Rights as a standby passenger with Aer Lingus?

SuprSi

This is probably not the right place for this, but I took a good look around and couldn't find anywhere more suitable. Please move it if it doesn't belong.

Anyway, my story begins last Saturday night as I arrived in Munich airport with my 3 friends to return to Dublin. I discovered, to my horror, that I'd booked the return flights for Friday, not Saturday, and the Saturday night flight was fully booked. After much planning and figuring out what we were going to do, we got a call to say that there were 4 people that hadn't turned up and we could all get onto the flight home. Our luggage was loaded, we were given our boarding passes and all was well.

When we went to actually board the plane, we were told that they had overbooked and they could only take 3 of us. Seeing as it was my mistake I stayed behind in a hotel for the night and booked flights the next day, costing €550 altogether.

My question is, if I'm given a boarding pass, have Aer Lingus initiated a contract with me? Are they obliged to treat me like a normal passenger who had properly booked their flights and thus ensure that, if I can't get onto the plane, I'm properly looked after?

I realise it was my mistake in the first place, that I was on standby too, but once I got the boarding pass I thought that was it. They didn't even take my bags off the plane! Do I have a leg to stand on here? I'm currently writing them a letter, but I want to see if anyone has had a similar experience and if I'm wasting my time.

I'll add that I paid for the flights (an extra €50 per person) on the Saturday night too.

Many thanks,

Si.

Sleepy

Man that sucks....

I'd say you'd need a solicitor to advise as to whether there's a contract or not... Either that or someone that know's the airline's policies inside out.

Auburn

Well tbh I don't think you have a leg to stand on. You missed your flight and they were only being obliging and doing you a favour by offering you stand by seats. It is unfortunate that they made a mixup but they don't owe you anything. Obviously other "normal" passengers will take priority over people on stand by.

The boarding pass is not a legal contract, afaik. Your ticket would be a legal contract, but seeing as you missed the flight, it would no longer apply because the mistake was on your part.

SuprSi

That's what I was thinking. I mean, I bought another ticket (the €50 extra) for each of us, so with that along with the boarding pass I thought I might have something.

The only thing was that they were helping me out in the first place and I would have been staying there with my three mates anyway had they not had a few free seats available.

I'm going to finish writing the letter and see what they say, and maybe have a chat with a solicitor though I don't really expect anything. I couldn't belive the mistake - I checked over that bloody e-mail so many times and I didn't notice it!

Ah well, at least the holiday was good

Auburn

Ah well, it's easy to forget details when you're on holiday enjoying yourself. Did the same once myself coming back from Boston, but luckily they had a standby seat left.

ArphaRima

TBH you have no rights as a standby passenger. You can be offloaded at any stage. You could have been sitting in your seat halfway through a flight, on a stopover in moldovia, which the aircraft frequents once a year, and if another fare paying passenger appears, your seat is given to them.

All that is happenning is that you are sitting in an empty seat. If it is not empty any more, then you have nowhere to sit. Be happy you eventually got home. I know people stranded in strange places for a week trying to get on flights.

subway_ie

This is a little off-topic, but is it true that Aer Lingus has gone the Ryanair route and stopped giving "free" on-board meals on scheduled flights? I've gust booked flights to Malaga and i was asked for meal preferences, but then ive been told by other people that they dont do them anymore?

Kernel32

They still do meals on trans-atlantic anyway but they now charge for all alcohol, it used to be I could get 2 or 3 free beers out of them. Their "breakfast" on trans-atlantic flights have also been reduced to a tiny morsel of food.

I had a little run in myself with Aer Lingus earlier this year. I live in the states so I always book from the states. I did an extended stay in ireland last year that went into January, for various reasons I had to change my return date back to the states. When I called I was told it would be 150 Euro per ticket, the website had said $150 per ticket because I booked from the USA. After I kept questioning the 150 euro they finally said it was $150. But it didn't end there, I was told to pay at the airport at the day of departure, again they tried to charge me 150 euro, I protested again and finally got them to charge me in dollars.

BuffyBot

I've gust booked flights to Malaga and i was asked for meal preferences, but then ive been told by other people that they dont do them anymore?

You now have to purchase your food onboard with Aer Lingus, except Trans-Atlantic flights.