LH delay - How to proceed with my EC261 compensation claim?
Feb 20, 2019, 2:08 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 6
LH delay - How to proceed with my EC261 compensation claim?
Hello,
I've experienced an LH flight cancellation followed by a little complex rerouting, denial of boarding between two legs and finally an arrival with a delay of 16 hours.
I already contacted Lufthansa for compensation and they refused my claim stating the weather conditions as the main cause of the delay. I would like to ask your advice how to proceed now with them.
My original booking was the following for the 3rd of February, 2019:
BUD-MUC LH1677 13:35/14:50
MUC-STN LH5468 17:00/17:50
I received this SMS message to my mobile from Lufthansa at Feb 3 12:35 AM:
Due to aircraft change for flight LH1677 BUD-MUC a seat change was performed. Your new seat: xxx. More info will be available upon boarding.
Later in the morning at 7:33 AM new SMS messages were following, they rebooked me automatically to a different route. I removed the personalized URL links:
We apologize that your flight LH1677 BUD-MUC 03Feb 01:35 PM has been cancelled. You will find alternatives shortly on: http...
We had to change your booking to flight OK793 BUD-PRG 03Feb 03:00 PM. Get your new boarding pass: http...
We had to change your booking to flight EW773 PRG-CGN 03Feb 05:35 PM. Get your new boarding pass: http...
We had to change your booking to flight EW356 CGN-STN 03Feb 07:40 PM. Get your new boarding pass: http...
I departed with the new flight schedule and arrived to PRG in time with OK793. There I was supposed to check in at the transfer desk for to remaining two legs. At the transfer desk Eurowings agent has informed me that they can not issue me a boarding pass and allow me boarding the flight EW773, since my booking was not OK. Even if I had a seat already assigned for the next flights, Lufthansa shall pay them 500 EUR for this new booking which payment was not confirmed by Lufthansa so they have to deny my boarding. They told me it's Lufthansa's fault, they made a mistake when booking my rerouted flight schedule. Finally the flight EW773 has left without me and I remained in Prague for the night.
I had to go out the transit zone and go to the departure level to find a Lufthansa desk at PRG. There the Lufthansa agent told me that in their point of view the rebooking was correct and it's clearly Eurowings's fault that I remained there, they were supposed to accept me on their flights. I received again a new booking through FRA for the the next day and finally I arrived to London with a delay of 16 hours. Since I should have been in the UK on Monday morning for an important business activity, this delay has caused me major inconvenience.
The duty to care was arranged by this agent. He told me it was really hard, because none of the two airlines (LH vs EW) wants to take the responsibility for my lost connection, they are blaming each other. After 2 hours of waiting finally he managed somehow that Czech Airlines has issued me a hotel voucher for that night in Prague.
Yesterday I sent my compensation claim to LH. I'm asking them to pay EUR 250 to compensate me for this delay as per the EC261/2004. Surprisingly I received their reply within 7 hours. They refused my claim stating "poor weather conditions caused the cancellation of your flight in Munich".
I don't know what was the weather that time in Munich (if it's even relevant), but in Budapest that day the temperature was 15 Celsius degree, sunny weather, no flight cancellations due to weather. They also knew there were some issues with the aircraft 13 hours before departure, as the received SMS messages show.
Could you please help with your advice how to proceed now? What shall I reply them? Please find their reply and my original claim below. Thanks in advance!
Lufthansa reply:
My original claim:
I've experienced an LH flight cancellation followed by a little complex rerouting, denial of boarding between two legs and finally an arrival with a delay of 16 hours.
I already contacted Lufthansa for compensation and they refused my claim stating the weather conditions as the main cause of the delay. I would like to ask your advice how to proceed now with them.
My original booking was the following for the 3rd of February, 2019:
BUD-MUC LH1677 13:35/14:50
MUC-STN LH5468 17:00/17:50
I received this SMS message to my mobile from Lufthansa at Feb 3 12:35 AM:
Due to aircraft change for flight LH1677 BUD-MUC a seat change was performed. Your new seat: xxx. More info will be available upon boarding.
Later in the morning at 7:33 AM new SMS messages were following, they rebooked me automatically to a different route. I removed the personalized URL links:
We apologize that your flight LH1677 BUD-MUC 03Feb 01:35 PM has been cancelled. You will find alternatives shortly on: http...
We had to change your booking to flight OK793 BUD-PRG 03Feb 03:00 PM. Get your new boarding pass: http...
We had to change your booking to flight EW773 PRG-CGN 03Feb 05:35 PM. Get your new boarding pass: http...
I departed with the new flight schedule and arrived to PRG in time with OK793. There I was supposed to check in at the transfer desk for to remaining two legs. At the transfer desk Eurowings agent has informed me that they can not issue me a boarding pass and allow me boarding the flight EW773, since my booking was not OK. Even if I had a seat already assigned for the next flights, Lufthansa shall pay them 500 EUR for this new booking which payment was not confirmed by Lufthansa so they have to deny my boarding. They told me it's Lufthansa's fault, they made a mistake when booking my rerouted flight schedule. Finally the flight EW773 has left without me and I remained in Prague for the night.
I had to go out the transit zone and go to the departure level to find a Lufthansa desk at PRG. There the Lufthansa agent told me that in their point of view the rebooking was correct and it's clearly Eurowings's fault that I remained there, they were supposed to accept me on their flights. I received again a new booking through FRA for the the next day and finally I arrived to London with a delay of 16 hours. Since I should have been in the UK on Monday morning for an important business activity, this delay has caused me major inconvenience.
The duty to care was arranged by this agent. He told me it was really hard, because none of the two airlines (LH vs EW) wants to take the responsibility for my lost connection, they are blaming each other. After 2 hours of waiting finally he managed somehow that Czech Airlines has issued me a hotel voucher for that night in Prague.
Yesterday I sent my compensation claim to LH. I'm asking them to pay EUR 250 to compensate me for this delay as per the EC261/2004. Surprisingly I received their reply within 7 hours. They refused my claim stating "poor weather conditions caused the cancellation of your flight in Munich".
I don't know what was the weather that time in Munich (if it's even relevant), but in Budapest that day the temperature was 15 Celsius degree, sunny weather, no flight cancellations due to weather. They also knew there were some issues with the aircraft 13 hours before departure, as the received SMS messages show.
Could you please help with your advice how to proceed now? What shall I reply them? Please find their reply and my original claim below. Thanks in advance!
Lufthansa reply:
Dear ...,
Thank you for your online feedback dated February 19, 2019.
We regret to learn that your flight was canceled from Budapest to London on February 3, 2019. Every journey with Lufthansa should be a positive experience for you. We apologize if your expectations were not met on this occasion.
According to our records, poor weather conditions caused the cancellation of your flight in Munich. We do everything in our power to maintain flight schedules and avoid waiting times for you. Occasionally factors outside our control, such as adverse weather, may cause delays for our passenger at the airport.
However, as per your right to care, we will gladly to cover the expenses you incurred during the flight irregularity. Therefore, we kindly ask you to send us a copy of the receipts for our review and consideration.
We are sorry for the inconvenience. We look forward to welcoming you on board in the near future and the opportunity to regain your confidence.
Sincerely,
Thank you for your online feedback dated February 19, 2019.
We regret to learn that your flight was canceled from Budapest to London on February 3, 2019. Every journey with Lufthansa should be a positive experience for you. We apologize if your expectations were not met on this occasion.
According to our records, poor weather conditions caused the cancellation of your flight in Munich. We do everything in our power to maintain flight schedules and avoid waiting times for you. Occasionally factors outside our control, such as adverse weather, may cause delays for our passenger at the airport.
However, as per your right to care, we will gladly to cover the expenses you incurred during the flight irregularity. Therefore, we kindly ask you to send us a copy of the receipts for our review and consideration.
We are sorry for the inconvenience. We look forward to welcoming you on board in the near future and the opportunity to regain your confidence.
Sincerely,
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing to you regarding my outbound flights of the reservation code ABCD (ticket number 1234) with the scheduled departure on the 3rd of February, 2019.
The first leg of my original schedule LH1677, BUD-MUC was cancelled and I received a new, rerouted schedule from Lufthansa in SMS and e-mail.
The new route I received was the following:
BUD - PRG / OK793
PRG - CGN / EW773
CGN - STN / EW356
During the travel I reached PRG with OK793 but at PRG airport Eurowings has denied to issue me bording passes to the remaining legs (EW773 and EW356).
At the transfer desk Eurowings agent has informed me that the rerouted booking made by Lufthansa is invalid, they said Lufthansa made a mistake while booking my new route and due to this mistake they can not allow me boarding the next legs.
Due to this denial I missed the connection to EW773 and I went to the Lufthansa ticket desk at the departure side of Prague Airport, where I received a new route to London to the next day only. I was forced to spend the night in Prague, I arrived to my final destination with a delay of 16 hours which caused a major complication to my business activities since I've been flying for business purpose.
In this e-mail I am seeking compensation as prescribed under EC Regulation 261/2004 for the disruption of my travel.
My originally scheduled flight length was 1454 kms (BUD - STN), therefore I am requesting the legal maximum of €250.
I look forward to hearing from you. An acknowledgement of receipt of this letter is expected within 7 days, followed by compensation within 21 days.
Kind regards,
I am writing to you regarding my outbound flights of the reservation code ABCD (ticket number 1234) with the scheduled departure on the 3rd of February, 2019.
The first leg of my original schedule LH1677, BUD-MUC was cancelled and I received a new, rerouted schedule from Lufthansa in SMS and e-mail.
The new route I received was the following:
BUD - PRG / OK793
PRG - CGN / EW773
CGN - STN / EW356
During the travel I reached PRG with OK793 but at PRG airport Eurowings has denied to issue me bording passes to the remaining legs (EW773 and EW356).
At the transfer desk Eurowings agent has informed me that the rerouted booking made by Lufthansa is invalid, they said Lufthansa made a mistake while booking my new route and due to this mistake they can not allow me boarding the next legs.
Due to this denial I missed the connection to EW773 and I went to the Lufthansa ticket desk at the departure side of Prague Airport, where I received a new route to London to the next day only. I was forced to spend the night in Prague, I arrived to my final destination with a delay of 16 hours which caused a major complication to my business activities since I've been flying for business purpose.
In this e-mail I am seeking compensation as prescribed under EC Regulation 261/2004 for the disruption of my travel.
My originally scheduled flight length was 1454 kms (BUD - STN), therefore I am requesting the legal maximum of €250.
I look forward to hearing from you. An acknowledgement of receipt of this letter is expected within 7 days, followed by compensation within 21 days.
Kind regards,
Feb 20, 2019, 6:46 am
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Denmark
Programs: TK Elite
Posts: 11,779
Most likely the incoming LH flight MUC-BUD was cancelled due to adverse weather conditions at MUC - and consequently your flight, LH1677 BUD-MUC was also cancelled (this is what LH is trying to explain to you in the reply - but it could have been done clearly). So the cancellation of LH1677 was the "knock-on effect" of the incoming flight being cancelled due to adverse weather conditions at MUC, which means that LH is also exempt from paying compensation to pax on your flight/LH1677. There is no compensation for cancellation as it was caused by extraordinary circumstances.
As for the mess with your ticket and what could be a denied boarding situation (at least what you were told by LH) you need to approach EW (it is always the operating carrier that is liable according to EC reg. 261/04). However, I expect EW to reply that in their view you didn't have a valid ticket and therefore denying you to fly was correct. Needless to state that if true (that your ticket for the EW flights was not issued correctly) there is no claim against EW. Then you could try to approach LH
Anyway, good luck! (I think you will need it for this one).
As for hotel vouchers etc. Next time, don't spent a lot of time trying to get someone to issue you a voucher. Just book a hotel yourself (at a reasonable rate) and keep the receipts for hotel, meals, taxi etc and submit them to the carrier afterwards for reimbursements. You can read that in the response from LH too.
As for the mess with your ticket and what could be a denied boarding situation (at least what you were told by LH) you need to approach EW (it is always the operating carrier that is liable according to EC reg. 261/04). However, I expect EW to reply that in their view you didn't have a valid ticket and therefore denying you to fly was correct. Needless to state that if true (that your ticket for the EW flights was not issued correctly) there is no claim against EW. Then you could try to approach LH
Anyway, good luck! (I think you will need it for this one).
As for hotel vouchers etc. Next time, don't spent a lot of time trying to get someone to issue you a voucher. Just book a hotel yourself (at a reasonable rate) and keep the receipts for hotel, meals, taxi etc and submit them to the carrier afterwards for reimbursements. You can read that in the response from LH too.
Last edited by SK AAR; Feb 20, 2019 at 6:55 am
Feb 21, 2019, 2:10 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2017
Posts: 6
Thank you for your reply.
Is there any way to find out if the incoming LH flight MUC-BUD was really cancelled due to weather conditions? Couldn't it be a technical issue?
They have sent out the SMS message 13 hours before my depature regarding the aircraft change. Isn't it dubious?
I've read in this forum that LH typically reacts to the initial compensation claims with some waffle about weather conditions, even if it's not the real case.
Is there any way to find out if the incoming LH flight MUC-BUD was really cancelled due to weather conditions? Couldn't it be a technical issue?
They have sent out the SMS message 13 hours before my depature regarding the aircraft change. Isn't it dubious?
I've read in this forum that LH typically reacts to the initial compensation claims with some waffle about weather conditions, even if it's not the real case.