FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Air France EC 261/2004 Compensation- AF "flight" by train
Old Mar 17, 2019, 2:08 pm
  #1  
krztravel
 
Join Date: Mar 2019
Posts: 4
Air France EC 261/2004 Compensation- AF "flight" by train

I have been denied compensation by AF.

These are the circumstances:

-Ticket North America-Brussels via Paris / CDG-BRU by
train with AF flight number;
-the day before the flight, e-mail informing that the segment CDG-BRU is delayed
"due to operational constraints.";
-Arrival in CDG from North-America with 1 hour delay;
- train segment is cancelled;
-Arrival in BRU with next train and more than 3 hours delay.

AF is refusing the EC 261/2004 compensation. Their position is that for a potential compensation, can only be taken into account the North America-Paris segment (which had <3 hours delay) and not the Paris-Brussels segment because it was done by train.

I challenged the AF position with the following points:


-CDG-BRU is by train but with AF flight number (thus different than the Rail&Fly TKT for train connections to German airports);
-the train segment is subject to all rules applying to air TKT, and especially the one largely discussed on this forum...("
passenger not boarding the train will be deemed to be in breach of the conditions and cannot be checked in on his/her continuation flight: his/her ticket will no longer be valid")
-it cannot reasonably be disputed by Air France that all the segments initially covered by the transport contract must be taken into account, ie from North America to Brussels. The jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the European Union obliges air carriers to take into account the arrival at the final destination for the compensation of the delay. Air France has already been condemned by the Court of Justice on this specific point. The departure destination being North America, and the final destination being Brussels, it is indeed an end-to-end transport contract, which covers a total distance of more than 3500km.
-the delay is due to the decision of Air France to keep the initial routing, while they could have checked me on a KLM flight leaving at roughly the same time and, thru AMS, I would have been in Brussels on time;
-with Air France's position, it would be easy for an airline to put its customers on a train or a coach for all the last segments and thus systematically escape the obligation to compensate. I did not contract with a railway company, but only with Air France. The segment is on an AF carriage with an AF flight number. My ticket issued also indicated that CDG-BRU was operated by Air France. It is therefore up to Air France, as an airline, to assume contractual responsibility towards the customer and to assume the obligations of indemnification of the European regulation.
-imagine the transatlantic segment was to be more than 3 hours late, but - due to a long stop over in CDG- I would have arrived in BRU on time, I doubt very much that AF would have granted the compensation.

Various polite mail exchanges with AF, and they stand their ground...

I know the R. 261 refers to airplanes, and the Interpretative Communication of the Commission excludes the trains in general (but here we are not talking about "any train" such as with the Rail&Fly system, but an AF carriage with an AF flight number - and Flying Blue miles credit) .

Any experience on this matter? In particular, I could not find decision of a National Enforcement Body (France or Belgium) or the Court of Justice of the EU.

Thank for your input on this mater.
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