To think we should get refunded?

[MotherOfDragons90]

Hi all, just wondering if anyone has been in this position and can help.

DH and I supposed to fly out on holiday tonight with EasyJet and after showing as delayed for a few hours the flight got cancelled

We were told to go down to the EasyJet desk to rebook along with the hundred odd other passengers which we did. I had a quick check to see if there were still flights for tomorrow which there was, 2. However it became obvious we were quite far back in the queue and it wasn’t moving much. I checked the app again and only one flight available tomorrow now so I just booked us on that there and then.

My logic was that they would have rebooked us on one anyway and refunded the original flight so I was just making sure we could get out at the earliest opportunity but DH said I should have waited until we got to the desk and gone through the proper process. The new flight was 3 times the cost of the original so we will be out of pocket if we just get a refund for the original one.

AIBU I’m thinking they have to compensate us the cost of this new flight even though it’s a new booking? I really hope I’m right but there isn’t much clear info online

Pointless to come on here just to have people start worrying you, telling you that you "queue jumped" and did the wrong thing. You did a sensible thing. Don't worry about what's being said here, just see what customer services say. They will be able to see that you were on the cancelled flight - just for a start - so know you're entitled to compensation.
Have a lovely holiday.

I completely agree with regmover and I probably would have done exactly what you did. Ok, maybe you'll lose out a bit money-wise - maybe not with flight compensation - but you'll be off on your holiday soon. Enjoy yourself!

@TheInvestigator to ensure we were amongst the ones to get seats on the next flight I suppose. Unethical and queue jumpy maybe but I still feel they should make sure we aren’t out of pocket.

You did the sensible thing, ime. Good luck with getting a refund, but enjoy your holiday!

You did the right thing OP. I would have done the same.

It makes no sense to stand in a long queue hoping to get a rebook, by the time you got to the front your travel day may have been sold out. You don’t want to risk having to fly a couple of days later and miss part of your holiday.

It’s always worth having full travel insurance and not flying EasyJet.

Queue jump my arse. It makes much more sense to rebook online.

It’s like if Tesco substitutes my groceries I get the replacement stuff for the old price. But they won’t refund me for stuff I went out and bought while I was waiting for my groceries to be delivered.

If they’d rebooked your flights I’d expect it to be free, but you chose and booked your own replacement flight as a separate transaction. So at this point they’ll probably just offer you “refund or replacement” (their choice of replacement not yours). And you won’t want the offered replacement because you already have one, so you’ll just get a refund.

I think you would have the option to cancel the new flight within 24 hours of booking?
You could wait until you get customer services on the phone and then if they don't want to refund you in full, tell them to cancel the flight you booked, refund your money and then book you on an alternative flight.

We had an EasyJet flight from LGW cancelled on our way home from a holiday. They couldn't get us a flight home for 2 days so we quickly booked an airport hotel, a flight from LHR next day and a taxi to take us there, it cost quite a bit. I sent a copy of all our expenses to EJ along with a highlighted copy of EU compensation rules by email and we got every penny back quite quickly.

Oops pressed too soon. OP you did the right thing, every man for the self in that situation. Just sent a copy of your outlays and you will be refunded.

The compensation isn’t guaranteed - if it’s out of their control I believe they don’t have to pay out. Eg, If the weather is extreme.

This happened to us a few years ago - there was a hole in the runway which meant loads (but not all) flights were cancelled to Gatwick. EasyJet claimed our flight was cancelled due to extreme weather (well how did BA manage to take off from our airport to the same destination 10 mins later the ?) and refused to give compensation. I complained to the ombudsman (or whatever it’s cslled) and heard back months later that essyjet had ignored their requests for information so there was nothing they could do. Seemed ridiculous to me but there was nowhere else to go.

For what it’s worth, easyJet did refund us the cost of our alternative transport to get home. I’d say if they were saying in the queue that it was possible to rebook via the app and that’s what you did you shouldn’t end up out of pocket. I’d fight it if I were you (once back from your holiday).

Queue jump my arse. It makes much more sense to rebook online.

They weren't re-booking, they booked a new flight. The queue was to get rebooked onto a flight but that's not what they did. I'm not saying I wouldn't have done the same but I would only expect a refund for the original flight.

This happened to us. You have to rebook the flight rather than just book a new flight on the app.
We made the mistake of doing what you’ve done as they announced you could do it on the app instead of waiting, and it wasn’t clear that you had to go with the rebook option (although afterwards it made sense, but it was the panic of the moment).
However if you were delayed for a certain amount of hours/ cancelled you should get a certain amount of compensation regardless - you just wont get the extra cost of the new flight refunded if that makes sense

You could get the delayed flight compensation if they only cancelled it after you were due to fly - but it depends on when they announced the cancellation (if within two hours you'd get nothing). And depends on the reason for the delay (if it's out of their control, like air traffic strike or weather, you'd get nothing).

If you rebooked though EasyJet, they would absorb the fare difference - however if you rebook yourself, it depends on how you did it. If you did it through "Manage my booking" - or the "Live Chat" function, you would be rebooked - but you should not have had to pay anything to do this. The fact that you did looks like you accepted the cancellation (and refund) and rebooked independently. Do call them and talk to them though, it's always worth trying and asking.

But I think you did the right thing - you'd possibly have missed days of your holiday if you'd waited for them to rebook you given the queue situation. It's what I would have done - and have done when something similar happened to me travelling home for Christmas one year - flight cancelled due to snow, I rebooked straight away myself as I knew the flights were already heavily booked before Christmas, and I just got the refund, not the fare difference. But better that than travelling home on the 26th ...

You’ll be refunded the original cost, plus a payment of €250 each I think - the same happened to us last year with Vuelling, and it took a while but we ended up getting a payment each for the cancellation of the flight (the €250), original flight cost, accommodation, food/drink and travel expenses for the interim 24 hours we were waiting to fly. We had to be very persistent though!!

To add - our flight was cancelled AFTER it was due to fly, so we were ok to get the compensation payment. I think it all depends on when they announced the cancellation, and the reason for cancelling.

Tbh I will be fuming if they say they won’t reimburse us for the new flights on account of the fact that it was a new booking. The people at the front of the queue would have been booked on the exact same next flight just done by Customer Service so why should we lose out just because we happened to be stood further away? I wouldn’t care if the flight prices were the same but the new ones were triple the cost so we will lose out if they only refund the original ones!

Getting my argument ready to phone up now!

Don't be too hard on yourself. I would have done exactly the same thing, I get stressed very easily and there is not a chance in hell I would have stood in that queue assuming everyone was booking onto the flight I wanted to get on! I would have been on my phone in a heartbeat. I have no idea what you'll get refunded, but the main thing is you have your flights so you can get on holiday. It's out of your power now so try to have a good time.

Don't argue, just tell them calmly that if they can't reimburse you the full cost of the new flights then can they please cancel the booking and then refund you, and then offer you an alternative.

This is my view only, but I would have thought that you booked onto that particular flight. They cancelled. You are therefore due a refund. For all they known, you were travelling for an event that might have taken place by the time their next flight arrives.

I'm sure even with EasyJet you have the right to cancel a ticket within 24 hours of booking.

why should we lose out just because we happened to be stood further away?

Why should someone else lose out because they were unable to book online and had to wait in the queue in front of you?

Lots of people will lose it on something be it time away , the whole trip or the cost of making a new booking.

@MotherOfDragons90 have you already been on the new flight? If not, you can ask them to cancel and refund you (which they may or may not do depending on who you speak to, in my experience the level of help really varies). We didn’t get a refund for the extra cost of the new flight because they pointed out it states it clearly in the app - which unfortunately it did, I just didn’t see it or investigate too much in my panic so I sympathise, it’s a horrible situation to be in.
Definitely try though, you do have to be really persistent with airlines

Sorry I think you were in the wrong & doubt they will refund the new flight.

As to why should you lose out because you were further away? That is literally the purpose of a queue.
Good luck & hope you manage to get away & enjoy it