Originally Posted by
trooper
I can't help but think that everyone ends up paying for what is..(IMO!!!) ..an excessive level of compensation.... I only suggest it is excessive because I can't think offhand of ANY other situation in life where ANY compo is paid for a failure to meet stated timings- certainly not 600 Euro for 4 hours . Seeing a Doctor.... appointment times are a joke (and that is at a non bulk billing practice) ... whats that? An urgent case might arrive? Sure... but how is THAT any less expected than an aircrafts mechanical troubles... why doesn't the medical practice have to take that into account - and pay for getting it wrong like the airlines? The plumber who says 2 pm...and turns up at 5 because the "previous job took longer than he thought"... Why is that MY problem? See what I mean? Why is ones time so valuable if "stolen" by an airline...but not when wasted by others?
Lets not even talk about OTHER forms of public transport......
Because if you get upset waiting for your doctor you can go to the one down the road and pay the same price. If you book your plumber for 2pm and she is late you can reschedule, or find a new one, for the same price.
If an airline cancels - and it may not just be mechanical, it might be a crew shortage or any number of things within the airline's control - it would be rare if you could go next door and buy anything less than a full walk-up fare, potentially many hundreds of dollars more.
But, the same a as doctor seeing an emergency patient, if the matter is an extraordinary circumstance, outside the airline's control, they won't be held accountable for the delay or cancellation compensation.