Flight Delay Claims Increase
Monday, 25 Jul 2016
Today air travel is something to be endured. The excitement of jetting off on holiday that we used to experience has been decidedly diminished by endless cancellations, delays, lost baggage, extortionate add-on fees and being herded like cattle from check-in to boarding. And we’re not just imagining it – things are getting worse. Flight compensation company EUclaim has recently published data that reveals a dramatic increase in the number of claims for compensation they have received from passengers against the UK’s main airlines.
Claims against Ryanair for the first half of the year have more than doubled from 1879 in 2015 and 4781 in 2016. EasyJet fares little better, with claims increasing from 3196 in the first half of 2015 to 5641 in 2016. This figure makes EasyJet the worst offender on EUclaim’s 2016 ‘Carriers of Shame’ list.
But it’s not just budget airlines that receive large numbers of claims against them. Arguably one of the UK’s most prestigious airlines, British Airways has also had numerous claims made against it though EUclaim – 3423 between January and the end of June this year. Two other airlines join Ryanair, EasyJet and British Airways on the list of shame – Thomas Cook, with 3807 claims for compensation, and Thomson, with 2422 claims. The figures presented by EUclaim are, of course, just the tip of the iceberg, with many more claims being made with the airlines themselves.
The airlines have disputed the data provided by EUclaim and suggest that they run fair compensation processes. And indeed, as Euclaim itself admits, flight cancellations and long delays are often caused by factors beyond an airline’s control, such as adverse weather and air traffic control strikes. However, the fact that so many people are turning to a third party like EUclaim to retrieve compensation is perhaps telling of less than adequate claims procedures operating within the airlines.
This does little to alleviate the headache that is air travel. But there are steps you can take to help make it a less stressful experience. One top tip is to send your luggage to your destination with Send My Bag, rather than waiting around to check it in at bag drop or to pick it up at luggage carousels. This also means that you won’t have the hassle of dragging your bags onto public transport, and you can avoid altogether the embarrassment of having to pay excess baggage fees. Watch this space for more top travel tips, coming soon!
Do you have any tales of woe about dealing with an airline – why not tell us about it on our Facebook page?
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