Easyjet Customer care? What care?

ApolloHubble

As someone who is a frequent flyer, I am certainly noticing how flights now are becoming less reliable than a few years ago. I have had a situation recently with Easyjet which is a curious one and am after any comments or advice.

My husband and I were due to fly back from Berlin to Luton on Friday 2nd August after spending a few wonderful days there. Our flight was due to fly at 9.30pm and at 1pm we received a text and email to say our flight was cancelled. Having had advice about a cancelled BA flight previously from readers, we went to the airport, sure that an Easyjet rep would sort things out for us. 

At the airport there was no Easyjet rep at all, just a general customer service lady who could do very little for us. I already knew there were no flights back on 2nd August and the only ones back to Luton were on Monday 5th August. The Easyjet flight sback on 3rd and 4th August were to Gatwick and they were sold out. We were offered Manchester or Glasgow after 10pm on 2nd August, but that meant we would not be able to get back to our car at Luton airport parking. 

We were told to use the app, but that only lets you rebook Easyjet flights and they were sold out. We were given an Easyjet contact number, which I rang a few times, was on hold, then the line would cut off. We felt very abandoned.

As you can imagine, very frustrated until the customer service lady found a Ryanair flight to Stansted for us (which on their app was shown as Sold out) on 3rd August flying at 17.05pm.

As the Easyjet app did not allow us to book a hotel, (it just kept going back to previous page etc), we called our hotel and they managed to keep a room for us. We then went to the Ryanair section of Berlin airport where they had plenty of Ryanair reps, and booked the flight at a cost of €579!

The reason stated by Easyjet for the cancellation was that  there was going to be  a storm on Friday so the airspace had to have reduced amounts of flights (was there a storm??).

Anyway, we went back to the hotel etc and kept receipts for food that evening and the next day.
We arrived at Berlin airport on 3rd August for our 17.05pm flight to Stansted. We had booked a taxi to take us from Stansted airport to Luton airport parking (to collect our car) and it is just as well we did as our Ryanair flight was delayed by 3.5 hours and there would have been no trains! (Bad luck or what??).

This is the important part: when we were waiting to go through the Check in line to get onto the plane (around 10pm) my husband starting chatting to a staff member who turned out to be the Airport Inspector. My husband was allowed to go past the desk and look at the visual display screen. My husband then called me over and I looked at the screen. We both saw, and the Inspector told us that the reason Easyjet had cancelled our flight was because there were only 45 passengers on it!!
The Inspector (and we got his name) said that Easyjet  often 'lie' to their customers and he is fed up with it. He is also frustrated that there are no Easyjet staff at all at the airport.

I have put in my claim for expenses to Easyjet, also put in a claim for EU261, and also written an email of complaint.

Are Easyjet liable for my costs? It was for the hotel (ours, which they might not like but we had no option), the taxi from Stansted to Luton airport (there were no trains), the Ryanair flight,and two meals?

If they insist on stating that they cancelled due to a storm, what would be my next steps?

Thank you.

eskbanker

There are three separate claim headings under the regulations, and it's only the fixed tariff compensation one that's dependent on the reason for cancellation, i.e. no airline liability for paying out if it was caused by extraordinary circumstances beyond their control.

However, regardless of the cause, the airline is still responsible for rerouting (all the way to destination airport) and care costs (accommodation/meals while waiting).  There may be some resistance to funding expensive Ryanair flights to Stansted if they offered you earlier flights elsewhere in the UK (from which you'd presumably have been able to travel to Luton), but cross that bridge if/when you get to it....

Hoenir

ApolloHubble said:

 We both saw, and the Inspector told us that the reason Easyjet had cancelled our flight was because there were only 45 passengers on it!!

Pure fabrication unfortunately I'd suggest. 

ApolloHubble

Hoenir said:

ApolloHubble said:

 We both saw, and the Inspector told us that the reason Easyjet had cancelled our flight was because there were only 45 passengers on it!!

Pure fabrication unfortunately I'd suggest. 

Fabrication on the screen, or you think I am making this up?

ApolloHubble

eskbanker said:

There are three separate claim headings under the regulations, and it's only the fixed tariff compensation one that's dependent on the reason for cancellation, i.e. no airline liability for paying out if it was caused by extraordinary circumstances beyond their control.

However, regardless of the cause, the airline is still responsible for rerouting (all the way to destination airport) and care costs (accommodation/meals while waiting).  There may be some resistance to funding expensive Ryanair flights to Stansted if they offered you earlier flights elsewhere in the UK (from which you'd presumably have been able to travel to Luton), but cross that bridge if/when you get to it....

If we had taken the Manchester/Glasgow flights, then we would have had to stay in a hotel on the evening of 2nd August as trains do not run through the night. Perhaps we could have got a taxi? 380 miles from Glasgow - I wonder if Easyjet would have paid up for that?

ApolloHubble

eskbanker said:

There are three separate claim headings under the regulations, and it's only the fixed tariff compensation one that's dependent on the reason for cancellation, i.e. no airline liability for paying out if it was caused by extraordinary circumstances beyond their control.

However, regardless of the cause, the airline is still responsible for rerouting (all the way to destination airport) and care costs (accommodation/meals while waiting).  There may be some resistance to funding expensive Ryanair flights to Stansted if they offered you earlier flights elsewhere in the UK (from which you'd presumably have been able to travel to Luton), but cross that bridge if/when you get to it....

I found this on the CAA website:

2. Choose an alternative flight

If you still want to travel, your airline must find you an alternative flight. It’s up to you whether to fly as soon as possible after the cancelled flight, or at a later date that suits you.
Although most airlines will book you onto another of their flights to the same destination, if an alternative airline is flying there significantly sooner or other suitable modes of transport are available then you may have the right to be booked onto that alternative transport instead.

ApolloHubble

As I have applied for a refund (which is about £100) of our cancelled flight, will Easyjet just pay the difference between our refund and the Ryanair flight we bought?

eskbanker

ApolloHubble said:

eskbanker said:

There are three separate claim headings under the regulations, and it's only the fixed tariff compensation one that's dependent on the reason for cancellation, i.e. no airline liability for paying out if it was caused by extraordinary circumstances beyond their control.

However, regardless of the cause, the airline is still responsible for rerouting (all the way to destination airport) and care costs (accommodation/meals while waiting).  There may be some resistance to funding expensive Ryanair flights to Stansted if they offered you earlier flights elsewhere in the UK (from which you'd presumably have been able to travel to Luton), but cross that bridge if/when you get to it....

I found this on the CAA website:

2. Choose an alternative flight

If you still want to travel, your airline must find you an alternative flight. It’s up to you whether to fly as soon as possible after the cancelled flight, or at a later date that suits you.
Although most airlines will book you onto another of their flights to the same destination, if an alternative airline is flying there significantly sooner or other suitable modes of transport are available then you may have the right to be booked onto that alternative transport instead.

Yes, the regulations do indeed require the airline to offer passengers the choice between a refund, a rebooking asap or a rebooking at a later date of the passenger's choosing, but my point was that if EasyJet offered you flights to the UK on the 2nd ("We were offered Manchester or Glasgow after 10pm on 2nd August, but that meant we would not be able to get back to our car at Luton airport parking") but you booked another airline's one on the 3rd (albeit to an airport closer to your destination) then you might find EasyJet reluctant to reimburse that cost.  That's not to say that they'd be right to do so or that you wouldn't have justification for your actions, but just that it may not be as straightforward as you'd hope....

bagand96

Criticism is always levied at airlines in these circumstances, rightly so as they can be a nightmare to contact.

That said, easyJet are a low cost airline where booking is very much a self service digital affair. That's also how they operate their customer service. (Did you book your flight by going to see easyJet reps at the airport?). The airline will refer you to their own app/website when disruption occurs. 

As you've found you're entitled to rerouting on other airlines if it's most appropriate. In practice very few airlines will do this themselves... So if their advised options don't suit, do what you did, book yourself and claim back. 

Your written email of complaint will get a generic apology at best. For your expenses and compensation claim you'll have to wait and see what easyJet say.

If easyjet blame of on ATC/Weather related issues then they won't have to pay compensation but still have to cover reasonable expenses. You have escalation options if you are not satisfied either via ADR or court. In both cases they would have to provide evidence to back up their position - it may be different from an airport employee's opinion that it was due to low passenger numbers. 

Hoenir

ApolloHubble said:

As someone who is a frequent flyer, I am certainly noticing how flights now are becoming less reliable than a few years ago.

All well documented in the public domain. From the delay of supplying new planes, the lack of parts to maintain existing fleets, the lack of ATC staff globally,  the increased number of extreme weather events, to staff striking. All conspiring to make it a less enjoyable experience. While people expect to pay budget prices for a first class service. 

ApolloHubble

eskbanker said:

ApolloHubble said:

eskbanker said:

There are three separate claim headings under the regulations, and it's only the fixed tariff compensation one that's dependent on the reason for cancellation, i.e. no airline liability for paying out if it was caused by extraordinary circumstances beyond their control.

However, regardless of the cause, the airline is still responsible for rerouting (all the way to destination airport) and care costs (accommodation/meals while waiting).  There may be some resistance to funding expensive Ryanair flights to Stansted if they offered you earlier flights elsewhere in the UK (from which you'd presumably have been able to travel to Luton), but cross that bridge if/when you get to it....

I found this on the CAA website:

2. Choose an alternative flight

If you still want to travel, your airline must find you an alternative flight. It’s up to you whether to fly as soon as possible after the cancelled flight, or at a later date that suits you.
Although most airlines will book you onto another of their flights to the same destination, if an alternative airline is flying there significantly sooner or other suitable modes of transport are available then you may have the right to be booked onto that alternative transport instead.

Yes, the regulations do indeed require the airline to offer passengers the choice between a refund, a rebooking asap or a rebooking at a later date of the passenger's choosing, but my point was that if EasyJet offered you flights to the UK on the 2nd ("We were offered Manchester or Glasgow after 10pm on 2nd August, but that meant we would not be able to get back to our car at Luton airport parking") but you booked another airline's one on the 3rd (albeit to an airport closer to your destination) then you might find EasyJet reluctant to reimburse that cost.  That's not to say that they'd be right to do so or that you wouldn't have justification for your actions, but just that it may not be as straightforward as you'd hope....

As I have also taken a refund, I guess I am not entitled to anything then?