Changed my flight and sent me somewhere else

ima999

I could use some guidance on how to approach my situation:

Airline: Air France
Flight: CDG (Paris) to Zurich (9pm arriving at 10something pm)
Day: Saturday
Flight time: Direct (0 stops)

On Friday day I receive an email asking me if I want to change my flight for some compensation
-- I said No
On Friday night I am asked to check in via the website
-- I start the process, then it tells me my flight has been cancelled and I MUST choose a different flight. 
-- I do a few searches on the web and see that my flight is still planned / active
-- I call Air France and ask them what's up -- they tell me my flight has been cancelled and I am required to make the change (or cancel my flight).  I explain to them that the web says the flight is still active.  they respond with -- NO I GUARANTEE you the flight is cancelled. I ask about 3 more times with the same answer of -- NO I GUARANTEE you the flight is cancelled.
-- I return to checking in on the website and pick the best that is offered me
NEW FLIGHT: Depart at 6pm, fly on air France - from CDG to Munich (layover for almost 2 hrs) then in Munich change to Swiss airlines and fly on to Zurich arriving around 10pm
-- upon arriving at the airport in CDG I checked the board and it showed my original flight was still active
-- I checked with the customer service person and they said my original flight was still active.  They recommended I write air France on their website.


Things to note:
1: I am flying 3 hrs early
2: I now have a layover
3: I am changing to ANOTHER airline
4: my original flight was not cancelled
5: I had arrangements within the 3hrs I lost in Paris, that I needed to cancel and was charged for.

Any suggestions on how to proceed

bagand96

Sounds like you were bumped rather than the flight cancelled (ie. the flight was overbooked, or they switched to a smaller aircraft).  Effectively your reservation was cancelled, not the flight.  This will be considered denied boarding under EC261 regulation and as such you should be entitled to €250 compensation.  (although there is a clause that they can reduce this by 50% if the arrival time is within 2 hours of original schedule - not sure how this works with your 3 hour earlier departure).

You can start the claim process online: Air France