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Hi
We had a flight cancelation on the 12th June flight W94452 from TLV-LTN
We were a couple with a young child, i have few points i am not sure about and would love some expertise on that1. we have rebooked next morning on Virgin VS454 , the travel agent informed us that the only option was Premium economy, So we booked this. Does Wizz needs to reimburse this as this was the only option available
2. our child turned 2 at midnight. do they need to reimburse me a complete new ticket appropriate for his new age?3. Also regarding compensation, they argued it was weather conditons, while other flights did fly on the same route at the same time, is the sufficent to prove them wrong ?
Thanks!!
Ignoring what follows, you need to remember that Wizz Air never actually pays out, even when you get a legal judgement against them, so whatever we say is a bit moot!
1. Tricky. I think Wizz Air could make the case that there are multiple airlines flying from Tel Aviv to London and so you unnecessarily spent more than necessary to give you an equivalent trip back. You would need to prove that for timing reasons this was the only option AND that Wizz had not offered you anything appropriate.
2. You are likely to be the first person ever to claim on this basis but should be OK
3. Not really. Bad weather restricts flow, eg an airport has to drop from 50 landings per hour to 40. 40 aircraft would still be landing ok so showing that other flights were still going doesn’t prove much.
Ignoring what follows, you need to remember that Wizz Air never actually pays out, even when you get a legal judgement against them, so whatever we say is a bit moot!
1. Tricky. I think Wizz Air could make the case that there are multiple airlines flying from Tel Aviv to London and so you unnecessarily spent more than necessary to give you an equivalent trip back. You would need to prove that for timing reasons this was the only option AND that Wizz had not offered you anything appropriate.
2. You are likely to be the first person ever to claim on this basis but should be OK
3. Not really. Bad weather restricts flow, eg an airport has to drop from 50 landings per hour to 40. 40 aircraft would still be landing ok so showing that other flights were still going doesn’t prove much.
Thaks for that. For point 1 we have a letter/ email from our travel agent confirming that. For number 3, another point to follow is that the flight was supposed to fly out about an hour before the storm started, and Luton airport was at the edge of the storm, meaning any few miles down south which is the route. would avoid this
You’re only entitled to re-routing in the same cabin, so you may have to find out what the cost of an economy ticket was and claim that. There are many reports of Wizz being extremely difficult to deal with so I can’t imagine they would agree to pay for PE.
Did you ask them to re-route you, as you should really give them the opportunity to do this before making your own arrangements?
Common sense would dictate that a seat should be provided for your 2-year-old but I don’t know if the situation specifically covers this scenario.
Did you ask them to re-route you, as you should really give them the opportunity to do this before making your own arrangements?
Hi I tried to get in touch but didn’t get a normative answer the only flight with space on was 48hr later on wizz
No chance regarding compensation. Airport traffic control might have restricted the flights in preparation for the storm and you just don’t know.
Regarding rebooking, you will need to prove that you have contacted Wizz Air and given them the chance to re-route you on their flight or another airline in economy. A letter from the travel agent should be very detailed in that regard, otherwise you stand no chance at MCOL. You also must be sure that the travel agent has not asked for a refund from Wizz Air as that ends all obligations from Wizz Air to you.
Regarding 2, it’s no different than asking to be reimbursed for a flight that costs more than the original one. I wouldn’t even mention the age in your letter before the action, it just complicates things.
Did you ask them to re-route you, as you should really give them the opportunity to do this before making your own arrangements?
Hi I tried to get in touch but didn’t get a normative answer the only flight with space on was 48hr later on wizz
So Wizz Air offered a re-route. This means that you will need to demonstrate why you had to take an earlier flight and how that minimises the cost. Wizz Air would have been on the hook for accommodation, meals and communication costs until the new flights.
Regarding economy/premium economy question – it’s difficult to imagine a scenario where there were no three seats in economy on any airline that flies the route either directly or indirectly.
I would think this is an insurance problem. You have 99% chance that Wizz air will bob and weave out of this and never pay a penny as @rob mentioned above. You may however have to jump through Wizz’s hoops initially just to get your insurance company involved as the first thing they will say is “speak to your carrier, its their problem to sort out not ours”.
I wont fly Wizz for this exact reason.
Did you ask them to re-route you, as you should really give them the opportunity to do this before making your own arrangements?
Hi I tried to get in touch but didn’t get a normative answer the only flight with space on was 48hr later on wizz
So Wizz Air offered a re-route. This means that you will need to demonstrate why you had to take an earlier flight and how that minimises the cost. Wizz Air would have been on the hook for accommodation, meals and communication costs until the new flights.
Regarding economy/premium economy question – it’s difficult to imagine a scenario where there were no three seats in economy on any airline that flies the route either directly or indirectly.
our wizz flight was a full flight from what i understand , meaning, there was about 180 people trying to fit in few flights that statisitcly are without this very packed.
I dont need to find a route with a stop. this wouldnt make senseRecently got AviationADR to complete a case and rule in my favor to make Wizz pay £90 for a hotel after a delay.
I checked and I originally created the case a year ago!
Now supposedly Wizz has 14 days to pay.
I had numerous problems on a trip to DBV with Wizz last year, but they did at least pay the welfare costs.
Our outbound flight did a ‘go around’, then landed at Bari to refuel, after only about 5 mins of circling the airport, and instead of staying the night there and trying again later or the next day, we went all the way back to LTN (they provided a hotel in Luton) and then flew out again the next evening, losing a full day of our holiday.
Then, on our return, our flight was cancelled at the airport, and this time they did not offer an alternative flight, and their next flight was 3 days later, so we had to make our own arrangements, although the booked a hotel for us that night close to the airport. As this was our first time having a cancellation, and being with my 2 year old, I was only willing to fly direct back. The other direct flights the next day were quickly booked by other passengers, and all other flights were ridiculously expensive or with long stops, so had to book for 2 nights later, to LGW on Easyjet (my car being in Luton).
I put 2 separate claims in, one for welfare, and the second for UK261.
They paid out the welfare costs around 2 months later, including the extra night I had to pay in Dubrovnik, the extra flights I had to book on Easyjet, extra cab journeys to/from airport, and even the night we lost at the beginning, which I was surprised about, but they deducted the cost of the return flight I had already paid for; is that correct, seeing as I had already paid for their flight, and now had to book separate flights? I didn’t bother to argue it, nor did I claim food, even though I was entitled to it.
They rejected the UK261 claims for both the outbound and inbound both times citing weather. I felt like yhe delay to our outbound arrival time was partly operational, seeing as we had to refuel after just 1 attempt at the landing, and only 5 mins circling, and the for the inbound, the fact that every other flight departed, and all the flights due to land at LTN as our arrival time also landed. I know there can be ATC restrictions, but I still decided to escalate to Aviation ADR and am waiting for a decision.
@davidtzvi You went on to purchase tickets in a higher class without giving Wizz Air proper chance to re-route you.
If you urgently needed to be in London then you need to demonstrate that you did ask and Wizz Air refused to re-route you due to your specific circumstances.
If it was so urgent, it would make perfect sense to take an indirect route in economy to be in London earlier than what Wizz Air proposed, i.e. seats 48hrs later. As per law, you have as much as obligation to minimise the costs as the airline.
Did you ask them to re-route you, as you should really give them the opportunity to do this before making your own arrangements?
Hi I tried to get in touch but didn’t get a normative answer the only flight with space on was 48hr later on wizz
So Wizz Air offered a re-route. This means that you will need to demonstrate why you had to take an earlier flight and how that minimises the cost. Wizz Air would have been on the hook for accommodation, meals and communication costs until the new flights.
Regarding economy/premium economy question – it’s difficult to imagine a scenario where there were no three seats in economy on any airline that flies the route either directly or indirectly.
our wizz flight was a full flight from what i understand , meaning, there was about 180 people trying to fit in few flights that statisitcly are without this very packed.
I dont need to find a route with a stop. this wouldnt make senseUK261 guidance says connecting flights should be avoided if possible, but they are allowed under the regulations. The Israeli Aviation Services Law also doesn’t offer anything better, but if you have that option, you could enquire locally about the likelihood of Wizz complying / paying up if you were to make your complaint there. Neither set of of regulations provides for the airline to pay for your elective upgrade.
Did you ask them to re-route you, as you should really give them the opportunity to do this before making your own arrangements?
Hi I tried to get in touch but didn’t get a normative answer the only flight with space on was 48hr later on wizz
So Wizz Air offered a re-route. This means that you will need to demonstrate why you had to take an earlier flight and how that minimises the cost. Wizz Air would have been on the hook for accommodation, meals and communication costs until the new flights.
Regarding economy/premium economy question – it’s difficult to imagine a scenario where there were no three seats in economy on any airline that flies the route either directly or indirectly.
our wizz flight was a full flight from what i understand , meaning, there was about 180 people trying to fit in few flights that statisitcly are without this very packed.
I dont need to find a route with a stop. this wouldnt make senseYou said that they offered seats on a flight 48h later on Wizz Air. Judge or arbitrator would find that reasonable unless you could provide proof that you needed to be in London earlier and if you would needed to be so urgently then why not take any route in economy that is reasonable which may include a short stopover.
You went on to purchase tickets in a higher class without giving Wizz Air proper chance to re-route you.
I don’t view 48 hrs as reasonable if there are other airlines’ flights within the same day of the cancellation or half a day after.
Why should the passenger be inconvenienced? The default should be that he purchased a ticket giving him travel on a day at a particular time, that he often doesn’t have the right to change or cancel or not appear for without losing his money. And yet someone is thinking that the airline has the unilateral right to cancel what the passenger booked and that the passenger has to wait up to 48 hours at the canceling airline’s convenience?
If it’s the Galapagos or somewhere where there are only 2 flights in and out a week and there is literally no other flight, yes that’s just about acceptable, but should still be compensated for the inconvenience of, and in all cases fair expenses for any extended stay paid. But so long as someone else’s flight is running or there’s an indirect route to replace the cancelled flight, whether all or part can be on the cancelling airline’s flights, then there should be no accusing a passenger who has already been inconvenienced of being unreasonable if he says his life can’t wait 48 hrs to suit the airline’s convenicence or profit.
@meta I’m surprised at you!@LadyLondon
I think you haven’t read my answer properly and need to contextualise my answer within:
a) passenger only attempting once to get a re-route with Wizz Air (or was it their travel agent?)
b) passenger opting to book a higher class rather than get to their destination in economy via indirect route straight away
c) passenger relying on travel agent’s wordThis all works against OP.
I suggested that OP should have re-routed himself in economy via indirect flight. In that case there would be very little for Wizz Air to argue against.
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