cas_de

Just a data point regarding an EC261 case (19JUN LH1860/1861 canceled)

Approx. 8 weeks after submitting the claim with LH my wife got a message today that she is entitled to EC261 compensation. There was no going back and forth like many others have posted here, LH basically said, that the A/C went tech and it's their fault.

cas_de

pls delete

yosemite1

Hey FT, I was wondering if I could get some assistance with my claim.
- Am I missing any details?
- Should I submit this as two claims, one for each bit of routing?
- What am I entitled to?

Pasted information from my notes:


Aug 11
Routing:
LH471, YYZ > FRA
LH1030, FRA > CDG

LH471 departed 1h35m late, due to no busses being available to load passengers on the plane. We arrived 1h15m late into FRA, which caused a miss connection for LH1030. After lining up multiple times and being told there’s nothing I could do and no options presented to me, I was told that Lufthansa would not get me a seat on the following plane, and would only put me on standby. I was eventually given a seat on LH1034 in Economy not Business class (this is a business class itinerary), which arrived at 1:51pm, over 3 hours late to my final destination causing additional logistical issues with my car rental.


Aug 25
Routing:
LH1051, CDG > FRA
LH442, FRA > DTW
AC7364, DTW > YZZ

Lufthansa would not print my Air Canada connecting boarding pass, and told me I had to pick up my baggage and re-check in when I arrive in DTW regardless of bag tags indicating my bag would be checked through to my final destination (YYZ). LH442 arrived 40 minutes late (1:25pm), and after going through immigration and customs, the check-in counter was closed for the Air Canada connection (AC7364). Air Canada let all of the passengers know that the check-in counter was closed at 1:15pm, standard procedure for an international flight. Lufthansa would not help re-book my ticket, or help me check into my flight, after about 90mins of waiting and calling for support Air Canada re-booked me on the following flight AC7366, which was scheduled to depart at 6:25pm, 3 hours later. The flight was further delayed, and left at 7:22pm, arriving at my final destination in YYZ at 8:31pm. Over 5 hours late from the original itinerary.

Often1

These are two separate claims and must be addressed separately. There will also be two different results.

In the case of the first claim, you may be due EUR 300 for a delay exceeding 3 hours. Leave out all the extraneous stuff about who would and would not do what at FRA as that is irrelevant and simply clouds the simple facts. Note that you may not be due anything. If memory serves, those buses are YYZ's, not LH's and LH has no say in how many of them are available and when. If that is the case, you won't get anywhere.

As to the second claim, LH delivered you on time to YYZ. As with all onward passengers, you were required to proceed through immigration & customs and this requires you to claim your luggage. You simply missed the cut off for AC, presumably because of delays in Canadian entry formalities. That is why LH did not rebook you and left it to AC's goodwill to do so. You won't get anything for this one.

NewbieRunner

They should be two separate claims. I would stick to essential information and leave out details such as how you were put on standby, consequential issues such as your car rental and how long you had to wait before you were rebooked. You should certainly include more details such as your booking reference, ticket number, actual dates of flights, etc.

Some airlines have their own claim form but I don't believe LH has one. You can use the EU complaint form which can be found at: https://ec.europa.eu/transport/sites...nt_form_en.pdf

At least it should show you the type of information expected.

I don't know why you could not get your Air Canada BP but picking up checked baggage and re-checking it is the standard procedure at your first port of entry in the US regardless of your final destination.

raffa

guys, any help on this?

Often1

Your post is unclear and that may be why you are not getting helpful responses.

Presuming that the reason for the cancellation was weather, that is an "extraordinary circumstance" and she will not be entitled to cancellation compensation.

I agree that historical weather information is not particularly helpful. "Weather" covers a lot of circumstance far beyond whether it was rainy, windy, or foggy at CGN. Just by way of one example, in poor weather conditions, ATC may slow the rate of arrivals and departures into an airport, it may space enroute aircraft further apart (both vertically and horizontally) and any number of other matters. There is an effort made to implement these measures or notify carriers of these measures as far in advance as possible as this permits the carrier to cancel or delay a flight equally far in advance. While nobody wants flights cancelled or delayed, it is far better to do so before people sit in an aircraft only to be diverted or held on the ground for hours.

raffa

thanks

yosemite1

Thanks NewbieRunner! big help with that form.

Do you know if I should be filling out the "flight was canceled" section, or "denied boarding against my will"? Its hard to interpret the form correctly with what happened to me.
And for cost of my ticket, it was an Aeroplan redemption, should I be mentioning the miles + dollar value I paid?

NewbieRunner

Without reading all your recent posts again I can’t remember all the details but I don’t think any flight was cancelled or you were denied boarding ( due to overbooking). I thought you missed your connection(s) due to delay(s). So the only section that applies in your case(s) must be “delay”. I suggest you check the link I provided earlier.

https://www.lufthansa.com/cmn/en/passenger-rights

How and how much you paid for your ticket (in cash or with miles) has no bearing on your compensation. There is no need to mention the cost of your ticket.

yosemite1

Gotcha thank you - I was going to use the EC261 form itself, but I'll write an email with all the details, it might be easier for Lufthansa that way.

NewbieRunner

I agree that the EU form is unnecessarily complicated. My only experience of filling out a compensation form was with SAS which has a well designed online form. Their IRROP handling is atrocious but their compensation claim handling is very efficient. The form may be found at: https://www.care.flysas.com/selfserv...orm/?market=GB

It asks for the following.

Often1

I would use the form because it feeds a database which can then quickly be reviewed and approved or not. While it calls for more information than is strictly required for LH to make a determination in this case, the people who review these claims are not paid to be independent or big picture thinkers. If LH thinks it needs the color of ink on the boarding pass and you have that, why on earth not provide it?

The form also prevents people from leaving out perhaps the one detail which is needed in a given instance.

I subscribe to the theory that when dealing with large enterprises, if you provide what seems to be asked for because it is easy for you to provide, you are more likely to get what you seek in the short rather than long term.

yosemite1

I absolutely agree with you - there's just some issues with the form as is where there's some things that don't really apply, and there's some fields missing that I'd like to add and I cant. I'll still be super thorough in my email with information!

mmff

As recommended upthread by NewbieRunner, make a clear and concise claim. Do not provide a flood of unneeded information.