Easy Jet Flight Cancelled - Reclaiming Expenses Advice Needed Please

TheHaj

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for some advice on a cancelled easyJet flight and whether I'm still entitled to claim my additional costs.

My easyJet flight from London Gatwick to Valencia was cancelled due to lack of cabin crew. I had booked the flight through Trip.com, not directly with easyJet.

Trip.com told me they could only rebook me onto another easyJet flight. As there were no easyJet flights to Valencia that day or the following day, they said they couldn't reroute me onto another airline and my only option through them was to accept a refund.

Because I needed to get to Valencia as soon as possible, I booked a British Airways flight from Heathrow the following day, which cost nearly £500 more than my original easyJet flight. I also had to pay £270 for a hotel in London (Sofitel) because I had to stay overnight, plus I incurred transport costs from Gatwick to Heathrow and food expenses.

I've since read on easyJet's website that if you choose a refund, you can't also claim the cost of an alternative flight. However, I feel this is different because I didn't really have a choice. Trip.com couldn't reroute me onto another airline, there were no easyJet flights available within 24 hours, and the only way to continue my journey was to accept the refund and book another airline myself.

My questions are:

1. In these circumstances, is easyJet still liable to reimburse the cost of my British Airways flight (or the difference in cost), even though I accepted a refund through Trip.com because no suitable rerouting was available?
2. Is easyJet likely to reimburse my £270 Sofitel hotel? I only later noticed their guidance mentions they may reimburse accommodation at a reasonable three-star hotel (such as an Ibis), but at the time I booked the most practical hotel available near the airport without knowing about that guidance.

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who's had a similar experience or knows how UK261 applies when a booking was made through an online travel agent rather than directly with the airline.

Thanks!

Vitor

Booking through Trip.com does not remove easyJet’s obligations under UK261. The duty to offer rerouting lies with the operating airline, and rerouting is not restricted to easyJet’s own flights.

The problem is that accepting a refund normally ends the right to rerouting. However, that assumes the passenger was properly offered the legal choice between a refund and rerouting at the earliest opportunity. If Trip.com told you that another airline could not be used and that a refund was your only option, you may have an argument that this was not a properly informed choice.

I would claim from easyJet for:

• the BA fare, less the easyJet refund
• reasonable hotel costs
• reasonable meals
• transport between Gatwick and Heathrow
• fixed UK261 compensation, if the cancellation was notified less than 14 days before departure

Include the full Trip.com chat or email trail showing that you asked to be rerouted and were told this was impossible.

The Sofitel cost is the weakest part of the claim. EasyJet may argue that £270 was more than reasonably necessary and may reimburse only the equivalent cost of a suitable three-star airport hotel. It would help if you can show that cheaper practical alternatives were unavailable at the time.

EasyJet may also argue that you should have contacted it directly before booking BA, so the outcome is not certain. However, a cancellation caused by lack of cabin crew is normally an airline operational issue, not an extraordinary circumstance.

Claim directly from easyJet first. If rejected, escalate through its ADR scheme or consider a county court claim.

la531983

And as an aside - book direct next time. There is absolutely no benefit in using a third party for a flight booking. Saving a couple of quid isnt a benefit when a) things go wrong, and b) you dont have full access to your own booking.

ellenvan

As Vitor has said the weak part of your claim is the Sofitel hotel room. They won't usually reimburse at that level. Explain fully the reason to them why you had to choose that room. But except proportion of that room rate to be paid.

Westin

Rerouting options, including new flights options and hotels, often come up in the EasyJet App shortly after a flight has been cancelled.

Whilst I can understand you calling Trip.com they were never going to reroute you. It is the airline that should offer this. All Trip.com would do is offer a refund on the original flight and an option for you to buy a new flight.

Did you look at the EasyJet Ap, or talk with their ground staff at LGW?

TheHaj

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82081631#Comment_82081631

Yes I did look at the app as rerouting through Easy Jet would habe been the easier/simplier option but there were no flights to my destination within the next 24 hours from LGW or LHR. I even checked airports within 2 hours away e.g. Alicante but were also sold out. I have screenshots of this. Therefore I had no choice but to book the BA flight seperately from LHR and claim a refund from Trip.com.

TheHaj

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82081574#Comment_82081574

Thank you, your reply is very helpful.

I feel that easyJet's advice to spend "reasonably" is open to interpretation. Reasonable according to whom? It seems quite subjective and gives them scope to challenge or refuse a claim.

The immediate aftermath of having a flight cancelled is incredibly stressful. There are so many decisions to make, and everything is happening at once. It felt like everyone from the cancelled flight was competing to secure the next available flight and accommodation before everything sold out.

There was also very little assistance from easyJet at the airport. They had just one member of staff at the desk dealing with the entire flight, and the only advice being shouted to passengers was, "Use the app." At no point was there any mention from EasyJet to only book a 3 star hotel, surely they do they expect us to run through their T&C's reading the small print during this stressful time?

Given the circumstances, I felt that paying £270 for a hotel within walking distance of the airport, including breakfast, was a reasonable decision. The cheaper alternative was around £150, but it was a few miles away. By the time I added £30–£40 each-way for taxis, plus another £20–£30 for breakfast, the overall saving would have been relatively small. The convenience and certainty of being close to the airport also seemed like a sensible choice during an already stressful situation.

Worried_fool

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82081830#Comment_82081830

These are all significant points.

When you approach Easyjet, make it clear that (i) the only rep at the airport gave no guidance other than looking at the app; (ii) the app did not have any messages nor show any suitable flights. Therefore your only option was to make your own booking at the earliest opportunity.

When/if they quibble about the hotel cost (a detail), that is the time to present the points that you have just made.

TheHaj

easyJet has reimbursed my hotel claim but rejected the BA flight expense. Reason was because I claimed a refund.

I explained the scenario to the agent who only directed me to make a complaint via their website. This is insane!

Whats more insane is they have also rejected my UK261 compensation claim, stating that the cancellation was due to air traffic control restrictions. However, we were repeatedly told over the tannoy that the flight was cancelled because there were not enough cabin crew available! They are outright lying to get out of compensating passengers and the annoying thing is i have no evidence of announcement.

I am writing a complaint about the expense and compensation but have no confidence they will listen. My questions are:

1. Does accepting a refund prevent me from recovering rerouting costs when no rerouting was actually available?
2. Can easyJet rely on an air traffic control defence if passengers were told at the airport that the cancellation was due to a cabin crew shortage?
3. What would you recommend as the next step if easyJet refuses to reconsider?

ellenvan

claim through ADR scheme.

eskbanker

Whats more insane is they have also rejected my UK261 compensation claim, stating that the cancellation was due to air traffic control restrictions. However, we were repeatedly told over the tannoy that the flight was cancelled because there were not enough cabin crew available! They are outright lying to get out of compensating passengers and the annoying thing is i have no evidence of announcement.

Tempting though it will be to assume that the explanation given on the day must be the right one and the later one wrong, that's not necessarily the case, but once they've started asserting ATC restrictions it does seem a long shot that they'll change tack from that - you can ask them for evidence to back up their contention but realistically you will probably have to escalate to AviationADR to see chapter and verse…