Easyjet disruption expenses claim

crazyjamie

Of my last four Easyjet flights, two were severely disrupted.   

The first was delayed due to lack of working deicer at the starting airport, we landed just under 3 hours late but by the time the doors were open and we were finally able to get off the aircraft we were past the 3 hour mark.   I took a photo on board at 3h01min.    (Un)surprisingly, Easyjet denied the initial EU261 claim - what's my next step?   

The second flight we were diverted to a different airport due to high windows at the actual destination, except after a 2+ hour wait on the tarmac with promises of refueling and a flight to our actual destination the crew ran out of hours and Easyjet couldn't or wouldn't provide new crew, so we were basically offloaded and abandoned there.   The cabin crew mentioned onward coaches but after waiting 40 mins in the arrivals area with not a single PA announcement and no information from Easyjet staff I opted to make my own arrangements and travelled to the destination by train.   The initial cause of diversion was weather, but the mess after the diversion wasn't  - are Easyjet off the hook?   We were diverted to one of their bases, no standby crew available?   How about claming my train tickets?    I have raised a claim on the website but there doesn't seem a way to upload receipts?  

crazyjamie

winds* not windows, autocorrect...

Voyager2002

Both incidents are exceptional circumstances, so no compensation is due.

For the second incident, you are entitled to the cost of onward travel in order to complete your journey. There should be a form for this on their website (NOT the form for compensation) but it is not easy to find, so use chat if necessary to seek assistance from their agents.

It is absolutely standard to be abandoned without information: 40 minutes is nothing (when my EJ flight was diverted to Berlin we waited for three hours).

crazyjamie

Not convinced about the "exceptional circumstances" for the first one...

According to the announcements by the captain the airport and runway was open at all times but there was only one deicing crew/vehicle, first the vehicle broke down, then once they'd fixed it, it ran out of fluid.   

Isn't it the airline's standard responsibility to pay for appropriate deicing capacity for a flight departing in, err, December?

Thanks re: the different form for expenses!   Found it now...

la531983

crazyjamie said:

Not convinced about the "exceptional circumstances" for the first one...

According to the announcements by the captain the airport and runway was open at all times but there was only one deicing crew/vehicle, first the vehicle broke down, then once they'd fixed it, it ran out of fluid.   

Isn't it the airline's standard responsibility to pay for appropriate deicing capacity for a flight departing in, err, December?

Thanks re: the different form for expenses!   Found it now...

And how is it the fault of the airline if they pay an airport for these services and the airport fail to deliver them?  No different if ATC fails.

The answer you have been given on this is correct.

bagand96

la531983 said:

crazyjamie said:

Not convinced about the "exceptional circumstances" for the first one...

According to the announcements by the captain the airport and runway was open at all times but there was only one deicing crew/vehicle, first the vehicle broke down, then once they'd fixed it, it ran out of fluid.   

Isn't it the airline's standard responsibility to pay for appropriate deicing capacity for a flight departing in, err, December?

Thanks re: the different form for expenses!   Found it now...

And how is it the fault of the airline if they pay an airport for these services and the airport fail to deliver them?  No different if ATC fails.

The answer you have been given on this is correct.

Deicing is the responsibility of the airline, generally they contract it out just as they do ground handling services (often deicing is contracted to their ground agents but not always)

If there was aa delay due handling agent errors (such as baggage issues) this would generally be considered an airline attributable delay.

I'm not saying that a deicing delay definitely counts as the same, and don't know if there's any test cases.

If the OP wants to escalate it would be ADR or Small Claims Court. 

crazyjamie

la531983 said:

crazyjamie said:

Not convinced about the "exceptional circumstances" for the first one...

According to the announcements by the captain the airport and runway was open at all times but there was only one deicing crew/vehicle, first the vehicle broke down, then once they'd fixed it, it ran out of fluid.   

Isn't it the airline's standard responsibility to pay for appropriate deicing capacity for a flight departing in, err, December?

Thanks re: the different form for expenses!   Found it now...

And how is it the fault of the airline if they pay an airport for these services and the airport fail to deliver them?  

Outsourcing doesn't remove the airline's responsibility, at least not completely.   

 "According to the German Federal Court of Justice (BGH) airlines can no longer invoke extraordinary circumstances in the event of a delay following de-icing (case no.: X ZR 146/23). If an aircraft has to be de-iced before take-off in winter time, this is not automatically an extraordinary circumstance within the meaning of Reg. (EC) 261/2004.

Passengers are therefore entitled to compensation in the event of a significant delay of more than three hours. This applies in any case to regions where winter temperatures are to be expected."

saajan_12

la531983 said:

crazyjamie said:

Not convinced about the "exceptional circumstances" for the first one...

According to the announcements by the captain the airport and runway was open at all times but there was only one deicing crew/vehicle, first the vehicle broke down, then once they'd fixed it, it ran out of fluid.   

Isn't it the airline's standard responsibility to pay for appropriate deicing capacity for a flight departing in, err, December?

Thanks re: the different form for expenses!   Found it now...

And how is it the fault of the airline if they pay an airport for these services and the airport fail to deliver them?  No different if ATC fails.

The answer you have been given on this is correct.

Surely by that logic the airline could contract out every service and say nothing is their fault.. 

Eg baggage handlers, timetablers, crew agency, airplane provisioners, etc etc..