Norwegian Air - A Cautionary Tale
Sep 24, 2018, 9:09 pm
#151
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Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Tokyo
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Sounds like a pretty standard operational reason, and no extraordinary circumstances in that. I would escalate that if it was me. Not sure the US DOT has any effect in terms of European rules.. Maybe try one of the online agencies that can do it for you. Will cost you a part of compensation but it will be a lot easier to deal with.
Sep 25, 2018, 5:28 am
#153
Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 60
Thank you for your feedback. The last checkbox on the Air Travel Complaint form provided by www.transportation.gov suggests that they might be able to pass the complaint to their European counterparts (see hereunder). I will wait a few weeks to see what happens but I will definitively escalate further if needed...
"I agree to permit DOT to provide a copy of my complaint/inquiry/opinion and related documentation to the following entities, as appropriate:
State and local governments in the U.S. (e.g., a state airport authority)
Federal agencies in the U.S. other than DOT (e.g., Transportation Security Administration)
International organizations outside the U.S. that might also have jurisdiction over aviation issues or that facilitate the investigation of airline consumer complaints (e.g., a national enforcement body in Europe, European Civil Aviation Conference(ECAC))"
State and local governments in the U.S. (e.g., a state airport authority)
Federal agencies in the U.S. other than DOT (e.g., Transportation Security Administration)
International organizations outside the U.S. that might also have jurisdiction over aviation issues or that facilitate the investigation of airline consumer complaints (e.g., a national enforcement body in Europe, European Civil Aviation Conference(ECAC))"
Last edited by gab787; Sep 25, 2018 at 5:31 am Reason: Cleaned up copy of Air Travel Complaint form that was out of alignment
Sep 25, 2018, 6:40 am
#154
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
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Posts: 50,262
If you are complaining about the service, a DOT complaint is fine and will, in due course, be passed on to the appropriate NEB's.
But, if you are claiming under EC 261/2004, filing with DOT Is useless.It is close to useless to complain to UK and Norwegian authorities as they may note the non-compliance and cluck at the carrier, but that is not an order to pay.
If you have an address in the UK, you may file through MCOL and must send a Letter Before Action (forms on the website). If not, you may file in the appropriate UK small claims court. UK courts are flexible and generally permit telephonic hearings. You may also turn your claim over to a claims agency which will pursue if it believes that you have a case and will keep 25-33% of the loot if it recovers.
I fully appreciate that there was indeed no mechanical difficulty, but the safety inspection took time. However, that is an entirely routine operational effort which occurs every time there is the possibility of a defect. It is far from an "extraordinary circumstance".
But, if you are claiming under EC 261/2004, filing with DOT Is useless.It is close to useless to complain to UK and Norwegian authorities as they may note the non-compliance and cluck at the carrier, but that is not an order to pay.
If you have an address in the UK, you may file through MCOL and must send a Letter Before Action (forms on the website). If not, you may file in the appropriate UK small claims court. UK courts are flexible and generally permit telephonic hearings. You may also turn your claim over to a claims agency which will pursue if it believes that you have a case and will keep 25-33% of the loot if it recovers.
I fully appreciate that there was indeed no mechanical difficulty, but the safety inspection took time. However, that is an entirely routine operational effort which occurs every time there is the possibility of a defect. It is far from an "extraordinary circumstance".
Sep 25, 2018, 6:09 pm
#155
Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 60
Thank you all for your feedback.
A member of the Aviation Consumer Protection Division send me a well-worded email today confirming that they would forward my complaint to the airline which shall reply to me within 30 days but that the DOT cannot enforce European regulations. He suggested I contact the Direction Générale de l'Aviation Civile (DGAC).
It is apparently possible to do it online via Formulaire de saisine de l?administration - Ministère de la Transition écologique et solidaire (MTES) so I am going to try that...
I however encourage people in similar situation to mine to file a complaint with the DOT because they track them fo statistical purpose.
A member of the Aviation Consumer Protection Division send me a well-worded email today confirming that they would forward my complaint to the airline which shall reply to me within 30 days but that the DOT cannot enforce European regulations. He suggested I contact the Direction Générale de l'Aviation Civile (DGAC).
It is apparently possible to do it online via Formulaire de saisine de l?administration - Ministère de la Transition écologique et solidaire (MTES) so I am going to try that...
I however encourage people in similar situation to mine to file a complaint with the DOT because they track them fo statistical purpose.
Oct 1, 2018, 3:51 am
#157
Join Date: Jul 2015
Posts: 20
They are obliged to offer rerouting as per EC261. For those booked in Economy, they offer e.g. QF direct to LHR. For those booked in Premium, they try to offer the same Economy ticket, which is against EC261 - not really comparable travel conditions.
Has anybody received rerouting options in Premium Economy / Business?
Has anybody received rerouting options in Premium Economy / Business?
Oct 2, 2018, 5:52 am
#158
Join Date: Aug 2018
Posts: 60
Hi
FYI simply reaching out to the DOT and the DGAC was enough to quickly convince Norwegian to revert their initial position and agree to reimburse my direct expenses (i.e. food and taxi). However it did not (yet?) help with the EUR 600/person compensation claim. Legal action probably coming next!
To be continued...
FYI simply reaching out to the DOT and the DGAC was enough to quickly convince Norwegian to revert their initial position and agree to reimburse my direct expenses (i.e. food and taxi). However it did not (yet?) help with the EUR 600/person compensation claim. Legal action probably coming next!
To be continued...
Oct 2, 2018, 9:46 am
#159
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Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
Duty of care is always a responsibility of the operating carrier. The underlying reason for the delay, whether mechanical, volcanic ash, or meteor strike does not make any difference.
Delay / cancellation compensation is subject to the "extraordinary circumstances" exception and thus it is fairly routine to recover local expenses but not anything else.
Depending on where you file, US courts are not available, there may be effective means to pursue. In some countries, it simply is not feasible although possible. Choose carefully.
Delay / cancellation compensation is subject to the "extraordinary circumstances" exception and thus it is fairly routine to recover local expenses but not anything else.
Depending on where you file, US courts are not available, there may be effective means to pursue. In some countries, it simply is not feasible although possible. Choose carefully.
Oct 8, 2018, 2:39 pm
#160
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: LHR/LGW
Programs: DL Gold, CO Silver
Posts: 1,036
I had five family members booked Sept 15th MCO LGW
Flight was cancelled. (AC failure on the previous flight)
I called and was offered either a refund or flight on 22nd.
I said neither was acceptable and was told I'd be passed to another department to be rebooked with another airline
Three hours later I got through and they were all rebooked with DL MCO BOS then DI BOS LGW
so it appears they will book placement flights with other carriers (I was given three options the other two were TPA BOS LGW and somewhat strangely. MCO LAX LGW . We were advised DI couldn't prepay the baggage charges on DL but they'd be refunded so claim is in for EU261 plus hotel, meals, phonecalls and baggage amounting to just over £3K.
Oct 19, 2018, 6:24 am
#162
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: SFO
Programs: AS 75K (OW), SK Silver (*A), UR, MR
Posts: 3,344
My experience with low-cost airlines is limited to two one week trips with Norwegian, the second of these just weeks ago. I allowed for flexibility and merely found it amusing that my non-stop less than half full OAK-CPH was cancelled the day before. I was offered to get on the also non-stop less than half full OAK-OSL scheduled for a few hours earlier. It started getting interesting when the flight was so late than I missed the connecting flight to CPH; I got on one that arrived 3 1/2 hours later, so I filed a delay claim for the fun of it. I also filed a volunteer compensation claim for the overbooked CPH-OAK return flight, as I accepted an offer to get on CPH-ARN-OAK the next day, with a paid hotel night including dinner and breakfast. Norwegian soon sent me an email confirming the compensation and more recently that “These funds should be available within the next 14 working days.” We shall see, but I did enjoy that Dreamliner!
Added Oct 22: The volunteer compensation arrived in my bank account today.
Added Oct 22: The volunteer compensation arrived in my bank account today.
Last edited by vanillabean; Oct 22, 2018 at 7:31 pm
Nov 2, 2018, 7:06 pm
#164
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: SFO
Programs: AS 75K (OW), SK Silver (*A), UR, MR
Posts: 3,344
No, the amount deposited was exactly what was offered, likely because the transaction took place within the EU as I chose my Danish bank account. A subsequent transfer to my American bank account using TransferWise easily beats any wire transfer fee!
Nov 6, 2018, 5:59 pm
#165
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Stephentown NY USA
Posts: 115
I helped my inlaws book a flight from Steward (north of New York) to Bergan Norway. They flew into Steward (a small airport) on Delta 3 hours early. The waited by the Norwegen gate for a gate agent to show up. About 45 min before the flight they reached out to Norwegian air on the phone and were told to go out past security to the main terminal and go to the pre-security ticket counter. They did this and they were denied a ticket because it was past the 1 hour prior to flight deadline. The ended up spending an extra night in New York and then flew out on Norwegian from JFK the next day at over $2K for tow last min tickets. Norwegen has denied their appeal. Stating their policy that you have to be at the airport 1 hour prior to takeoff. In my opine they were there, there was no personnel at the gat and no sign stating to go to the main ticket counter. In the denial letter, they stated they had no control over the other airline (Delta). I get it if Delta was late, but they were not. Looking for an opinion on where to go to next for an appeal outside of Norwegen Air....
Thanks
Thanks