Jump to content

Compensation - Cancelled Flights


john luke

Recommended Posts

As I am sure many of you will know under EU legislation passengers are entitled to compensation if their flight is cancelled with either less than 7 days notice or less than 14 days notice.  The compensation is 600 Euro if cancelled with less than 7 days notice and 300 Euro if cancelled at less than 14days notice.  The escape clause for the airlines is if the flight was cancelled due to extraordinary circumstances which were beyond the control of the airline.

A large number of flights have been cancelled and there were two views:

1 Cancellation was due to the Corvid 19 virus.

2 Cancellation was due to their being insufficient passengers for the flight to become economic for the airline.

 

There are factors to support both.  Public interest would probably suggest that airlines should not have to pay compensation as it is likely to bancrupt many airlines; indeed many may go out of business anyway.

 

Bott and Co are a leading firm of solicitors specialising in flight cancellations and flight delays.  Senior staff from the firm often appear on tv as experts in those fields.  As can be seen below they take the view that a court would probably attribute the cancellations to the Corvid 19 virus.

Capture.JPG

 

 

For information of board members.

 

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jet2 refunded me in full inside 4 days.

They are using Force Majeure in regards to compensation.

Personally, I don't really think compensation should be paid due to this, I think a full refund should be enough, the airlines are not negligent in this.

But's that's only my opinion. 

  • Like 2
  • Thumbs Up 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The EU recently issued guidance notes to explain how EU261 should be applied in the current situation.  I'm pretty sure they also said that Covid could be deemed an extraordinary circumstance.

An interesting point was that the airlines' "duty of care" still exists which basically means food and board at their cost until you've been re-routed or whatever to get to your destination.  Could be some big bills run up there if anyone can take advantage of it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, Krapow said:

Jet2 refunded me in full inside 4 days.

They are using Force Majeure in regards to compensation.

Personally, I don't really think compensation should be paid due to this, I think a full refund should be enough, the airlines are not negligent in this.

But's that's only my opinion. 

Agoda are giving 100% refunds based upon "Force Majeure" even on non-refundable Hotel bookings. Perfectly reasonable on reservations which have not yet reached their start date but good luck trying to get Hotels to make a refund on reservations which should have already taken place or where the Hotel has closed, maybe for good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, Jambo said:

Agoda are giving 100% refunds based upon "Force Majeure" even on non-refundable Hotel bookings. Perfectly reasonable on reservations which have not yet reached their start date but good luck trying to get Hotels to make a refund on reservations which should have already taken place or where the Hotel has closed, maybe for good.

Agoda must have changed their position on this because when I tried claiming a refund for my hotel booking over Easter they would only credit my account in the form of a gift card to be used for future bookings. This was on the 24th March 2020 that they credited my account without offering a refund. They also only gave me 2 months to make another booking with the gift card.

I had booked 2 rooms over Easter at the same place, one with Agoda and the other with Booking.com. Booking.com refunded me back the money straight away.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, thegrogmonster said:

Agoda must have changed their position on this because when I tried claiming a refund for my hotel booking over Easter they would only credit my account in the form of a gift card to be used for future bookings. This was on the 24th March 2020 that they credited my account without offering a refund. They also only gave me 2 months to make another booking with the gift card.

I had booked 2 rooms over Easter at the same place, one with Agoda and the other with Booking.com. Booking.com refunded me back the money straight away.

Yes, the decision to invoke "Force Majeure" is, as I understand it, a quite recent corporate decision by Agoda.

Normally booking agents such as Agoda/Expedia/Booking.com have to abide by the cancellation policy ( there can be several different ones) instructed to them by an individual Hotel. They have to get the permission of the hotel to waive the agreed cancellation terms for any individual booking. When I was involved at the sharp end there were occasions when I readily agreed to waive the cancellation penalties and other occasions when I most definitely did not particularly when left with an empty room that could have been offered to another customer.

Invoking "Force Majeure" effectively gets round the cancellation restrictions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was due to fly back to London on April 13th, business class with Oman. No refund offered, but "within the validity period" (whenever that maybe, nothing on the e-ticket) they will offer me an alternative flight if that's possible.

To be honest, these are God-awful times for almost everybody except Jeff Bezos, lol, and if I lose the money then I'll just write it off as part of the expense from C19. This is no time to worry about a few quid.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In fairness to Finnair. I was in Thailand and had a flight booked back on 31st March 2020.  

It was not possible to contact Finnar prior to a time of 72 hours before the flight was due to depart, however within the allowed 72 hour period I used a chat facility on the Finnair Website and managed to get through to a human agent pretty quickly.  The agent did a couple of security checks (e mail address, booking reference and date of birth) and took less than five minutes to transfer me onto a Qatar Flight leaving on 1st April 2020.

 

There were only five passengers on the first leg from Bangkok to Doha and service was excellent; food good choice and good quality too.  Also had Q suite.

Doha airport was very quiet and I had a drink and a snack on the Qatar lounge.

Doha to Manchester the business class cabin was a little less than half full.  Again service and food quality good.

 

I am sure Qatar have reputationally done themselves a lot of good, picking up a lot of passengers from other airlines wishing to get back to UK.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

STA cops $14m fine as travel agents struggle with virus backlash
 

Updated Apr 24, 2020 – 4.31pm, first published at 1.33pm

STA Travel has been hit with a massive $14 million fine for making false advertising claims about extra fees, in a product the travel outfit was paying bonuses to staff to push.

Melbourne-based STA Travel, which started in 1971 and is now part of the Zurich-based Diethelm Keller, will also have to pay $200,000 in legal costs to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission as part of a Federal Court ruling.

"Consumers were misled into purchasing the MultiFLEX Pass on the representation that they would not have to pay anything further for date changes to their flights, when, in fact, STA often charged consumers hundreds of dollars for changing their flights," ACCC commissioner Sarah Court said on Friday.

 

The order comes amid anger from customers over difficulties contacting travel agents, fees associated with cancelling some plans, changes to refund policies and long delays in refunds during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sector giant Flight Centre changed some policies on Friday following complaints, but ACCC chairman Rod Sims said the regulator was still not satisfied with its moves on cancellation fees.

Travel outfit Intrepid, after ACCC discussions, agreed to honour refund-policies that had been active when customers earlier booked journeys, before it recently changed terms and conditions and offered credit instead.

Mr Sims said the STA action marked a large fine under previous penalty regimes. “The essence of consumer law is don’t mislead consumers,” he told AFR Weekend.

“With STA, it’s very much a representation by a significant company that was just wrong.”

The ACCC had initially sued STA in March last year, allegingthat the 50-store travel outfit had generated almost $12 million in revenue from selling the passes since 2011 and had charged an extra $1 million in fees and commissions for customers making date changes.

On Friday, the competition watchdog said that in 12 per cent of cases, "STA Travel charged MultiFLEX Pass customers to make a change to a flight although the airline itself had not charged STA Travel anything at all for the change".

The court ordered that consumer law was contravened in brochure wording such as: "Travelling should be about having the freedoms and flexibility to change your plans, which is why you can now make easy prepaid date changes to your flights without ever paying airline or admin fees."

 

https://www.afr.com/companies/tourism/sta-cops-14m-fine-as-travel-agents-adjust-to-virus-backlash-20200424-p54my6

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
 

this ia a email i got sent from qatar u can change free or even get a refund but only on flights upto sept 30th

Qatar Airways has been connecting people and places since 1994. Since then, millions of you have entrusted us to fly you safely to the people and places you care about.

I am grateful for this trust, which I know must be continually earned. That is why I wanted to personally update you, our valued customer, on how Qatar Airways is responding to COVID-19.

Today, we find ourselves, along with the rest of the world, in an unprecedented situation. Having been with this airline since its very early days, I have seen the business through many challenges, but these circumstances are unparalleled.

During this time, our top priority is the safety of our customers, employees, and the communities in which we serve.


Safe operations, flexible bookings

First, I want to assure you that we are working very closely with national and international authorities at this time. We plan our service operations and set our policies and procedures in line with their guidelines, with no exceptions.

Like other airlines, we are temporarily suspending flights to many countries to prevent the spread of coronavirus. It is our intention to reinstate these flights when we return to regular conditions.

To make life easier for our customers during these challenging times, we introduced a new, flexible travel with confidence policy. If you book tickets for travel up to 30 September 2020, you can alter your travel date free of charge, exchange your ticket for a future travel voucher, or get a refund.


Taking you home safely

While most people have cancelled upcoming travel plans to stay safe at home, for some this was not an option. The rapid increase in entry restrictions and flight cancellations left hundreds and thousands of people stranded abroad.

At Qatar Airways, we have worked tirelessly to ensure that those stranded abroad can fly home to their loved ones. Working with governments around the world to maintain a strong schedule of flights, and organising charter flights where needed, we have helped over one million people get home safely.

When people are flying with us, they can expect the highest possible hygiene standards. We deliver against this through regularly disinfected aircraft, using IATA and WHO recommended cleaning products, and offer robust training to staff. We have increased the frequency of cleaning on our aircraft, global lounge network, and here at Hamad International Airport.


Thanks to our employees

It goes without saying that this would not have been possible without our employees – especially our crew and ground staff. I am extremely grateful for their hard work and dedication.

Their safety is vital, which is why we introduced additional precautionary measures.

Our crew now wear masks and disposable gloves and we have introduced training to minimise their chances of contracting or spreading the infection.

They are thermally screened when they arrive back into Doha, and are quarantined and tested if any colleagues or passengers on a flight show any symptoms of infection or test positive for the virus.


Supporting supply chains

In a global economy, it is vital that food and medical supplies can reach people around the world.

Qatar Airways Cargo has played an important role, and during this difficult time we continue to provide the transportation of fresh food produce, as well as medical supplies at a discounted rate.

In the past month alone, the airline has transported over 50 million kg of medical and aid supplies to impacted regions around the globe.

I would like to thank you once again for your continued trust and confidence in Qatar Airways at this time. Although the path ahead may seem uncertain, I have no doubt that we will get through this crisis. As an airline, we will continue to put the safety of our customers at the heart of everything we do.

Travel will remain an essential part of life, both yours and ours. Until we can welcome you onboard again, I wish you good safety and health.

Yours sincerely,
CEO-signature2.jpg
Akbar Al Baker
Group Chief Executive, Qatar Airways Group
  • Great Info 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

i am in the reverse situation.  i want to fly home to see 90 yr old mum  but she is in self isolation, 2 plus monhts now.  so if i flew i would be talking thru the window.  then coming back would be a nightmare.  I amamazed to read arrivals in UK  just go thru as normal

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, tommy dee said:

i am in the reverse situation.  i want to fly home to see 90 yr old mum  but she is in self isolation, 2 plus monhts now.  so if i flew i would be talking thru the window.  then coming back would be a nightmare.  I amamazed to read arrivals in UK  just go thru as normal

Yeah, I can't believe that. A month or so back at the height of the outbreak in Italy they had flights arriving in London from northern Italy and zero checks on the passengers. Even now, when the virus is killing the equivalent of two Jumbo Jets full of people every day in the UK, they are still letting people waltz in.

Apparently it's advice from the WHO, they claim that travel restrictions are the least effective way of dealing with the virus. Well that sounds like bollox to me, but who am I to argue with the experts? That is, until I stumbled upon the official NHS web page about the original SARS virus.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sars/

Among other things, it clearly states this:

The SARS pandemic was eventually brought under control in July 2003, following a policy of isolating people suspected of having the condition and screening all passengers travelling by air from affected countries for signs of the infection.

So why are the idiots still letting people enter the country freely? Can't they read their own websites?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

46 minutes ago, Toy Boy said:

Yeah, I can't believe that. A month or so back at the height of the outbreak in Italy they had flights arriving in London from northern Italy and zero checks on the passengers. Even now, when the virus is killing the equivalent of two Jumbo Jets full of people every day in the UK, they are still letting people waltz in.

Apparently it's advice from the WHO, they claim that travel restrictions are the least effective way of dealing with the virus. Well that sounds like bollox to me, but who am I to argue with the experts? That is, until I stumbled upon the official NHS web page about the original SARS virus.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/sars/

Among other things, it clearly states this:

The SARS pandemic was eventually brought under control in July 2003, following a policy of isolating people suspected of having the condition and screening all passengers travelling by air from affected countries for signs of the infection.

So why are the idiots still letting people enter the country freely? Can't they read their own websites?

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Point in question is that a lot of airlines are not surprisingly in serious trouble. Paying refunds is certainly to be considered normal but is putting enormous cashflow problems as opposed to accepting vouchers which is what I would do. As for EU compensation thats just taking the piss

Fares are going to be high for the forseeable future once this is done and dusted in 2-3 years time

Edited by RR007
Link to comment
Share on other sites

×
×
  • Create New...