TUI MAN to DBV 29/09/24 TOM2770

DeanR90

I've put the title as the flight info so hopefully anyone else affected can see this.

Some background info - the flight from Manchester scheduled to depart at 16:55 on 29/09/24 landing at Dubrovnik at 20:50 was diverted to Rome due to bad weather. The plane was initially delayed on the tarmac by approximately 45 minutes. After landing at Rome we were on the tarmac for approximately 2 hours or more before they made the decision to fly back to Manchester. We arrived back in Manchester at approximately 4am. Hotel and food/drink was provided, at least for breakfast and lunch. The flight the following day was scheduled for 6:30pm which was then delayed until 7:20pm, and we got into DBV at approximately 11:15pm local time.

I have filled in the compensation claim form on the TUI website and they replied last night rejecting my claim. This is from a no-reply email so no chance of discussing it further. They have rejected the claim due to extraordinary circumstances (bad weather). However flight data shows that other planes started landing at DBV at 5:30am the next day, whereas we didn't get there until 11:15pm. We were given the impression they had to get the plane back to MAN for their other flight commitments the following day. We also feel they could have put us in a hotel in Rome - which would have been a lot less inconvenient, and then arranged travel from there to our destination. 

The delayed flight also incurred a late pickup fee for our car hire, as well as missing one night in the hotel. They also made us pay for food and drink on the rearranged flight the day after.

Is there any basis for arguing their decision based on the info above? At this stage am I best going through "no win no fee" style company?

Mark_d

Your issue was caused by bad weather so no compensation is due.  Maybe other planes we landing at 5.30am but air traffic control can't squeeze two days worth of flights in to one day.

Putting everyone up in Rome would have been extremely expensive and the flights might not have been available to get you all from Rome to Dubrovnik significantly earlier than you eventually got there.

Car hire and hotel costs are consequential losses and never covered by the airline.

There is never an obligation for airlines to provide free food/drink on flights.

I don't think you have anything to love by going with a no-win no-fee company but be sure to check that you won't have to pay any costs when you lose the case

Westin

Bott & Co is one of the larger ‘no-win, no-fee’ claim companies.  I just added your flight details in to their online checker and even they say No Claim.

DeanR90

Westin said:

Bott & Co is one of the larger ‘no-win, no-fee’ claim companies.  I just added your flight details in to their online checker and even they say No Claim.

When I used their website last week it said I was due a claim. Details must have been updated since.

DeanR90

Mark_d said:

Your issue was caused by bad weather so no compensation is due.  Maybe other planes we landing at 5.30am but air traffic control can't squeeze two days worth of flights in to one day.

Putting everyone up in Rome would have been extremely expensive and the flights might not have been available to get you all from Rome to Dubrovnik significantly earlier than you eventually got there.

Car hire and hotel costs are consequential losses and never covered by the airline.

There is never an obligation for airlines to provide free food/drink on flights.

I don't think you have anything to love by going with a no-win no-fee company but be sure to check that you won't have to pay any costs when you lose the case

Not in the centre of Rome though, just at the airport. Bumped into a couple who had something similar happen the previous week and they got diverted to Bari and put up there and then flown from there.

I guess my argument is that they could have got us there a lot earlier via other methods.

Is there any basis for a claim on my holiday insurance - for the missed day of the hotel and late fees on the car?

elsien

Depends on the terms and conditions of your travel insurance. 

eskbanker

DeanR90 said:
I guess my argument is that they could have got us there a lot earlier via other methods.

Possibly, especially with the benefit of hindsight, but I'd expect them to be able to justify their decisions without too much difficulty - getting the plane back to Manchester (while still within the crew's flying hours) allows them to minimise the disruption to the second day's schedule.  Obviously that's effectively at the cost of some more delay to those on your flight, but in itself that doesn't necessarily mean that they didn't take all reasonable measures to mitigate the extraordinary circumstances, which is the test for compensation.

D.daffern999

Hi, I was on the same flight and got the same email similar time. I tried to reply and it bounced back. I'm absolutely fuming. Holiday insurance won't cover it with admiral because they state we weren't delayed. I've opened another complaint with TUI asking for an email address, to justify the decisions they took. 

eskbanker

D.daffern999 said:

Hi, I was on the same flight and got the same email similar time. I tried to reply and it bounced back. I'm absolutely fuming. Holiday insurance won't cover it with admiral because they state we weren't delayed. I've opened another complaint with TUI asking for an email address, to justify the decisions they took. 

If you have evidence that your arrival in resort was over 24 hours late, I don't see how an insurer can dispute that, what exactly did they say?

If either you or OP were on a package holiday then you may be able to secure some recompense from the tour operator (as opposed to the airline, even if both are TUI group companies) under the Package Travel Regulations, in the form of a price reduction for missing one night's accommodation?

D.daffern999

I have evidence with boarding passes, but they don't count it as a delay because ac took off grrr

eskbanker

D.daffern999 said:

I have evidence with boarding passes, but they don't count it as a delay because ac took off grrr

Oh, right, so the policy only covers delayed departure rather than delayed arrival?  Seems a bit harsh, especially if you returned to your starting point, but worth checking the policy terms to see if their stance is justifiable in terms of exactly how the relevant clause is worded....