Air Berlin compensation
Aug 21, 2016, 7:18 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 19
Air Berlin compensation
I was recently on an international AirBerlin flight where a connection was missed due to delay on the tarmac (some teenagers flying alone didn't like some dudes laptop screen saver or something and had him searched again under suspicion of terror before take off.
We arrived over an hour late and those missing connections (quite a few) were booked in a cheap hotel and directed to bus transit to get there.
I took a cab and saved to/from receipts, but since dinner was already served at the hotel i skipped it as i had a long day and ordering out was not an attractive option at the time.
The service in general was pretty lacking as i tried to change some swiss francs or zloty at the hotel counter and was refused, and the staff was generally unhelpful.
I sent in a complaint form to their customer service citing all relevant flight information and details, as well as Regulation 261/2004 information to let them know i was aware of my rights as a consumer.
it was a relatively short haul flight from KRK to GVA stopping in Tagel which is where the delay happened.
Customer service replied with an offered 100 EUR voucher that is good until 2018 but in light of the initial unsatisfactory accommodations and fees i incurred tallying to about 50 EUR i'd like to see if there are further concessions available to me as the print in reg 261/2004 may have me believe there is a 250EUR minimum.
Any ideas on how the best way to proceed would be?
We arrived over an hour late and those missing connections (quite a few) were booked in a cheap hotel and directed to bus transit to get there.
I took a cab and saved to/from receipts, but since dinner was already served at the hotel i skipped it as i had a long day and ordering out was not an attractive option at the time.
The service in general was pretty lacking as i tried to change some swiss francs or zloty at the hotel counter and was refused, and the staff was generally unhelpful.
I sent in a complaint form to their customer service citing all relevant flight information and details, as well as Regulation 261/2004 information to let them know i was aware of my rights as a consumer.
it was a relatively short haul flight from KRK to GVA stopping in Tagel which is where the delay happened.
Customer service replied with an offered 100 EUR voucher that is good until 2018 but in light of the initial unsatisfactory accommodations and fees i incurred tallying to about 50 EUR i'd like to see if there are further concessions available to me as the print in reg 261/2004 may have me believe there is a 250EUR minimum.
Any ideas on how the best way to proceed would be?
Aug 21, 2016, 7:33 am
#2
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Koala Lemur
Programs: SK EBD LTG (*G)
Posts: 2,447
It's rather unclear for me here whether Regulation 261/2004 applies here, in case of unexpected security search. I would probably be content with my direct expenses being covered (such cab, etc). Some others may know more, whether this classifies or not as an extraordinary circumstance.
Aug 21, 2016, 8:54 am
#3
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
EC 261/2004, of course, applies to the flight as it is operated by AB and AB is an EU carrier. The question is what compensation, if any is due:
1. OP's description of the reason for the cancellation "some teenagers flying alone didn't like some dudes laptop screen" sounds like a sarcastic comment about a security-related delay which would generally-speaking suggest that there is no delay/cancellation compensation due. If OP could provide some further details without sarcasm, that might help the analysis.
2. AB nonetheless owed OP a "duty of care". EC 261/2004 does not specify exactly what that means by way of hotel and food quality, but it sounds as though OP chose to bypass the offered airport-to-hotel transfer and spend his own money on a cab and thereby missed the provided dinner as well. Foreign exchange is not required under EC 261/2004. All of this suggests that AB met its "duty of care" obligations under the regulation and that OP's decision to spend EUR 50 on his own was personal to him.
The offer of an EUR 100 voucher is a simple customer service gesture which I would grab were I OP. AB has no obligation to him whatsoever on the facts he has provided and thus anything proffered by AB is more than he is due.
1. OP's description of the reason for the cancellation "some teenagers flying alone didn't like some dudes laptop screen" sounds like a sarcastic comment about a security-related delay which would generally-speaking suggest that there is no delay/cancellation compensation due. If OP could provide some further details without sarcasm, that might help the analysis.
2. AB nonetheless owed OP a "duty of care". EC 261/2004 does not specify exactly what that means by way of hotel and food quality, but it sounds as though OP chose to bypass the offered airport-to-hotel transfer and spend his own money on a cab and thereby missed the provided dinner as well. Foreign exchange is not required under EC 261/2004. All of this suggests that AB met its "duty of care" obligations under the regulation and that OP's decision to spend EUR 50 on his own was personal to him.
The offer of an EUR 100 voucher is a simple customer service gesture which I would grab were I OP. AB has no obligation to him whatsoever on the facts he has provided and thus anything proffered by AB is more than he is due.
Aug 21, 2016, 10:09 am
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 19
happy to elaborate.
There was a group of 4-5 german speaking male teenagers flying unsupervised.
Apparently one of them saw something that made him believe a bomb was being programmed.
After notifying stewards the passenger was asked to momentarily step off the plane and his belongings were searched by security again and he was questioned.
After which three or four more passengers had the same treatment.
While away one of the teenagers went through the seat pocket of the off boarded passenger thinking they left something behind and when they returned to their seat (when nothing was found by security off the plane,) a quite righteous (and fed up) german passenger sitting across the isle informed him of what happened in somewhat broken english.
Upon confrontation his colleagues apologized on their friends behalf, mentioning he was "special" and runs in to these issues on occasion. the captain apologized profusely but it was all handled in a civil manner without uproar, contradictory to how soap opera drama-ish the story may sound.
The transportation was not at all an airport shuttle, but city transit with about 1/2 hour worth of stops, possibly even a transfer.
i did not feel like getting lost in Berlin on top of a long day and delayed flight.
There was a group of 4-5 german speaking male teenagers flying unsupervised.
Apparently one of them saw something that made him believe a bomb was being programmed.
After notifying stewards the passenger was asked to momentarily step off the plane and his belongings were searched by security again and he was questioned.
After which three or four more passengers had the same treatment.
While away one of the teenagers went through the seat pocket of the off boarded passenger thinking they left something behind and when they returned to their seat (when nothing was found by security off the plane,) a quite righteous (and fed up) german passenger sitting across the isle informed him of what happened in somewhat broken english.
Upon confrontation his colleagues apologized on their friends behalf, mentioning he was "special" and runs in to these issues on occasion. the captain apologized profusely but it was all handled in a civil manner without uproar, contradictory to how soap opera drama-ish the story may sound.
The transportation was not at all an airport shuttle, but city transit with about 1/2 hour worth of stops, possibly even a transfer.
i did not feel like getting lost in Berlin on top of a long day and delayed flight.
Last edited by sm4k; Aug 21, 2016 at 10:17 am
Aug 27, 2016, 7:18 am
#6
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Bonn, Germany
Programs: TK Elite, LH FTL
Posts: 647
Hmm, Air Berlin does not serve GVA from TXL (or indeed, from anywhere else). In fact, I'm fairly certain that there are no flights at all between those two airport (Easyjet flies from SXF to GVA though),