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Compensation for an EK flight delay almost a year ago
From reading another thread on here I have realised I should have got cash compensation for a flight we took on EK008 on 3/7/2011 but instead we were fobbed off with 15,000 points after making us wait a full 30 days for an answer.
I wonder if someone could kindly look up (on KVS?) what happened to this flight and what the delay officially was recorded as in order to give me some ammo for my complaint?
(I believe the delay was in the region of 8 hours, possibly longer, we missed the first night in a £320 a night hotel and spent most of the first day of our 4 day holiday sleeping as a result)
I fully intend to go back and insist on the cash compensation if I am entitled to it as this experience left me feeling extremely pissed off with EK and I'm still bitter about it to this day.
(On the positive side, this flight is what triggered me to start looking at points+miles in the first place and I probably would not be on this forum if it wasn't for that flight)
Can I still pursue this after almost a year has gone by and they have already issued points as compensation?
Last edited by PanGalactic; Jun 24, 12 at 4:44 am..
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Sympathy? On here?
Well you may be in luck. A delay does not currently attract compensation in the UK, it needs to be a cancellation. However Google "Sturgeon EU travel" and you will see that probably by the end of this year delays of 3 hours are likely to be eligible for compensation, and normally backdated claims will be entertained. Not definite, but the pointers are all in that direction, not least because airlines have tried to muddy the waters between delay and cancellation.
However good luck with EK, I don't think they ever liked these Regulations, and in the reverse direction, DXB to LHR, you wouldn't get a bean. So assuming the airlines' appeal is denied I suspect you'll have to take EK to court to get your loot.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tobias-UK
Were the points offered in full and final settlement?
No!
Quote:
Originally Posted by EK Customer affairs
However, in recognition of the inconvenience caused by the flight delay, I have taken the liberty to credit yours and Ms P’ Skywards accounts with 10,000 complimentary miles each. I trust that this will meet your approval.
(Just realised, we have 15,500 each because 5,500 was what we earned for the return flights)
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The time to have raised a complaint about your lack of compensation would have been immediately after they offered you 15000 miles. It's reasonable for them to assume after hearing nothing from you for so long that you're happy with being given the miles (some people would be).
Also, did you have insurance and did the insurance pay out anything in order to cover any costs for the inconvenience (I know Amex plat has some generous allowances for meals after a delay) - the insurance company may have tried to recover these costs from the airline already.
I'd say it's not worth the bother to spend too much time on this, send a letter/email/fax saying you think the initial offer was inadequate - mention missing the first night in the hotel and being so tired it affected your enjoyment of the rest of your trip.
Not sure what 15000 EK miles are worth, but BA gave me 20k Avios for something much more insignificant (I didn't even write in to complain I submitted a ba.com/welldone congratulating the staff on the way they managed to minimise the issue and still make it a good flight).
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Quote:
Originally Posted by layz
The time to have raised a complaint about your lack of compensation would have been immediately after they offered you 15000 miles. It's reasonable for them to assume after hearing nothing from you for so long that you're happy with being given the miles (some people would be).
Also, did you have insurance and did the insurance pay out anything in order to cover any costs for the inconvenience (I know Amex plat has some generous allowances for meals after a delay) - the insurance company may have tried to recover these costs from the airline already.
I didn't have Amex Plat at the time, the travel insurance we took out did not cover delays and I didn't realise I was entitled to cash compensation until it was brought to my attention now.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PanGalactic
I didn't have Amex Plat at the time, the travel insurance we took out did not cover delays and I didn't realise I was entitled to cash compensation until it was brought to my attention now.
10K skywards miles aren't worth very much at all.
Moral of the story: always have good quality insurance.
Also there are grounds whereby you would not be entitled to compensation (French air traffic control strike, for example, not exactly unknown in July), so indeed the precise cause of the delay is pretty much key here.
Despite that I suspect you'll have to go through the Small Claims proceedings even if it is a clear cut case.
At that time, you weren't entitled to any cash compensation due the delay. EK should have provided meals for you at LHR - did this happen?
8 hours is not really that long. If an aircraft goes tech away from its base, then there's not a lot EK could do. They would have offered their elites any empty seats on other flights, but EK tend to be pretty full most of the time.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by corporate-wage-slave
Also there are grounds whereby you would not be entitled to compensation (French air traffic control strike, for example, not exactly unknown in July), so indeed the precise cause of the delay is pretty much key here.
The reason for the delay was a cracked window. At least that is what we were told.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DYKWIA
At that time, you weren't entitled to any cash compensation due the delay. EK should have provided meals for you at LHR - did this happen?
8 hours is not really that long. If an aircraft goes tech away from its base, then there's not a lot EK could do. They would have offered their elites any empty seats on other flights, but EK tend to be pretty full most of the time.
We were given 3 x £15 food vouchers after queuing up for about 1/2 hour, but decided to go back home and come back to the airport later. When we did come back we did not have time to use them so I gave the vouchers to some hungry looking back packers, they were really happy!
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Panny
When the flight was delayed ex LHR, were you not kept informed in the lounge? You didn't say what class of travel you were in.
15,000 miles is fairly standard as far as EK goes. EK are pretty resilient when it comes to compensation, and being threatened with legal action doesn't really work.
I also can't quite work out why you have taken a year to pursue this? I wouldn't expect any sort of response from EK on this - apart from the standard form letter.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by eightblack
Panny
When the flight was delayed ex LHR, were you not kept informed in the lounge? You didn't say what class of travel you were in.
15,000 miles is fairly standard as far as EK goes. EK are pretty resilient when it comes to compensation, and being threatened with legal action doesn't really work.
I also can't quite work out why you have taken a year to pursue this? I wouldn't expect any sort of response from EK on this - apart from the standard form letter.
Y flights, so sadly no lounge access
It was 10,000 miles, not 15,000, the 5,500 miles were earned for taking the flights.
The reason I have taken a year to pursue this is because I hadn't realised until I read another thread on the BA board in the past couple of days that I am entitled to cash compensation. Does it make a difference if they should have offered me the cash compensation at the time but didn't?. I understand there is a €5000 fine for not providing this.
It was 10,000 miles, not 15,000, the 5,500 miles were earned for taking the flights.
The reason I have taken a year to pursue this is because I hadn't realised until I read another thread on the BA board in the past couple of days that I am entitled to cash compensation. Does it make a difference if they should have offered me the cash compensation at the time but didn't?. I understand there is a €5000 fine for not providing this.
Until the EU court confirms that delays are supposed to be treated the same as cancellations, airlines have been not paying out on delays. If you want to pursue this after so long, I would suggest waiting until it is formally ruled that a delay counts the same as a cancellation and then request the compensation from EK
If the airline can validly claim extraordinary circumstances , then you will not be entitled to the payout
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PanGalactic
Y flights, so sadly no lounge access
It was 10,000 miles, not 15,000, the 5,500 miles were earned for taking the flights.
The reason I have taken a year to pursue this is because I hadn't realised until I read another thread on the BA board in the past couple of days that I am entitled to cash compensation. Does it make a difference if they should have offered me the cash compensation at the time but didn't?. I understand there is a €5000 fine for not providing this.
Is the cash compensation for those EU member airlines? I have no idea with issues such as this, but I'm not convinced a €5000 fine is going to apply to EK, with UAE registered aircraft. I could be completely wrong. How much do you think you are entitled to? Did they (EK) provide any explanation at all, provide meal vouchers, offer to rebook you on a later flight, offer hotel accommodation etc
