Aer Lingus Schedule Change

Garlic Suplmnt

Going to France for a friends wedding in August, Dublin -> Paris, Paris -> Clermont.

I get an email from Aer Lingus today, 2 hours and 46 minutes after booking the return flights to Paris from Dublin, announcing they have rescheduled the return leg to depart 50 minutes earlier than the time advertised when I made the booking.

Trouble with this is it now means we are going to miss the return flight to Dublin as we won't get into Paris in time to make the flight home.

I ring Aer Lingus at the number they provided in their notification email, who then proceed to shake me down for another 40 <SNIP> euros per person.

Do I just have to take <SNIP>, or is it worth trying to fight this at all? Anyone else had a similar experience?

I swear to God, I have not been this angry in quite a while. These <SNIP> can just pull a new time <SNIP> and completely <SNIP> your arrangements up, and rip you off in the process.

keithclancy

Garlic Suplmnt wrote: »

Going to France for a friends wedding in August, Dublin -> Paris, Paris -> Clermont.

I get an email from Aer Lingus today, 2 hours and 46 minutes after booking the return flights to Paris from Dublin, announcing they have rescheduled the return leg to depart 50 minutes earlier than the time advertised when I made the booking.

Trouble with this is it now means we are going to miss the return flight to Dublin as we won't get into Paris in time to make the flight home.

I ring Aer Lingus at the number they provided in their notification email, who then proceed to shake me down for another 40 <SNIP> euros per person.

Do I just have to take <SNIP>, or is it worth trying to fight this at all? Anyone else had a similar experience?

I swear to God, I have not been this angry in quite a while. These <SNIP> can just pull a new time <SNIP> and completely <SNIP> your arrangements up, and rip you off in the process.

This is the problem when you book seperate tickets yourself, it's ALOT cheaper but if the airline reschedules one of your flight it can really create a bit mess.

You would have no issue if you booked all the flights with AerLingus.

daheff

I would think that because they changed the flight times that you have a right to a free change of flight or cancellation (especially since they changed it within a few hours of you booking).

Pythia

This is why you should only book flights that are on one ticket.

Have a look here:

http://www.flightrights.ie/common-questions.24.html

pow wow

I had the same issue with American Airlines and they had a rule that a schedule change within two hours of the original departure time was acceptable and they were under no obligation to refund me. However when I provided proof of an onward connection with another airline they agreed to get me out on an earlier flight.

There is a clause within the Aer Lingus t&cs which allows them to change the times by up to two hours either way without having to refund you. See Article 9.1 here, particularly 9.1.1 and 9.1.2

Chris_5339762

I think this could be one of those times where being nice about it works wonders. If you go up to them bulling, you won't get anywhere but if you explain your plight gently they will be more likely to help you.

jacko1

Get on to them and rebook for a later Aer Lingus flight out of Paris - they should'nt charge

By the way - for Clermont would it not have been easier to fly to Lyon?

Garlic Suplmnt

Thanks for all the replies. It looks like the only recourse is a 'strongly worded letter', although that might just rake the coals. I'd rather just forget about it than get angry about it all over again. I won't ever forget this though, and if I can get anywhere without having to fly with them I won't.

I think on one level we all have some kind of affinity with our 'national carrier', probably stemming back from when you were a kid. The first time you flew (depending what age you are now I suppose) was probably on Aer Lingus - you used to feel a bit closer to home if you ever saw the green tail of an Aer Lingus plane at a foreign airport. All that's gone up in smoke now as far as I'm concerned, to me they're nothing but a bunch of cheap money grabbing highwaymen. But I'm sure they couldnt give a monkey's anyway, they have their €80.

BuffyBot

I'm not quite sure what they've done wrong, apart from chage their schedule, which is a fact of life with air travel. You took a gamble, which unfortunately didn't pay off. That is the risk you undertook when making seperate bookings.