SAS compensation inconsistency? / Denied Boarding
Sep 14, 2014, 5:20 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2014
Programs: Eurobonus Diamond, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 42
SAS compensation inconsistency? / Denied Boarding
Hello FT,
My first post here, not to rant but, hopefully to find some advice from people who have dealt with the SAS complaint department before. I have been lurking here, and other forums for a long time, and know that SAS is a hit and miss when it comes to these kind of things.
A run down of what happened; was booked on LHR-ARN segment, arrived at LHR 4 hrs prior to departure, had completed OLCI more 18 hours or so before the flight, seats were booked and checked. However, at the check in desk the lady explained the flight had not only been overbooked by 39 PAX, but they'd downsized from the 738. This yielded no options as we'd have to wait until the next day for another flight. The words denied boarding were not used, nor was a EU261/2004 leaflet handed out.
At the ASIG desk the SAS chief of staff I can only guess yelled out "All people volunteers in a line please", and at the time there was a large line of PAX which had been denied just the same as us, no one moved because we'd all been explained that we were being put in hotels. We saw nothing wrong with what was happening. Some time passed, we were booked in a 40 PPN hotel and shipped off. My compensation was marked as "volunteer" and my girlfriends' voucher had no option filled in by the staff, just blank check boxes. No one in that line had volunteered, it was all a case of complete denied boarding, with an overnighting being forced.
I asked for a flight of my choice the next day, which I understand now is required to be offered by law subject to availability, covered by EU261. I took a screenshot of available flights that day, with MANY seats on multiple options, however, the ASIG agent said NO to any change in the flight, we had to take the one she was offering. We met some of the other pax who were denied boarding, once we had landed in ARN the next day and exchanged e-mails to pursue our complaints further.
5 weeks later, here we are. We were offered 200 euro additional to our 300 euro each (which changed to 600 euro each at ARN once I talked to the service desk there, she apologised for this wrongful "volunteering" behaviour when it was in fact denied completely, and upped the compensation to double the amount, a total of 1,200 eur). So that is a compensation of a total value of 1,600 euro for 2 people. (Porbably very lucky to have been offered so much).
I did try to push for an upgrade to my EB status instead of more vouchers, but this was a no-go.
Now for the issue.. the two other PAX whom were in the EXACT same position as us, received an answer from SAS, with an offer of exactly 0 eur. Absolutely no compensation at all, just an apology.
So we have 400 euro worth of inconsistency. 50 euro fine, 100.. ok. But 400 euro? I don't feel like ditching my fellow passengers as it just really seems crazy for such a big difference in compensation. Is it because I have images of different flights with seats, and they don't? Or because I expressed knowledge that they did not follow EU261/2004 correctly? Or just plain luck on who at SAS got the case NR?
I don't know. But what would you do in my shoes to rectify or well, make it fair? Any advice or input would be nice, and thanks for reading my wall of text.
Below is my original ticket to SAS within the quote, it contains the details as they are fresh.
My first post here, not to rant but, hopefully to find some advice from people who have dealt with the SAS complaint department before. I have been lurking here, and other forums for a long time, and know that SAS is a hit and miss when it comes to these kind of things.
A run down of what happened; was booked on LHR-ARN segment, arrived at LHR 4 hrs prior to departure, had completed OLCI more 18 hours or so before the flight, seats were booked and checked. However, at the check in desk the lady explained the flight had not only been overbooked by 39 PAX, but they'd downsized from the 738. This yielded no options as we'd have to wait until the next day for another flight. The words denied boarding were not used, nor was a EU261/2004 leaflet handed out.
At the ASIG desk the SAS chief of staff I can only guess yelled out "All people volunteers in a line please", and at the time there was a large line of PAX which had been denied just the same as us, no one moved because we'd all been explained that we were being put in hotels. We saw nothing wrong with what was happening. Some time passed, we were booked in a 40 PPN hotel and shipped off. My compensation was marked as "volunteer" and my girlfriends' voucher had no option filled in by the staff, just blank check boxes. No one in that line had volunteered, it was all a case of complete denied boarding, with an overnighting being forced.
I asked for a flight of my choice the next day, which I understand now is required to be offered by law subject to availability, covered by EU261. I took a screenshot of available flights that day, with MANY seats on multiple options, however, the ASIG agent said NO to any change in the flight, we had to take the one she was offering. We met some of the other pax who were denied boarding, once we had landed in ARN the next day and exchanged e-mails to pursue our complaints further.
5 weeks later, here we are. We were offered 200 euro additional to our 300 euro each (which changed to 600 euro each at ARN once I talked to the service desk there, she apologised for this wrongful "volunteering" behaviour when it was in fact denied completely, and upped the compensation to double the amount, a total of 1,200 eur). So that is a compensation of a total value of 1,600 euro for 2 people. (Porbably very lucky to have been offered so much).
I did try to push for an upgrade to my EB status instead of more vouchers, but this was a no-go.
Now for the issue.. the two other PAX whom were in the EXACT same position as us, received an answer from SAS, with an offer of exactly 0 eur. Absolutely no compensation at all, just an apology.
So we have 400 euro worth of inconsistency. 50 euro fine, 100.. ok. But 400 euro? I don't feel like ditching my fellow passengers as it just really seems crazy for such a big difference in compensation. Is it because I have images of different flights with seats, and they don't? Or because I expressed knowledge that they did not follow EU261/2004 correctly? Or just plain luck on who at SAS got the case NR?
I don't know. But what would you do in my shoes to rectify or well, make it fair? Any advice or input would be nice, and thanks for reading my wall of text.
Below is my original ticket to SAS within the quote, it contains the details as they are fresh.
My Girlfriend and I were booked on SK 534. We were at bag drop 3 hours and 30 minutes before departure. I had checked us in, and filled in the API for London perhaps 16-18 hours before the flight, seats 20A and 20B selected in your system. The bag drop agent explained the flight had been overbooked, and downsized. (39 PAX overbooked). She explained we would be put in a hotel, offered compensation in the form of a voucher (300 euro each they said) and be put on another flight. We were never offered any EU 261/2004 leaflet with our rights, nor did she say we were denied boarding. She led us to the ASIG SAS handling desk at LHR Terminal 3. There were many PAX behind us on the same flight, that were also denied boarding. We were put into a line, and the chief at the ASIG desk (SAS uniform, so SAS handler?) said \"Everyone volunteering in a line please\". The problem was, no one was volunteering, and in fact the pax behind us had actually been told the flight had been cancelled a
ll together. I asked if we were able to choose which flight we\'d be placed on the next day, she said very clearly \"NO\". From my knowledge, this is against EU 261/2004, you are allowed to be reallocated at your own leisure as long as there is availability. I have attached a photo of todays flights. There were many seats on other aircraft that day. They filled out the vouchers, and did not check the volunteer / involunteer boxes properly. This was the same for all the other pax who got their vouchers. I also asked if we could pick a hotel in a price range, but the answer was also \"NO\". I had faith that being SAS, the hotel would be acceptable. The hotel \"Comfort Hotel\" was a 3 star (40), so it would appear to have done the job however it was more like a 1, or a 2 star. The check-in took 30 minutes, the rooms had no safes, no air conditioning, and it was 26c at Heathrow. I had very expensive items with me, I felt uncomfortable opening the window at night as people could
literally jump in. We hardly got sleep due to the heat, and the horrible bed, the smell from the room was also at an unacceptable level. The dinner which was included, we were told had a 10 limit. Some other PAX who got denied boarding as well, came and told us that it was a mistake, and after this they were willing to give us a starter and a main course. We had to pay for drink (see attached receipt). We arrived at ARN today (our flight today was also overbooked) and went straight to the ticket counter. I explained this to one of your lovely staff, and she quickly said I should write in, but also said they gave the wrong vouchers. We had all been handed 300 euro, when in fact it should have been 600 euro. We were denied boarding, with no choice of another flight.. We now have our 600 euro vouchers, I usually don\'t complain but in this situation I felt the fact that we were denied boarding, denied choice of flight, and hotel, given the wrong voucher, and a horrible nights
sleep made for a bad experience. Thanks.
ll together. I asked if we were able to choose which flight we\'d be placed on the next day, she said very clearly \"NO\". From my knowledge, this is against EU 261/2004, you are allowed to be reallocated at your own leisure as long as there is availability. I have attached a photo of todays flights. There were many seats on other aircraft that day. They filled out the vouchers, and did not check the volunteer / involunteer boxes properly. This was the same for all the other pax who got their vouchers. I also asked if we could pick a hotel in a price range, but the answer was also \"NO\". I had faith that being SAS, the hotel would be acceptable. The hotel \"Comfort Hotel\" was a 3 star (40), so it would appear to have done the job however it was more like a 1, or a 2 star. The check-in took 30 minutes, the rooms had no safes, no air conditioning, and it was 26c at Heathrow. I had very expensive items with me, I felt uncomfortable opening the window at night as people could
literally jump in. We hardly got sleep due to the heat, and the horrible bed, the smell from the room was also at an unacceptable level. The dinner which was included, we were told had a 10 limit. Some other PAX who got denied boarding as well, came and told us that it was a mistake, and after this they were willing to give us a starter and a main course. We had to pay for drink (see attached receipt). We arrived at ARN today (our flight today was also overbooked) and went straight to the ticket counter. I explained this to one of your lovely staff, and she quickly said I should write in, but also said they gave the wrong vouchers. We had all been handed 300 euro, when in fact it should have been 600 euro. We were denied boarding, with no choice of another flight.. We now have our 600 euro vouchers, I usually don\'t complain but in this situation I felt the fact that we were denied boarding, denied choice of flight, and hotel, given the wrong voucher, and a horrible nights
sleep made for a bad experience. Thanks.
Sep 14, 2014, 10:26 pm
#2
Join Date: May 2006
Location: SYD or GOT
Programs: OZ Lifetime-DMPL*G, AF*G, SPG Plat, Hertz PC
Posts: 803
I think the agent at ARN confused ARN-LHR with an intercontinental flight. The compensation that you have is significantly more than is required under EU 261/04 (250 per person) and is very much in excess of the ticket price you have paid.
I suggest that you do nothing, you have received by mistake, compensation well in excess of what SK is obligated to provide. If you are well and truly interested in doing the right thing, giving back some of the compensation would be in order. As for your fellow passengers, they should continue to push for compensation under EU261/04 but should not expect more than 250 per person.
In regards to other issues in your post:
- SK are obligated to provide a hotel and meal, which they did. The quality of the hotel could have been better, but this is not part of EU261/04
- SK are obligated to rebook/reroute you to your final destination at either the first available opportunity OR at your leisure under similar conditions subject to availability which airlines typically interpret as availability in the same fare bucket. Even if there are economy seats exist, they may not exist in the price group which you originally purchased.
- I agree you probably could have had better approach from ground service at LHR
I suggest that you do nothing, you have received by mistake, compensation well in excess of what SK is obligated to provide. If you are well and truly interested in doing the right thing, giving back some of the compensation would be in order. As for your fellow passengers, they should continue to push for compensation under EU261/04 but should not expect more than 250 per person.
In regards to other issues in your post:
- SK are obligated to provide a hotel and meal, which they did. The quality of the hotel could have been better, but this is not part of EU261/04
- SK are obligated to rebook/reroute you to your final destination at either the first available opportunity OR at your leisure under similar conditions subject to availability which airlines typically interpret as availability in the same fare bucket. Even if there are economy seats exist, they may not exist in the price group which you originally purchased.
- I agree you probably could have had better approach from ground service at LHR
Sep 15, 2014, 7:56 am
#3
Moderator: Lufthansa Miles & More, India based airlines, India, External Miles & Points Resources
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: MUC
Programs: LH SEN
Posts: 48,269
- SK are obligated to rebook/reroute you to your final destination at either the first available opportunity OR at your leisure under similar conditions subject to availability which airlines typically interpret as availability in the same fare bucket. Even if there are economy seats exist, they may not exist in the price group which you originally purchased.
That said 250 to max 500 (in credit with SAS) would be the maximum per person the OP was entitled to under EU261/04.
Sep 16, 2014, 5:03 am
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Denmark
Programs: TK Elite
Posts: 11,913
So you received EUR 1,600 in vouchers for 2 pax being rebooked to the next day - and you are still complaining? 
As stated above, you received much more than you are entitled to in this situation - I would have kept silent knowing that I had been generously compensated.
Your concerns for the other pax: Well, if they are not happy with the outcome they should complain to SAS customer service.
As stated above, you received much more than you are entitled to in this situation - I would have kept silent knowing that I had been generously compensated.
Your concerns for the other pax: Well, if they are not happy with the outcome they should complain to SAS customer service.
Sep 16, 2014, 8:21 pm
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Sep 2014
Programs: Eurobonus Diamond, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 42
So you received EUR 1,600 in vouchers for 2 pax being rebooked to the next day - and you are still complaining?
As stated above, you received much more than you are entitled to in this situation - I would have kept silent knowing that I had been generously compensated.
Your concerns for the other pax: Well, if they are not happy with the outcome they should complain to SAS customer service.
As stated above, you received much more than you are entitled to in this situation - I would have kept silent knowing that I had been generously compensated.
Your concerns for the other pax: Well, if they are not happy with the outcome they should complain to SAS customer service.
I should clarify, the 600 eur per person is in vouchers, not money. If you wanted cash, it is 250 eur per person, i.e exactly in line with EU 261/2004. There was no mistake in what we are receiving. They simply offer more incentive for their vouchers as it saves them paying out, obviously.
I don't mind with my own case, that was not the point, rather the point being someone who is/was in the same situation being offered a completely different response to their complaint than we were. ^