Turkish Airlines did not respect its flight schedules, what do you demand from it?
Delay, flight cancellation, denied boarding, lost baggage … there are many reasons for disputes with an airline such as Turkish Airlines. Each year, 46% of passengers who suffer harm manage to benefit from it by obtaining compensation.
In order to go on vacation with peace of mind, it is better to know your rights as a passenger before boarding. Since the entry into force, on February 17, 2005, of the European regulation on air transport regulation EC n ° 261/2004, you have, indeed, many protections. In addition, during 2015, new rules will apply, following the revision of the regulation, which was to be finally adopted by the Council of the European Union (EU) in June. In the meantime, here is how to assert your rights in the event of a dispute. First, whatever the type of problem, know that it will be necessary to require a written certificate and act upon your return from vacation.
Landing of a late Turkish Airlines plane, your rights in this case
A delay is only compensable from certain thresholds. You will get, on request, a fixed compensation of 250 € from 3 hours delay on a flight of less than 1,500 km; € 400 from 3 hours late for a flight of more than 1,500 km in the EU or from 1,500 to 3,500 km outside the EU; finally 600 € from 4 hours late for a flight of more than 3,500 km. These thresholds are set by the Court of Justice of the European Union. From 5 hours late, passengers can demand full reimbursement of the trip, regardless of the destination.
Please note, you will only be compensated if you take a plane from an EU country, regardless of the airline you fly with and your place of destination, or a plane to a country of the EU, provided you travel on a European company. So if you come back from Asia with an Asian company, these compensation rules do not apply. If adopted, the draft revision of the European air transport regulation could retain the same amounts of compensation, but would modify the conditions for being compensated. The customer would get € 250 from 3 hours late on a flight of less than 2,500 km, € 400 for 3 hours late on a flight of 2,500 to 6,000 km and, finally, € 600 from 4 hours delay on a flight of more than 6,000 km.
Canceled or overbooked flight: Turkish Airlines’ obligations to its customers
If your flight is canceled, you can ask the Turkish airline either to redirect you on another flight or to reimburse you for the ticket within 7 days. Please note, to avoid reimbursing passengers, carriers often try to reclassify a cancellation by delay. Check the flight number offered to you during the re-routing. If it is different from the original number, it is a cancellation. In this case, you must also be taken care of as assistance (see next question “The delay of the plane obliges me to spend a night at the hotel. Will my meals and my room be taken care of? charge?”).
Finally, passengers whose flight has been canceled are also entitled to a lump sum compensation of the same amount and under the same conditions as for a delay. Also note that you will not be compensated if you have been informed of the cancellation of the flight up to 2 weeks before departure. Likewise, the carrier will not be obliged to compensate you if it proves that the cancellation was caused by extraordinary circumstances. But these are now very framed: the failure of an engine, for example, does not constitute an extraordinary circumstance, since the responsibility of the company can be engaged because the minimum rules of maintenance of the device do not have not been met.
Another case: a strike by airline staff with notice filed cannot be accepted as an extraordinary circumstance, the airline having been informed in advance. On the other hand, a strike by air traffic controllers can be rightly invoked. The text being voted on at the Council of the EU will limit, in 2015, the extraordinary circumstances to precisely listed cases and will require companies to justify these circumstances to customers.
Are you stuck at the airport all day? Your company owes you support
The delay of the plane forced you to spend a full day at the airport, be aware that Turkish Airlines must rent you a hotel room, at its expense:
If your flight is canceled or more than 2 hours late, the company must assist you, providing you with food and drinks. It should also allow you to make two free phone calls (or send two emails or two faxes). If the flight is postponed to the next day, the company must take charge of your hotel room and transport to this accommodation. This assistance is due, even in extraordinary circumstances. The EU Court of Justice recalled in 2013 that the 2010 Eyjafjöll volcano eruption in Iceland did not prevent airlines from assisting passengers.
Boarding impossible due to overbooking, the compensation provided
If your air operator has sold more seats than the capacity of the aircraft and if you cannot board, the contract of carriage is considered to be terminated. Two cases must then be distinguished. If you voluntarily renounce your reservation, you have the choice between subsequent transport to the destination or reimbursement of the ticket. The company will offer you compensation. Attention, do not accept less than what it must pay you for a delay (from 250 to 600 €), because you will have no recourse afterwards. If you do not want to give up your trip and if you cannot board, you have the same rights as in the event of a flight cancellation. You will then receive compensation in addition to reimbursement or re-routing.
To be compensated after missing a connection
If you had purchased 2 plane tickets in the same transport contract, you must not only be routed to your final destination, but be compensated under the same conditions as for a delay on a direct flight.
To whom should I address my complaint in the event of a dispute?
Want your dispute with Turkish Airlines to be resolved as quickly as possible. Without wasting time, and without breaking your head with endless procedures trying to address a claim to its airline without receiving the desired response, you should instead turn to a firm of experts specializing in reparation for moral damages such as those generated as a result of flight delays and cancellations.
In this case, you avoid all the unfavorable responses that your company may send you after sending your claim for compensation.
Contact lawyers directly from this site, and they are the ones who can act directly with the European company. Complete only the complaint form. Your case can be brought before the courts if its resolution becomes impossible by mutual agreement.
Turning to compensation startups allows you to use competent legal experts without incurring any financial risk.