alistano

Hi all,

I was recently denied boarding while I was waiting at the check-in counter (no official reason given but I suspect it was due to an overbooked flight at the connecting airport).

I contacted online support but was not offered any suitable alternative flight (only a flight arriving almost 2 days later)! I did not accept the new flight and was told to seek refund directly with the booking agent (I did not book directly with the airline).

I had to book my own flights with another airline to get to destination, paying high prices as last minute!

I also lost the original car rental I had and had to rebook a new car rental...

Could anyone please advise of the cost I could recover and best way to do it?
1) refund of the original return flights by the online booking agent?
2) compensation of EUR 250 under EU law by the airline?
3) refund of the new flights (to and from home) by the airline?
4) refund of the cancelled car rental? Refund of the new car rental by the airline?
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I have already sought refund of the original flights from the booking agent, but I would be grateful to have some help on what to do next?

Thank you so much in advance!

alistano

Deleted

hhdl

What were your flights? Among other considerations, if you were flying from an airport not in the EU to an airport not in the EU, even if you were connecting in Paris or Amsterdam, EU compensation would not necessarily apply.

Note that the car rental will almost surely not be covered (at least not under EU paths).

alistano

Thanks for the quick reply - the flight was from London to an EU airport via Amsterdam.

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Goldorak

It's hard to believe they haven't given you a reason for denying boarding or that you didn't ask. You certainly have the right to know why.
Do you have a travel insurance ?

alistano

I was only told they were not allowed to check me in for the flight... although none of the flights got cancelled...

Yes I do have travel insurance but unsure what costs I can get reimbursed, and who I should contact...
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Adam1222

I'd contact the airline first for more information as everything you've said so far sounds strange and the reason why you were denied boarding will determine who owes you what

orbitmic

frankly, I don’t think we have enough info to help you. This really doesn’t sound like denied boarding/overbooking message, it sounds more like an issue with the ticket for whatever reason.

had you tried checking in online? What happened then? Do you have any knowledge of or reason to suspect a potential issue with the ticket?

brunos

You seem to be reluctant to share details. But we can only help you if you do.
I fail to see why the final destination as well as date and flight numbers would need to be kept secret.
Please give more details so that we can be of any help.

hsumh316

Agree needing more details and also let us know around what time you arrived at check-in counter.

alistano

I did the online check-in without any issue...I even got the boarding passes on my phone. No issue with the tickets for sure.

orbitmic

so why did they need to « check you in » if you were already checked in?? were you just at the counter to check in luggage and is this what they refused to do? How long before departure time was it? To be honest, you already being olci’ed makes this even more confusing/hard to advise on.

one thing we can tell you is that when pax are denied boarding due to overbooking, they are invariably told so and their options and rights clearly laid out (it’s a legal obligation and there is a piece of paper they normally just hand out). Orb due to overbooking is in fact very rare but still happens with enough regularity that agents working for any airline know what they have to explain and do and it’s a lot less to hit once you have a bp issued which was your case here.

atflyer

This is indeed a situation where a lot of information is missing in my experience. The few times I had denied boarding:
- on a connecting intercontinental flight I upgraded to J with miles for the long leg. KLM apparently forgot to re-instate the feeder leg that was with a partner airline. I still could do OLCI with the feeder or KLM, forgot whom. Gate staff refused to board me since according to what they saw my feeder ticket was not active. But of course this was explained in clear terms, led to frantic discussions and calls to KLM from both sides, and was solved just in time.
- 1 time I accepted re-routing due to overbooking. And of course there was clear explanation about my rights, compensation, and how I would be re-routed.
- 1 time with a CDG connection my feeder was delayed. They claimed I would miss my connection (not true, but that is another story), used my seat for someone else, but of course in the same email message they indicated how they rebooked me.

As others stated, it is inconceivable the reason for not being allowed to board when you have done OLCI is not communicated by ground staff. Denied boarding is a big thing and of course they should tell why it happens. And in the first case I mentioned, I made d*mnd sure the gate agents understood that from my perspective I had a totally valid ticket, consequences would be enormous if I could not take the flight (compare the missed car hire), etc. It is difficult to understand that OP did not set up such a discussion him/herself.

cvision

Is it possible they had to verify your travel documents and either those were out of order or they have incorrectly used TIMATIC or whichever system they're using?
Of course, you can also simply go ahead and claim for IDB compensation + refund of the tickets (which iirc also has a shorter time than regular delay comp, but ymmv) and then see what they say to you in terms of why / why not.

Fabo.sk

I'm wondering if airline will claim you took a voluntary denied boarding or were denied due to documentation.

What you should have done is demand rebooking on the other airline on spot, or a denial in writing.

In any case, see what your TA will say, and then claim either IDB compensation or compensation plus full refund from the airline directly.

You *can* claim the other ticket but it's unlikely the airline will pay.

Do also file a complaint with the relevant National Enforcement Body to the fact you were not properly informed of your rights while being IDBed.