EZY3244 Fri 9th June cancellation

[primalgeek]

Hi folks,

I’m looking for some advice on what compensation my party should be entitled to for the cancellation of EZY3244 and subsequent re-booking of EZY9244 the following day. This was booked as part of a Package Trip (flights, transfers and hotel) and I’m wondering if there is enhanced protection under Package Travel Regulations rather than flight only regulations?

In summary (I’ll post the entire chain of events further down):
– EZY3244 scheduled to depart 21:50.
– Pushed off from Gate at 00:00.
– Informed by Captain that we were unable to depart CDG due to curfew and returned to gate.
– Rebooked onto EZY9244 (11:30). EasyJet say “extraordinary circumstances”.
– Arrived at Hotel provided @ 05:40.
– Hotel inappropriate for anyone to stay in (1 room not cleaned; 1 room already occupied; + Trip advisor feedback such as Bed Bugs etc…)
– My Daughter has Coeliac Disease and, despite informing EasyJet ground staff of this, no GF food was provided to her. CDG is not very GF friendly either so I was unable to find a GF meal for her.

EasyJet have now come back on my complaint offering £50pp compensation and say EC261 regulation is not valid due to ATC restrictions.

Should I be going down the route of Package Travel Regulations for my compliant? Also £50/pp seems to be a paltry amount compared to what happened, am I right?

Full complaint / schedule of events as best as I remember them:
1 On Friday 9th June our flight EZY3244, scheduled departure 21:50, was delayed numerous times throughout the evening.
2 When we finally boarded the Captain noted that air-traffic control issues had caused the delay however this was further exacerbated by a crew switch-over.
3 Captain noted that at CDG there is midnight curfew for “push off” from the gate but there should still be enough time.
4 Aircraft pushed off at exactly midnight and the Captain soon after notified passengers that this was 30 seconds too late and discussions were taking place to try and
allow us to take off. At that time we were informed that should the curfew be ignored the penalty is $40k.
5 Captain announced that we would be returning to the gate as EasyJet were unwilling to pay the penalty. Captain also clarified that in additional to the financial penalty, EasyJet are only
allowed to go breach the curfew a certain number of times before the route is put at risk.
6 A member of Cabin Crew noted to passengers that the doors closed at 23:52 and this is “normally plenty of time” to push off.
7 Emails from EasyJet cite “extraordinary circumstances” for the flight delay.
– This classification seems at odds with additional delay caused by the crew switch over.
– Given that the replacement flight is given the flight number EZY9244; we had to re-check in; go thru security and passport control this would suggest that it is a cancellation and rebook
and not simply a delay.
8 01:00 Notified replacement flight details by email.
9 Spent several hours within CDG whilst accommodation was sorted.
– At this time I notified an EasyJet member of ground staff, noted by the person wearing an EasyJet blazer, that my daughter has coeliac disease and
would require a gluten free meal to be provided.
10 03:45 Finally received notification from ground staff of hotel allocated: Comfort Hotel
11 03:55 Boarded Bus to hotel and bus leaves soon after.
12 05:40 Arrived at hotel (Comfort Hotel Paris Porte d’Ivry).
– Had we gone direct to the hotel, according to google maps, this would have been a 34km / 33min journey.
– Instead we went via Hotel Mercure Chantilly. This is in completely the opposite direction of our destination and according to google maps takes the journey to 108km.
Note, as far as I understand there had already been a bus that was destined for the Hotel Mercure Chantilly.
13 Rooms provided to my party at the hotel:
– 1 room was already occupied with someone sleeping in it when we entered.
– 1 room was unkempt/dirty with beds unmade and towels thrown on the bathroom floor (see attached photos).
14 Due to the above, especially the ability to be given an already occupied room, we feel unsafe to sleep in the hotel.
15 A simple look at the last 3 reviews on Trip Advisor (“Bed Bugs”; “Worst dump of a hotel I’ve ever stayed in”; “bed bug and cockroaches”) suggests that this hotel in not fit for purpose.
16 In the foyer discuss our experience of the hotel with a fellow EZY3244 survivor. Our experience of dirty rooms and already occupied rooms is mirrored by
her (both rooms she was provided were the same).
17 06:14 Discuss issues with EasyJet customer support staff and agree that we are not willing to stay there and we should get a taxi back to CDG, which has been re-imbursed by EasyJet.
18 07:00 No Gluten Free options (see point 9) provided by hotel for breakfast.
19 07:45 Taxi departs to take us through to CDG.
20 08:15 Taxi arrives at CDG. (30 min journey compared to the 1hr 45 min journey to get there).
21 09:00 Baggage Drop / Check-in for EZY9244, scheduled for 11:30, and proceed through to wait at gate.
22 Gate opens and Passengers begin to board
23 11:10 Gate closes and remaining passengers not yet through the gate are notified that boarding has stopped because of “technical issues”.
24 11:15 Informed the technical issue is actually no food for the flight.
25 11:15 Passengers already thru the gate, and presumably boarded, return.
26 Passengers, including myself, remonstrate that “no food” is not a sufficient reason to prevent boarding and departure given what has happened previously and also it is a short haul flight.
27 11:30 Gate reopens.
28 Captain notes that he arrived at 8am to try and personally organise food for the flight but he has made the “executive decision” to fly without food given our “poor treatment” thus far.
29 12:15 flight finally departs.
30 On arrival home we finally manage to provide a Gluten Free meal for my daughter

Thanks in advance 🙂

[JDB]

@primalgeek – that sounds an awful situation. I think the bottom line is that there is no reason you would do better under the Package regulations than under UK261. It would appear that easyJet is covering the hotel costs caused by the overnight delay together with transpiration etc. and however unsatisfactory that was, any money they offer is really on an ex gratia basis. On the question of delay compensation, that will all come down to the question of whether ‘extraordinary circumstances’ applied. If what they have told you is their final decision, you can escalate the matter to AviationADR and easyJet will have to provide proper evidence to them if they wish to use the ‘extraordinary circumstances’ get out. I fear they may prevail, however unfair that may seem. In respect of the flight number change, that doesn’t in itself constitute a cancellation per the Interpretative Guidelines and next day delays do often get renumbered to avoid confusion with any other flight (ie your original flight number operating on the same day, although more common just to add an X).

[Richie]

The $40k penalty is affordable.