Delayed flight who's to blame

[norbatious]

Last week we were due to fly out to Spain from dublin at 5.45am.
We boarded on time and sat on the plane for 2hrs, we were then taken off the plane, and the pilot announced that we would get a cooked breakfast.
After an hour we made our way up to the food hall but we had to pay €35 for 3 small breakfasts.
Two more hours past and we then received meal vouchers valued at €8, I asked for our bags and was informed if we left we would loose all our monies, so we stuck it out,eventually we got going after 11 and 1/2hours.
There was over 150 people stuck in room with no water or fresh air , and as for the reps from the airline and the travel agent, totally useless they couldnt have cared less.

Have we a case for any kind of compensation as its not the money or the supposedly malfunction that annoyed me , it was the way we were treated, animals would have been better looked after.

 

[annet]

Look at EU Reg No. 261/2004 on www.aviationreg.ie section on your rights.

What reason did the airline give for the delay. Irrespectively, the airline under the above reg must provide you with a document that explains your rights under this regulation as an affected passenger. Secondly, you were entitled to two telephone calls, emails, faxes etc. from the airline. Under Article 8, you were entitled to meals and refreshments in a reasonable relation to your waiting time. If you were only provided with €8 in total - I wouldnt consider that reasonable for a 11 1/2 hour delay let alone 3 people. Have you kept your receipts? I'd put in a complaint to the airline looking for a refund of the reasonable expenses that you incurred. Unfortunately, you are not entitled to any form of financial compensation.

 

[ney001]

There was over 150 people stuck in room with no water or fresh air .

Where was the room? were you free to roam about the departure gates or were you literally put into a room together - sounds a bit drastic if that was the case! Also was it €8 each or between three??

 

[Paulone]

I think the question isn't 'who's to blame' - there are as many reasons for extremely delayed flights as there are delayed flights. I believe the real issue is who's responsibility is it to look after the delayed passengers and how are they looked after.

From what the OP says, it looks like they got their entitlement ok, but it was a while coming. The lack of information is completely normal - there is a special kind of 'no one knows what's happening' that takes place in relation to air travel and, having been delayed a few times (tho never by that much) you learn not to expect much in terms of information.

The small room thing sounds strange - anytime I was seriously delayed and we were either let off or had not boarded, we were permitted to go into the main departure lounge - usually with a stern warning not to go too far from the gate for fear there was a development. In a group, one of our number would go to check the board and/or the gate every 20minutes or so to check.

It's only in airports like Gatwick where I have been corralled into one of those awful glass-box rooms following the gnat's-ass photo and passport control check that we haven't been able to leave. Thank the Lord delays weren't longer than an hour in those instances.

BTW - the fact that the OP had by that stage received a voucher for refreshments means that the airline will consider that they have money to get water from one of those drinks machines that are a standard fitment in those glass box rooms.

I have heard of ridiculous things happening to get passengers on their way again. In one instance, a flight from Italy was delayed by more than six hours into the wee-small early hours of the morning because the plane that was sent as a replacement for the one they tried to but couldn't fix had to fly out from Dublin.

Another time, the carrier had to wait for the availability of a plane from another route to divert it to the airport where we had landed so as to continue the journey. The Dublin crew on the first half of the flight were replaced by French crew and a bigger plane!

I'm sorry for the OP's trouble but I don't think its the worst. I remember a story some years ago where a flight to Florida or some such place from Belfast International was delayed for more than 24 hours. The passengers were sent home and turned up at the airport twice more before they were able to go.

 

[elcato]

Last week we were due to fly out to Spain from dublin

After an hour we made our way up to the food hall

There was over 150 people stuck in room with no water or fresh air

Last part doesn't make sense. Never heard if being kept in a room in Dublin airport. While I sympathize with your delay you just have to accept that it may have been no fault of the airline or their staff. sometimes planes break down or cant be replaces quickly. It appears to me you had the run of the departure area and while not ideal these things happen.

and as for the reps from the airline and the travel agent, totally useless they couldnt have cared less.

Did you ring your travel agent ? What did you want them to do. Keep telling you every ten minutes that the plane is still delayed ?

 

[norbatious]

Defo something strange went on , over this flight, when we eventually got going we had a new crew, arrived in Malaga and the original crew was sitting on the tarmac waiting to take of to iceland, yet they couldnt bring the passengers waiting in Malaga who wer also delayed.

Whilst in Spain I was told that our plane was double booked and met people who flew out of dublin to malaga at the same time as us, yet there was only one flight listed on the departures.

elcato, yes we were in a departure lounge, no fresh air and a drinks machine, these lounges are ok to sit in for an hour or so, but try sitting in one with 150 others and no air con or not even a window open, the rep who was totally useless, called the airport police because she was getting an earfull, the police men said it was a discrace and got two doors opened.

We booked 7 days hols with budget travel, we had aflight change returning lost 11hrs on our last day, and lost over 11hrs on our first day
so we lost two days of a seven day trip and a day to recover.

In these recessionary times these agencies should be bending over backways to look after there customers.

On a brighter note the reps in Spain were excellent.