Gekko

Quick question -- my CDG/JFK/SFO at 1105 was cancelled this morning due to a mechanical issue. I have been rebooked on an alternative routing which departs at 1400. I'm pretty sure, regardless of the rebooking, EU provides me with compensation due to the cancellation. Am I correct?

==============MODERATOR NOTE===========

For terms and conditions of the European Commission's Air Passenger Rights, please visit this page.

For legal information and E C Mobility and Transport documents and designated enforcement bodies, please visit here.

PDF version of E U Passenger Rights complaint filing document here.

Air Passenger Rights in the EU and Beyond web pages here

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AA Rules 80 and 240 (Schedule Change / Schedule Irregularity) here

AA International Rules AA1 / Tariff Application here

3Cforme

IIRC the trigger for compensation is a delay of 4+ hours on flights > 3,500km. Meals + refreshments are due while one waits.

mvoight

Compensation is not restricted to AA and it's easy to find information on it.
Did you ask the airline? They are required to give you the info.

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/...61:EN:HTML:NOT

My read on article 7 is that for flights over 3500KM
Cancellation delaying passenger more than 4 hours = 600Euro
May be reduced by 50 percent if delay is under 4 hours.... So, 300 Euro as you found out from the Delta site.

I believe the poster in post 2 is looking at Article 6 -Delays. This was a cancelation, so Article 5 applies
According to what I read in Article 6, the provisions of Article 7 apply as well as the care described in Article 9 (meals, etc)

So, read Articles 6, 7, and 9.... ignore Article 5 as it applies to Delays for uncancelled flights

This is also spelled out in the link you posted in Post 5... in non-legalese.
I understand you got it from Delta. AA is supposed to provide the description of rights to you when your flight is delayed by 4 hours or canceled.
Your flight was canceled, AA seems to not have done the correct thing.


DESCRIPTION OF YOUR RIGHTS
RIGHT TO COMPENSATION. If your flight is cancelled, you are entitled to receive €600 in compensation from us. If, however, we offer you re-routing on an alternative flight that will arrive within four hours of the arrival time of the flight on which you were originally booked, your compensation can be reduced to €300.

Gekko

I did ask the airline. They say since they have put me on another flight i'm not entitled to anything, which is why i posted. The way I read the rules, since the original flight was cancelled, i'm eligible for compensation. The re-routing is in lieu of a refund (which is a remedy). I found this for delta: https://a248.e.akamai.net/7/248/1926.../eu_notice.pdf - I presume it's the same for AA, but not documented anywhere.

expatinglasgow

The airline is trying to bend the rules. In Article 5, you'll find that you are entitled to a reroute (5.1.b) *and* compensation (5.1.c). Reroute is a separate right than compensation.

Article 5.1.c.iii states you are entitled to compensation unless:

"they are informed of the cancellation less than seven days before the scheduled time of departure and are offered re-routing, allowing them to depart no more than one hour before the scheduled time of departure and to reach their final destination less than two hours after the scheduled time of arrival."

7.2.c says compensation may be halved if you arrive within four hours.

So if you arrive between two to four hours later, they owe you 300 Euros. More than four hours, they owe you 600 Euros. If they get you to your destination within two hours, they owe you nothing.

serfty

The airline is supposed to advise you of your rights, and simply put, you have been lied to.

You are entitiled to rerouting in a comparable class to that booked.

No monetary compensation is payable if with any such re-routing if you depart no more than one hour before the orignal scheduled time of departure and reach your final destination less than two hours after the scheduled time of arrival.

If the delay is 4 hours are more, you are entitled to €600; if the delay in less than that, this can be reduced by half to €300.

Note that since a court ruling late last year, delay compensation is effectively the same as cancellation compensation if the delay is of three hours or more. (ECJ: Delays Could Cost Airlines)

mvoight

Don't forget the benefits in Article 9 that also apply. We wouldn't want the OP to starve.

So, Mr OP, how late did you arrive at your destination?

mvoight

OP had a CANCELLATION, so this is different than a delay.
(Article 5 versus Article 6)

serfty

I make the OP is due to depart in just over 2 hours, some 175 minutes late - as to arrival there is no indication.
Not if the delay is 3+ hours; Note the following from my post above:

expatinglasgow

mea culpa. i figured OP could use the euros to find something to eat

SocietyFlyGirl

But the glory of the EU, OP should be able to get his euros and eat his cake too (without diminishing the euros). I believe he's also entitled to free phone calls as well, yes?

gizmodell

Sounds like I should fly out of European countries more often!

flyermatthew

Legally, yes. Check-cashingly, no.

What I mean by that turn of phrase is that all airlines have found many ways to wiggle out of paying the compensation specified in EU directives. BA once turned me down because a mechanical problem was "beyond the control of the airline"!

I wish you luck, but I wouldn't hold my breath collecting.

Gekko

OP here. Current status, recently arrived in ORD. ETA in SFO (final destination) is 9.50pm, assuming no further delays. Original arrival time was 7.15pm, so as things currently stand, i'll be at my final destination just under 3 hours from the original arrival time - so in the €300 bracket.

I passed on the meal and telephone benefits :-), although I did ask for the EU passenger rights brochure as I left the lounge in CDG, surprisingly that representative did acknowledge I should have received one, looked, but could not find any....

Dave Noble

Actually I believe that a court has now ruled that mechanical failure is not some thing that is a get out anymore

Dave