sam lewis71

My cancelled flight is on the 26th June. Emailed Cairo office this morning but not heard from them yet however it is both Friday and Ramadan.

Rami Tamimi

On Sunday evening try to text the BKK office. They are typically very fast.

sickmint79

routing through AMM-BKK-KUL but really only intersted in stopping in BKK. any worries if i skip the BKK-KUL codeshare with MH? crediting to AS.

Rami Tamimi

If it's a oneway, no problem. If it's a retrurn, you will get the remaining sectors cancelled.

Lefly

I booked directly with RJ a trip for my mother, MXP-AMM-AQJ, with departure on 24 April and return on 28 April, Y class (promo fare/Y restricted).
The original outbound was MXP-AMM dep 16:40 arr 21:20 and AMM-AQJ dep 23:00 arr 23:50, all in one day.
Now, I received an email from RJ notifying me that the original evening flight AMM-AQJ has been cancelled, and my mother has been rebooked for the (early) morning after, forcing an overnight in AMM.

What's RJ policy about this kind of situations? Do I just have to accept the change and pay for an airport hotel or could I ask for a reimbursement? It's really inconvenient since now she also arrives before 8am at AQJ, so or I pay anyway for the day before at the Aqaba Hotel or she can't get the room until afternoon.

I have no experience with RJ, my mother is 73 and she doesn't speak fluent English therefore I need to sort it everything before she travels.

PS
She's OW Sapphire (BA Silver)

plunet

As your flight is outbound from the EU the flight is covered by EU261. So it's probably easier to base your remedy on what EU261 gives you as it's likely to be more generous than what RJ would offer.

If you have more specific EU261 questions fire away. You start with Article 5, cancellation.

Lefly

Thank you! I know that for cancellations more than 14 days in advance there is no compensation, but entitlement to a rebooking, refund or rerouting.
In this moment I am unable to find the whole EC261 text and it's unclear to me if the right of assistance at the airport, and the payment of overnight expenses, is available to request from the airline if notified more than 14 days in advance.

Cedar Jet

I'm guessing under RJ rules that even in Y she meets criteria for airport hotel, transfers, visa and meals. That said I wouldn't recommend my worst enemy stay at that hotel. The whole process is a shambles where you need to go to them and pick up a telephone that is not visible or remotely clearly signposted, as RJ definitely wont be coming to you or waiting for you in case of long transit. If it were my mother I'd be going with her or choosing a new carrier. In flight RJ are OK but the transit/airport experience is not recommended.

Lefly

Thank you for your input. I can't go with her and there are no other reasonable flights to AQJ for the date we decided. She is quite used to travel and to fend for herself, the "issue" is the non fluent English in case any big problem arises.
Also this was a gift from me, a trip to Petra and so I wanted her to enjoy it with minimum hassle.

Regarding the hotel, are we talking about the "Amman Airport Hotel"? The one that advertises meet and greet at the gate?
Also, I'm going to call the RJ Italian office today or tomorrow. Do you know if RJ has to manage the airport hotel or can be done independently, and after the trip present the bill for the reimbursement?

plunet

Under the regulation there is no stipulation about who contracts the duty of care hotel/food. It can certainly be simpler for the airline to do it for you but you get what you're given. If you do it yourself you can obviously choose what you get but then face the probable struggle to claim the expense from RJ. Whilst the airline no doubt is aware of the EU rules they will probably make it difficult when you go to claim. If you contact the Italian office this would be one thing to query, how and who handles the claim, and if there is a guideline expense for accommodation below which RJ don't make things difficult to claim.

Be aware of additional context that RJ is struggling financially at the moment and the cancellation of the flight to Petra might also be a symptom of this context.

Is there a possibility to shift the entire trip one or two days either side? It might be easier if Hong's can be retimed?

SK AAR

Rather than a hotel stay and flight the following morning, consider booking a transfer to Aqaba; it is only a 3 hour drive on a nice highway. No locals fly between AMM and AQJ as the distance is only 300 km.

Lefly

No, we were taking advantage of the Italian national holidays on the 25th. I didn't know RJ had money problems, a lot of flights from MXP were rammed full in Y.

You mean arriving at 21:20, clearing immigration and take a car to Aqaba? Do you have a reliable company that can be paid remotely/in advance?

We did the car transfer, me and husband in 2021, but we were staying a couple of days on the dead sea and then went to Aqaba/Petra/Wadi Rum for the end of the holiday and we were using more cash than cards.
For my mother I need to pay everything in advance.

SK AAR

Indeed that was my recommendation. Will save a lot of time and the hassle of staying in a hotel and check in for a short flight the following morning + no need to transfer from AQJ to final destination.

Sorry, but I have no first hand experience with car transfers in Jordan but I'm sure others can chime in or you can find info on the website of the airport.

dvs7310

What about booking her Petra tour starting from Amman and drop off in Aqaba? Maybe it means re-working part of the itinerary but might alleviate some of the logistics issues of the cancelled flight. I remember Peta being pretty near equidistant between Amman and Aqaba.

Lefly

Tour already booked. It's more messy starting now from Amman than sort out the overnight.
But thank you all for your suggestions, really appreciated!