Compensation for Cancelled Flight

Lborealis on 14/06/2014 - 20:27
Last edited 15/06/2014 - 12:23

Hello everyone,

Just looking to get some help and guidance on asking for compensation for a cancelled flight to USA. Would appreciate any inputs.

Main points:
- Airline cancelled the flight
- I received no notification (Had I not called to check why I had received a weird customer appreciation email, I'd have reached the airport with bags in tow)
- Going to lose at least two days because of this
- Will need to rebook hotel for a week (might be able to move the reservation without any extra costs)

How should I go about asking for compensation from the airline and what would be a reasonable figure. Happy to provide additional details if required.

Thanks very much.

Additional details:
* United Airlines (booked directly using their website)
* Cancellation reason: Aircraft Maintenance
* I have travel insurance (Underwritten by QBE, $250 excess)
* The loss is not tangible, that's why I'm looking for some guidance as to how to go about asking for compensation.

Travel

Comments

  • tomleonhart on 14/06/2014 - 20:58
    +1

    This is when travel insurance kicks in… What is the reason for the cancellation ?

    • borealis on 14/06/2014 - 21:20

      The agents would say nothing more than "Aircraft Maintenance".

  • [Deactivated] on 14/06/2014 - 21:01

    Do you have travel insurance?

    If you do, you should be reimbursed by the insurance company but you'll have to pay for the hotel upfront for now

    • borealis on 14/06/2014 - 21:26

      I do have travel insurance. It has $250 excess, so not sure if it will be worthwhile lodging a claim. They (QBE) do cover travel delay, but I have no idea how to present it to them.

      I haven't changed the hotel dates yet, but it looks like the rooms are available and I might be able to just move the dates.

      My losses would be more of intangible in nature e.g. taking additional time off work (which could indirectly be considered as monetary loss), gross inconvenience, unable to meet couple of friends because of their prior commitments on new dates etc.

      • RockyRaccoon on 15/06/2014 - 01:08

        Travel insurance will cover for loss of prepaid accommodation, so if the hotels cant be changed and you lose the money on the bookings you can claim

        To "present" to them just call them and ask what they need. They ask the airline for that.

        Unfortunately you might not get much as often TI doent give much for travel delay before you leave. After commencement they give you more compensations.

        Which airline - it it United as Neil suspects?

        If it is, then maintenance is to be expected, they run a pretty tired operation.

    • ryu on 14/06/2014 - 22:40

      Insurance is another thing. As a passenger even only you want to change the date of a flight, most possibly you need to pay for it, and you have no say about how much you pay. Here, the airline canceled a flight, didn't even bother to tell its customers when they have all the information to reach you, should they take a bit responsibility for that and pay compensation? The way how insurance should work here is that the airline should buy insurance for their possible flight delays or cancellations, not the passengers. You don't pay for other people's fault.

      • borealis on 15/06/2014 - 09:25

        I agree. That's how they (United) seem (my first time with them) to do things. $330 to change if passenger (economy) wants to reschedule (it could be my fare class though - V).

        I wouldn't have thought of any compensation had they simply put me on the next day's flight.

        What ticked me off was:
        * This is what they say on their website:

        "In the case of flight cancellations to or from Australia, we may temporarily activate the following phone line to provide off-hours assistance for customers whose travel is affected: 1300 737 640."

        The reality is they didn't activate this number at all. The Australian (Singapore based) contact center was shut after 7pm even though they knew the flight out for next day has been cancelled. (Edit: And the incoming flight from US, for 13th, was cancelled as well)

        • They did not inform me of the cancellation.

        • When I called the US contact number they didn't handle it very well.

        • First agent didn't communicate very well and for most of 30 minutes I was on hold and then the call got disconnected.

        • The second agent tried to tell me my travel agent should have contacted me etc. Even though flight was booked directly through the airline, but apparently the Australian arm - the Singapore office - are agents for United.

        • The guy went on to explain where exactly the phone number should have been entered. I don't remember the exact conversation now, but I felt like he was implying that it's not their fault, but mine. Mind you he was talking about the data entry in their internal system - not United's website. My travel confirmation did have the correct contact information on the screen and when I printed it out.

        • I was getting a call from a friend from US while on phone with him and requested the agent to hold for a few minutes, he agreed but hung up after about two minutes.

        • Had to explain the whole thing to the next agent (third agent) and when she started with, I see that you have booked through xxxx xxxx (sorry I forgot what she said, it sounded like the name of an agent or another company), I just lost it.

        I'm usually a patient person and in the past haven't even thought of claiming for travel delays of 4-5 hours with SQ and then a missed connection (because it didn't throw my plans off by days and it didn't affect my plans at destination). But this experience has been ridiculous.

        Apologies for the rant.

        • neil on 15/06/2014 - 11:27

          If you booked through travel agent, you should have contacted your travel agent first instead of the airline. They should sort these issues out as well as are supposed to notify you of any issues. That's why you pay them extra over booking directly. The agents have access to the same booking system as United so you're better talking to them.

        • borealis on 15/06/2014 - 12:16

          No no. I booked directly via United's website.

          This is why I wasn't happy when they kept talking to me about the travel agent.

        • neil on 15/06/2014 - 17:09

          Ha. OK. That makes no sense then. They truly are a crap company.

  • neil on 14/06/2014 - 23:38

    I'm going to take a stab and guess you are flying United to the US? I flew with them a couple of months ago and they cancelled my flight with the same reason. Apparently it happens at least 1 once a week. Got zero compensation. I had no entertainment on 2 of my legs and they compensated me United miles. Generally if you complain they'll credit you miles or give you a voucher for $x off your next flight.

    • borealis on 15/06/2014 - 09:00

      Oh! That's slack.

      Yes, it is United.

      • neil on 15/06/2014 - 11:21

        Heh. My story here. They did give many people a $20 food voucher but I had left by the time that happened. The best compensation was flying other airlines to get to my destination.

        • borealis on 15/06/2014 - 12:22

          Oh wow! That sucks. Sorry about that.

          Good post about the carry-on contents acquired with the help of OzB, though :) Thanks for sharing.

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