help me get my friend's daughter back home for her birthday

[greyfriarskitty]

Can you help me help my friend? She's European and her two daughters have been over there spending time with their grandmother.

All well and lovely until Easyjet cancelled their flight home yesterday, and could only offer a replacement, a week later. Both will miss the first day of the new school year, but the youngest one will also miss her 1*th birthday at home!! Everyone is pretty upset and worried.

I am trying to help as both my English and my general level of arsiness is much higher than hers. So far I have battled with them on Twitter DM, when they are saying they can't help, not even to book them onto an Easyjet flight to Gatwick or Luton on Saturday. I have also emailed the CEO and head of Customer Service.

Where else can I go, what else should I do? (details kept vague so they can't be identified). Thank you in advance.

EJ should have got another pilot to take over the flight if that was the case.

I suppose their argument might be that there weren't any available, maybe due to sickness or holidays, but if they're that short staffed, they should either cancel or restrict leave to less busy times, or hire some more pilots. The redundant Monarch pilots from a year ago should have made recruitment a breeze over the past few months.

She flew with no travel insurance
What’s the problem about the child spending her birthday with her grandmother instead of at home? What a ridiculous thing to consider asking your MP to intervene in

Consider invoking the names of newspapers’ consumer rights champions - companies often back down when faced with the threat of negative publicity. For example, Anna Tims does this for the Guardian. In a similar vein, perhaps research names and twitter handles of prominent journalists in the hope they read and retweet with outrage?

Simon Calder from the Independent is always on BBC Breakfast so would be another good one to ask for advice.

Thanks will try both tomorrow

Who ever you speak to on the phone, be polite and ask their name (make a note) and immediately ask to speak to their manager and take their name. Tell original person it’s not personal but this issue is serious and requires management level attention. If they can’t/ won’t help ask to speak to their manager etc etc. They cannot decline and if they do you have their names. Call back, speak to someone me Lee and ask for their names. Tell them it’s a safeguarding issue as children will be fined if not back to school on time and or lie and say grandmother now unable to house them. They have a duty of care to vulnerable (young) passengers.
Eventually you will reach someone who has authority/ power/ sense/ is too scared of turning up in daily mirror article to help.
Good luck.
(Ex EJ support staff)

*me Lee should be ‘else’

Use the words duty of care, unacceptable, safeguarding, unaccompanied children, ruined education, government fines, eu regulations.
Hope it helps.

What a ridiculous thing to consider asking your MP to intervene in
Quife

Tell them it’s a safeguarding issue as children will be fined if not back to school on time
It is not a safeguarding issue because they won’t be back at school on time.

Such is life with LCCs. Cancelled flight, minimal assistance.

@Fruitbatdancer that is ridiculous advice.

@serbska totally agree.

I would also add that the friend needs to take responsibility also - putting it all on EJ is weak when the woman failed to take out insurance.

Not affording it is a poor excuse - travel insurance can be very reasonable and easily obtained even through Asda for example.

Especially when you have children FGS.

No one is sick or in harms way - i don't understand the drama .

How old are the children?
Are they flying unaccompanied?

I think you are better if going direct to Customer Services than Twitter.

Is there no train? Plane from m a close by neighbouring country?

The cancellation of the flight is EasyJet’s responsibility. They have an obligation to deliver what their custimers have paid for.

How is it their customers’ fault not to pay for insurance to cover for EasyJet’s Duty?

I agree it is rash to travel without insurance for many other eventualities. But EasyJet leaving peolle stranded for a week is a scandal.

I'd be surprised, actually I'd be amazed if even if your MP did want to help he could achieve anything within a day or so. It's an inconvenience but they're safe and with family it's hardly a disaster

So these children are safely accommodated with their grandparents and the only imminent danger to the I s a few missed days of school and perhaps a missed birthday party?

Sorry, I'm a bit confused, what's all this over the top hoohah about again?

Frankly, OP, it all sounds a bit hero complex if you ask me "stand aside Earthlings me and my superpower levels of arsiness have got this." If your friend had paid the few extra quid for insurance that would have covered flights with another airline btw.

This is not a matter for a MP.

Neither is it a safeguarding issue.

It's an unfortunate set of circumstances. I don't quite understand why you feel the need to get so involved but you must have your reasons. I think you need to calm down. All you can do is ask EJ to clarify their obligations and look for alternative flights. I imagine the flights are pretty busy, particularly the weekend before most English schools go back. This is really not worth getting het up over.

😕 what a load of drama over nothing.

It’s not ‘nothing’ for your kids to be delayed a whole week in another country when term is starting.

But it Isn’t the hysteria of safeguarding / fines etc either.

And EasyJet have been and are being reallly negligent in not providing what the customer has paid for.

OP you might be able to get more help if you say what airport the children were supposed to fly from.

They will also be eligible for eu compensation although it may take some time to come. They can put that towards a flight?

Fly somewhere and then train? ba did this when we had a cancelled flight in Austria- we got a train into Germany

Now sorted, thanks for the help - Easyjet have had a sudden change of heart and contacted me this morning and are rebooking them via another airline and they will be back tomorrow.

I'll be helping my friend sort the compensation next week.

FWIW I am helping her because she's upset and my English is better than hers, and I have some time on my hands right now because term doesn't start until next week. Wouldn't you help someone if you could?

OK, glad it is sorted out and the delay shortened.

FWIW, I would not start something like this in Twitter. Twitter is good for on the spot info, what’s happening in an immediate situation, or for once you have exhausted all the usual channels for help and advice and want the publicity to spur them into action.