Lufthansa ordered to pay 600 euros in compensation.
Flight on Dec 4, 2023 with Lufthansa canceled the day before! No replacement offered, couldn’t reach them by phone! No response to the email we sent after our return, they don’t even follow the European directive!
Case handed over to Air Indemnité—after about a year and a half of proceedings (completely transparent for us), Lufthansa was ordered to pay. Thanks to Air Indemnité. I strongly recommend entrusting your disputes to Air Indemnité.
A law firm specializing in air disputes had refused to handle our case. Found this firm online. Makes you wonder who’s behind this pseudo-firm?
We recovered 2 x 300 euros (2 people).
Hello,
Okay, let’s sum it up:
Your Lufthansa flight was canceled without any rebooking offer.
In such cases, Lufthansa was required, SIMULTANEOUSLY with the cancellation, to offer you the choice between:
a refund;
rebooking "as soon as possible," free of charge, even in a higher class, whether on one of their flights or with another airline, even if it’s not part of the same alliance;
rebooking at a later date if that suited you better.
If they failed to meet these obligations, you could demand that Lufthansa:
refund the canceled ticket;
or
refund the price difference you would have paid for another flight.
ON TOP OF THAT, you were entitled to compensation (in your case, 600 euros per paying passenger, unless the airline can PROVE—mere claims aren’t enough—that the cancellation was due to (I quote) "extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken" (end quote).
Among the "reasonable measures" is the obligation to offer rebooking "as soon as possible," which, in the absence of such an offer, invalidates the "extraordinary circumstances" exception.
For example, see the ruling against Swiss International Air Lines for a flight canceled due to weather (undeniable, as Zurich airport was closed for a few hours). They were ordered to pay the 600 euros in compensation provided by the regulations, plus damages and interest, totaling 1,300 euros in penalties.
https://retardimportantavion.wordpress.com/2024/01/12/reacheminement-catastrophique-droit-indemnisation-meme-circonstances-extraordinaires-2/And, more generally, here:
https://retardimportantavion.wordpress.com/2023/09/29/indemnisation-meme-si-circonstance-extraordinaire-droit-reacheminement-dans-les-meilleurs-delais/
You were also entitled to coverage or reimbursement—upon presentation of receipts or invoices—for meal, hotel, and round-trip transportation costs while waiting for the rebooking flight, whether the rebooking was offered by LUFTHANSA or, in the absence of such an offer, the one you had to rebook yourself.
The dispute was with LUFTHANSA, an airline whose headquarters is in an EU member state different from your country of residence.
This allowed you to use the "European Small Claims Procedure." It’s a written process (no hearing, in principle) that’s extremely simplified (no conciliation hearing either).
See an example of a case against LUFTHANSA under this procedure here:
https://retardimportantavion.wordpress.com/2024/10/23/lufthansa-championne-du-refus-des-droits-des-passagers/All the passenger had to do was:
send a registered letter;
fill out a form;
write a text for the court that anyone can use for a similar case;
have a lot of patience;
Then, since LUFTHANSA didn’t comply with the judgment, the passenger had to knock on the door of a bailiff (now called a "commissioner of justice"). But knowing how to knock on a door is, obviously, within everyone’s reach. It can even be done online…
In conclusion, you’re happy to have received 600 euros instead of double that, without getting a refund for the canceled ticket (or reimbursement for the new ticket you had to buy), and without being reimbursed for expenses while waiting for the rebooking flight.
This firm only handled the compensation (taking a 50 percent cut!!!) and nothing else. That’s not good work. And you’re recommending them!!!
Best regards,
From Caño Cristales to Tayrona Park
Trois semaines en Colombie en familleFR
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3 weeks in Colombia in August 2024
