CHANGE OF FLIGHTS FROM THE 23RD DEC TO THE 24TH DECEMBER

Susan1942

I had a booking to fly from Leeds/Bradford  to Belfast at 12 PM on the 23rd of December  My booking was through BA with  Aer Lingus who use Emerald Airways.  This was booked back in October and was a BA Reward flight. 
I received and only  saw the text when I was plugging in my phone to charge it.  A text was posted on my mobile phone at 11 20 pm informing that my flight was now to be on the 24th of December on the 08 30 am flight.   
I was travelling to visit my son and his family  for Christmas..  I called my daughter who lives locally  and my son in Ireland.   Their web site was showing 3 seats available but at a cost of £430 
Both my daughter and son were trying to contact the airlines but as it was now after midnight my daughter said go to bed and we will call in the morning.  
On Monday morning flights were showing as available and my daughter said I will book it and sort it out legally afterwards.  I am 82 not in the best of health and having been up all night I was in no condition to travel.   My daughter posted on FB including a screen shot of their web site which was still showing 3 seats available. 
I had no alternative but to travel a day later on Christmas Eve on the 08.30 flight 24th December/  My daughter said she was going to file a complaint about it.
I called the BA Executive Club that morning and informed them of my situation.  I was asked to hold on twice and was then told that they would raise this matter to the highest level.  I should have travelled back on Friday 27th on the 14 10 flight.  I was visiting my son who has 4 children and  having been robbed of a day already I booked a flight to return on Saturday 28th of December on the 2.10 flight departing Belfast City Airport.   I booked the flight with Aer Lingus and paid £189 for the single journey for the 45 minute flight.  I then cancelled the flight for the 27th through the Executive Club  She said that I would not get a refund or have any reward points which I accepted.  With hindsight I should have cancelled the 27th Flight which would had a charge for this and then rebooked but I was so stressed at the time.
As my outgoing flight was changed to another day plus the short notice I reckon I should be compensated for this.  It was not due to cancelling but rather due to rescheduling.  Can anyone give me any advice.  The whole incident causes me a lot of worry which meant I arrived absolutely exhausted and it really made an impact on the whole visit .  I am always grateful for these boards.  There were a lot of comments about how disgraceful to be selling seats at £430 having bumped me off the flight.  When I did the search by the time added on the baggage cost the flight was showing at £465   I would be grateful for any advice  It is long winded and I have been very tired as I had developed sciatica the day before I flew back and have been to my GP this morning and given liquid morphine as well as Naproxan for the inflammation of my sciatic nerve.   I am so stressed but thankfully the morphine is starting to take some effect on the severity of the pain.  Sue 

eskbanker

Susan1942 said:

I had a booking to fly from Leeds/Bradford  to Belfast at 12 PM on the 23rd of December  My booking was through BA with  Aer Lingus who use Emerald Airways.  This was booked back in October and was a BA Reward flight. 
I received and only  saw the text when I was plugging in my phone to charge it.  A text was posted on my mobile phone at 11 20 pm informing that my flight was now to be on the 24th of December on the 08 30 am flight.   
I was travelling to visit my son and his family  for Christmas..  I called my daughter who lives locally  and my son in Ireland.   Their web site was showing 3 seats available but at a cost of £430 

[...]

As my outgoing flight was changed to another day plus the short notice I reckon I should be compensated for this.  It was not due to cancelling but rather due to rescheduling.  Can anyone give me any advice.  The whole incident causes me a lot of worry which meant I arrived absolutely exhausted and it really made an impact on the whole visit .  I am always grateful for these boards.  There were a lot of comments about how disgraceful to be selling seats at £430 having bumped me off the flight.  When I did the search by the time added on the baggage cost the flight was showing at £465   I would be grateful for any advice

There's probably rather more information in your post than there needs to be, but just to be clear, you're saying that BA (or Aer Lingus or Emerald) messaged you late on the 22nd to say that your confirmed booking was being moved from a flight on the 23rd to another on the 24th, with the original one still operating (and tickets being sold) and not cancelled?  How exactly was the message worded?  Where were all these comments about it being disgraceful?

Susan1942 said:

I should have travelled back on Friday 27th on the 14 10 flight.  I was visiting my son who has 4 children and  having been robbed of a day already I booked a flight to return on Saturday 28th of December on the 2.10 flight departing Belfast City Airport.   I booked the flight with Aer Lingus and paid £189 for the single journey for the 45 minute flight.  I then cancelled the flight for the 27th through the Executive Club  She said that I would not get a refund or have any reward points which I accepted.  With hindsight I should have cancelled the 27th Flight which would had a charge for this and then rebooked but I was so stressed at the time.
As my outgoing flight was changed to another day plus the short notice I reckon I should be compensated for this.

It's unclear if you're expecting/hoping for some reimbursement or compensation for changing your return flight, as well as for the separate outbound issue?

eDicky

You seem to be saying that BA changed your flight from 12.00 Dec23 to 08.30 Dec24, whereas seats were available on the 08.30 Dec23 flight which you would have preferred. Attempts to contact BA to arrange your preference were unsuccessful, after only receiving notification of flight change by SMS at 11.20pm on Dec 22nd - is that correct..?

Susan1942

This is the text  I received from Aer Lingus REF 23U3UW Sunday 22nd December   Due to a disruption to our schedule there has been a change to your flight itinerary. The flight I was booked on the 12 MD flight on the 23rd December    The new itinerary see below 

see new itinerary detailed below 
E13671  24th DEC LBA -BHD dep 08-30 hrs arrive 09.40 

Below this is details for the return flight on the E13676 27th DEC BHD -LBA Depart 14 05 arrive LBA 15.15  

Below there is q link to Aer Lingus support.  

My daughter when I called her she went on to the Aer Lingus web site and there were 3 seats were available  but at cost of £430 when I Checked and when you followed the booking process and added 1 bag at 20K the price increased to £465 My daughter took a screen shot of the price.

My son I was spending Christmas visiting with in PORTODOWN was also  on to the web site and was attempting to reach the airline gave up at midnight.  Both my daughter and son said go to bed now and get up early and we willtry to get a hold of someone in the morning. In the morning these flights were showing as still available and my daughter said I will buy the seat and fight it out with them later.

I had not slept at all and was exhausted and at 82 years old and simply with several health issue was in no state to fly  and had no alternative but to fly on the fligjt on the 24th or December a day short of the 4 day holidayI had planned/
My daughter posted this on FB including the screen shot showing the flight details and the cost £430  Several people made comments and regarding and saying that this was a total disgrace and voicing their comments on the FB post.  I checked Aer Lingus FB page led by an ad saying flying home for Christmas and the first comment is of my son saying OH NO not flying home for Christmas.  
The knock on effect was that when I travel I choose to stay in a hotel or an apartment. Currently the house my son is living in is very small and for medical reasons and other health I was staying very close by to my son's home/
I no longer go on holiday for several reasons and I had not seen my 4 Granddaughters since last Christmas I made the decision to stay until the 28th December to give me the 4 days as planned . There is a coffee shop restaurant  and gift shop.  There was a brunch available at the restaurant on the morning of the 24th but sadly I was no able to do this   Last year I treated my grandchildren to afternoon tea;  The girls are 22,20,14 and 3 years old .   This is a wonderful bonding experience important to all of this.  I made the decision to cancel the the flight on the 27th the 28th December> This one way flight from Belfast to Leeds at a cost of £189 but<as I seldom travel on holidays I will be 83 on Feb 1st February so who knows what the year ahead holds and how and when I will have them the opportunity to DM  THERE ARE 2 from Customers asking my son to DM to the persons from customers service.   There are many people who have been waiting many months for refunds threating to go to court  some of almost a year.   It is a disgrace about 2 years  I was on same flight flight delay but did not make a claim but this time of year is such an important family time   Thanks Sue X

Westin

When making your complaint to the airline I think you need to be more condense in your writing.

Stick to the short facts. Leave out all of the family/personal conditions and feelings. Keep it brief.  Add what resolution you want. 

Westin

Having just looked up the flights on FlightRadar24, I’m not actually sure that your original flight (23DEC/EI3673 LBA BHD) operated.

There are four flights on that routing for that day with Aer Lingus Regional/Emerald.

The first service of the day (EI3671) was running with a heavy delay. It in fact did not depart LBA until 12:14. It scheduled time had been 08:30.

Your original flight (EI3673) at 12:00 has no aircraft recorded against it and no departure or arrival data.

The 3rd flight of the day (EI3675) has an aircraft recorded (G-CMJL) but no flight data.  It also may not have operated.

The last flight on 23rd was EI3677, scheduled at 19:45 but delayed until 21:30.  That operated on EI-GZV.


Following the aircraft incident at Belfast on the evening of 22 December, Aer Lingus Regional would no doubt have been facing schedule disruption. They would also be an aircraft down.  Quite possible, and reasonable, that proactive rescheduling occurred. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd9xz7jv51yo

I think your daughters ‘discovery’ of availability might be a red-herring.  I’m not convinced EI3673 operated.  Possibly flights being culled and passengers (like you) rebooked to next available services.

eskbanker

Susan1942 said:

I made the decision to cancel the the flight on the 27th the 28th December> This one way flight from Belfast to Leeds at a cost of £189 but<as I seldom travel on holidays I will be 83 on Feb 1st February so who knows what the year ahead holds and how and when I will have them the opportunity to DM  THERE ARE 2 from Customers asking my son to DM to the persons from customers service.   There are many people who have been waiting many months for refunds threating to go to court  some of almost a year.   It is a disgrace about 2 years  I was on same flight flight delay but did not make a claim but this time of year is such an important family time   Thanks Sue X

It's quite difficult trying to unpack your actual points among all the extraneous detail, but as well as your issue with the outbound flights, are you trying to make a case that the airline should reimburse or compensate you for costs arising from your decision (however understandable) to change your inbound flight, or is that just more 'background'?

In terms of the outbound flight, is there any more definitive indication that the original flight actually operated, other than their website apparently still selling tickets after you'd been notified of the need to fly on the later one?

Susan1942

No I am not expecting them to pay anything towards that flight.  It was my decision to book it so giving me the 4 nights holiday I had planned.  I am elderly and my last time away was a year ago when I went over for Christmas.  I stayed 5 nights which I had booked.  I had a previous flight with Emerald Airlines which is Aer Lingus and I was delayed  Flight was 2 10 pm  We taxied out but had to return as they engineer could not fix the problem an aircraft came from Dublin and I didn't get home until 10 34 in Leeds.  I could have complained and probably had some compensation but quite honestly could not be bothered with the hassle.  I think my daughter is taking care of this complaint and will put a claim in for the flight change.  I was in row D 4 back and there were 6 or 7 seats in that section empty. I didn't see behind me as I had assistance and so remained on the aircraft until the other passengers has disembarked. But the flight was not full .  I have written far too much but I was so stressed with the changes and this in turn impacted on the enjoyment of the break.  I have got 4 granddaughers and Granny was very welcomed with all of them particularly the 2 year old.  When I look at Aer Lingus FB pafes it is full of complaints with people waiting months for their claim to be processed.  So they have problems prior to the incident which occured earlier that week   Thank you all for your advice and support,  Unfortunately I have developed severe sciatica so I am happy to have got home before this occured,  My GP has given me some morphine to cover me for the the pain so fortunate to be at home,  Sue eDicky said:

You seem to be saying that BA changed your flight from 12.00 Dec23 to 08.30 Dec24, whereas seats were available on the 08.30 Dec23 flight which you would have preferred. Attempts to contact BA to arrange your preference were unsuccessful, after only receiving notification of flight change by SMS at 11.20pm on Dec 22nd - is that correct..? YES

Y

Susan1942

Susan1942 said:

No I am not expecting them to pay anything towards that flight.  It was my decision to book it so giving me the 4 nights holiday I had planned.  I am elderly and my last time away was a year ago when I went over for Christmas.  I stayed 5 nights which I had booked.  I had a previous flight with Emerald Airlines which is Aer Lingus and I was delayed  Flight was 2 10 pm  We taxied out but had to return as they engineer could not fix the problem an aircraft came from Dublin and I didn't get home until 10 34 in Leeds.  I could have complained and probably had some compensation but quite honestly could not be bothered with the hassle.  I think my daughter is taking care of this complaint and will put a claim in for the flight change.  I was in row D 4 back and there were 6 or 7 seats in that section empty. I didn't see behind me as I had assistance and so remained on the aircraft until the other passengers has disembarked. But the flight was not full .  I have written far too much but I was so stressed with the changes and this in turn impacted on the enjoyment of the break.  I have got 4 granddaughers and Granny was very welcomed with all of them particularly the 2 year old.  When I look at Aer Lingus FB pafes it is full of complaints with people waiting months for their claim to be processed.  So they have problems prior to the incident which occured earlier that week   Thank you all for your advice and support,  Unfortunately I have developed severe sciatica so I am happy to have got home before this occured,  My GP has given me some morphine to cover me for the the pain so fortunate to be at home,  Sue eDicky said:

You seem to be saying that BA changed your flight from 12.00 Dec23 to 08.30 Dec24, whereas seats were available on the 08.30 Dec23 flight which you would have preferred. Attempts to contact BA to arrange your preference were unsuccessful, after only receiving notification of flight change by SMS at 11.20pm on Dec 22nd - is that correct..? YES

Y

My flight was booked for the 12 midday flight on the 23rd of December and I received the email at 23.20 on the night of 22nd of December.  There was no alternative just change or cancel.  I had no choice as the reason for the flight was to see my family.  I travel very seldom these days due to medical issues and it was Christmas 

eskbanker

Susan1942 said:

I have written far too much...

Agreed, but I don't believe that you've answered the question about whether or not your rebooking was effectively forced on the airline rather than being a discretionary choice:

eskbanker said:

In terms of the outbound flight, is there any more definitive indication that the original flight actually operated, other than their website apparently still selling tickets after you'd been notified of the need to fly on the later one?

Susan1942

My daughter is helping with a  claim for compensation,  She emailed the CEO but had not had a response as yet.  Whether that flight on the 23rd that I was booked at 12.00 happened is not the point here.  I didn't have the choice I was simply either accept that my flight was changed to the 24th December.  I have printed the text message and there was no mention of the flight being cancelled./  The option was accept the revised flights for the 24th Dec on the 08,30 or cancel it.  The purpose of the visit was to spend Christmas with my family.  Just have a look at Aer Lingus FB page and they clearly they have major problems. Going way back.