Flight Delays

[Munkfish]

Hi all,

I recently suffered a 5 hour flight delay, by no means the worst delay i've ever had, but has anyone claimed compensation under EU legislation?

I was told by a friend they recieved 600 Euros back on a recent flight that was delayed over 5 hours.

Has anyone else claimed and is it worth the hassle of going through?

 

[danielson81]

See: http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/passenger-rights/air/

Yes!

Financial compensation

In addition, if you are denied boarding, your flight is cancelled or arrives more than 3 hours late on arrival at the final destination stated on your ticket, you may be entitled to compensation of €250 - 600, depending on the distance of the flight:

Within the EU

1,500 km or less – €250
over 1,500 km – €400

Between EU airport and non-EU airport

1,500 km or less – €250
1,500 – 3,500 km – €400
over 3,500 km – €600

Edit : UK Link here: http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?pageid=12743

It appears the limit became 3 hours in October 2012, instead of 5.

http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=2211&pageid=14023

 

[ali jenkins]

Martin Lewis on Money Saving Expert had a big thing on this the other month, worth having a look on there.

 

[algie]

If it's anything to do with the French striking recently then i doubt you will be able to claim. There are exceptional circumstances where airline companies don't need to pay out.

 

[Telscombe Seagull]

look into it but i think the airline only pays if they are at fault. As algie has mentioned anything like strike, snowbound runways etc that the airline has no control over and its not their responsability.

 

[Munkfish]

This way due to the plane having a fault and they couldnt fix it.

So we ended up having to wait for another plane to land and turn around so we could use that instead.

 

[TheJasperCo]

Very topical this thread, because I had a flight back from Geneva yesterday that was delayed by almost 2 hours. That in itself seemed like an eternity, so I can imagine how bad a five or more hour delay would be.

 

[LadySeagull]

This was due to the plane having a fault and they couldnt fix it.

So we ended up having to wait for another plane to land and turn around so we could use that instead.

A mechanical fault has specifically been clarified in EU law as NOT an excuse for the Airline because in almost every case normal maintenance checks are considered to be able to prevent such 'unexpected faults' which cause flight delays.

But don't expect the Airline to cough up without invoking Small Claims Court (or dragging them close to Court). It took us two years to get an Airline to cough up for a 24 hour flight delay = compensation to the tune of 400 Euro per passenger, plus the cost of taxi transfers and hotel accommodation/food/refreshments too. And even though I had written citing the EU law 261/2004 within a few weeks, they only paid when my solicitor wrote to them saying the same thing on headed notepaper!

Luckily I had free legal cover on my house insurance policy! Do you? Check your policies! And read the MSE website article on reclaiming because they have template letters.

 

[Since1982]

Just in the middle of trying to get Monarch to pay up after a 25 hour delay coming back from Sharm. They try every trick in the book to avoid paying but worth checking if you have legal cover on your home insurance which should provide advice and cover for this sort of dispute.

 

[hitony]

A mechanical fault has specifically been clarified in EU law as NOT an excuse for the Airline because in almost every case normal maintenance checks are considered to be able to prevent such 'unexpected faults' which cause flight delays.

But don't expect the Airline to cough up without invoking Small Claims Court (or dragging them close to Court). It took us two years to get an Airline to cough up for a 24 hour flight delay = compensation to the tune of 400 Euro per passenger, plus the cost of taxi transfers and hotel accommodation/food/refreshments too. And even though I had written citing the EU law 261/2004 within a few weeks, they only paid when my solicitor wrote to them saying the same thing on headed notepaper!

Luckily I had free legal cover on my house insurance policy! Do you? Check your policies! And read the MSE website article on reclaiming because they have template letters.

It's so good that we live in a perfect world!! Maybe the pilot should have found the fault at 32,000 feet...............I doubt anyone would have been to concerned about compensation at 32,000 feet!!!

****ing claim culture world we live in!! does my head in..........we all end up paying for it in the long run..............

Awaits the flaming.............

 

[hitony]

Just in the middle of trying to get Monarch to pay up after a 25 hour delay coming back from Sharm. They try every trick in the book to avoid paying but worth checking if you have legal cover on your home insurance which should provide advice and cover for this sort of dispute.

Watch Air Crash Investigation......there's quite a few people on that who would have been quite pleased about a 25 hour delay.

 

[Woodchip]

****ing claim culture world we live in!! does my head in..........we all end up paying for it in the long run..............

Awaits the flaming.............

It isn't a claim culture worldas NZ hasn't been struck down by this disease of pure greed yet.

However I do agree whole heartedly with the sentiments of your post. The claim culture only makes lawyers richer.

 

[Telscombe Seagull]

It's so good that we live in a perfect world!! Maybe the pilot should have found the fault at 32,000 feet...............I doubt anyone would have been to concerned about compensation at 32,000 feet!!!

****ing claim culture world we live in!! does my head in..........we all end up paying for it in the long run..............

Awaits the flaming.............

fully agree, working for an airline i know that the profits on a seat are tiny, circa £8-10 per person profit is considered very good!

 

[Lady Whistledown]

There was an article about this in the Guardian travel section a couple of weeks ago- people seemed to be getting some joy by going via the Small Claims court.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2013/jun/15/airline-compensation-delayed-passengers

 

[Since1982]

Watch Air Crash Investigation......there's quite a few people on that who would have been quite pleased about a 25 hour delay.

Not really the point is it though? I have no desire to fly on a plane that has a fault obviously but EU law requires airlines to compensate passengers when delays occur other than those caused by exceptional circumstances. That's what the regs say so an airline which wants to fly in or out of Europe needs to abide by them.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

But delays are never the airline's fault. Every Easyjet flight I seem to a catch starts with a tale of woe from the pilot detailing who and what was to blame for delaying his plane.

 

[matt_32510]

But delays are never the airline's fault. Every Easyjet flight I seem to a catch starts with a tale of woe from the pilot detailing who and what was to blame for delaying his plane.

Very true often the handling agents fault.

 

[Woodchip]

But delays are never the airline's fault. Every Easyjet flight I seem to a catch starts with a tale of woe from the pilot detailing who and what was to blame for delaying his plane.

Don't fly JetStar. They are SHOCKING!!!

 

[Munkfish]

It's so good that we live in a perfect world!! Maybe the pilot should have found the fault at 32,000 feet...............I doubt anyone would have been to concerned about compensation at 32,000 feet!!!

****ing claim culture world we live in!! does my head in..........we all end up paying for it in the long run..............

Awaits the flaming.............

I take your point and i'm not overally bothered by it, however I didnt arrive home in brighton until 4.30 in the morning, i went into work but then got sent home for emergancy holiday as i was shattered, which went unpaid, I also had to arrange for a taxi to pick me up from heathrow instead of the free lift i had arranged.

Now all i asked for was a for them to compensate the taxi journey of £85.

 

[Munkfish]

Well I have just recieved a very nice email from BA informing me that they will be compensating me 600 euros.