TUI Compensation claim

ASDFGAA

My flight was delayed due to the manchester airport power cuts. I filled out the compensation form but was told i was not eligible for any extra compensation. I then complained via the TUI live chat that i was not happy with the lack of compensation i was told to email the delay repayment team as they are the only ones that can help, however i am unable to reply to any of the emails from them and i can't find any tui customer service emails online. 

I had drafted the following email to send to them which explains the situation and why i think i should receive compensation

"On the 23rd June our flight was delayed and then rescheduled at Manchester Airport. We were informed there had been a power cut much earlier in the day but power had been restored and we should proceed as planned for our flight later in the day.  I understand that this initial delay in not the fault of TUI however the subsequent management of this situation and the communication we received was appalling. Despite being told to arrive at the airport according to the original time, upon arrival we discovered the plane had been delayed by 3 hours and thus we were stuck at the airport for far longer than intended. We were then given no update until 30 minutes before the new flight time. We were told to go to the gate to board our flight where we waited for 15 minutes before being told that the flight was delayed until the next day meaning we then had to call someone up to pick us up with no notice at 11pm. We called customer service at 9.30am the next morning and were told we would immediately receive the new flight time and a compensation form.  The compensation form never arrived and we only found out later in the day our new flight time. We were not told when the new flight was until three and a half hours before it was scheduled to take off, despite being told to get to the airport 3 hours early leaving us only 30 minutes to arrive at the airport with again, no notice. Once at the airport the plane was again delayed by an hour once we boarded.

When we finally arrived in Tenerife we found that one of our cases along with a number of other customers bags had not been put on the plane leaving my girlfriend without any of her clothes or personal items. We are now on our third day of our holiday and the case still hasn’t arrived, which is unacceptable given we are only on holiday for 6 days (having lost 1 day because of the delays). Instead of being proactive and offering us compensation to cover food bought at the airport or additional transport and parking costs and to make up for the severe stress as well as funds to buy clothes until the suitcase arrived, we once again received no communication from tui until we rang yesterday morning and were informed we would receive £100 for clothes, this money never came. After losing a day of our holiday, waiting at the airport for hours upon hours with no news, losing a suitcase, and stressing for hours upon end trying to contact customer service and salvage our holiday we have been offered just one days refund with no additional compensation. We should as a minimum have been offered compensation for the delayed flights under airline regulations and I would have expected further compensation to make up for the impact to our holiday due to the overall shocking handling of the situation. I struggle to understand how anyone can view this as anywhere close to acceptable from a company registering profits in the hundreds of millions last year. "

Is it worth pursuing this further and if so will i just have to ring up?

Hoenir

Understandably your holiday hasn't got off to a great start. Directing your ire at TUI is unfounded. The power cut caused huge disruption to the operations not only at Manchester Airport but incoming flights. Planes , crew ended up in the wrong places. Flight plans had to be resubmitted and clearance given for landings at destination airports.  Staff in such circumstances are better used dealing with matters rather than constantly feeding travellers with updates. 

ASDFGAA

Surely they knew earlier than 15 minutes before the estimated departure time that the flight would be cancelled and surely they knew earlier than 3 and a half hours before when the new flight would depart. We've also been lied to numerous times by different customer service agents. I understand that the power cut wasn't their fault but the handling of the situation was horrific 

eskbanker

ASDFGAA said:

Surely they knew earlier than 15 minutes before the estimated departure time that the flight would be cancelled and surely they knew earlier than 3 and a half hours before when the new flight would depart. We've also been lied to numerous times by different customer service agents. I understand that the power cut wasn't their fault but the handling of the situation was horrific 

It's important though to differentiate between claiming legal/contractual entitlements, as documented in UK261 flight delay/cancellation regulations or the Ts & Cs regarding missing baggage, versus a more generalised customer service complaint.

Hoenir

ASDFGAA said:

Surely they knew earlier than 15 minutes before the estimated departure time that the flight would be cancelled and surely they knew earlier than 3 and a half hours before when the new flight would depart. We've also been lied to numerous times by different customer service agents. I understand that the power cut wasn't their fault but the handling of the situation was horrific 

70 departures and 50 arrivals at the airport were subsequently impacted. That's a major incident. Which I'm sure the staff on duty that day did the best they could under the circumstances.  

Spaceace

I was in Tenerife on the 23rd expecting to return to Manchester on the aircraft that you were coming out on.   We were scheduled to leave Tenerife at 01:10 on the 24th.   We were told there would be a 2+ hour delay and we should be taking off around 03:30 which fits in with them telling you there was a 3 hour delay.

When we arrived at Tenerife airport around 10:30 we were informed that the incoming flight was cancelled and they arranged for us to be taken to a hotel for the night.

As they picked us up and brought us to the airport it looks as though the decision to cancel your flight was taken at the last minute. The TUI rep we were talking to didn't have any official reason for the cancellation but was speculating that it could have been an issue with crew hours because of the earlier disruption and delays.

I haven't (yet) submitted a claim under the UK261 regs but I'll be watching with interest to see if you get anywhere.

Westin

ASDFGAA said:

Surely they knew earlier than 15 minutes before the estimated departure time that the flight would be cancelled and surely they knew earlier than 3 and a half hours before when the new flight would depart. We've also been lied to numerous times by different customer service agents. I understand that the power cut wasn't their fault but the handling of the situation was horrific 

Actually not.

It could be that TUI believed that they could get the flight away, boarded the aircraft and were ready, but then ATC restrictions scuppered that.  An ATC slot restriction may have been given some time, possibly 1+ hour or more later, which then meant crew going out of hours and the short notice cancellation being made. 

The latter point you make about the 3.5h notice - MAN airport seemed to give notice of the hope to reopen before they could. Airlines had two false time frames given. When the airfield did eventually open for aircraft arrivals and some departures there were issued with ground services. Baggage for example could not be unloaded/loaded in time due to failure of the system following the power outage.

All very unfortunate for the poor passengers but IMO not really something TUI could be held accountable for.

la531983

Spaceace said:

I was in Tenerife on the 23rd expecting to return to Manchester on the aircraft that you were coming out on.   We were scheduled to leave Tenerife at 01:10 on the 24th.   We were told there would be a 2+ hour delay and we should be taking off around 03:30 which fits in with them telling you there was a 3 hour delay.

When we arrived at Tenerife airport around 10:30 we were informed that the incoming flight was cancelled and they arranged for us to be taken to a hotel for the night.

As they picked us up and brought us to the airport it looks as though the decision to cancel your flight was taken at the last minute. The TUI rep we were talking to didn't have any official reason for the cancellation but was speculating that it could have been an issue with crew hours because of the earlier disruption and delays.

I haven't (yet) submitted a claim under the UK261 regs but I'll be watching with interest to see if you get anywhere.

I wouldnt bother. This is quite clearly circs out of their control and would be a waste of your time.