[AMcWhirter]

Trade body IATA wants EU261 to be reformed.

IATA DG Willy Walsh is quoted as saying the cost of EU261 claims “continues to balloon.”

And “The situation is no longer sustainable.”

https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/air/iata-director-demands-reform-of-eu-261-compensation-rule

[cwoodward]

I have the opinion that IATA is very possibly past its ‘use by date’ particularly with the clumsy WW at the helm.

5 users thanked author for this post.

MarkCymru, esselle, DerekVH, Jacob, Phil_Duncan

[AJDC]

So instead of having the airlines stop creating the mess that this rule addresses, it is preferred to scrap the law that holds them accountable when they create a mess for passengers? Really?

My last trip on AA out of Italy flying back to the USA, the flight arrived close to 4 hours later than it should have done. I subsequently missed my connecting flight on another carrier to my final destination. I was charged an additional $370 to get to my destination. Without EU261 I would have no redress. Thank God for EU261.

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MarkCymru, FDOS, Phil_Duncan

[AlanOrton1]

Thanks for sharing Alex.

I’m a little torn on this.

I do think the idea of some compensation for a set of agreed upon delays is warranted. Particularly if there are missed connections etc.

A small part of me is a little wary of what I feel is a cultural creep towards an over reliance on compensation as soon as anything goes wrong.

Perhaps I’m wrong but the more airlines pay out in compensation I suspect gets loaded back into increased fares(?).

So perhaps WW does have a very small point but overall I don’t get the impression EC 261 is going anywhere.

Are there any other schemes similar to EC 261 used elsewhere in the world in the aviation sector?

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Inquisitive, cwoodward

[Phil_Duncan]

I have a feeling Willie Walsh can kick, scream and throw his toys out of his cot until his face goes more scarlet than usual and EU 261 will either remain exactly as it is or indeed passenger protection will be increased. He hated it when it was introduced because it meant airlines had to provide something called ‘customer service’ in exchange for the fare a passenger paid instead of treating them as an afterthought and inconvenience on the way to making huge executive bonuses and shareholder dividends.

Without the huge executive bonuses and investment sapping shareholder dividends, neither of which is a right, airlines would have plenty of money to invest in for instance, IT, something which at BA he ran into the ground with lack of investment and it resulted in, during the time of Cruz, his sidekick, the airline in total shut down because of system failures.

Remember the weekend BA closed down because someone flicked a switch that they shouldn’t have done and the whole airline shut down for about three days? There was no back up?

IMO that was criminally irresponsible.

9 users thanked author for this post.

Travelfoot, maxgeorge, MarkCymru, MarcusGB, esselle, DerekVH, Jacob, cwoodward, AJDC

[AJDC]

If you have not, you should read the following thread: BA cancels Chicago flight at short notice and causes inconvenience for hundreds”

This is why EU261 should be strengthened if anything.

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FDOS, Ian

[stevescoots]

Never had to use it myself to claim, but certainly its needed to keep the airlines to account

[YorkshireTraveller]

Of course WW would say that. If airlines built in more resilience instead of squeezing every once of cash out of thier operations then we wouldnt need EU261 in the first place. Simples!

1 user thanked author for this post.

MarkCymru

[MarcusGB]

It is refreshing to see in Schiphol Amsterdam Airport, the “Rights of Passengers” EU261, posted all through the airport, guiding everyone to exactly what their options and entitlements are, regardless of any Airline!

1 user thanked author for this post.

FDOS

[FDOS]

@Marcus – has the security clearance issue at AMS gone away, do you know?

I may need to travel there next month and it was horrendous last year.

[Midlands Traveller]

@FDOS – I passed through AMS a couple of weeks ago. Security on leaving was super quick, a few minutes only. Not having to remove laptops etc makes a real difference.

On the main topic of EU261, my observation would be that it could be made considerably simpler in two ways. Firstly by having a set amount of compensation regardless of the distance travelled (why does that make a difference?). Secondly by requiring the airlines to issue the statutory compensation automatically. I believe that would actually be less costly for the airlines than processing an equivalent amount of individual claims – but I suspect they rely on many affected passengers not making claims. In any case, if it is due then it is due and they should just pay it.

Picking up on the point of AlanOrton1, for sure this will go into the ticket price and indeed must do so already. The less disruption caused by the airlines, the lower prices can be. It’s in their hands actually.

I’ve set a personal record of 3 cancelled flights (and one cancelled train) in the past two months. Three entirely different routes and three different airlines (KLM, LH, BA). Got compensation from KLM, LH was due to weather and I’m still waiting for BA to say something about not taking me to OPO last week…

1 user thanked author for this post.

FDOS

[AlanOrton1]

Midlands Traveller – I hope your experience in waiting for BA is better than mine.
Raised a claim on 2 Jan. An auto response but then zilch. Had to go via CEDR. BA confirmed compensation was indeed due on……25 June!

2 users thanked author for this post.

FDOS, Midlands Traveller

[Midlands Traveller]

A somewhat interesting update on my claim to BA mentioned above. They came back to me in a few days and advised the cancellation was due to thunderstorms in the area and no compensation is due. Fair enough. Although as per my earlier observation they could have made it easier for both parties simply by automating the process.

That is not the interesting bit. What is, is that a couple of days ago I received a text to my phone asking if I had a cancelled flight and wanted to make a claim. To put that into context I have never had such a text in my life before, have not given my phone number to any such company and did not receive such an offer following cancellations with KLM and LH in recent weeks.

Bearing in mind the other thread on this forum regarding BA and claims handling companies, methinks BA has a bit of a problem. Either their systems are compromised (not exactly unheard of for this airline) or someone on the inside is feeding leads for a bit of cash.

[FDOS]

@Midlands Traveller – there appears to be something fishy, I’ve heard this from several sources, now.

Could lead to another data breach action by ICO.

[HKFlyer]

It might not be obvious from the media coverage. But EU261 IS limited to specific types of delays. It does not apply to every single delay regardless of reason. The idea is to address issues that the airlines have control over and might be tempted to optimize too far in the interest of cost cutting.

[Author]

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