What’s the most extraordinary excuse you’ve heard?

If airlines do end up having to pay out more by way of compensation, then I would expect to see the costs passed on to passengers by way of fare increases.

This may also result in a competitive advantage for more punctual airlines, because their fares may not have to rise as much as those of their less efficient competitors.

Personally, I’d sooner arrive later (in safety) than earlier (on equipment that has been rushed into service to avoid financial penalties). I really don’t want to see airlines cutting corners on maintenance just to avoid financial penalties .

From Bristol to Faro, 3 hours late excuse ‘the pilot did not turn up’ had to fly another in from Belfast.

I was two days later getting home and had to go via another country and stay overnight in another country. This was due to “industrial action” – NO OTHER AIRLINES had a problem sorting out their passengers and rescheduling flights – RYANAIR chose to cancel flights and leave passengers stranded abroad to queue for 12 hours to obtain a rescheduled flight for next day to another country and the day after that to our home airport. I’ve been informed that the French air traffic control industrial action was not unexpected. In my view this is not deemed as extroadinary circumstances. In any event Ryanair have refused compensation and have not paid my loss of wages for two days loss of work nor have they refunded my seat allocation payment I made for my original flight that was cancelled. Ryanair had no consideration whatsoever for their stranded passengers in Alicante Airport in March, no one gave us any direction as to what to do and all phone lines to Ryanair, internet chat live and online booking to reschedule ourselves were all NOT WORKING. not happy with Ryanair.

We recently flew with Easy jet from Munich flight EZY5386. The flight was delayed by over 12 hours and they are refusing compensation. They are saying that this qualifies as ‘extraordinary’under EC Regulation 261/2004 as the disruption was caused by ‘ATC slot restrictions’. It feels like a bit of a cop out. Does anyone know if there have been on any court rulings along these lines?

We had a delay of over 4 hours flying to Venice with Monarch last September, and we claimed. The airlines check in system had failed earlier in the day and so they had run the remaining flights late. Our claim was refused, but we pushed and got a barely understandable reply as to how to proceed (it went to great lengths describing an arbitration scheme only to add at the end that Monarch did not subscribe to the scheme). Eventually we were referred to the CAA who investigated. Monarch ignored them and gave no reply. On the basis our claim the CAA found in our favor, but it appears have no powers. Now it is small claims court or give up.

The delayed flight had arrived in the early hours of the morning after Venice airport closed, so no taxi’s, water taxi’s and no car hire. No one from Monarch to help, we ended up walking around until we found an hotel. So we are going to fight on!

I have a Claim with Easyjet who have confirmed that they will pay us, however they keep making excuses , asking for bank details which are submitted with the claim. Feel they are just trying to avoid paying the money in the hope that l will just go away . I am also concerned that they have lost private information. they say they have to wait 21 days for an answer from their Finance team . ?? Also concerned they have lost our bank details. so cross.

I have been trying to claim from Austrian Airlines since 7th July using the Which? standard letter for cancelled flight Vienna-Manchester. I have sent in a first reminder, and a second one has just gone, but just no response after initial automatic acknowledgement. There is no mention of extraordinary circumstances, because there is just no communication. Does this need to go to arbitration? or does that only kick in when the claim is refused. Is this an email to the MD?

Perhaps relevant to Ryanairs’ drastic action but not mentioned in most articles.

“Ryanair’s Irish fiction refuted by European Court of Justice
Irish plane, Irish employee? Court of Justice says ‘No’

14th September 2017

European pilots welcome the landmark judgement by the Court of Justice of the European Union in the case of air crew against Ryanair and its temporary staff agency Crewlink. The decision brings a definitive end to Ryanair’s fiction of considering a Ryanair plane as Irish territory, with Irish employees, subject to Irish jurisdiction. This claim has incorrectly designated Irish courts having jurisdiction over thousands of pilots and cabin crew and has deprived many of them from access to legal help at the place where they actually work.

Today’s decision by the European Court of Justice clearly refutes Ryanair’s rhetoric “Irish aircraft = Irish employee”. Instead the Court states that the ‘home base’ of crews is the most ‘significant indicator’ to determine the employee’s habitual place of work and which laws and jurisdiction apply to them. This brings urgently needed legal certainty for all crews in Europe.
The ruling puts the convenient fantasy that aircraft registered in Ireland are somehow an airline’s own ‘private kingdom’ to the flame
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“This ruling puts the convenient fantasy that aircraft registered in Ireland are somehow an airline’s own ‘private kingdom’, to the flame”, says ECA Vice-President Jon Horne. “This argument has been wrongly used to deny mobile workers all over Europe their fundamental rights and made them feel like subjects, not employees. The Court not only clearly states that a worker’s home base is their place of employment, but – in addition – that it is the real home base that matters, not an invention by some crafty employers.”

“This Court ruling has repercussions well beyond Ryanair, says Philip von Schöppenthau, Secretary General of ECA. “There are many airlines out there that make use of highly questionable employment set-ups and doubtful contractual jurisdiction clauses. This EU-wide ruling makes it now possible to challenge such set-ups and will help plug the legal loopholes that allowed too many airlines to get away with practices that need to be examined and challenged by the courts.”

The decision is a ray of light for the thousands of pilots and cabin crew across Europe who have struggled to find legal protection at the place where they actually work on a daily basis, forced to seek judicial redress in Ireland. Pilots and cabin crew can now derive their workers’ rights and applicable law from the place of the home base as a general rule – unless proven otherwise on an individual case-by-case basis, or abused for ‘strategies to circumvent the rules’.”

If any company or business can find any kind of way of not paying any money to anyone or can delay payment for as long as they can they will and DO Those who pay without question want or need your continued support and to go back to use them again and again

Blue Air of Romania seem to ignore and get away with all legitimate claims for flight delay/cancellation. The company is based in Bucharest, yet they have some ind of partner arrangement in the UK. I wonder if their assets could be seized in the UK if I process via the County Court small claims and then issue a High Court summons?