Denied boarding apparently covered up as a delayed flight [closed]
![Denied boarding apparently covered up as a delayed flight [closed] - Orange and Green Label Airplane Ticket](/assets/images/denied_boarding_apparently_covered_up_as_a_delayed_flight_closed_0.jpeg "Denied boarding apparently covered up as a delayed flight [closed] - Orange and Green Label Airplane Ticket")
Last year, with famous EU company L, I had a trip A -> B -> C, with A a US city and B and C EU cities. First flight was at 5:00pm. Connection time in B was 3h. More than 3500 km between A and B.
The morning of my departure, I got a text message from L telling me that my flight was postponed until 12:15am (so a 7h15m delay!), because of a technical problem.
As I was sure to miss the connection in B, I called L. The guy on the phone tells me that I'll get a new flight to C when I'm in B. I refuse, saying it's too risky and I want to address this now. Ultimately, he proposes a trip A->D->C (with D another EU city) departing at 8:00pm and arriving 5h late in C (w.r.t. my original trip). I agreed to this.
But then I arrived early at A airport, at 5:00pm actually. Guess what I saw through the window: my original aircraft A->B was here and was precisely leaving on time! The L ground staff told me there was no problem on this aircraft or flight. I took pictures of the plane and also snapshots of the text messages.
A couple of weeks later, I contacted L and asked for a compensation. In my view, this was a denied boarding covered up as a delayed flight. They never answered to this but, after some insistence (and threatening of telling the Civil Aircraft Agency in my EU country), gave me 300 EUR. I was asking for 600 EUR as I thought it was denied boarding. L only spoke on the phone and never made a written commitment or answer to my mails.
My questions:
- Am I justified in thinking that a company could cover up a denied boarding as a delayed flight?
- Do you think I could have gotten 600 EUR, and if so, how then?
- What behavior would you advise if this happened again?
EDIT: There was only one company, L, I made a typo when I erote F. Fixed now.
Best Answer
So, a 7:15 delay is specific enough that my presumption would be a crew time issue initially. Somehow, they manged to rectify this and staff the original flight.
However, since you voluntarily rescheduled the flight, you were no longer delayed, presuming the A-D-C itinerary operated on time.
Pro Tip: Un-delaying a flight is quite rare, but it happens. I never push for re-accommodation unless there's a guaranteed new arrival time.
The 300 EUR was probably just hush money to not even file a complaint, despite the likely hood of it not being successful.
Pictures about "Denied boarding apparently covered up as a delayed flight [closed]"
![Denied boarding apparently covered up as a delayed flight [closed] - Tanning Photography of Flying Eagle-owl](/assets/images/denied_boarding_apparently_covered_up_as_a_delayed_flight_closed_1.jpeg "Denied boarding apparently covered up as a delayed flight [closed] - Tanning Photography of Flying Eagle-owl")
![Denied boarding apparently covered up as a delayed flight [closed] - Closeup of steering wheel and instrument panel in cockpit of retro basic trainer aircraft](/assets/images/denied_boarding_apparently_covered_up_as_a_delayed_flight_closed_2.jpeg "Denied boarding apparently covered up as a delayed flight [closed] - Closeup of steering wheel and instrument panel in cockpit of retro basic trainer aircraft")
![Denied boarding apparently covered up as a delayed flight [closed] - Colorful male specie of eastern bluebird starting flight](/assets/images/denied_boarding_apparently_covered_up_as_a_delayed_flight_closed_3.jpeg "Denied boarding apparently covered up as a delayed flight [closed] - Colorful male specie of eastern bluebird starting flight")
Can I get a refund if I was denied boarding?
Where involuntary denied boarding occurs, your air carrier must offer you the choice between; re-routing as soon as possible; re-routing at a later date at your convenience; and. a refund of the full cost of the unused flight ticket.What is the compensation for denied boarding?
This is called \u201cdenied boarding compensation\u201d or \u201cDBC\u201d for short. Most bumped passengers who experience short delays on flights will receive compensation equal to double the one-way price of the flight they were bumped from, but airlines may limit this amount to up to $775.Can you claim compensation if your flight is delayed?
If your flight's delayed for 3 or more hoursYou're entitled to get compensation if the flight arrives more than 3 hours late and it's the airline's fault - for example, if they didn't get enough bookings or there was a technical fault.What are the reasons for denied boarding?
Non-Discriminatory Reasons For Being Denied Boarding- Being intoxicated or under the influence of illegal drugs.
- Attempting to interfere with the duties of a flight crew member.
- Disrupting flight operations or engaging in unruly behavior.
- Having an offensive odor that is not caused by a disability or illness.
What To Do If Your Flight Is Delayed Or Canceled
More answers regarding denied boarding apparently covered up as a delayed flight [closed]
Answer 2
Why does it matter that your first flight actually flew on time? It is entirely irrelevant to your compensation claim. The relevant sequence of events is:
- You were booked for departure at 5 PM.
- You were told that the departure was delayed by over seven hours, meaning that you would miss your connection.
- You asked for and were booked on an alternative itinerary arriving five hours late.
As far as you were concerned, your flight was delayed. You were certainly not denied boarding. Your right to compensation should be the same as it would be if the original flight had in fact departed at 12:15 AM.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Torsten Dettlaff, Pixabay, Daniel Torobekov, Skyler Ewing