law seems to say that if you have no choice but to fly with another operator - keep your receipts. You should be entitled to a refund AND the extra cost of getting back. Other websites say you can’t claim both a refund and alternative travel together. But this doesn’t seem to be fair in circumstances where the airline didn’t give the option to get back to the UK using another operator and claim the cost back in their options.

I don't know the specific other websites you are referring to, but I expect they are referring to the same thing and the latter is just confusingly worded (potentially, deliberately).

I think the point is if your flight was £500 which got cancelled, and your rebooked flight was £600, you couldn't claim £500+£600. You could only claim the rebooked flight of £600 in total, but you're perhaps thinking of the same thing, in a different way, [refund of original flight] £500 + [Difference between refund and rebooked flight] £100 = £600.

Westin

Fugazi247 said:

* to clarify - the EU websites seem to say that if you claim a refund and use an alternate route - you should be eligible for the refund and the difference between the refund and the extra cost of the replacement travel. Which seems more fair to me.

You can't double-dip (original flight refunded AND a new flight). It is one or the other.

You are better to claim your new flight costs and extra hotel/transfer costs, rather than seek a refund on the original EZY flight. 

Depending on the reason for the cancellation you may also be entitled to compensation under EU261/UK261 legislation. 

Fugazi247

Thanks both - yes i don’t think I could get full refund and full costs back, but equally, I shouldn’t be out of pocket because they only gave me three options (one of which I chose - refund) when I think the EU legislation means I should have been given another option (not just flight back with them on some future date but flight with alternate provider).

It seems we have to get used to airlines deliberately limiting options and therefore limit their costs. I will be annoyed if I don’t get my total extra costs back (to include the refund), just because they only gave we three options.

The compensation thing is tricky - their email on the day said it was an ‘extraordinary circumstances’  - and an explanation I didn’t understand. It was weight differential caused by moving baggage from one plane to another causing the crew to exceed their statutory flying hours. That doesn’t sound like something outside of their control. However, I’ve learned that airlines just lie and then cave just as you take them to court!

I’ll do an EU 261 not least because I’ve had to buy further leave from work to accommodate the flight disruption.

Fugazi247

WestWestin said:

Fugazi247 said:

* to clarify - the EU websites seem to say that if you claim a refund and use an alternate route - you should be eligible for the refund and the difference between the refund and the extra cost of the replacement travel. Which seems more fair to me.

You can't double-dip (original flight refunded AND a new flight). It is one or the other.

You are better to claim your new flight costs and extra hotel/transfer costs, rather than seek a refund on the original EZY flight. 

Depending on the reason for the cancellation you may also be entitled to compensation under EU261/UK261 legislation. 

Westin said:

Fugazi247 said:

* to clarify - the EU websites seem to say that if you claim a refund and use an alternate route - you should be eligible for the refund and the difference between the refund and the extra cost of the replacement travel. Which seems more fair to me.

You can't double-dip (original flight refunded AND a new flight). It is one or the other.

You are better to claim your new flight costs and extra hotel/transfer costs, rather than seek a refund on the original EZY flight. 

Depending on the reason for the cancellation you may also be entitled to compensation under EU261/UK261 legislation. 

Re the bit in bold - that is the essence of the problem. I wasn’t given the info in those hours trying to work out what to do or I would have just left their ‘options’ to claim the extra travel costs back instead when I got home. I feel slighted that they limited my rights by not giving me my REAL options.

Thanks both

Exodi

Fugazi247 said:

The compensation thing is tricky - their email on the day said it was an ‘extraordinary circumstances’  - and an explanation I didn’t understand. It was weight differential caused by moving baggage from one plane to another causing the crew to exceed their statutory flying hours. That doesn’t sound like something outside of their control. However, I’ve learned that airlines just lie and then cave just as you take them to court!

I’ll do an EU 261 not least because I’ve had to buy further leave from work to accommodate the flight disruption.

The use of the words specific words 'extraordinary circumstances' and 'exceed their statutory flying hours' would indeed confirm that they believe it was out of their control and they are not at fault.

You will need to understand the reasons, because if you to intend to escalate via Resolver or the like, you want to be on stronger footing than "They said it's not their fault, but I reckon it probably is". Were other flights cancelled around the same time?

Perhaps starting by asking them to expand on what 'weight differential caused by moving baggage from one plane to another' means.

As I said in my first reply, unfortunately the current system is a giant conflict of interest - Joe Public has no way of knowing why a flight was delayed/cancelled expect for asking the airline... and obviously it's in the airlines interests to provide reasons of which they have no responsibility/liability.

But it works in reverse, I expect they also have to deal with countless claims for compensation with a side order of cynicism in genuine situations where things like the weather has meant air traffic control has refused to let them take off, causing their crew to run out of hours.

bagand96

Most airlines are deliberately vague at the point of cancellation on your rerouting options, and will redirect you to their own website. 

However as you know your rights are not restricted to the same airline. 

When you book and check in there'll be a link to your EC261 rights and usually you tick a box to agree you've been notified.  The regulations require you to be notified of your rights, which the airline will say they've done.

I agree with Westin that you will struggle to claim your rerouting expenses after requesting a refund. 

CKhalvashi

Fugazi247 said:

* to clarify - the EU websites seem to say that if you claim a refund and use an alternate route - you should be eligible for the refund and the difference between the refund and the extra cost of the replacement travel. Which seems more fair to me.

Which EU websites? If you ask for a refund, you'll get a refund (plus compensation if necessary) with nothing more.

The booking needs to remain 'live', there is a right to self re-route with another airline in this circumstance and claim the costs of this. This may require a different process with the airline, but a refund should not be applied for in any event as 'funeral pricing' will be in effect for what OP had to book.

tightauldgit

Fugazi247 said:

Thanks both - yes i don’t think I could get full refund and full costs back, but equally, I shouldn’t be out of pocket because they only gave me three options (one of which I chose - refund) when I think the EU legislation means I should have been given another option (not just flight back with them on some future date but flight with alternate provider).

It seems we have to get used to airlines deliberately limiting options and therefore limit their costs. I will be annoyed if I don’t get my total extra costs back (to include the refund), just because they only gave we three options.

The compensation thing is tricky - their email on the day said it was an ‘extraordinary circumstances’  - and an explanation I didn’t understand. It was weight differential caused by moving baggage from one plane to another causing the crew to exceed their statutory flying hours. That doesn’t sound like something outside of their control. However, I’ve learned that airlines just lie and then cave just as you take them to court!

I’ll do an EU 261 not least because I’ve had to buy further leave from work to accommodate the flight disruption.

When you say 'given another option' then do you mean the Easyjet website should have presented you with other airlines flights to book on to or something else? Because it doesn't seem like Easyjet would really be set up to tell you what all your other options are at that stage. Of course, if you find another option yourself then EJ may well have obligations to meet your costs. 

I suspect applying for the refund will have complicated things as EJ probably consider that the end of the matter at the point you accept the refund. Legally may or may not be the case but then the ball is in your court to pursue that.