Flight cancellation/delay

MOH

A relative was delayed by 7 hours on Friday, on a flight which was supposed to touch down in their destination and then continue on to a second city. About 4 hours into the delay, the airline decided to skip the first stop, land in the second city, and bus people back to the skipped destination.

As far as I can see, under EU rules, no compensation is due for the delay. However, in the event of cancellation you are entitled to alternative routing to your destination and additional compensation. Would failing to land in the intermediate airport count as a cancellation of that service?

Aside from that, it was a business class ticket, and I'm pretty sure being flown to the wrong airport 7 hours late and then stuck on a bus for 2 hours doesn't really constitute a business class service, but I'm not sure how clearly defined that is.

whippet

MOH wrote: »

A relative was delayed by 7 hours on Friday, on a flight which was supposed to touch down in their destination and then continue on to a second city. About 4 hours into the delay, the airline decided to skip the first stop, land in the second city, and bus people back to the skipped destination.

As far as I can see, under EU rules, no compensation is due for the delay. However, in the event of cancellation you are entitled to alternative routing to your destination and additional compensation. Would failing to land in the intermediate airport count as a cancellation of that service?

Aside from that, it was a business class ticket, and I'm pretty sure being flown to the wrong airport 7 hours late and then stuck on a bus for 2 hours doesn't really constitute a business class service, but I'm not sure how clearly defined that is.

Am I reading in to this properly, what you are asking is for compensation when the person in question isn't really entitled to it? What was the total delay encountered by your relative in relation to the scheduled arrival time and actual arrival time at the final destination?

This really smacks of trying to get more than you are entitled to.

ejmaztec

whippet wrote: »

Am I reading in to this properly, what you are asking is for compensation when the person in question isn't really entitled to it? What was the total delay encountered by your relative in relation to the scheduled arrival time and actual arrival time at the final destination?

This really smacks of trying to get more than you are entitled to.

I think that MOH is trying to figure out whether the event constitutes a "delay", where no compensation is due, or a "cancellation", where compensation is due.

This smacks of him trying to find out what the consumer rights situation is.

MOH

whippet wrote: »

Am I reading in to this properly, what you are asking is for compensation when the person in question isn't really entitled to it? What was the total delay encountered by your relative in relation to the scheduled arrival time and actual arrival time at the final destination?

This really smacks of trying to get more than you are entitled to.

No, what I'm trying to find out is if they're entitled to compensation for a cancelled flight. I referred to the delay bit to make it clear that I've read the relevant rules and I'm aware they're not entitled to compensation for a delay, beyond the 2 phone calls, food, and hotel accommodation if it's over a day.

Total delay was over 9 hours (plane arrived over 7 hours late, the bus took 2+) . They weren't informed until about 4 hours into the delay that the intermediate stop had been cancelled, at which point it was too late to arrange an alternative flight. They were also consistently given out of date information during the delay - I was able to get more accurate info than the airline was providing after 5 mins on the web.

Basically, if cancelling one leg of a flight counts as cancellation, they are entitled to compensation under EU Law. If it doesn't, they're not.

If they're not, I'll be looking for a refund from the airline for the difference between the standard and business class fares for the return leg, as they didn't provide a business class service over the entire journey. It works out about the same anyway, but would make things easier if the claim could be made under EU compensation rules.

I don't see how it can be seen as trying to get more than they're entitled to, and frankly, I resent the insinuation.

Mods, in hindsight this might be better in Soc > Aviation, if you can move it.