Missed connection - cancelled return flight

Moseleyshoals18

Hello, 

looking for some advice about Lufthansa airline.

My husband and son had flight Man-Munich-Stuttgart and return Stutt-Mun-Man.

Their flight from Manchester to Munich was delayed by over 2 hours and this resulted in them missing their connection to Stuttgart. Following advice from staff on plane they ran to gate but it was deserted with flight already left.

Over the tannoy was announced they could book a 3 star hotel and rebook via the app for a flight. This was late and my husband chose this option instead of standing in a large queue with my son after travelling all day. The decided to not rebook connection and get train to Stuttgart to minimise any more lost time. 

A few days later his return flight disappeared from the app and he could not access the boarding passes, after phoning he was told as they had not showed up for their connection their return flight had been cancelled. Staff on phone were no help and said nothing they could do. 

My husband needed to book alternative flights home from Germany via Ibiza to Manchester. 

Where do we stand on this? They didn’t make the connection as the Lufthansa flight was delayed, not because they didn’t show? 

TIA for any help.

Hoenir

Airlines explicitly state what happens to no-shows in their contract of carriage, which is a legal document that explains the terms and conditions of the fare. In general, if you are a no-show for your flight, any subsequent flights on the same itinerary will be canceled without a refund.

Moseleyshoals18

So in this case, despite missing the planned connection due the same airlines flight being delayed they are being regarded as no shows? Or is it because they didn’t rebook for another? 

Thanks 

Voyager2002

Moseleyshoals18 said:

So in this case, despite missing the planned connection due the same airlines flight being delayed they are being regarded as no shows? Or is it because they didn’t rebook for another? 

Thanks 

Yes, that is correct. According to the rules, they should have asked the airline to arrange their transport to Stuttgart (which might have been by train).

Perhaps they can argue that they attempted to arrange rerouting but no staff were available, and so they are asking the airline to pay for the train ticket as well as the hotel. This should establish that they were rerouted and not "no-shows", meaning that they were entitled to use the remainder of their tickets.

It could get messy, so I suggest consulting a solicitor.

Hoenir

Moseleyshoals18 said:

So in this case, despite missing the planned connection due the same airlines flight being delayed they are being regarded as no shows? Or is it because they didn’t rebook for another? 

Thanks 

Automated systems don't know why they are simply programmed to react. 

bagand96

Agree probably automated that cancelled the rest of the booking if they were seen as no shows. Best thing would have been to speak to staff at the airport, they would have been able to "protect" the rest of the reservation. Or failing that, call Lufthansa the next day who may have been able to protect it at that point. But obviously hindsight isn't 20/20.

You may still have a case. Arguing that it was caused by Lufthansa in the first place, and it may not be reasonable to expect pax to know the ins and outs of the ticketing policies and systems. 

First things first, have you made a complaint/claim with Lufthansa? 

Moseleyshoals18

bagand96 said:

Agree probably automated that cancelled the rest of the booking if they were seen as no shows. Best thing would have been to speak to staff at the airport, they would have been able to "protect" the rest of the reservation. Or failing that, call Lufthansa the next day who may have been able to protect it at that point. But obviously hindsight isn't 20/20.

You may still have a case. Arguing that it was caused by Lufthansa in the first place, and it may not be reasonable to expect pax to know the ins and outs of the ticketing policies and systems. 

First things first, have you made a complaint/claim with Lufthansa? 

No at this point we haven’t contacted Lufthansa again, my husband contacted them yesterday morning as he hadn’t received any confirmation of the flights being cancelled, they just disappeared from his app on Saturday morning,
he initially just thought this was a glitch or something but when they hadn’t appeared again by Monday morning he called them. 

They weren’t helpful at all, just told him they had been cancelled due to not being on the connecting flight and nothing they could do. Priority was getting him and my son home and now they are, I was looking to see what the best way to approach with Lufthansa would be. 

bagand96

Moseleyshoals18 said:

bagand96 said:

Agree probably automated that cancelled the rest of the booking if they were seen as no shows. Best thing would have been to speak to staff at the airport, they would have been able to "protect" the rest of the reservation. Or failing that, call Lufthansa the next day who may have been able to protect it at that point. But obviously hindsight isn't 20/20.

You may still have a case. Arguing that it was caused by Lufthansa in the first place, and it may not be reasonable to expect pax to know the ins and outs of the ticketing policies and systems. 

First things first, have you made a complaint/claim with Lufthansa? 

No at this point we haven’t contacted Lufthansa again, my husband contacted them yesterday morning as he hadn’t received any confirmation of the flights being cancelled, they just disappeared from his app on Saturday morning,
he initially just thought this was a glitch or something but when they hadn’t appeared again by Monday morning he called them. 

They weren’t helpful at all, just told him they had been cancelled due to not being on the connecting flight and nothing they could do. Priority was getting him and my son home and now they are, I was looking to see what the best way to approach with Lufthansa would be. 

If it were me I'd be getting in touch claiming the costs of the replacement flights, stating that Lufthansa cancelled the reservation, when it was their own fault the connection was missed. Detail exactly what was done at what point and why.

Hoenir

bagand96 said:

Moseleyshoals18 said:

bagand96 said:

Agree probably automated that cancelled the rest of the booking if they were seen as no shows. Best thing would have been to speak to staff at the airport, they would have been able to "protect" the rest of the reservation. Or failing that, call Lufthansa the next day who may have been able to protect it at that point. But obviously hindsight isn't 20/20.

You may still have a case. Arguing that it was caused by Lufthansa in the first place, and it may not be reasonable to expect pax to know the ins and outs of the ticketing policies and systems. 

First things first, have you made a complaint/claim with Lufthansa? 

No at this point we haven’t contacted Lufthansa again, my husband contacted them yesterday morning as he hadn’t received any confirmation of the flights being cancelled, they just disappeared from his app on Saturday morning,
he initially just thought this was a glitch or something but when they hadn’t appeared again by Monday morning he called them. 

They weren’t helpful at all, just told him they had been cancelled due to not being on the connecting flight and nothing they could do. Priority was getting him and my son home and now they are, I was looking to see what the best way to approach with Lufthansa would be. 

If it were me I'd be getting in touch claiming the costs of the replacement flights, stating that Lufthansa cancelled the reservation, when it was their own fault the connection was missed. Detail exactly what was done at what point and why.

The reason for the delay at Manchester is unknown. Airports are complex operationally.  

bagand96

Hoenir said:

bagand96 said:

Moseleyshoals18 said:

bagand96 said:

Agree probably automated that cancelled the rest of the booking if they were seen as no shows. Best thing would have been to speak to staff at the airport, they would have been able to "protect" the rest of the reservation. Or failing that, call Lufthansa the next day who may have been able to protect it at that point. But obviously hindsight isn't 20/20.

You may still have a case. Arguing that it was caused by Lufthansa in the first place, and it may not be reasonable to expect pax to know the ins and outs of the ticketing policies and systems. 

First things first, have you made a complaint/claim with Lufthansa? 

No at this point we haven’t contacted Lufthansa again, my husband contacted them yesterday morning as he hadn’t received any confirmation of the flights being cancelled, they just disappeared from his app on Saturday morning,
he initially just thought this was a glitch or something but when they hadn’t appeared again by Monday morning he called them. 

They weren’t helpful at all, just told him they had been cancelled due to not being on the connecting flight and nothing they could do. Priority was getting him and my son home and now they are, I was looking to see what the best way to approach with Lufthansa would be. 

If it were me I'd be getting in touch claiming the costs of the replacement flights, stating that Lufthansa cancelled the reservation, when it was their own fault the connection was missed. Detail exactly what was done at what point and why.

The reason for the delay at Manchester is unknown. Airports are complex operationally.  

OK yes, fault isn't really what I meant. But regardless of the reason for the delay, on a connecting flight ticket the airline is responsible for the onward transport to destination.

What's happened here isn't just someone deciding not to use a flight and expecting the rest of the reservation to be honoured, the flight wasn't used because of disruption and a missed connection. It's not unheard of for pax to make their own arrangements in these scenarios, especially if the airline offering isn't the best. They can and do have processes to protect the remaining reservation.