ARE WE DUE REMIT AFTER RUDE REBUFF?
Have a question? Ask our expert Simon Calder
Q Late last month I travelled with my family to Luton airport for a flight to Romania. But when we got there, we were told there was no booking for us. I was horrified, and showed them the printout of our confirmed reservation. I was even able to show them on my smartphone that the airline had taken the money from my bank account for the flights.
We were told flatly that there was no room for us on the aircraft, and returned home. After a long session on the phone, the airline agreed that we could travel the following morning “at no extra charge”. I was furious that they might even consider charging us extra, and it made me wonder: can we claim
compensation? John M
A From the facts as you present them, you can claim under the European regulation EC261, which bestows airline passengers with substantial rights. As you appear to have had “a confirmed reservation on the flight concerned” as the rules specify, and you turned up in good time for check-in, then you have been denied boarding. It is irrelevant that this problem may have been caused by a technical glitch with the booking system rather than deliberate overbooking on the part of the airline.
You can claim €400 (£356) per passenger, the stipulated level of compensation for flights of between 1,500 and 3,500km, which all services between the UK and Romania are. In addition, you should be able to reclaim the reasonably incurred costs of returning home and travelling to the airport next day. The airline should not object to refunding these because you saved it from having to pay out for a hotel and meals at the airport.
In an unusual case like this I hope that the airline will pay up without fuss, but I fear it is rather more likely that it will initially refuse. If this happens, then you can either warn of your intention to take legal action or see if a “no-win, no-fee” claims firm will take up the case for you – though the latter will involve you giving up about one-third of your entitlement, and the intermediary might not be interested in helping to recoup your transport costs.
Every day our travel correspondent Simon Calder tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder