Bumped off a flight

binks_2

Hi, 
My husband was bumped off a Wizzair flight last night. We are not exactly sure why but we know that the flight was overbooked. I can find lots of information on delays and cancellations but struggling with being bumped off. Can anyone point me in the right direction please?
To continue the story though there were no Wizzair ground staff and the ground staff that were there could not help us, everything they told us was guesswork. So he was put on standby and expected to keep coming back every evening until he could get on a Wizzair flight. However the ground staff didn't know when this next flight would be or if there was space on that flight. 
I rang Wizzair and asked when they could get him on the next flight and was told 6th September. I thought that airlines had a responsibility to put you on the next available flight on any airline at their cost? The representative said no. I even asked her to go check but no apparently not.
We left my husband at the airport knowing there were no direct flights back to the UK until 6th September with Wizzair. He can't not be at work all that time and it's unreasonable for Wizzair to expect that someone could. He booked flights and flew this lunchtime to Munich, he is now on his way to Paris, will spend the night in Paris Charles De Gaulle airport and fly home tomorrow first thing.
Any advice on how to approach this would be great. Thanks for reading.

Brie

Keep receipts for everything and screen shots that show this was a reasonable expense (flying cheaply, not going first class etc, same for hotel)  Hopefully the airline will reimburse.  

bagand96

It's the same regulations as delays and cancellations. The section/phrase you want is "Denied Boarding" https://www.caa.co.uk/passengers/resolving-travel-problems/delays-and-cancellations/denied-boarding/

Compensation should be payable. 

Wizzair are obliged to reroute your husband at the earliest opportunity. If their next flight isn't suitable then he is entitled to reroute on another airline. So you should be able to reclaim reasonable rerouting costs from Wizzair. 

la531983

"compensation should be payable"

A question. Would this actually be the case if Wizzair were having to use a smaller plane due to the recent ATC mess and had a load of planes out of position? Think they operate two sets of planes and one has 50 seats fewer than the other. 

Wonka_2

Unless I'm missing it you haven't said where the original flight was from/to ?

In general terms you're right re their obligations but Wizzair isn't renowned for it's compliance at the best of times, let alone in this weeks issues.

Assuming the place being flown from is a Wizzair hub it'd be much easier to have dealt with staff face to face until a resolution was found but it it's an outpost with a couple of flights a week that won't help.

Was there any travel insurance as a fallback ?

binks_2

@Wonka_2
It was Luton to Sibiu, Romania return. Yes not a hub airport and no Wizzair staff in sight.
In fact when we were disembarking I asked the Wizzair stewards about making a claim for my husband they had no idea that the plane was overbooked and 2 people on standby.

binks_2

@Brie
I'm afraid flying cheaply isn't really an option. Flights were literally disappearing as you tried to book them. The three flights and hotel will be in the region of £1000. 

bagand96

la531983 said:

"compensation should be payable"

A question. Would this actually be the case if Wizzair were having to use a smaller plane due to the recent ATC mess and had a load of planes out of position? Think they operate two sets of planes and one has 50 seats fewer than the other. 

Its an interesting point and exactly the reason I said "should"

There's definitely an argument that it is outside of their control in the event and the immediate aftermath. But how long does that aftermath last? Event was Monday, so Tuesday everything would still have been a mess. By Wednesday and Thursday? 

binks_2

@wonka
Sorry missed the insurance bit. Yes we have an annual policy. But this is Wizzair's mistake and I'm going there first. Everything was booked on credit card too. 

Grumpy_chap

bagand96 said:

Its an interesting point and exactly the reason I said "should"

There's definitely an argument that it is outside of their control in the event and the immediate aftermath. But how long does that aftermath last? Event was Monday, so Tuesday everything would still have been a mess. By Wednesday and Thursday? 

I can quite imagine that the airlines will try to suggest that we are in the "immediate aftermath" of the events on Monday right through until the next big news story gives them something to hang their hat on.

binks_2

My friends flew home the night before us also with Wizzair just after air traffic went down and their disruption amounted to an hour's delay.