Delayed flights in Europe

[debthaven]

My DS3 (20) flew home from college in the UK last week on EasyJet. His 45-min flight was nearly 4 hours late.

The European laws for compensating delayed passengers are more generous than the US laws (but I'm too lazy to look them up.)

My DS3 went to the EasyJet ticket counter upon arrival. They gave him a flyer that explained how to file a claim online. DS3 took a screenshot of his phone with the original and actual departure and arrival times.

Today he got an email from EasyJet saying they are crediting his account with 220 pounds ... for a 77 pound flight! DH and I told him to reimburse us for the flight (which we paid for) and keep the rest.

Something to keep in mind for those of you who travel in Europe, since the laws are apparently more generous here.

[TheHaitian]

Thank you!

[debthaven]

TheHaitian another thing I should mention (not related to delays) is that if a flight is overbooked, airlines often ask bigger families if they are willing to take a later flight.

It has happened to us twice ... once (Paris to NY) 6 of us were travelling and I refused (we couldn't arrive late, it was my mother's unveiling). The other time 5 of us were traveling (Paris to Dublin) for DH's cousin's wedding. We were arriving two days early to take our time driving from Dublin to Northern Ireland. So we agreed to be "bumped".

In the end we DID get on the scheduled flight. But because we had agreed to be bumped, we each got 150e (so 750e) in cash. It would have been more if we had actually been bumped.

Not easy if you're traveling with a toddler, I know, but something to keep in mind.

[debthaven]

Also, there is one small caveat to letting DS3 keep the rest of the money. We told him it's under the condition that he has to treat DH and I to a(n) coffee/drink/ice cream this summer.

[steph08]

Fascinating! I didn't know about those laws! 

Here in the US, the same thing applies for willingly being bumped to another flight. I really want to do that, but the only two times it was offered I couldn't do it (one time was flying to a competition, second time I was sick and didn't want to spend any more time in the airport!). 

[TheOtherMe]

I have offered on the way home to be pumped three times now. Never ended up being selected to be the bumpee and received nothing for volunteering.



I usually don't have enough leeway on my time when I am flying "to" somewhere.



I knew European laws were much more generous than those in the US but had no idea how much.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Jun 11, 2018 14:08:38 GMT -5 steph08 said:

Fascinating! I didn't know about those laws! 

Here in the US, the same thing applies for willingly being bumped to another flight. I really want to do that, but the only two times it was offered I couldn't do it (one time was flying to a competition, second time I was sick and didn't want to spend any more time in the airport!). 

In the US, it is harder to get cash.....they want to give you a travel voucher for a certain amount instead.

I used to get bumped regularly, until they stopped with the cash and started with the vouchers.  Then the vouchers got harder to use where I wanted to go.  So I stopped volunteering.

[Deleted]

I agree they're far more consumer-friendly in the UK/Europe but you don't always end up with cash or vouchers.

I had a 24-hour delay on BA from London to Bangalore; they couldn't get the A/C working on the plane (that was a dealbreaker!)  and first we were given a meal voucher that was pretty inadequate given the price of a decent meal in Heathrow.  Eventually they had us all come to the desk to get hotel and shuttle vouchers and anyone who asked about compensation was given a piece of paper with a Web site for information. 

We flew out the next morning- a day late, which was no fun since I had to be in the office the following day and had REALLY wanted that extra day in Bangalore to get acclimated.  When I got to the Web site, my answer was that they owed me dinner and a night in a hotel- in other words, I'd just gotten all the compensation I was going to get.

I have to admit, though, it was a nice hotel- great dinner buffet, including a lot of good Indian food, and a wonderful pool, which I really needed after the stress of hanging out at the airport all day after a flight from the US.