Flight Delay – Airline Compensation??

[SRENNAPS]

Flight Delay – Airline Compensation??

Not certain if I am allowed to ask a question such as this here, so if I have broken the rules please delete and I apologise.

Myself and Mrs Srennaps have recently had a special holiday in Penang. During our return trip the flight from Penang to KL was seriously delayed we ended up missing our connection in KL back to Heathrow.
The airline in question was pretty good and they put us up in a hotel (0200 in the morning) and “fitted” us into the next flight the following morning.
As you can imagine a few of our fellow passengers (17 of us in total) were none too happy and complained quite strongly. We were informed that we would need to contact the airline on our return to UK.
The next flight (being a day flight) was very tiring for all of us (little sleep the night before etc, etc) and our final delay was just under 12 hours in total.

Normally I don’t complain over such things and as I said the airline did try to look after us. However I thought what the heck and emailed the airline about the incident.

The airline has replied, offering us what I consider to be a generous 40% discount on a return flight to KL (to be used within 12 months) plus membership of their air miles scheme, giving us 7000 points.

The problem is that we went to Penang for a very special reason and have no intention of returning within the next 12 months. So all in all, their offer is of little use to us, unless we change our plans. I have informed them of this but they tell me that it is a gesture of good will and cannot offer anything else.

I have researched the website and for EU flights compensation is pretty clear cut. However, for any other airline it is seems a bit vague on what the responsibilities of the airline are after such an incident.

Could anybody advise me whether I can take this further and claim some other form of compensation or is the airline correct in saying that they cannot offer anything else?

One final question; if the airline is correct and I accept their “gesture of good will”, can I then claim off my travel insurance??

Please excuse my ignorance in this matter, but I really don’t know!!!

Thank you for your time for reading this and in any responses you may be able to provide.

[Large fries]

My view is that the airline have done more than enough for you. The delay was under 12 hours and they found a hotel for you, that is way beyond what most airlines would do. The frequent flier points might be of some use, most schemes allow you to use them for various things, not just flights (cheap car hire, days out etc.). The 40% discount of a future flight would probably only apply to a full price flight, not a cheap internet deal. I think you have done ok and would settle for this offer.

[Exascot]

Personally I can't see why you shouldn't ask this question here so I will answer it to the best of my knowledge from a travel consultants point of view.

I am presuming that there was no financial loss. The airline looked after you to the best of their ability. I do not think that you are due any compensation from the airline. I presume that your travel insurance will pay for the inconvenience of your delay. Different insurance companies give different amounts for certain numbers of hours.

The offer of a 40% discount on the KL run I feel is very generous and something they were not obliged to do. I would advise a client to approach them and explain that this is not a regular run for you (then a bit of ingratiation) and would they be prepared to offer this to you on a different route as long as the price was the same or less.

In a court of law however this offer could be seen as an admission of guilt and if they are not obliged to compensate it was a slightly naive move.

As far as claiming from your travel insurance company - my view is that they are all a bunch of thieving :mad: Your contract with them and the offer from the airline are two completely different matters.

I may not be 100% right without knowing the airline concerned and further info. PM me if you wish with your e-mail address if you are happy to do that.

[WHBM]

Those of us who do a lot of travelling come to recognise that with complex itineraries (like making connections a continent away), it's about a 90% chance that it will work out, and 10% that it won't. That's how it is. Frankly, I am grateful the industry has developed to that 90% mark.

I really think it's a bit sad that those who have cost the airline far more money than any profit there may have been on their fare (especially cheap Y fares), in extra overnight accommodation, ground meals, and lost potental revenue in putting them in a second seat when their first was flown empty, should just dismiss this provision, which is really done for commercial goodwill, and start "strong complaining" and kicking up for further cash compensation.

I think we can have a good guess of who the carrier was here on Penang-KL-London, and that this was an afternoon/evening departure from Penang connecting into the overnight long haul. Now there is only one overnight flight to London, compared to 10 per day on that domestic leg. On the outbound, you can be reasonably assured that if you miss the connection, they will put you on the next one not too far behind. For the return, was any consideration given to taking an earlier connecting flight from Penang to allow some good leeway at this key connecting point ? Or was it a case of maximise the time on the beach, take the last flight the schedule allows, get a problem (excuse me but this is the tropics, that's why you went there for the warmth but thunderstorms and bad weather are daily events there), and then kick up that any missed connection is all someone else's fault ?

[SRENNAPS]

Many thanks for your comments. Some of them are most helpful.

I had already said that I thought their offer was most generous and I certainly would not have expected the quite good treatment they gave us when compared to the shoddy treatment you can expect in this country.

I was only asking because I do not know the rules and quite frankly I have always been the mug when not complaining or claiming for various things. Do you know that in 30 years of marriage I have never once claimed on my house insurance? How many people can say that??

Large Fries
Thanks for your comments and to be quite honest I tend to be in agreement with you.

WHBM
If it is of any consolation, we were there for our 30th wedding anniversary and because I lived there when I was 10 years old when my Dad served in the Royal Air Force. We spent no time on the beach; we were there to see the culture and Penang way of life and all the places I went to and played as a kid. It was a once in a lifetime trip for us and not one that I can afford to do every other week, month or even year. The flights were booked for us and I had no say in the matter of the times. When it became apparent that we were going to be stuck in KL it did not bother me in the least. Having spent 29 years in the RAF you get used to be stuck in some places far worse than KL. When the argument kicked off with the other passengers, I was the one that intervened and calmed things down. In fact I was personally thanked by the airline staff and a couple of the British passengers for doing so.
But I would like to thank you for assuming that I am like the rest of the negative, half glass empty morons that live in this country, who just moan and try to look at the bad side of everything.

Exascot
Thank you for your excellent comments. If you don’t mind I will PM you my email.