Advice required on Eu regs 261/2004
Good evening all.
I will try to keep this as short as I can.
I am booked with Virgin in group of 4 to travel from LGW - Las Vegas in Feb 12, staying for 4 nights. We have just found out that for reasons unknown our outbound flight has been cancelled.
Virgin have offered either:
1. A full refund
2. To travel out 1 day early
3. To travel out 1 day late.
We cannot go out 1 day early, and we want more than 3 nights in Vegas. If we get a refund we will be stuck with Delta flights via Atlanta, which is not what we had hoped for.
I had hoped that Virgin would transfer us onto a VS flight from Heathrow via San Francisco, with a connection for the short hop accross.
All Virgin will offer is to transfer onto the LHR - SFO flight, but then they have said it is our responsibility to pay for the onward connection.
Reading the EU Regs from the Virgin website, they state that we have the choice:
To take an alternative flight, under comparable transport conditions, to your final destination, where seats are available at the earliest opportunity.
I have spoke to the passenger complaints department at the CAA, and they feel that we are well within our rights to ask for the LHR - SFO - LAS flights, and that Virgin should accommodate our request.
If anybody can offer any advice, indicate if we are within our rights, or how best to procede then I would be grateful for any time you could spare.