Aer Lingus Delay - Refusal to pay compensation

Adam

Adam

Adam

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Here is some background:

I was delayed in April 2013 on an Aer Lingus regional flight (operated by Aer Annan) from Dublin to Southend Airport. My flight was due to depart just before 6pm, 2 separate twin prop planes subsequently failed before I was put on a flight to Gatwick getting in at 3am. I was well within my rights to head back to Dublin to stay in the 5* hotel I stayed in the previous few nights and invoicing them but I choose not to as I needed to be back at home the following day. As such they paid for my taxi from Gatwick to home (approx £100) but have so far refused to pay compensation under 261/2004. I believe I am entitled to 250 euros.

I have contacted Aer Lingus and got nowhere, their customer service is non existence. My next step was the Irish Aviation Authority, they said no I am not entitled to compensation as they consider the faults on the plane as being "extraordinary circumstances" having looked at the maintenance records. This is BS, I could understand if Ireland was suddenly caught up in a civil war or a huge weather situation hit but faults on 2 separate planes are not extraordinary and out of their control.

I'd all but written this off but it's always annoyed me. I travel to Ireland frequently and will no longer fly Aer Lingus which has cost them revenue and it sometimes would be more convenient for me.

Anyway, I saw the recent case against Jet2 (http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/law/huz...tion-regulator-over-jet2-case/5041679.article) which sets a precedent that airlines cannot claim mechanical failures are extraordinary. I emailed the Irish Aviation Authority and asked them to reconsider my case. They refused on the grounds that:

In the event that the UK Court of Appeal’s judgment in Huzar case is referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in the future and Elias LJ’s ruling is upheld, then his approach will be adopted by all of the Member States at that time. However until then it is incumbent on this Office - and indeed all national enforcement bodies - to continue to apply Regulation 261 and all related case-law in accordance with the guidance provided by the European Commission and contained within the legislation itself.
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I know I should probably forget about this and move on but out of principle I don't see why Aer Lingus should wriggle out of paying the compensation.

I'm consider getting in contact with the no win no fee solicitors who brought the case against Jet2, is there anything further I can do?
 
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So they paid for your taxi home, after two of their planes had malfunctions. Sounds to me like they did you a favour in paying for your taxi and also did you a service by not putting you on dangerous planes.

I think your asking for something you don't deserve unless the delay caused you to miss something that resulted in you losing money.
The worlds not a perfect place and that doesn't mean you deserve compensation for every tiny thing that goes wrong.

It now seems like your cutting your nose off to spite your face, with regard to not using the airline again.
My 2 pence anyway.
 
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2 separate twin prop planes subsequently failed before I was put on a flight to Gatwick

they consider the faults on the plane as being extraordinary circumstances


i agree with that^^
 
ChroniC said:
So they paid for your taxi home, after two of their planes had malfunctions. Sounds to me like they did you a favour in paying for your taxi and also did you a service by not putting you on dangerous planes.

I think your asking for something you don't deserve unless the delay caused you to miss something that resulted in you losing money.
The worlds not a perfect place and that doesn't mean you deserve compensation for every tiny thing that goes wrong.

My 2 pence anyway.
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With respect, you have no idea what you are talking about.

EU flights delayed greater than 3 hours are entitled to 250 euros compensation via EU regulation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulation_261/2004
 
I guess the point is do YOU think you deserve £250 compensation? seeing as your flight most likely cost substantially less than that and they did pay for your taxi.
If it were me I would be happy with the taxi fare but thats just me.
Rulings like this only end up putting up fares, much like the compensation culture in motor accidents end up putting up premiums as the cost will just be passed on to the consumer one way or another.
 
You do realise they would have checked if they owe you anything before telling you to do one?

They are bigger and better than you. You won't get a dime out of this.
 
Amnesia said:
2 separate twin prop planes subsequently failed before I was put on a flight to Gatwick

they consider the faults on the plane as being extraordinary circumstances


i agree with that^^
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So if I am understanding correctly you are suggesting that because the service uses a twin propeller airplane that delays are to be expected?

ChroniC said:
Well clearly I don't, however I still don't think you deserve it.

What a stupid law.
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Not really, it should hold the airline accountable for delays and protect consumers. Do you enjoy being delayed at an airport?

Clav said:
UK legal decisions have zero relevance in Ireland.
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It seems from the IAA's reply that it only becomes relevant once it reaches the Court of Justice in the European Union? Don't forget that a lot of airlines are based in Ireland so someone must have come across this scenario when the likes of Ryanair cancel/delay a flight and then simply claim it was extraordinary circumstances.
 
Adam said:
So if I am understanding correctly you are suggesting that because the service uses a twin propeller airplane that delays are to be expected?



Not really, it should hold the airline accountable for delays and protect consumers. Do you enjoy being delayed at an airport? .
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If it means I won't fall out of the sky because someone rushed something in fear of having to pay compensation, then hell yes.
I don't like delays and I'd expect them to be efficient but not at the price of my safety.

Regardless that rule exists.
 
Renton said:
I guess the point is do YOU think you deserve £250 compensation? seeing as your flight most likely cost substantially less than that and they did pay for your taxi.
If it were me I would be happy with the taxi fare but thats just me.
Rulings like this only end up putting up fares, much like the compensation culture in motor accidents end up putting up premiums as the cost will just be passed on to the consumer one way or another.
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I strongly believe I do, as would most people in my situation. If I am on a service that is due to land at 7pm (as mine was) then I don't expect to land at gone midnight and then have to find my own way home miles from where I live.

It also had a huge knock on effect to the next day as I had plans that I needed to prepare for in advance, I was inconvenienced and should be compensated for it. Paying for a taxi doesn't compensate me for the time I lost stuck in Dublin airport, unable to return to the lounge or get anything to eat etc.

pepsilol said:
You do realise they would have checked if they owe you anything before telling you to do one?

They are bigger and better than you. You won't get a dime out of this.
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We'll see, I'm not going to waste too much more time on this but I'll check every 6 months if there have been any cases which may help me, especially if it needs to go to the European court to be applicable to the Ireland.
 
Personally I am with them, while it may be unreasonable to claim a mechanical failure as extraordinary, the mechanical failure of the plane AND the backup plane defiantly is.
 
So some more information that I omitted from the OP, I forgot I had it to be honest. This was from the original Irish Aviation Authority report:

Aer Arann explained that the aircraft due to operate flight EI3308 (aircraft EI-CPT) suffered an ‘engine-startup fault’ whilst being prepared for departure. Upon investigation it was discovered that the fault would require repair and as a result the aircraft was grounded. Once it became clear that the aircraft would not be released back into service within a timely fashion Aer Arann
set about locating an alternative aircraft to operate your flight.
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Fine, I appreciate if the engine can't start I can't get to my destination. So has it been maintained correctly? Is this beyond the control of the airplane operator? I guess you could argue either way.

A spare aircraft was available from within the Aer Arann fleet and this was immediately prepared for dispatch to Dublin.Unfortunately this aircraft also suffered an unexpected technical problem and had to be grounded until repairs were made. By that time both crews (i.e. the one due to operate the original aircraft and one which would have operated the intended spare) had exceeded their legal flying hours. With no further standby crew available and no prospect of either aircraft being returned to service in the short term, AerArann state that they had no alternative but to cancel EI3308 and reroute passengers on other flights
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So the 2nd plane experienced a technical issue and then the crew were out of hours and couldn't fly. All airlines have standby staff (my brother works for an airline) so these were unavailable. This could have been for a multitude of reasons but the fact is there was no one to fly me home on the service I had paid for.

The airline obviously has a choice to pay crew to be on standby for every eventuality which is obviously not cost effective, but if this decision means they have to cancel a flight then surely they should be paying customers for the inconvenience of having their time wasted. You can't have it both ways.

Anyway, have I missed anything or another route I haven't considered?
 
I haven't heard of the regulations but I wouldn't have thought airlines would be responsible for compensating people where safety is the primary concern. I know it's possible to get insurance to cover any eventualities that could lead to cancellations and delays and can be used as a way to cover losses, which would probably amount to accommodation and travel costs.

In any event, I would probably be disappointed with the delay but I doubt pursuing this will lead to any form of compensation, beyond an apology.

I can't really see a solicitor taking this case on either due to the value of the compensation.
 
I currently have a claim in with Monarch for a 5+ hour delay in Corfu airport for myself and the Mrs. We are "eligible" for 330 Euros each as a result.
I have filled in all the forms, and sent them off. It was a horrible delay.We had to spend 5 hours in a tiny airport (those of you who have had such an experience will know how bad that can be) not being give much, if any information.
Just waiting for a response now.
Do we deserve it? Who can tell, I know for sure I would have happily paid a couple of hundred quid per person not to have to experience it though!
Good luck with your claim.
 
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