26 Feb 2015

A question about : BMI wouldn't do "duty of care"

I know this is a really common story, but after the big shutdown in April I thought airlines had learned their lesson (didn't Ryanair get fined for not putting people up etc?).

I was at a conference last weekend and due to fly back from Birmingham to Aberdeen on Sunday night. They cancelled the flight due to ash just when I got to the airport and said they wouldn't put my baby and I up in a hotel or give us any meal vouchers because it wasn't their fault. I showed them the EC regs on my phone but no dice.

I was able to get a train to Edinburgh at the cost of Ј115 then my Mum drove down from Aberdeen - Edinburgh to pick me up.

My travel insurance will cover it, but they said I have to try to claim from BMI first. Really I want BMI to pay it, because irrelevant of whether it's right or not - it's the law and they are flouting it with no regard for their customers! I was with a 1 year old baby, and I had no money (luckily someone else paid for the train ticket) and they were just going to leave me to my own devices.

Is there a how-to guide on this site that I'm missing, for how to word a claim? I wish the government would either crack down on the airlines or change the law. title=Mad Don't see how it's ok for them to just completely ignore it and leave people stranded.

Best answers:

  • Just out of curiosity was the BMI or bmibaby?
    I was screwed once by the latter who cancelled a flight and lost me a considerable amount of work because of that.
    To answer your question I wonder if, because you managed to make other arrangements, you are no longer covered because you managed to take "care" of yourself.
  • Well, basically if they HAD done their duty of care I wouldn't have had to find an alternative way home, so that's why my travel insurance wants me to try to get them to pay up.
    It was BMI regional BTW.
  • As soon as you make your own arrangements to travel their duty of care ceases. All you are entitled to is a refund on the flight, nothing more.
  • So what happens when airlines point blank refuse to fulfill their duty of care?
  • Sue them in the small claims court?
  • To clarify, I was offered re-routing and did accept this, I was rebooked on the next morning's flight (which ended up being cancelled too). However at this point they said their duty of care to me had ended due to it being "not their fault" that they had to cancel - no amount of quoting EU regs would make them budge on this. Some friends with me were willing to pay for the train fare for me temporarily on their credit card, so I accepted this - they couldn't really pay for my hotel and meals overnight while they were off on the train. My argument is really that I probably would have been stuck 2 nights if they had actually fulfilled their duty of care - so the cost of 2 nights hotel PLUS all meals would have been more than my train ticket and fuel anyway. So it's in this vain that I hope they will pay - had they accepted their duty of care I would have remained at the airport until I could fly back.
  • Because then they would have had to come with me to a hotel to pay, and the last train to Edinburgh was leaving shortly.
  • Whilst it was not possible, if you had stayed at the hotel until they flew you home then I think they would have to conceed and reimburse you for it even if it took a couple of weeks. Bear in mind that even Ryanair paid for hotels etc and as people on here like to say, they make you pay for everything and dont want to give you anything (personally I'm am happy to use them).