linglingfool

How late was the flight on arrival to DUS?

b100cks

It was less than 1 hr late but the connection was tight.

They offered to re-route with yet another stop-over, or take a direct plane in 12 hrs and she took the latter.

So instead of a comfortable daytime arrival, she flew in around 4am after a very long journey.

dio1982

Yes, you are entitled to the full compensation. The only thing that counts is the time of arrival at the booked FINAL destination.

Do not write letters or contact AB. Lawyer up immediately and drag that scum of customer relations to court. There are several specialised lawyer firms that will do all of this paperwork on a commission basis, i.e. free for you.

seawolf

I would write to AB. People have reported success when the case is clear cut. No need to give lawyers a cut.

SeattleSon76

Is it clear-cut when they offered her a choice that would have arrived at destination earlier and she chose the direct flight?

dio1982

Actually, staying with the direct flight is from a legal perspective clearer. No matter which choice, she would have arrived more than 3h too late, which triggers the payout for compensation.

In order to be sure that the case is a slam dunk, she should not mention that AB offered her a choice, though. AB does not have a legal leg to stand on, though, her papers say that AB ticketed her 12h later, and only the paper counts in court.

seawolf

As dio1982 mentioned, stick only to the facts. Passenger arrived at such time which is this many hours late. Don't mention anything else irrelevant to the matter at hand.

b100cks

Thanks for all the good advice. Will write to AB and report the outcome.

Bits of wisdom are still welcome

Unterwegs

What do the experts think?

Original booking (in one ticket)
Etihad EY440 SGN - AUH 19:50-00:45
Air Berlin AB7223 AUH-STR 02:50-06:55

Flight EY440 was delayed (plane arrived in SGN around 90 min late). Departed 21:22 and arrived 2:17. Missed the AB flight, was rebooked on AB AUH-DUS and then AB DUS-STR. Arrived around 10 hours late.

linglingfool

I would think not, since the delay did not occur on an EU-flagged carrier and happened outside of the EU. The fact that you were connecting to AB shouldn't matter, since that leg of the trip was not the source of your late arrival.

Often1

EC 261/2004 does not even remotely apply. The delayed flight was on a non-community (EU) carrier and between two points outside the EU.

seawolf

Nothing to do with AB. They didn't cause you to miss the AB flight.

hsk

Hello gang, any advice on how to handle this?

Dec 28 AB7494 original equipment went mechanical, replaced by the A321 being discussed in another thread. Many passengers denied boarding, put overnight and then onto Dec AB7492. Took contact details and promised cust serv would get in touch with a 600EUR Air Berlin credit voucher ...never got in touch and to be honest voucher's not wanted. Some misc expenses to be claimed as well.

1Aturnleft

I was booked on the same flight that had the mechanical problem.
It was AB's operational decision to operate the flight with a smaller aircraft. It was not the passengers fault there were not enough seats on the new equipment.

Denied boarding = EUR600 as outlined under EU261/2004.

I sorted this on the spot at the ticket counter opposite the check in desk where everyone was queueing up. I was also initially offered AB credit for EUR600 but I declined this and refused to sign the form they had given me and insisted on cash. At first they refused until I told them I knew about EU261, that I knew what I was talking about and that I didn't want their voucher. Only cash. She went away, came back and said quietly OK we pay you cash. EUR50 and EUR100 bills paid for 2 passengers.... EUR1200 total. Thank you very much!

Hotel voucher given as well "including dinner". When we got to the hotel (Holiday Inn Berlin West) the dinner credit was EUR12 pp which was only enough for a cheese sandwich! Tried to order food but hotel had run out because so many flight delays that day (other airlines and destinations, not just AB pax to AUH). Had to pay for taxi to/from TXL as AB do not have a transport partner. Given email address to send PDF of the receipts to. Still waiting for those to be reimbursed.

I just hope you didn't sign the form (sounds like you never even got one!) because the small print on the form stops you claiming anything extra in the form of cash. The official rule of EU261 is that the airline has to pay you cash, money transfer to your bank account OR (and only if you agree) they can give you a voucher to use towards future flights..... which of course AB prefer as this has no cash value to them.

Good luck with your other misc expenses as I really doubt you will see them.
My advice will be to pursue the EUR600 as cash compensation for the delay and put everything else you want refunding down to experience.

Private message/email me if you need any further details.

Annanas

Hi, I wonder if I could get your opinions on my"case":
My family and I were going from Gothenburg via Berlin to Miami on Jan 30th. It was snowing heavily and all planes were kept on the ground for ca 40 mins, but after that, we were de-iced and ready to go. Other planes around us took off, but we didn't. The pilot then announces that some passengers want to leave the aircraft and that it will cause another 1.5 hrs delay! Naturally we missed our connection and when we finally reached Berlin we were re-routed to Orlando via London AND Atlanta. We ended up traveling for 26 hours instead of 13 or 14. When contacting AB they claim extraordinary circumstances (of course). I claim max compensation of € 600, but what do you think of the odds for winning? And how should I go about it? Thanks!