Flight Saudia overbooked: Is there a possibility of being compensated?
Have you been the victim of an overbooking preventing you from boarding your flight? We explain everything to you to know how to be compensated!
There’s nothing more annoying than being denied access to an airplane, for some unknown and unforeseen reason, when everything was in place for a great vacation. On arrival at the airport, the employees of the chosen airline Saudia Airlines prevent you from boarding the plane to go visit your dream destination? No luck, you lose a day or two on the trip, in addition to being disappointed and taken aback,… If the situation seems to have turned into disaster, it is because it is above all ‘an increasingly widespread financial optimization practice: overbooking, or overbooking.
What does the word Overbooking mean?
Overbooking stems from “yield management”, a management strategy which appeared in the United States in 1978, allowing newly created airlines to offer unbeatable prices. This same strategy which gave birth to so-called low-cost flights, generating at the same time the appearance of last minute plane tickets and other cheaper plane tickets.
This managerial approach relating to the airline sector was voted so that airlines have more freedom in setting their prices, breaking the market for traditional airlines.
To thwart the competition, they reacted by developing their offer on the sale of their plane tickets, price management, demand analysis, or market segmentation. With the Single European Act passed in 1986, a higher level of economic integration of the member countries of the European Economic Community, European companies have been able to take advantage of this new opening to competition by applying the principle of free prices in the airline industry: overbooking was making its thunderous entry in travel agencies and later, on low-cost flight comparators on the internet.
But what is overbooking? How to be supported by these specialists and above all, how to obtain compensation for delayed and / or canceled flight?
More and more airlines looking to maximize their sales, and their profits, engage in an odd activity of selling more tickets than there are seats available on the plane. As a result, when you arrive at the baggage check-in counter, the company denies you access to boarding. Why this seemingly fraudulent practice? Quite simply because it comes from deregulation, a relaxation of the law, offering more freedom in setting fares: competing companies make sure to fill their planes by anticipating the costs related to cancellations, places left voids they call “no-show”.
As it is governed by European law, overbooking is therefore not fraudulent. However, it does cause a lot of inconvenience to travelers who pay the price, but companies are required to comply with certain conditions, including the handling of travelers and the offer of another flight to the same destination. It may happen that the airline changes the reservation to place you on another flight, or that you are placed in a smaller plane than expected, because there were not enough ticket sales. In all cases, the ticket price will not be changed.
Recommended solutions to overcome overbooking
If you are overbooked, Saudia Airlines has a legal obligation to offer you another flight to the same destination. Thus the traveler is offered to wait for a new flight at the airport, and the airline company must take care of the waiting travelers for all the expenses and primary needs of these: accommodation, catering, telephone calls, drinks and refreshments. Access to the next flight should therefore not change the price of the ticket. If you decide not to take the next departure for any reason, the airline must refund the air ticket within seven clear days. However, there are conditions relating to this reimbursement: travelers must have a reservation and have checked in their luggage at the latest within 45 minutes before the start of boarding.
Even if the airline company has reimbursed you in full for the cost of the plane ticket, you are entitled to compensation from it in order to compensate for the moral damage suffered. In Community law, there are three levels of compensation for intra-community flights and three others for flights outside the European Union:
– Up to 1,500 kilometers: € 250 in the European Union or between the EU and a non-member country,
– From 1,500 km to 3,500 km: € 400 in the European Union or between the EU and a country outside the EU,
– More than 3,500 km: € 400 in the EU, and € 600 between the European Union and a non-member country (such as Saudi Arabia).
Note that the Saudi Arabian airline has the obligation to give you a written notice informing you how to request compensation. On this notice, in principle appear the contact details of the company, which will be useful to send to the airline customer service a complaint by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt. If your reservation has been modified unilaterally by the company and your arrival and departure times change, you can make this claim for compensation, by contacting the company which actually operated the flight (sometimes it is a company different from the initial reservation).
Defend your rights: Compensation specialists propose to accomplish the mission
The contact details of air operators are often hidden, untraceable, or even non-existent. This is the reason why there are providers whose mission is to negotiate compensation with companies and on behalf of their customers who have been victims of overbooking. If the airline refuses even in writing to compensate the traveler, we can therefore refer to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC). We can also sue the airline, but there the delays can be very long.
To avoid carrying the weight of all these steps and to find yourself quickly clueless when faced with such situations, there is a solution, and not least: get closer to a service provider specializing in claiming airline compensation. Like a legal adviser, the latter takes on the heavy task of compensation by asserting your rights with the airline concerned
The startup that we suggest supports you in your compensation procedures
In the event of a delayed, canceled or overbooked flight and after obtaining your concerned flight number, a team of international legal experts is responsible for obtaining compensation within the framework of European law. By intervening directly with the airline concerned. She can even go to court, if necessary, to get your compensation. On your side, the long legal procedures are spared you and you can claim up to € 600 per passenger.
Saudia Airlines is held responsible: The firm therefore obtains compensation and withdraws a commission of 27% (+ VAT) on the amount obtained. Otherwise, you do not get compensation but you pay 0 Euros.