what are you suggesting!!!

Swiss has quite a reputation as for straight-batting any application of the EU regulations you refer to. For example, the resistance to paying compensation and refunding expenses incurred under the "ash cloud" catastrophe was truly impressive.

The reason for the delay/cancelation you experienced was indeed extraordinary, but perhaps not so Extraordinary in terms of the Regulation. The airline will claim the cause of delay is Extraordinary as a matter of course. Doing so means it is not obliged to pay compensation. It is now up to you to decide if you want to escalate your claim through the relevant national "enforcer", in your case the UK CAA ([email protected]),and even further through legal action.

This is where the airline generaly wins the game. Taking the process further involves time and a level of committment, though it needn't be expensive in cash terms. Most claimants give up before getting to this stage.

Swiss is adept at swamping you in platitudes and gobbledygook to make the process even more trying.



The "duty of care" element is a separate nonsense involving snacks/phone calls etc and generally not worth pursuing unless serious hotel bills and/or other significant items are involved.


There is a (reasonably) helpful summary of EU air passenger rights here:
http://ec.europa.eu/youreurope/citiz...r/index_en.htm