Advice please

Martinchivers

Hi Folks, I wonder if anyone could help with this question. Our flight was cancelled due to a sand storm preventing the aircraft from landing. This was on a Friday and we were told the rearranged flight would be on the Sunday 2 days later. 

So the new flight on Sunday was due to take off at 14.40 but didn’t take off until 18.10 arriving at London over 3 hours late.

i got in touch with the carrier and they keep saying that compensation is not due because of the sand storm.

I argued that the rearranged flight on the Sunday had nothing to do with the sandstorm. It was late because the flight had to stop at TFS and have a change of crew. We were told this on the aircraft by the captain.

Any advice would be very helpful.

thanks 

eskbanker

Yes, if the Sunday flight was an entirely different scheduled one rather than a delay to the original flight, then any delay to it should be considered on its own merits, rather than harking back to the events of Friday.

Having said that, the crew change in itself may not be the actual reason for the delay, in that it's more likely to be a symptom than a cause, so whether or not the airline can rely on extraordinary circumstances will depend on the full story.

If you supply more details of the airline, flights and dates involved, insiders on here may be able to shed more light on what happened....

Martinchivers

Thanks you, most helpful. so the cancelled flight was on Friday 20th December Boa Vista (16.10) to Gatwick flight number TOM579 

The rescheduled flight Boa Vista (14.40) to Gatwick flight number TOM579 Flights were operated by TUI

Thanks very much 

Caz3121

Looking at the past flights for TOM579 it operates one day per week on a Friday. There was not originally a Sunday flight and it only happened that week...no Friday and Sunday instead.
I expect they would say that the Sunday flight was actually your flight which had been delayed

Martinchivers

Thanks Kaz, this is what I’m trying to find out. If that’s the case the Sunday flight was still delayed by over 3 hours and this wasn’t caused by extraordinary circumstances. Legally would that still count.

eskbanker

Martinchivers said:

Thanks Kaz, this is what I’m trying to find out. If that’s the case the Sunday flight was still delayed by over 3 hours and this wasn’t caused by extraordinary circumstances. Legally would that still count.

If it retained the same flight number but just operated on a different day, when a flight with that number wouldn't normally operate, then it's more credible to treat it all as one big delay and therefore falling within the scope of the original extraordinary circumstances.  Was there any explicit mention of "cancellation" in messaging on the Friday?

Westin

Did your aircraft have a ‘new car smell’?  You were very lucky to be on what appears to be the first passenger service of G-TUOB.  It was delivered from the Boeing factory in Everett on 17 December then put into service for your rescheduled flight.  I would have loved to experience that!

It appears the original flight was rescheduled due to the poor weather conditions around Cale Verde. The rescheduled flight (same flight number) operating Sunday. 

The aircraft was slightly late leaving LGW on 22 December and did indeed route via TFS.  Timings for those sectors below.  Not sure about the delay ex LGW (or TFS) but ultimately the flight arrived back at LGW 1h05m late on its rescheduled timetable.

You will have received ‘care’ in Boa Vista with hotel, meals, drinks provided.

I don’t believe you are due UK261 compensation for the rescheduling as it was due to weather issues. I have however seen examples of TUI give holiday discount vouchers as a gesture of goodwill for a rescheduling delay of this length.  Has anything been offered?

I also don’t believe you are due UK261 for TOM579 on 22 DEC.  The arrival time was only just over an hour late from its new schedule. Sorry, note the new you wanted to hear.

22DEC - G-TUOB
TOM 578   LGW 0700 TFS 1112. Actual ATD 0843 ATA 1236
TOM 578P TFS 1225 BVC 1348. Actual ATD 1536 ATA 1645
TOM 579.  BVC 1645 LGW 2345. Actual ATD 1800 ATA 0050

Martinchivers

Westin said:

Did your aircraft have a ‘new car smell’?  You were very lucky to be on what appears to be the first passenger service of G-TUOB.  It was delivered from the Boeing factory in Everett on 17 December then put into service for your rescheduled flight.  I would have loved to experience that!

It appears the original flight was rescheduled due to the poor weather conditions around Cale Verde. The rescheduled flight (same flight number) operating Sunday. 

The aircraft was slightly late leaving LGW on 22 December and did indeed route via TFS.  Timings for those sectors below.  Not sure about the delay ex LGW (or TFS) but ultimately the flight arrived back at LGW 1h05m late on its rescheduled timetable.

You will have received ‘care’ in Boa Vista with hotel, meals, drinks provided.

I don’t believe you are due UK261 compensation for the rescheduling as it was due to weather issues. I have however seen examples of TUI give holiday discount vouchers as a gesture of goodwill for a rescheduling delay of this length.  Has anything been offered?

I also don’t believe you are due UK261 for TOM579 on 22 DEC.  The arrival time was only just over an hour late from its new schedule. Sorry, note the new you wanted to hear.

22DEC - G-TUOB
TOM 578   LGW 0700 TFS 1112. Actual ATD 0843 ATA 1236
TOM 578P TFS 1225 BVC 1348. Actual ATD 1536 ATA 1645
TOM 579.  BVC 1645 LGW 2345. Actual ATD 1800 ATA 0050

Hi Thanks for the info, I don’t recall the aircraft being brand new sorry.

on the Departure flight from Boa Vista on the 22nd you have the Departure time at 16.45 but that’s incorrect. Do you think TUI could have amended this.

The booking time on my boarding pass is 14.40 so there is something amiss somewhere along the line.

with this new information do you know if that changes the UK261 ?

There was no offer of any vouchers from TUI

Thank you  

Westin

Data I have shows TOM579 schedule departure from BVC at 16:45h.  

Martinchivers

Westin said:

Data I have shows TOM579 schedule departure from BVC at 16:45h.  

Many thanks for getting back to me. I’m not sure why the departure time is saying that. Are TUI manipulating the times so they are not libel. Is that something they could do ?

As you can see on the boarding passes the time is 14.40. 

Thank you 

Martinchivers

If there are any legal eagles on here that could confirm one way or the other if Compensation is due that would be most helpful. I have started proceedings in the small claims court but it would be nice knowing for sure if I will be successful in the claim. 

Thanks