jm6886

Hello everyone:

I traveled from LHR to PHL on US Airways 729 departing on July 3, 2014. To sum it up, we were delayed by almost four hours (scheduled departure time 12:15 pm and actual departure time of 4:08 pm) for mechanical reasons (first it was a problem with the auxilary power unit then a problem with the fuel system).

All we received was a lousy 10 meal voucher upon arrival in Philadelphia. US Airways did nothing to inform us of the delay, or offer to reroute us while waiting incessantly in LHR. I spoke with a fellow passenger upon arrival in Philadelphia, and he recommended filing for compensation under EU regulation 261 as this flight departed from an EU airport (LHR).

I went to the European Commission website, and found the proper form at the following link: http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens.../index_en.htm# . I believe I am eligible for the 400 Euro compensation, but am unsure where to submit my form. All it says is to the airline that caused the problem (US Airways). In this case, I was going to send it registered mail to the 400 E Sky Harbor Blvd. Address in Phoenix (specified here as the address for postal communications: http://www.usairways.com/en-US/conta...relations.html) as I could not find a relevant UK address to mail it to.

Is this correct? Is there a UK address I should send it to? Has anyone had any experience in filing these kind of complaints? Will the airline fight this? I'd appreciate any advice you could offer. Thanks!

3Cforme

Emphasis mine.

That doesn't entitle you to statutory assistance or compensation on a flight of that length. Don't waste your time.

http://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes...g_2004_261.pdf

serfty

... moreover, it's any delay in relation to arrival time that's important.

This (BA based) thread has a reasonable guide, with some relevance here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...61-2004-a.html

tommyleo

That's exactly right, and it looks like the OP is owed 600 Euros if this is indeed correct. (Here is the link.)




The OP should contact US (email is fine at first) and explain that the flight was delayed for over four hours due to a mechanical problem; therefore, the EU 261 law entitles the OP to compensation of 600 Euros.

Here is a great article on EU 261, with plenty of details.

xliioper

Sorry, but the Flightaware scheduled arrival time is the not the actual gate scheduled arrival time and cannot be relied upon. If you compare it to the airlines published scheduled arrival times, you will see it does not match. The published scheduled arrival time for this flight is 3:25PM, not 2:54PM. The Flightstats.com website has accurate gate departure and arrival times and airline published times -- http://www.flightstats.com/go/Flight...ightNumber=729

As you can see, the scheduled gate arrival delay was actually 219 minutes and therefore EU 261 compensation does not apply.

tommyleo

Thanks! I had no idea that Flightaware was unreliable for that data. Make me wonder why they even bother to publish it.

Looks like the OP has no case.

CDKing

Flightaware times are based on wheels up and wheels down. I'm sure there is some use for the data.

777Pax

That's right. Airline's published schedules are based on gate departure and gate arrival times, not take-off and landing times. They have to build into the schedule the times requried for pesky things like taxi-ing which can vary wildly by time of day and time of year.

Most people would be surprised at the amount of precise detail that is captured flight after flight to make this as accurate as possible.

jm6886

Thank-you for taking the time to respond everyone- even though it wasn't necessarily the information I wanted to hear, I do appreciate your efforts on my behalf ^

Dave Noble

Since it was a mechanical issue. you are entitled to 50% of the EUR600 compensation (EUR300) which would have applied at 4 hours delay since the delay exceeded 3 hours thanks to the Sturgeon vs Condor ruling

From a search , it seems the US's UK address is

US Airways
Landmark House, Hammersmith, Bridge Road
London
W6 9DP

though perhaps phone 0845 6003300 and confirm, then write in and formally request EUR300 compensation as per EU261 for the delay. Make sure to mention that you are claiming the statutory EU261 compensation and not just generally ask for compensation


Good thing is that in the UK, should US for some reason try to fob off that not entitled to the compensation , it is very easy to proceed using money claim online

jm6886

Hello and thank-you Dave Noble for the important update! I filed my complaint under regulation 261/2004 yesterday using the form on the commission website. I sent it via priority mail with Signature confirmation to US Airway's Phoenix, AZ address (as on their website they say that is where they process all written correspondence); I also sent it via fax and e-mail (making sure to mention regulation 261/2004(.

Do you think I should resend it to their UK address as well? I know the form said six weeks is the maximum, but should I expect a response sooner?

Dave Noble

If it was me, I would send it to the UK office if only because that is the location where you will list should it need to go to money claim plus , hopefully, the UK staff will be fully au fait with EU261. You might also want to make reference to Sturgeon vs Condor as the basis of the 50% claim at 3+ hours

I would give it a couple of weeks and then resend a letter clarifying that if no payment received within 7 days that you will initiate proceedings to claim the money

Hopefully, unlike BA, they will not try to stare you down and see who blinks 1st by denying the claim until you go to moneyclaim

jm6886

Hello everyone:

I received a reply from US Airways today. As expected, they denied responsibility for paying compensation under EU 261/2004 due to, " performing all necessary maintenance checks and took all steps feasibly viable to prevent a mechanical cancellation or delay." They then offered a $100 voucher and 30,500 dividend miles to compensate me and my family members (i.e. this compensation was for three people not per person).

I wrote back to them stating that while I appreciated the offer, I was still due EU compensation (300 Euro per person due to the mechanically induced delay between 3 and four hours). I mentioned the Sturgeon ruling, as well as the Jet 2 v. Huzar ruling which state mechanical complications do not absolve the carrier from paying.

I just sent that over today. Based on the foregoing, is it likely that they will change course and agree to pay? Or is it more likely I'll have to take it to the authorities to get compensation? If I do have to go to the authorities, should I go straight to a service like money claim or should I go to the UK's aviation authority first?

Thanks in advance for any help/advice!

Dave Noble

The aviation authorities will not pursue your claims for you

Are you based in the UK? if so, lodging a small claim online at moneyclaim.gov.uk would be my approach. State the amount wanted and reference that the airline defence is flawed under sturgeon

I suspect that at this stage, US will do a BA and then fold and pay up


If you are based in the US, then I believe that the small claim system is not nearly as user friendly for diy claims as the UK and , if this is the case, I would personally go to one of the 3rd party companies to claim it

jm6886

Hello DaveNoble:

Thanks for your response- I appreciate your time

I am prepared to file with a 3rd party claim system, but just want to clarify a few aspects before I go that route:

1) I am indeed based in the US. Can I not use the moneyclaim.gov.uk since I am based in the US?

2) I am even eligible to sue to have US courts enforce an EU regulation?

I will make my decision of how to proceed based on this information, and once I hear back from US a second time. Thanks again for your answers!