DIY holiday

Voyager2002

NoodleDoodleMan said:

"UK and EU airlines won't leave you abandoned"

I beg to differ.

Easyjet did just that to us (and all the other passengers) on a flight from Amsterdam to Edinburgh on Monday 15th July 2024.

I can go into detail if needed.

There is a Facebook site dedicated to complaints against the airline.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/192989321777

They seem to have 'form' for this...

My flight to Krakow had to divert to Berlin for the night (weather) and they told us to see the ground crew at the airport for a hotel room. Only problem: they did not have any ground crew!

Eventually I gave up and arranged my own hotel room. I had some problems submitting the claim on their website, but they were quick to agree payment.

jimi_man

NoodleDoodleMan said:

"UK and EU airlines won't leave you abandoned"

I beg to differ.

Easyjet did just that to us (and all the other passengers) on a flight from Amsterdam to Edinburgh on Monday 15th July 2024.

I can go into detail if needed.

There is a Facebook site dedicated to complaints against the airline.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/192989321777

So they refused to pay for any hotel accommodation? What happened to your claim (I presume you claimed?)

As I said above, sometimes (with LoCo airlines - quite often) you might have to sort your own accommodation out but as they have a duty of care legally, then they should meet any reasonable costs. 

With Low Cost carriers they don’t have the staffing availability at a lot of places as that’s how they keep their costs down, hence why the onus is placed on the individual. 

At least you know not to travel with them again! 

mr_stripey

as others have said - don't rely on the airline to sort you out. I was fog bound at Gatwick the other week (fog at destination - Guernsey) and although the airline (Aurigny) should have been able to sort out a hotel, it was infinitely quicker to do it myself and claim back (which they paid)

In such situations, don't sit on your hands waiting for the airline to help. Just sort it yourself and claim back (reasonable) costs

NoodleDoodleMan

After we got airside at Schiphol - Easyjet texted to say the flight was delayed, sometime later the departure board announced it was cancelled, that's when the problems started.

Nothing from Easyjet - we found a member of staff at one of their check in desks whose only "help" was to write down the main 'phone number back in the UK (which we all had anyway) and direct us to a Menzies service agent for further assistance.

That consisted of an A5 handout giving details of EU261 regulations and how to claim compensation once we arrived home.

That was the extent of their Duty of Care.

This was on the Monday late afternoon and we ascertained that there wasn't another Easyjet flight to Edinburgh until the Thursday.

There was no Easyjet service desk within the airport, an astonishing discovery considering the volume of their traffic in and out of Amsterdam.

So. yes, we were effectively abandoned airside at Schipol with no further practical assistance.

Fortunately our tour operator Newmarket Holidays came to the rescue and cobbled together a repatriation package at short notice which consisted of coach, sea ferry and people carrier transport accompanied to Edinburgh by two members of staff.

I can't speak highly enough of them - Easyjet on the other hand.............................

bagand96

NoodleDoodleMan said:

"UK and EU airlines won't leave you abandoned"

I beg to differ.

Easyjet did just that to us (and all the other passengers) on a flight from Amsterdam to Edinburgh on Monday 15th July 2024.

I can go into detail if needed.

There is a Facebook site dedicated to complaints against the airline.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/192989321777

In that case you had a package holiday with a tour operator that looked after you as per their responsibility under the PTR's.  Doesn't excuse easyJet of course, but was a happy outcome, and backs up the argument for packages over DIY for those that prefer them (although like airlines, package operators and the quality of service do vary!)

Even without the Tour operator you could have exercised your EC261 rights yourself and claimed back from easyJet later. Might not be the customer experience you expect admittedly. 

bagand96

citygirlblue said:

Thanks everyone. I've booked flights (direct with EasyJet) and an Airbnb. I'd never travel without insurance, so can anyone recommend a provider that would cover my hotel costs if EasyJet cancelled at short notice or vice versa. Cheers.

EU and UK law protects you (EC261) for short notice cancellations and as others have pointed out the airline is responsible for replacement flights and hotel accommodation if required.

People's experiences do vary and some operators are better than others. What most airlines don't have is teams of people at airports ready to rebook you and assist with hotels etc. easyjet for example will direct people to their app or website to rebook. 

My advice is to have a credit card with you when travelling for emergencies. If the airline cancel and don't help, or just offer a flight in 3 days you can then pay for alternative flights and/or hotels as required. You can then claim the money back later. 

NoodleDoodleMan

bagand96 said:

NoodleDoodleMan said:

"UK and EU airlines won't leave you abandoned"

I beg to differ.

Easyjet did just that to us (and all the other passengers) on a flight from Amsterdam to Edinburgh on Monday 15th July 2024.

I can go into detail if needed.

There is a Facebook site dedicated to complaints against the airline.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/192989321777

In that case you had a package holiday with a tour operator that looked after you as per their responsibility under the PTR's.  Doesn't excuse easyJet of course, but was a happy outcome, and backs up the argument for packages over DIY for those that prefer them (although like airlines, package operators and the quality of service do vary!)

With zero help from Easyjet - had we made the flight reservations with them direct their "help" would have been just as effective I reckon.

Agreed on the package holiday operator deals, we wouldn't consider DIY these days, too many potential pitfalls.

Did them in the past without a second thought - in the days of Globespan airline, they never let us down - sadly missed.

bagand96

NoodleDoodleMan said:

bagand96 said:

NoodleDoodleMan said:

"UK and EU airlines won't leave you abandoned"

I beg to differ.

Easyjet did just that to us (and all the other passengers) on a flight from Amsterdam to Edinburgh on Monday 15th July 2024.

I can go into detail if needed.

There is a Facebook site dedicated to complaints against the airline.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/192989321777

In that case you had a package holiday with a tour operator that looked after you as per their responsibility under the PTR's.  Doesn't excuse easyJet of course, but was a happy outcome, and backs up the argument for packages over DIY for those that prefer them (although like airlines, package operators and the quality of service do vary!)

With zero help from Easyjet - had we made the flight reservations with them direct their "help" would have been just as effective I reckon.

Problem is people are happy to DIY on booking to save money. But they're not happy to DIY when something goes wrong, they expect full service assistance.

Not saying airlines shouldn't do better (and IMHO there's much worse than easyjet!)  but when I DIY I accept some responsibility. 

Voyager2002

NoodleDoodleMan said:

Fortunately our tour operator Newmarket Holidays came to the rescue and cobbled together a repatriation package at short notice which consisted of coach, sea ferry and people carrier transport accompanied to Edinburgh by two members of staff.

I can't speak highly enough of them - Easyjet on the other hand.............................

Personally I would hate to spend such a long time travelling by road.

Easyjet were legally responsible for providing a replacement flight: one of their own if they had one that day, or booking you on to a flight operated by a different airline.

Voyager2002

bagand96 said:

citygirlblue said:

Thanks everyone. I've booked flights (direct with EasyJet) and an Airbnb. I'd never travel without insurance, so can anyone recommend a provider that would cover my hotel costs if EasyJet cancelled at short notice or vice versa. Cheers.

EU and UK law protects you (EC261) for short notice cancellations and as others have pointed out the airline is responsible for replacement flights and hotel accommodation if required.

People's experiences do vary and some operators are better than others. What most airlines don't have is teams of people at airports ready to rebook you and assist with hotels etc. easyjet for example will direct people to their app or website to rebook. 

My advice is to have a credit card with you when travelling for emergencies. If the airline cancel and don't help, or just offer a flight in 3 days you can then pay for alternative flights and/or hotels as required. You can then claim the money back later. 

That is fine in principle... in practice, there is always the worry that a last-minute replacement flight is really expensive, and what if the airline refuse to pay? We are supposed to give them a reasonable opportunity to make the booking. When it turns out to be difficult to communicate with the airline, it is hard to know at what point to give up and pay a high price for last-minute alternative arrangements.