Delayed flight meant missing last public transport connection

BanburyBlue · 21 Jun 2019

My mother and a friend came back from Hamburg last night. Their flight was delayed, and hence they missed their (last) train home. They accepted a lift from a total stranger at midnight (!!), who was going their way, and dropped them off at home.

To be frank, my mum isn't one to make a fuss, so I can't see her thinking about going to the airline desk and complaining (or indeed ringing me at midnight to come and get them). So the airline probably didn't have a chance to rectify anything, so just wondering what should they have done? Is there an obligation on the airline to get them home, or put them in a hotel?

It was Birmingham Airport, and then would have been a XC train to Banbury. I'm guessing they would have been booked the flight and train separately.

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d9009alycidon · 21 Jun 2019

Think it depends on the reason for delay, if the delay was due to a fault of the airline, (plane fault, no crew etc) then they should assist, but if it was due to the weather, air traffic control etc the airline has no liability.

Bletchleyite · 21 Jun 2019

No obligation at all (and nor would a budget airline at least make any attempt to assist bar perhaps giving you some taxi or hotel numbers if they happened to have them). That is what your travel insurance is for.

It's the same as arriving late on a train and missing your last bus.

sprunt · 21 Jun 2019

Bletchleyite said:
No obligation at all (and nor would a budget airline at least make any attempt to assist bar perhaps giving you some taxi or hotel numbers if they happened to have them). That is what your travel insurance is for.

It's the same as arriving late on a train and missing your last bus.

But if the train is delayed and you miss the last public transport connection that you would otherwise have made, the TOC does have an obligation to you doesn't it?

Harpers Tate · 21 Jun 2019

There are certain EU rules about delayed flights, that the airlines have to adhere to. Without knowing, though, how long the delay was (etc) it's impossible to be authoritative about what (if any) compensation may be due.

Bletchleyite · 21 Jun 2019

sprunt said:
But if the train is delayed and you miss the last public transport connection that you would otherwise have made, the TOC does have an obligation to you doesn't it?

No. The TOC only has an obligation to get you to the end station of your ticket (or contiguous combination of tickets). Some do go further but they don't have to.

[.n] · 21 Jun 2019

Bletchleyite said:
No. The TOC only has an obligation to get you to the end station of your ticket (or contiguous combination of tickets). Some do go further but they don't have to.

Not true, don't forget some bus destinations are a) timetabled as such and b) can be the destination on your ticket

district · 21 Jun 2019

Bletchleyite said:
No. The TOC only has an obligation to get you to the end station of your ticket (or contiguous combination of tickets). Some do go further but they don't have to.

I have got people taxis from the station to their home addresses after disruption means they miss the last bus and I know a lot of my colleagues would do the same too.

Bletchleyite · 21 Jun 2019

district said:
I have got people taxis from the station to their home addresses after disruption means they miss the last bus and I know a lot of my colleagues would do the same too.

As I said, some TOCs go further but they have no obligation to.

Bletchleyite · 21 Jun 2019

[.n] said:
Not true, don't forget some bus destinations are a) timetabled as such and b) can be the destination on your ticket

As in "permanent rail replacement" type services? Plusbus and similar don't carry that obligation, but presumably something like Luton Airport (which is a "permanent rail replacement" with its own railway destination as a virtual station) would.

USBT · 27 Jun 2019

There are EU rules (EU261) governing air passenger rights. This includes cash compensation for flights delayed by 3 hours or longer, as long as the delay wasn’t outside the airline’s control. Mechanical problem = compensation, weather delay or Air Traffic Control delay = no compo. The compensation for a delayed flight of 1,500km or less is €250.

The TOC has no obligation. The airline may do if the delay was 3 hours or longer.

berneyarms · 27 Jun 2019

BanburyBlue said:
My mother and a friend came back from Hamburg last night. Their flight was delayed, and hence they missed their (last) train home. They accepted a lift from a total stranger at midnight (!!), who was going their way, and dropped them off at home.

To be frank, my mum isn't one to make a fuss, so I can't see her thinking about going to the airline desk and complaining (or indeed ringing me at midnight to come and get them). So the airline probably didn't have a chance to rectify anything, so just wondering what should they have done? Is there an obligation on the airline to get them home, or put them in a hotel?

It was Birmingham Airport, and then would have been a XC train to Banbury. I'm guessing they would have been booked the flight and train separately.

The airline has a responsibility to get you to your final destination airport. That’s all.

Where people are travelling to beyond the airport is irrelevant I’m afraid.

Whether compensation for a delayed flight is due or not, is dependent on comparing the time that the flight actually arrived on stand and the door was opened with the scheduled arrival time.

paddington · 29 Jun 2019

How is the airline supposed to know whether you planned to drive (car parked at the airport), take a taxi, get a friend/relative to pick you up, walk, stay in a hotel, etc. None of these would have been affected too much by a slightly delayed arrival. Or they might have planned to take a train to Glasgow of which the last possible connection departs around 1900, should any flight scheduled to land before then be obliged to provide alternative transport to Glasgow? This would be for travel insurance, although in the end no extra costs were incurred. It is important to make sure that travel insurance would cover the payment for a taxi if that would have been the alternative plan

Delayed flight meant missing last public transport connection

BanburyBlue

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d9009alycidon

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Bletchleyite

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sprunt

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Harpers Tate

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Bletchleyite

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[.n]

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district

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Bletchleyite

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Bletchleyite

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USBT

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berneyarms

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paddington

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