I have a booking with Royal Jordanian where they cancelled the first leg. It's from the EU, so EC261 applies. RJ are trying to re-book me on an alternative itinerary I'm not happy with. There is a much better alternative on a competitor, but they don't want to pay for it.
As I understand, I have the option of booking that better alternative myself and then claiming reimbursement from RJ. It's a risky option, but an option. Without getting into all the details of the case, there are 3 things I'd like to check:
1. Can EC261 even be enforced again Royal Jordanian, given that they are not headquartered in the EU? In theory EC261 applies, since the flight is from the EU, but in practice where could I sue them?
2. Would my chances of getting this reimbursement be reduced if I booked the ticket by buying frequent flyer miles and booking an award ticket with those, i.e. could I get reimbursed for the purchase price of the miles? It's notably cheaper right now than buying a regular ticket for the same flights.
3. Would it matter that the award ticket is for a mixed economy/business itinerary, while the original RJ ticket was economy only, given that this is the only available award option (there is no economy-only availability) and it's still much cheaper than buying a regular economy ticket?
(Not sure if there is a more appropriate forum for this, sorry!)
Without going into any personal details, could you at least indicate approximately when the flight that Royal Jordanian has cancelled was scheduled to take place? It may well make a difference on several matters whether the cancelled flight was planned for the immediate future or for several months for now.