headingwest

That's a great idea, but........

palcsaky

If the trip to Asia is important you may as well bite the bullet and book the TK flight ATH-IST-KWI for €280 At least you'll get 50% miles for it in M&B. BA avios redemption from LUX don't seem feasible as the departure is before your A3 arrival on the 12th.

headingwest

But I assume Aegean will cancel the whole ticket (LUX-ATH-KWI) so I'd need to book TK from LUX - considerably more expensive!

A BA redemption on 13th SEPT comes in at around 14,000 Avios + 120 EUR which will probably be the only viable option.

Thanks anyway for everyone's input, all thoughts are welcome. ^

palcsaky

Having read other FT posts regarding cancellations notified more than 14 days before departure it appears that you should still be able to get rerouted for free to your original destination. Get in touch with the travel agency and insist that you must fly on that day and refund is not an option. Be prepared to give them the alternative flights that are suitable to you. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/klm-flying-dutchman/1702024-full-refund-non-refundable-ticket-due-airlines-change-itinerary.html

headingwest

Well the travel agent said otherwise. They looked at other Aegean options (of which there were none) and said it would be sent to the rebooking department and that would almost certainly offer a refund option only. I said I'd like to be rebooked onto Turkish Airlines but he said it has to be Aegean.

I'll push it a little further and see how I get on.

headingwest

A bit of good news for me today....

Many thanks to palcsaky (and C-W-S on the BA forum) for making me aware that under EU261 Aegean has to offer alternative flights, offering a refund is not enough.

I contacted eDreams, the agent I booked the flights through, and they replied telling me that Aegean was not willing to reroute onto another airline. I wrote to them again, informing them that Aegean is under obligation to offer alternative flights, but they again replied saying that Aegean will only offer a refund.

At that point I could see that I was getting nowhere (I don't even know if they contacted Aegean to request rerouting), so I sent a strongly worded complaint directly to Aegean yesterday using their web-form explaining that I had contacted the agent without resolving the matter, and that they are obliged to offer alternative flights under EU261. A few minutes ago I received confirmation from Amadeus that Aegean has now rebooked me onto 2 Turkish Airlines flights (LUX-IST-KWI) without additional payment (I originally paid 86.30 EUR). That's what I call a successful resolution!

Now presumably I should be able to claim my 2 upgrade coupons back and get miles for the original ticket (the TK flights booked into W fare).

The moral of the story is, don't let them push you around - tell them they have legal responsibilities. I think it's only fair that when you book tickets with an airline it's a mutual contract - the buyer has the responsibility of getting to the airport on time and the seller has the responsibility of getting the passenger to and from the destinations booked. Why should a passenger have to fork out another 250 EUR at a later date just because the airline decides to pull the route early.

Although I'm a little annoyed with Aegean, I'm quite satisfied that they've resolved the matter in a professional way. ^

Xandrios

Great that you got your flights. However I do think you got kind of lucky here. As the other thread says, this 'right' under reg 261 is far from certain sure/proven, and many airlines besides Aegean would (and have) refused to rebook onto other airlines. I'm actually very surprised that they did, because other European airlines (AF, KL, LH) would most likely not do the same.

headingwest

Actually if you read EU261 it's quite clear that they are obliged to offer alternative flights, no ifs or buts. Aegean were certainly not willing to offer this when I first contacted them by telephone because the agent made it quite clear that they wouldn't rebook onto TK flights. Unfortunately, at that time I wasn't aware of the regulations. When you actually read articles 5 and 8 of EU261 it makes it crystal clear...they must offer the customer ''rerouting under comparable conditions''.

A concise but stern letter was what did the trick, reminding them of their legal obligations (and making them aware that I knew the regulations).

Other airlines might have dug their heels in for longer, but eventually they would have to honour the contract. I just wish that I'd known this a couple of years ago when airberlin cancelled 2 tickets.

Regarding my upgrade coupons, Aegean sent me an e-mail yesterday informing me that they would issue 2 replacement coupons in the next few days. I'm quite impressed considering that I didn't even have to ask. ^

LXboy

I am not a lawyer but as you referenced article 5, wouldn't one has to take into consideration (i) which says it is not applicable if you were informed 2 weeks in advance. I think thats what NWIFlyer and others were referring to.

headingwest

The 2 weeks are only relevant in terms of compensation, if they cancel within that period then they are obliged to pay.

NWIFlyer

headingwest is correct - there is still a need to offer alternative routings whatever the notice period. In most cases, this is resolved by the offending airline finding an alternative routing within a reasonable period on their own metal. In this case, because A3 had cancelled the route completely, that became more difficult.

The next logical step is to offer a refund on the basis that if enough notice is given the customer should be able to rebook elsewhere at no financial disadvantage. That wasn't possible in this case either.

That left the relatively unusual circumstance of A3 having to pay the increased cost of a reroute on another carrier. That was their legal responsibility under the regulations - no ifs, no buts.

What has not been tested in court is what is "reasonable". Say A3 had been able to offer a flight on their own metal a day later because there wasn't a total cancellation of the route? A court would probably have held that as being reasonable so far ahead. That's why refunds often end up as the outcome - because the customer still wants to travel on the original date, but doesn't really have a sound legal redress. Only because A3 couldn't offer anything could the OP be sure of the legal ground and put the argument with conviction.