Thinksamuel

Hello

I am currently in Porto, waiting for my flight to Brussels with Vueling. The flight is delayed 2 hours 45 minutes. Apparently there was an aircraft change so that is an operational reason. The flight is 1475 kilometer so I think that I am entitled to EU261 compensation. Now: where do I go? Can I go here at the airport or do I have to file a claim after the flight?

Ditto

Take your flight first, you will only be able to claim once you have actually arrived late.

YuropFlyer

For EU261 compensation, the arrival time will decide if you've a claim or not.

With 2hrs45min planed departure time, it might be very well that your final arrival time will still be within 2hrs in the end.

As Ditto said, you'll have to fly first, then you may have a claim.

Oh, and be prepared to put up a fight to get your money. They'll not pay out compensation "on the spot". Only when things REALLY went bad (As in, Germanwings-bad 60hrs delays) I've heard of EU261 compensation being paid right at the airport..

Thinksamuel

As it stands now, the departure is now 12:15 instead of 8:55 and arrival 15:23 instead of 12.15 so pretty sure I will fall in the compensation category. The incoming flight showed the following status:
Due to operational reasons your flight will operate out of the scheduled time. This circumstance will produce a delay that we are working to minimize. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Do I file a claim at the airport (and if so, where) or do I have to go online somewhere?

Ditto

You will need to claim from the airline, whether you do it at their office or on-line is entirely up to you, but again, you can only do that after arriving at your destination and knowing exactly how long you were delayed.

Thinksamuel

So I sent an email to vueling and got an answer back. Obviously I am not satisfied. However, in the EU261 ruling, there is no mention for compensation for delay (article 7). On the other hand every website states that I am entitled to delay compensation of €250. Any ideas how to formulate a response to them where I can include the legal bits?

====
Dear Customer,

In response to your complaint, we would first of all like to apologize for any inconvenience.

Our Passenger Compensation and Service Plan includes the option, whenever you decide not to wait for the delayed plane, to:

- A free change of date (if a similar price range is available) on delays of more than two hours.

- Reimbursement of the ticket on delays of more than five hours.

Furthermore, if this action does not create even more delay, food and refreshment vouchers are offered according to the delay time, complying with the Regulation 261/04 of the European Council.

Having complied with the European Regulations, we have to inform you that we cannot resolve your claim to your satisfaction by offering you additional compensation.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us.
====

ajeleonard

This is Vueling's standard response, to deny that you are entitled to anything. The Spanish authorities are weak at enforcing the EU law so it know it can get away with it.

Follow this thread for legal options:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/iberi...nsation-2.html

irishguy28

Use one of the many agencies that will pursue the airline for compensation on your behalf on a no-win, no-fee basis.

Note, however, that as we have no idea what the reason was for the delay we have no idea whether you are actually entitled to any compensation. Can you tell us the exact reason (we need more than "operational reasons" in order to figure out if your claim stands any chance) if this is known to you? And how late did you actually arrive at your destination?

Thinksamuel

The ticket Desk said there had been an aircraft change and we arrived at 15:50.

irishguy28

Then the question becomes: why was an aircraft change deemed necessary?

GBobon

OS and LH pay right at the airport for overbooked flights

CPH-Flyer

Denied boarding compensation is very different from compensation for delays. For denied boarding, it is clear cut you will always need to be compensated. For a delay they would want a central evaluation of whether or not they are supposed to pay. The gate staff is not in a position to judge that.

GBobon

you're right

Thinksamuel

Hello

Just an update. After a few email exchanges, I finally got €250 today in my account. Here is the timeline of events:
1) 20 June: delayed flight
2) 23 June: Got standard answer and I sent a new complaint on the online form
3) 1 July: sent them an email that we are two weeks after the flight and if they refuse to give compensation, I will have to take legal action but I hoped that we would reach an agreement.
4) 6 July: they ask my bank details to send the money
5) 20 July: they conform they have my bank details but that transfer could take up to 20 days
6) 25 July: checked my account and found €250 from them.

It was obvious from the beginning that they would have to pay up. They tried to deter me and I think with a lot of people it works (if they complain in the first place at all).I was thinking for a while to ask an agency to do the claim but their fees are quite high for such a small amount. I think that you should stand your ground and eventually you will get your money.

obduro

All's well that ends well. Good job chasing it up, it's the only way airlines will learn. I'm with you on the agency point too. ^