[Anonymous]

[seasonedtraveller]

I have had various conflicting tales so I wanted to ask on here.

A recent example was a single ticket, Aarhus to Manchester via Copenhagen with SAS. Flight from Aarhus arrived 30 mins late & therefore, I missed to connection to MAN. After waiting in line at the SAS ticket desk I was eventually told I was re-booked to MAN, 9 hours later. So, instead of arriving MAN at 0930, I was now to arrive at 1830. An entire day’s business lost. When I asked exactly what they suggested I do in Copenhagen airport for the day, I was met with the usual indifference that we are normally treated to on such an occasion. After another hour of trying, the best they could offer was “We can get you to London” – 200 miles from Manchester.
I have complained to SAS and heard nothing.

Yesterday, with Lufthansa, my flight to Dusseldorf was suddenly cancelled, 5 mins before we were due to board, no reason was given. An hour in the queue at ticketing, I was handed another boarding card, no explanation, no apology, getting me to DUS via Munich, arriving in DUS at 23.00 (I had been due to arrive at 18.45) – the dinner I was due to attend finished as I finally arrived into my hotel at 23.50.
Can anyone tell me what rights I have in situations like this?

In 2 weeks, an entire business day lost and yesterday, a business event lost.
Are the airlines allowed to simply walk over you & your business?

[Swissdiver]

In Europe:

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/passengers/air/air_en.htm

and more specifically in your case:

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32004R0261:EN:HTML

[BusinessTraveller]

See our feature on Passenger Rights here:

http://www.businesstraveller.com/archive/2010/may-2010/special-reports/what-are-my-rights

[craigwatson]

I would say its more your fault than the airlines. they only need to get you from point A to point B in a reasonable time frame. If you book a flight to get in just before a dinner, you get what you deserve. go in the morning, or be prepared to miss it. Again for your first example, if it was an important day of meetings then you should go the night before, or again be prepared to miss it.

Flights are delayed ALL the time, in some circumstances it’s the airlines fault, but in many cases it may be due to ATC delays which then cause follow on problems with aircraft out of position, and airlines may have to make a decision to cancel

[FlyingChinaman]

Craigwatson is quite right in suggesting never plan your important business travel so tight that should a delay occured all your plans fall apart!

[Potakas]

Just to add that my girlfriend had a ”delay” of 11 hours (next day) LGW-EDI with BA , we sent to BA claiming for the EU compensation. BA had the same flight number the next day but she told them that on the EU passenger’s rights website states that:

”If the delay is more than five hours, and you decide not to continue your journey, you are also entitled to have your ticket reimbursed and be flown back to where you originally started your journey.

If you get to your final destination with a delay of three hours or more, you may be entitled to identical compensation to that offered when your flight gets cancelled, unless the airline can prove that the delay was caused by extraordinary circumstances. Additionally, airlines can be held liable for damages resulting from delays. ”

So that make sense with the BT’s article which states :

”Last November, the European Court of Justice ruled that delays of three hours or more were to be treated in the same way as cancelled flights. This means passengers can claim €250-€600 in compensation depending on the length of delay and the distance between destinations, provided the reason for the delay is within the airline’s control – the real deal-breaker. The ruling has been criticised by the airlines, who say it could cost them up to €5 billion a year, forcing them to increase ticket prices. But they are not required to publish what they pay out.”

I haven’t heard back as we sent it yesterday but I will update here as soon as hear back.

Regards

PS It is important in your case the phrase : ”Additionally, airlines can be held liable for damages resulting from delays.”

[Potakas]

John I agree with you,

For example I bought an offer from BA which was available only ex-LON, as I live in Edinburgh I will get a flight EDI-LGW on the previous day leaving time for two more EDI-LGW flights before my ex-LON holiday, I think this is the most wise thing that you can do especially if you book flights on separate tickets.

Although on some circumstances this is not possible. If you have to leave a place on a specific time and be in another again on a specific time.

The most weird thing I had was once with easyjet. I had a connection at LGW, both flights with easyjet, different tickets and I had waiting time 2.15 hours instead of 2.30 that easyjet wants you to have, I landed late at LGW and then at the check in desk they told me that they cannot let me check my luggagde, fair enough as it was my fault that I didn’t book according to their rules.. (sort off 15 minutes) BUT the next flight had a delay of 2 hours !!!!! and i was begging them to let me check my luggage without result…;(

[DisgustedofSwieqi]

I can’t believe some of the comments on here.

Businesses do not have time to spare to allow employees to take flights with leisurely connections, especially on short haul routes.

Many is the time I have to work and then take the last flight of the day to the next destination.

EU241/2004 is hated by the airlines, but it does seem to be knocking some sense into their skulls that their customers are the centre of their universe, not them.

If Ryanair can despatch a very high number of flights on time, with everything outsourced at their locations, then so can other airlines.

The airlines still have neanderthal customer service attitudes.

[RHMAngel]

“The airlines still have neanderthal customer service attitudes”.

Quite, so do train companies, they get bodies (not customers/passengers) from A to B, when & how they see fit to their operational plans, scheduled or screwed.

Anything more, is on the onus of having a polite company rep standing in front of you…some are fabulous delivering bad news while some are related to Mr Basil Fawty 😉

…but in all seriousness – business is tight deadlines yes, but airlines delivering you at your destination on time, is a bonus rather than right… and connections just wide open to a long equation of events beyond one airline’s control….2 hours MIN for connection in Europe… 3 hours MIN for long haul connection – is my personal rule (based on missed connections and lost luggage & me making the connection)…

Morale – fly direct at all costs ….and have 3 hours prior to any appointment (immigration, taxi, hotel etc etc)

[DisgustedofSwieqi]

“so do train companies”

Not on Malta 🙂

[KeaneJohn]

In reply to some of the comments about time pressures etc meaning that travel has to be done at a certain time.

Whilst this may be the case, if you push your schedules and commitments so closely together in the event of a 50 minute connection and a 30 minute delay or a cancelled flight you *ARE* going to lose a whole day’s business or a business dinner.

I guess it is a risk/reward scenario for the individual traveller to decide on.

I guess that I was just lucky that SWISS were proactive in dealing with all passengers with tight connections and my delay.

[seasonedtraveller]

CRAIGWATSON – Thank you for your comments but I must say that you are assuming far too much. Firstly, I was returning to the UK where I live after being in DK on business. Therefore it was not possible to simply “Travel the night before” – I wasted an entire day stuck in the airport when I should have been sitting at my desk in Leeds.
Secondly, Like so many people on this forum, I fly pretty much every week…..week in, week out and do not have the luxury of setting off sooner to avoid airline delays. If I book with a business airline, like Lufthansa or SAS (as opposed to say, Ryanair), my expectation is that I will be delivered to my destination at the time it states in the schedule, not 9 hours later (for a flight that only takes 90 minutes in the first place)

I should also point out that the Aarhus Manchester flight was on a single ticket issued by SAS and that the connection time was 60 mins (of which 30 were lost) – This is the connection that I was offered by SAS not simply something that I had tried to book seperately

[craigwatson]

the fact that they offered to get you to london (from which you could have been in leeds 2 hours later, means your “day in the office” couldnt have been that important or you could still have had half a day in the office.

The airline does NOT have an obligation to get people from point A to point B at a specific time, people should realize this, and plan accordingly. In air travel there are just to many variables to make schedules an absolute.

And im sorry if im way off the mark here, but how late can a dinner start for you to be arriving AT the airport at 18:45, and then complain that you missed it.

It’s compensation culture gone mad!

[Potakas]

Also in our life (many variables), rules are rules and as we have to be at the airport on time also the airline should honor the contract that have with us. That’s why EU has some specific regulations about that.

[Author]

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