Originally Posted by
roo514
Your responses are so helpful, thanks. Often1, you're absolutely right - there's no point in arguing with front line personnel. They won't do anything more than offer me (1) reimbursement for the ORY-SFO leg or (2) a rescheduled 5/18 ORY-SFO flight.
As irishguy28 points out, Article 8 says that I should have been offered "re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at a later date at the passenger's convenience, subject to availability of seats" Practically speaking, I'm unlikely to get that option before the 5/18 flight leaves, at which point, it becomes too late to get any type of reimbursement. Considering the language of Article 8, which states that "passengers shall be offered the choice between" reimbursement, re-routing at the earliest opportunity, or re-routing at the passenger's convenience, BF has already violated the provision regardless of whether I take the reimbursement simply because I explicitly wasn't offered the third option.
Once I figure out how to fly back to SFO, what's the best route to take to hold them to EC 261/2004? BF customer service hasn't been effective at all. They've refused to give a reason for the cancellation, either lying about it or telling me "you don't need to know," and have repeatedly told me that I have no rights under the regulation.
The problem is that there is no self-executing penalty in the Regulation. You certainly should have been offered an easy service recovery. We are talking about CDG-SFO, a routing which has however many non-stops and simple connections daily on any number of carriers. It is always possible that all were sold out, but that seems highly unlikely.
The fact that a national enforcement bureau might at some future time impose a fine or do some horrible thing to BF does not do anything for you here and now, nor does it make it more likely that you will recover expenses which you voluntarily incur, no matter how important to you.
The suggestion of checking your travel insurance is worthwhile. You may find yourself with your claim denied and should plan on it. But, with a proper explanation one never knows.
The last suggestion does not help you, but helps others. ULCC's can seem like great deals. For people with entirely flexible schedules who don't mind a few days here and there, they represent great value. But, customer service is far from a strong point. It is cheaper for an ULCC to fight a war of attrition against you than to pay up here as most will likely drop off. This is not a carrier dependent on repeat business from you, so it does not particularly care about your satisfaction. That is a powerful incentive, far beyond EC 261/2004 in the case of carriers which value your trade. Again, not a criticism of OP, just a warning.