Flight cancelled & rebooked entitled to compensation or not?

[Erna]

This morning my (connecting from Bangkok) flight with Austrian Airlines OS 351 leaving Vienna at 07h05 got cancelled due to technical reasons (plane broke down).

I am rebooked on flight OS 353 leaving Vienna at 13h50 and I was wondering if I was entitled to a financial compensation? At the info desk they told me that technical reasons are a reason for giving NO financial compensation.....
I don't agree, I don't think these are "extraordinary circumstances".....

Any tips on how to handle this and obtain my compensation of 250 euro?

On the other hand I have to say they were correct in giving us a meal voucher and the possibility to make a phone call....

Thanks for an answer!

Erna

[tolipanebas]

Your airline is 100% correct: when your flight is delayed due to a technical reason, you are NOT entitled to a compensation. Same for a delay due to a strike BTW, in case some people would wonder...

The compensation legislation of the EU is primarily aimed at discouraging airlines to refuse boarding to some pax on the grounds of the well-known habit of OVERBOOKING a flight, so it explicitly excluses compensation for denied boarding due to technical, meteorological or a whole range of other reasons which are NOT it the hands of the airlines.

If you don't agree with how your operating carrier is interpreting the compensation rules, you can always go to court over it or file a complaint with the EU, but you'll have a ZERO chance of winning in this case: technical reasons are explicitly mentioned in the EU legislation as exemples of 'force majeur', so there is no room for interpretation in your case I am afraid....

Besides, it's not like your airline isn't taking care of you, I see: they are doing everything possible to help reduce the discomfort by providing you assistance and a free lunch.

Here's a quote (in Dutch) from the EU legislation concerning compensation in case of denied Boarding:261/2004, which clearly excludes technical reasons as ground for compensation.

de verplichtingen die worden opgelegd aan de luchtvaartmaatschappijen die de vluchten uitvoeren dienen te worden beperkt of uitgesloten in gevallen waarin een gebeurtenis het gevolg is van buitengewone
omstandigheden die zelfs door het treffen van alle redelijke maatregelen niet voorkomen hadden kunnen worden. Dergelijke omstandigheden kunnen zich met name voordoen in gevallen van politieke onstabiliteit, weersomstandigheden die uitvoering van de vlucht in kwestie verhinderen, beveiligingsproblemen, onverwachte vliegveiligheidsproblemen en stakingen die gevolgen hebben voor de vluchtuitvoering van de luchtvaartmaatschappij die de vlucht uitvoert.

[regi]

By the way Erna,
I hope for you that the toilets at Brussels were cleaner than during your previous visit.

[Erna]

Hello Regi,

I am still trying to get to Zaventem....
My new flight will leave at 13h50 in Vienna and will hopefully arrive at 15h45 at Zaventem;

Greetz,

Erna

[sn26567]

And after all, Vienna airport is a nice one. I remember the free WiFi in the lounges, which you seem to enjoy, Erna.

[Erna]

The only thing that keeps me from falling asleep (been on the road since 19u00 yesterday!) is surfing the web....

And now it's time to go to the gate.....hopefully I'll be in Zaventem in a couple of hours (with my luggage?????)!

Erna

[regi]

an experienced traveller who can answer questions about cancelling, rebooking, choosing other destinations at transfer hubs etcetera is Gary Glitter.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7572477.stm

[Vexje]

well do not hundred percent agree:

The EU regulations also stipulates that the airline must DO EVERYTHING possible to avoid the delay or cancellation. In an hub airport as Vienna clearly is for OS, possibilities to switch around aircraft are widely available to limit delays. so I believe he should be entitled to compensation....

Had a delay once with SN for technical and got rebooked on another, taking pictures a different intervals I could prove they did not everything possible to resolve and forced them to compensate me.

I took pictures of 4 aircraft standing on the tarmac for over 4 hours (while my MXP rt flight would have taken then little under 4 hours), did they everything to resolve, I don't think so, on the other my flight had only 16 pax booked, so maybe that was the real reason.

I would still ask compensation, and maybe get a nice ticket out of it, the harder you nag, the more impatient they get and hand you morejust to get rid of you.

[Stij]

I took pictures of 4 aircraft standing on the tarmac for over 4 hours (while my MXP rt flight would have taken then little under 4 hours), did they everything to resolve, I don't think so, on the other my flight had only 16 pax booked, so maybe that was the real reason.

Good thinking! I'll do the same next time!!!

But let's assume they hadn't a spare plane, but they still cancelled your flight because of the low number of PAX and told you it was because of technical reasons. You wouldn't have been able to prove the plane didn't go technical. So the policy works well against overbooking, but not against the cancelling of flights, or does it?

Cheers,

Stij

[Erna]

Because the original flight was at 07h05 I assume this plane didn't fly in in the morning, so normally they should have detected the technical failure the evening before.... and that left them plenty of time for finding a replacement aircraft, no?

Anyway, my claim is in the hands of EUClaim, I am curious if they can obtain me a compensation.....

Erna

[Stij]

Because the original flight was at 07h05 I assume this plane didn't fly in in the morning, so normally they should have detected the technical failure the evening before.... and that left them plenty of time for finding a replacement aircraft, no?

When I park my car in the evening in excellent workling conditions it happens I can't start iot in the morning. I don't think it's 100% waterproof, but I wish you all the luck!!!

Cheers,

Stij

[LX-LGX]

Yesterday (22 Dec 2008), the EU Court of Justice has ruled that a cancellation because of a technical failure is also a valid reason for a passenger to recieve compensation from the airline, as set out in EU-Regulation 261/2004. I've posted the press release from the EU Court of Justice on luchtzak's press release page:
viewtopic.php?f=31&t=38753

Today, the European Commission reconfirms that exceptional circumstances really have to be exceptional, and that a technical failure is not exceptional.

... The European Commission welcomes the European Court of Justice's decision on air passenger rights
The European Court of Justice has established today that as a general rule air carriers are obliged to pay compensation to passengers in case of cancellations due to technical problems in the aircraft. It ruled that a technical problem in an aircraft which leads to the cancellation of a flight is not covered by the concept of "extraordinary circumstances" exonerating air carriers, unless that problem stems from events which, by their nature or origin, are not inherent in the normal exercise of the activity of the air carrier concerned and are beyond its actual control, which would have to be proven by the carrier. This judgement was handed down in a case in which an Austrian citizen brought legal proceedings against Alitalia after the airline refused to pay compensation for a flight from Vienna to Brindisi passing through Rome. "The effective respect of passenger rights is one of our major priorities" said European Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani, responsible for transport policy. "The Court's judgement confirms the interpretation of the Commission that the exceptional circumstances that exonerate airlines from their responsibility must be truly exceptional".

(Source: EU Press release IP/08/2058)

I understand this must be quite surprising news for airlines (if not shocking), specially for those using all their aircraft 25 hours per day. But the judgement reconfirms that EU-261/2004 is a consumer protection regulation.

[SN1203]

Had a delay once with SN for technical and got rebooked on another, taking pictures a different intervals I could prove they did not everything possible to resolve and forced them to compensate me.

I took pictures of 4 aircraft standing on the tarmac for over 4 hours (while my MXP rt flight would have taken then little under 4 hours), did they everything to resolve, I don't think so, on the other my flight had only 16 pax booked, so maybe that was the real reason.

I would still ask compensation, and maybe get a nice ticket out of it, the harder you nag, the more impatient they get and hand you morejust to get rid of you.

So because SN has spare aircraft on the tarmac, they should just take another aircraft and put it on your MXP flight If it would only be so easy...

x from reloading the catering/bags & reboarding the passengers to dispatching another aircraft to/from MXP and preparing this aircraft in BRU for the next flight, you need much more than 4 hrs

x even if you have an aircraft available, you also need a reserve crew (as you'll build up a delay, so the crew wouldn't be back in BRU on-time for the next flight, or in case the crew had flights before they might be getting out of hours)

You cannot just take a picture of an SN aircraft on the tarmac and claim that SN hasn't done everything to operate your flight, that's just a bit too easy, right? You also can't say that they cancelled your flight because there were only 16 passengers, as you don't know the number of booked passengers on the return flight.

Whenever there is an aircraft that cannot operate a certain flight for whatever reason, an airline company will always check if there is a spare aircraft available. If this is not the case (even if you see 10 aircraft parked on the tarmac), they'll cancel your flight (brussels airlines flies 5x daily to MXP so you can always rebook the passengers onto the next flight). At SN an aircraft change is a very common procedure by the way to sort out (operational) problems and it happens every day, so it's not like SN will just cancel a flight if they don't have to.