Reply To: Cancelled flight rebooking advice

[JDB]

@Nepweno – the law (EC261 Article 8.1(b) says “re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at the earliest opportunity” but that is of course open to interpretation. The Interpretative Guidelines say that connections should be avoided where possible but that shouldn’t mean you can’t have a connecting flight. The reality must be that Virgin has a commercial rebooking agreement with El Al on this route but not with Air France (although part of their SkyTeam family) for longer term cancellations. That’s the law but you can’t force strict application of it on your terms. That’s an issue that would have to be decided later at ADR or MCOL if you reach deadlock. What’s reasonable to you may be different to what’s reasonable in the eyes of the airline and adjudicator or judge. It appears that Virgin’s problem is the last leg from a European city so I guess you need to ask if there are any other connecting flights they might agree to rebook and ticket – look up and see what’s available and give them some options. If they still say no, you then have to decide whether you want to accept travelling two days later, rebooking something directly yourself and either getting a refund and claiming the difference or claiming for the full cost of your self rerouting.