My sister's flight last friday night from JFK to LHR was cancelled due to mechanical problems. It was the last flight out and she didn't have time to make the American flight. Apparently there was no offer of other flights at the time and the lines were horrible and she didn't feel like messing with that situation so she just went back home.

What are her options in terms of demanding compensation for the cancellation? Also I'm sure she's due a full refund for her ticket, but shouldn't she get at least $400 or something like that?

Thanks

If somebody just doesn't feel like "messing with the situation" and goes home without giving the carrier a chance to deal with her individual situation, including possibly creative routings to get her on her way to her destination that night or a confirmed seat on the first flight out in the morning with possibly some nice gesture of apology, then I'm inclined to be somewhat sympathetic toward the airline. Your sister should be due a refund if and only if her fare was refundable; if it was non-refundable, she's due the fare basis toward future ticketing. That's assuming she didn't simply show up at the airport Saturday morning, explain the situation, and get a standby on the first flight out.

That VS flight from JFK is almost the last flight to London - the latest is the 11.45 AA flight and as stated the passenegr didn't have time to make that (it leaves from another terminal).

I am inclined to agree that your sister should have aimed to sort it out at the time but we've all been in situations whwre we can't be bothered due to sheer frustration of it all. I know someone who VS left in the US for an extra day due to a mecahnical a year ago and they were given vouchers for 200 GBP to use against a future ticket, plus a hotel and meals. If your sister got transportation on that ticket then there is no way the airline will refund it, but they may still compensate her; your post implies that she did not travel but is not explicit.

I am sure a letter to Virgin Atlantic is in order; they use 'excellent customer service' as a key selling point for their sevices across the whole brand and you can use that as leverage. It can't hurt to ask and the sooner the better - I would try their corporate head office in the UK as a starting point.

[This message has been edited by james (edited 12-14-1999).]

James is correct about the timing of the flights. And I sympathize with my sister for not wanting to hang around to find out if they would put her on the first flight out the next morning for several reasons.

First: this was a weekend trip meaning she was returning to New York on a Monday flight. If she were to get on a Saturday flight she wouldn't arrive till 9pm London, giving her all of 36 hours in town.

Second: "messing with the situation" takes on a whole new meaning at JFK on a rainy Friday night and a 747 full of people have just been cancelled out of their flight at 1130pm. Given the circumstances of the trip I don't know why anyone would hang around for several hours at JFK to sort it out when it's a mechanical failure on the part of the airline. Mind you there were no announcements whatsoever about the guarantee of seats on another aircraft, etc.

Third: this was a mechanical failure on the part of the airline.

I guess I should have posed my question a little more generally. On domestic flights I know of Rule 240 and our rights to demand to be delivered to our destination within 4 hours of scheduled arrival. We can also get compensation in those situations.

What is the situation for international flights? Is it totally up to the ailine involved? Or are there some sort of similar rules?

Rule 240 doesn't apply here and cancellations for mechanical don't require an airline to provide any compensation whatsoever. VS was not obligated legally to do anything, because they were not denying anyone boarding on a departing aircraft. With that said, a letter to Richard Branson might be in order. Based on the experience I have had, a letter will pay off better (if well written) than a visit to the airport or even having stuck around.

jeffreyt, please read the post by jetsetter dated 12/16 here (it's long):
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum81/HTML/000468.html

Seems he used Rule 240 on a VS flight to LHR and had no problem getting re-accommodated. It did take some doing, but it happened.

Rule 240 does apply because a mechanical problem is WITHIN Virgin's control. Conditions beyond a carrier's control are weather, acts of God, wars, strikes, government regulation, etc.

The passenger can definitely get a full refund even if she was travelling on a non-refundable ticket. However, Virgin is not obligated to provide any other amenities.

If a strike were imminent and the airline was within the window for invoking the 30-day "cooling-off period" called for in the Railway Labor Act, and failed to do so, then the strike, if one followed, would be under the airline's control as well, IMHO.