MitzEclipse

Hi all


I am in Leer, Germany and just found out the last leg of my flight back to Zurich is cancelled by LX.


I'm supposed to fly from Bremen to FRA then FRA to ZRH but the FRA flight was changed to:




Original itinerary

Original flight number: LH5778 28May

Departure time Frankfurt (FRA): 20:50

Arrival time Zurich (ZRH): 21:45




New proposed itinerary

New flight number: LH1182 29May

Departure time Frankfurt (FRA): 06:40

Arrival time Zurich (ZRH): 07:35




The issue is I need to be back in Zurich today/Sunday. I called LX and they said all LH flights are fully booked from BRE or HAM to ZRH via FRA or MUC. Even tried Bremen to Stuttgart and taking the train down. They're saying the best option is to take the proposed itinerary the issue is I won't be back today/Sunday.




What are my options here? What about hotel will LX pay for the hotel in FRA if I have to take the Monday morning flight? The LX agent on the phone said "they might, just keep your hotel receipt" :-/




Not a firm direction at all and it will be a huge pain to get reimbursed. I have Travel Insurance so I'll also see what they can offer but firstly I need to get back on Sunday so need your help on sugggestions- thanks!

gq_dq

Not clear why you would go to Stuttgart to take a train. There appears to be more than one train every hour right from Bremen itself which will get you to Zurich with connections - but also including a non-stop EC. Just hop on one and you'll be in Zurich by evening. See the DB search results below. Several options in just the next 2 hours.

MitzEclipse

I'd prefer to fly back as that's what I paid for. What are my options with Swiss?

daumueller

if HAM is an option, the non stop from ham to Zrh tonight has seats.
same for HAJ (afternoon and evening flight)

and lots of options actuall through FRA and MUC.

try to book a new flight, this shows your options. Then call again and ask for one of these specifically.

MitzEclipse

Ok tried calling a second and third time to change the flight. They both said that I have to go to the airport to try to rebook. They could not rebook me over the phone! (Even though Swiss twitter told me to call) Terrible service from Swiss. Really disappointed. I will go to BRE and try to get rebooked but there won't be many flights from FRA by the time I get there tonight. And still no word if they'll pay for my hotel- they said only the airport staff could tell me!

DesertNomad

Second vote for just taking the train, but it is probably too late for that now.

MitzEclipse

Ok so I'm at BRE and the LH desk said the LX flight is actually not cancelled. I checked online and the flight is indeed not cancelled! What a complete lie!!

The LH are saying we were bumped on the LX flight as there were too many full paid passengers. I'm flying on cheap economy. Even though I booked this ticket 3 months ago they can bump us like that??

Any FTers have any suggestions for compensation?

MSPeconomist

EC261 should apply.

Air Rarotonga

Welcome to Swiss premium call center on Fidji Island...



LX1077 has 2 C-cl seats open for sale now... I'd go to the gate of the departing flight in FRA to check about availability...

MitzEclipse

Ended up getting booked on Eurowings from BRE-STR then STR-ZRH. Unfortunately the BRE-STR was delayed so we missed our connection to ZRH. Eurowings offered a hotel in STR but we needed to get back so we ended up taking the last train back Zurich via Stuttgart HB... barely made it.

All in all a really annoying day that could have been prevented if LX didn't bump us in the first place!

warakorn

Make sure to claim EC261/2004 compensation both from LX and EW.

SK AAR

At least you are in for 2x compensation, one for denied boarding from LX and one for delay from EW (if you play your cards right). You may even apply for reimbursement of the train fare.

MitzEclipse

Thanks all for the responses. I'm about ready to write my complaint letters but want to get some advice from the FTers on the best angle to write the letter and what is within reason to request:

I will for sure write to LX and EW regarding EC261. It appears I should get €250 as the flights are within 1,500km as compensation for the hassle.

For EW, I will claim EU261/€250 + also claim back the cost of the taxi from STR-Stuttgart HB €32 (had to or we would not have made the train), cost of train to Zurich (€115 for 2 people, 2nd class) and food (€25 for two people, very much within reason).

For LX, I should get €250 for cancellation - I'm really pissed off at them though as this totally could have been avoided by 1) booking me on an earlier flight (which there were many seats) 2) booking me to fly out of HAM instead of BRE (which they would not issue any tickets or changes over the phone 3) Booking me on my original flight! which was not cancelled as per their email, instead I was simply bumped - super disappointing they straight up lied on the email. Can I also request a full refund on my original tickets for one way? (bought the two return tickets for 537 CHF each for two people)

I'm also wondering if I can go after LH in this - I bought the tickets from LH's website so ultimately they're accountable for issuing the tickets?

Thanks again for your support

MitzEclipse

Complaint submission - once I write the letter and scan my receipts, I will submit them to their websites:

LX: https://www.swiss.com/ch/EN/Workflow...ntsCompliments
LH: http://www.lufthansa.com/de/en/Help-...contacts-pane1
[email protected]
EW: https://www.eurowings.com/en/legal-i...n/imprint.html [email protected] , [email protected]

FTers - is this the best way to raise the complaint or are there better ways reaching out to a direct contact on FlyerTalk somewhere? Any suggestions? thanks

MitzEclipse

Also was wondering if anyone had any complaints success over the phone or only via email?