Originally Posted by
clipper99
Sure enough, the Oslo - Manchester flight cancelled and now re-routed the following day OSL-CPH-MAN. SAS cancelled flight 13 days before departure. TA saying SAS denying full refund as only a minor change and if I cancel, it will be per ticket rules. Surely this is wrong. 1 - I thought it would be considered a major change. 2 - Would it not come under EU261. It was cancelled by the airline 13 days before departure. SAS had stopped marketing this flight around 1 month before deparutre obviously knowing it was not going to operate.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Ticket was bought as separate one way P class.
The travel agency is wrong.
As the original flight has been cancelled, you should be given three options, as stated in Article 8 of Regulation 261/2004.
Here's the first option:
reimbursement within seven days, by the means provided for in Article 7(3), of the full cost of the ticket at the price at which it was bought, for the part or parts of the journey not made, and for the part or parts already made if the flight is no longer serving any purpose in relation to the passenger's original travel plan, together with, when relevant
The means in Article 7(3) are "in cash, by electronic bank transfer, bank orders or bank cheques". It is my understanding that SK gets to decide the way to refund you. Note that refund to credit or debit card isn't listed as a valid method for refunding the customer, but I personally would not mind if an airline refunds me in this way. In other words, as the flight has been cancelled, you are entitled to a refund.
Here's the second option:
re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at the earliest opportunity
If you fly OSL-MAN direct, then you can currently move around freely in the UK after you land at MAN. If you fly OSL-CPH-MAN, then you have to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival to MAN. Therefore, I think that you have good arguments for claiming that you haven't been re-routed "under comparable transport conditions" as the re-routing adds the need to self-isolate for 14 days. In other words, I'd request a different re-routing.
The third option is basically the same as the second option, except that you can pick any departure date you want.
You are entitled to 250 euros in compensation except in this situation:
An operating air carrier shall not be obliged to pay compensation in accordance with Article 7, if it can prove that the cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken.
Many coronavirus-related cancellations can probably be rightfully claimed to be because of extraordinary circumstances. However, if you can't travel until the next day, then one could probably claim that "all reasonable measures" haven't been taken.
Note that the options in Article 8 should be given to you by SAS, not by the travel agency.
If you decide to fly from the UK to Norway, note that you are required to self-isolate for ten days upon arrival to Norway.