Swissport industrial action at Brussels Airport

[tolipanebas]

If Brussels Airlines does not give a compensation to its customers (passengers), I fail to see why Swissport should give a compensation to its customers (airlines).

Because it's a reimbursement of the costs made by the airline to deliver over 20,000 pieces of luggage at homes all over Europe by courier service, simple as that.

If passengers have incurred additional costs because of the strike too, they are of course entitled to file their own financial claim for a full reimbursement from Swissport, just like the airline does.

In this case however, they were lucky the airline took the costs upon itself to start off with, iso asking them for a 'handling fee' upon the opening of a file on their lost luggage, but it's interesting to see how you wouldn't mind for a second paying say a 100 euro deposit next time your suitcase gets lost, just to cover the administrative and handling costs of your case, in the hope of seeing your lost luggage back one day...

[tolipanebas]

Agreed, the passengers have no contract with Swissport; they have a contract with Brussels Airlines, who has a contract with Swissport.

Indeed

Thus, Brussels Airlines seek a compensation from Swissport in order to allocate that compensation to its prejudiced passengers.

Indeed, and that money was entirely spent on actually delivering the lost luggage at their home.

I had not understood at first.

Actually, you still haven't, because it happened the other way round: the airline FIRST spent the money, and is NOW seeking reimbursement, so in order to make it fit your naive logic, somebody should also pay the cost of pre-financing the entire program: how about asking the passenger for a 'retrieval fee', maybe?
Sounds good, doesn't it?

[cnc]

Actually, you still haven't, because it happened the other way round: the airline FIRST spent the money, and is NOW seeking reimbursement, so in order to make it fit your naive logic, somebody should also pay the cost of pre-financing the entire program: how about asking the passenger for a 'retrieval fee', maybe?
Sounds good, doesn't it?

actually this isn't always the case as it depends on the L&F part in the contract it is possible that the handler takes the full cost of returning the bags and sends the bill to the airline after or even not at all

[OO-ITR]

Feel free to give us one example of an airline who gave a compensation to their pax because of a handlers strike.

I thought so.
Thus, if Swissport has to compensate someone, it's the travellers.
And what happens instead ?
" SN seeks for over €4M in financial compensations from Swissport over the strike...."
Some cheek !

Just like I thought. Not an answer to my question. Just more 'air'
Maybe SN (and other airlines) are looking for compensation for their losses like Romax stated above.
And above all who says that SN didn't compensate pax making individual claims???
Don't tell you are someone who has this kind of inside information.

[airazurxtror]

Because it's a reimbursement of the costs made by the airline to deliver over 20,000 pieces of luggage at homes all over Europe by courier service, simple as that.

If passengers have incurred additional costs because of the strike too, they are of course entitled to file their own financial claim for a full reimbursement from Swissport, just like the airline does.

In this case however, they were lucky the airline took the costs upon itself to start off with, iso asking them for a 'handling fee' upon the opening of a file on their lost luggage, but it's interesting to see how you wouldn't mind for a second paying say a 100 euro deposit next time your suitcase gets lost, just to cover the administrative and handling costs of your case, in the hope of seeing your lost luggage back one day...

I should think that delivering delayed baggages to their owner is the very least that Brussels Airlines could do.
The passengers, as I have been made to realize here above, have no contract with Swissairport, they have a contract with Brussels Airlines, full stop.
And don't try to ape the LCC fees : Brussels Airlines is not a low-cost but a (very) high-cost airline.

[RoMax]

I should think that delivering delayed baggages to their owner is the very least that Brussels Airlines could do.
The passengers, as I have been made to realize here above, have no contract with Swissairport, they have a contract with Brussels Airlines, full stop.

Isn't that exactly what Brussels airlines did? They delivered thousands of pieces of luggage around Europe (and beyond?). Their own staff did a lot of extra work, so I assume they have quite an amount of extra working hours to pay. And that's even without the loss in revenue due to the strike and loss of image due to Swissport. It's quite normal that they want to refund their loss from Swissport, that's why they have contracts.

I really don't understand what's the problem here...
The reason Tolipanebas makes such comments is because you seem to think that SN should compensate their passengers with this 4 million from Swissport. No, because they have already spent that money, now they simply want it back from the company that caused their extra costs.
And when you are making such comments when talking about SN, you don't have to be supprised that some members make "LCC-comments", that's called having a bad reputation.

[Passenger]

First things first : have the inconvenienced passengers been given financial compensations ?
I doubt it (but I may be wrong), as :

http://www.brusselsairlines.com/en_be/m ... tions.aspx

If the cause of the cancellation is beyond the control of the airline, such as political instability, meteorological conditions, security risks, unexpected flight safety shortcomings, strikes or air traffic management decisions, then the above provision on the payment of compensation does not apply and above obligations imposed on us may be limited or excluded.

Nevertheless, the carrier will not be liable for Damage occasioned by delay if it proves that it and its servants and agents took all necessary measures that could reasonably be required to avoid the Damage or that it was impossible for it or them to take such measures.

If Brussels Airlines does not give a compensation to its customers (passengers), I fail to see why Swissport should give a compensation to its customers (airlines).
And if Swissport is willing to give a compensation, it should give it to the passengers who have missed their luggage for days if not weeks.

Wrong.

The above quote "if the cause of the cancellation..." is a shortened version by Brussels Airlines of EU Rule 261/2004, aka Denied Boarding. And indeed, the airline probably hasn’t paid the indemnity that 261/2004 orders (150 € for short intra-Europe, 600 € for Africa) because strikes are mentioned as a possibility to limit or exclude the responsibilities. But there are other costs the airline had to make. EU 261/2004 forces the airline to arrange rebookings, even if that’s with other airlines (Involuntary Reroutings). The airline has to provide meals and drinks vouchers (for pax who have to wait) and the airline even has to provide hotel accommodation for stranded pax (example when connection to a long haul will be missed at another airport).

The luggage costs / compensations are different from EU Rule 261/2004.

At airports where there is no Swissport representative, the airlines have to arrange the courier costs to deliver delayed luggage at a hotel or a private house. Airlines will claim the costs back from Swissport.

Some insurance companies will pay an indemnity for late delivery (usually 250€), some won’t pay at all, some will only pay for late delivery during the days of the actual strike. But all those insurance companies ask for a refund from the airline that has caused the delay.

Some individuals will also start a civil case for the damage the cancellation or delay caused. Civil courts in such cases don’t argue with EU-Rule 261/2004, but with the legal principle of “hand of god / overmacht / force majeure”. And that is easy: a strike is not overmacht/force majeure because it’s avoidable. Nobody forces employees to go on strike and nobody forbits management to give in at the moment a strike starts. Only wildcat strikes and strikes by public servants are accepted as overmacht/force majeure. It will lead us too far, but I can assure you that some Belgian medical specialists have recovered substantial income loss after a previous strike at Brussels Airport.