Swiss flight delays

Airight

I booked a return flight from London to Singapore recently. Booking made through Expedia. Outward journey via Munich on Lufthansa all as per agreed schedule. Return journey on Swiss was a shambles. Upon boarding in Singapore we sat in plane waiting for 2 hours before departing resulting in connecting flight being missed in Zurich. Zurich could not offer direct flight to London, resulting in flight to Frankfurt first before waiting for a new connection to London. Planned scheduled arrival time was 8h25, after all the disruptions I eventually landed at 14h45. I have subsequently contacted all parties (Expedia / Lufthansa / Swiss) who have all rejected or ignored my request for compensation. Can anybody give some advice please? Thanks.

Caz3121

Any claim for delay compensation is against the operating airline so Swiss.

Whether any compensation is due will depend on the reason for the delay from Singapore. What reasons have Swiss given for rejecting claim? (I assume Expedia and Lufthansa would both have rejected as there is no liability as they were not the operating carrier)

Woodstok2000

Expedia owe you nothing. Lufthansa also aren't involved. Your issue is with Swiss. As a community airline on a flight into the UK, they are bound by UK261 and should compensate you unless the delay was down yo extraordinary circumstances, but based on my experience and online feedback you may be in for a long fight.

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82083237#Comment_82083237

Surely Swiss isn't a Community carrier? I believe that Switzerland operates some form of voluntary opt-in to EC261 though, so there may still be a reimbursement route but probably not via UK261 as such…

saajan_12

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6677722/swiss-flight-delays

Upon boarding in Singapore we sat in plane waiting for 2 hours before departing 

The key is what was the cause of this 2 hour delay?

Woodstok2000

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82084625#Comment_82084625

 Switzerland has an agreement with the EU that includes the application of Regulation EC 261/2004, so for all intents and purposes it is a community carrier. That status carries through to the application of UK261.

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82085133#Comment_82085133

Is it a verifiable fact that their participation in EC261 brings them into the scope of UK261 though?

Historically their alignment with EC261 was watered down and Swiss courts weren't bound by ECJ judgments, so their interpretation of the rules was based solely on the actual wording of the legislation rather than EU case law, which, for example, included the treatment of lengthy delays as being equivalent to cancellation.

It may be that the situation has changed but it would be useful to see an authoritative source that confirms that a Swiss journey ending in the UK is within UK261 scope in the same way as those defined as Community carriers by the UK legislation, if OP has encountered resistance and needs definitive citations…

Woodstok2000

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82085807#Comment_82085807

Yes, as far as Im aware this is all based on interpretation and experience. I've personally had 2 compensation payments from them under UK261 for similar journeys so they definitely do consider themselves bound by it under certain circumstances for this type of trip. No idea if that is a legally defined position or not. Totally agree it would be good to see it properly defined.

eskbanker

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82086297#Comment_82086297

Just to be clear, these were two trips where UK261 applied but EC261 didn't?

Perhaps OP will clarify whether their attempt to secure compensation from Swiss was actually rejected (and if so, on what grounds) or simply ignored?

Woodstok2000

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82086334#Comment_82086334

Yes, exactly.