Airline not refunding reasonable refreshments costs

[Mirackleeus]

We were caught up in the air traffic control mess in the summer. I know we aren't entitled to compensation but we are entitled to a refund of reasonable expenses for refreshments. The airline has responded saying we are not entitled to compensation but have ignored my follow up emails clarifying we don't want compensation, we want to be reimbursed for refreshments. (Delay meant we missed dinner at home so had to eat at the airport). Airline is not a member of a dispute resolution organisation.

What is the next step please and how likely are we to receive our money back?

Some of the replies here are ridiculous. OP we've had a fight with Jet2 after the air traffic delay - and I issued a claim via MCOL as suggested above. It wasn't a massive amount but its the principle. There are regulations to say they have to pay your reasonable expenses in those circumstances. You will need to check whether you can find a UK based company to claim against if you down this route just to avoid complication.

Anyone going on holiday needs to factor in extra expenses for these things, such as delays.

Like on arrival the local bus is no longer running and you have to get a taxi.

It's life.

Is your stress and time dealing with this really worth it for the cost of a burger?

We were caught up in the same Air Traffic Control fiasco and were unable to a flight from our island for 10 days. We ended up getting a ferry to mainland after a couple of nights and then staying a few more nights there until flying home to a different UK airport. We put in a claim with EasyJet on their website claim form, just had to load copies of receipts. Received £1900 of expenses back to our bank account in 5 days. The only thing they didn’t refund was the alcohol 😊

@MariaLuna I think you're completely wrong. The OP isn't talking about an hour or two, which might be just life as you suggest. It was 6 hours. She is entitled to press the company to refund her for the reasonable expenses she incurred.

Well that's not reasonable refreshments cost then is it? By your own admission it was an expensive meal. You clearly chanced it and thought you'd get reimbursed.

Tough shit.

It seems clear from OP’s later posts that by “expensive meal” she means expensive for what it was. As in, “god that’s really expensive for a burger but we are stuck in an airport and have limited choices”

not that she was chancing it with champagne and oysters

So many incredibly rude people on here behind a keyboard. Be kind. I don't understand why some people feel it's ok to use language on here like 'tough shit' when you wouldnt talk like that to a stranger in real life.

OP keep pushing - if you have the time and patience to keep going. We had some refunds from Jet2 many years ago but it took some time.

You are well within your rights to claim for your food. That money could have been used for shopping for your family. These companies can afford it.

Wouldn't you have had to have eaten anyway?

Honestly can't stand this pointless nastiness. And also the lies to make sure they can be even more nasty! 6 hours isn't long???absolute lies just so they can be horrible to the op, they must lead very boring lives if they get off on this

You are exactly right with your interpretation of my comment.

In the UK a McDonald's for 4 might cost £25. Here it was more than double that.

That's an expensive burger meal. But the airport was small and that was the only 'dinner type' meal available. Yes we could have had sandwiches but this was our evening meal after traveling for what would end up being 12 hours.

This is brilliant information thank you. I admit it didn't occur to me to check their T&C's on their website because it seemed so clear cut on the CAA website.

Despite all the nastiness on this thread this, and other helpful advice on here, has been worth me posting. Thank you.

UK law applies to any flight departing from a UK airport on any airline. It also applies to any flight landing at a UK airport on a UK or EU airline and any flight landing at an EU airport on a UK airline.

Under the law, this was definitely classed as a long delay whatever posters on this thread think, which means the airline must provide a reasonable amount of food and drink, a means to communicate and transport to and from accommodation. This applies regardless of the reason for the delay. These rights kick in for a delay of more than 2 hours for a flight less than 1500km, more than 3 hours for a flight between 1500km and 3500km, and more than 4 hours for a flight of over 3500km.

@Mirackleeus Ignore the abuse on this thread. The law is on your side. Since the airline is not a member of an alternative dispute resolution scheme, you can complain to the CAA if they continue to block your claim. The link you need is https://caaportal.icasework.com/form?Type=Complaint&Login=false&Title=none

I wish all the people who had enough time to chase compensation for a meal they may have had anyway-as a treat- and time to post on MN about it would instead donate their time to a charity or organisation which needs admin support to really help others. Those who can only dream of a delay in a warm, safe airport after any sort of holiday, for example.
But ‘it’s the principle’, right? 🤦‍♀️

This.

A delay of six hours is brutal - particularly for a short flight.

If it had been the airline’s fault then you would have got a nice chunk of compensation.

(My brother, his partner, their son and my parents were delayed by 3 hours five minutes on a flight to the Canaries in 2022. Because it was over 3 hours - and the airline’s fault - they got £350 each in compensation. The pilot was obviously trying really hard to get them down before the 3 hour mark - the flight time was a good half hour shorter than usual - but there was a definite carnival atmosphere on the plane when they hit 3 hours 1 minute as they were descending.)

Send them a 'Notice before Action' - this can be an email (but make sure you call it that) - stating the legislation which you are entitled to reimbursement under and the details, and saying if you don't recieve it within 1 month, you'll take them to the small claims court.

This is easy to do, you'd have to pay a fee upfront (circa £100-£200 I believe), but they'll know they'd then be stung for both the cost of the reimbursement and refunding your court fee to you, so just given the threat of it usually motivates them to sort it out.

Why is this mild little thread bringing out so much nastiness? It’s bizarre.

“I wish people who have time to chase compensation would go and help a charity instead” — eh? You could say that about almost any issue people start threads about on here. You might equally say, “I wish people who had time to sit around snarking on MN would go and do something more positive with their energy instead.”

(I am not saying that, though, because it’s bonkers and if we all went and did something else, MN would not exist)

You could do this but personally I would start with the CAA and only start a legal process if that fails.

I think it’s about ‘necessary’ expenses. Reimbursement for a sandwich and bottle of water yes, reimbursement for an ‘expensive meal’ no. I recently got reimbursement from BA for buying underwear, a t-shirt and jogging trousers because my luggage didn’t arrive and I had to wear something the next day, approx £40. But I don’t think I’d have gotten anything if I took the opportunity to do a proper shopping to get some nice new clothes however tempting it was.

It was expensive because of airport pricing, not because it was some kind of luxury. They ate airside chain burgers on plastic seats.

Are people really saying that’s an excessive, indulgent thing to feed kids as an evening meal after a six-hour delay?

Was the meal in your home airport once you arrived back? Or in the airport you were stuck waiting in? Im assuming the firmer as you say 'after 12 hours of travelling' just wondering if that affects a claim

Yes we could have had sandwiches but this was our evening meal after traveling for what would end up being 12 hours.

See this is my problem. 'Reasonable refreshments costs' isn't having the hot meal you want to my mind. It's having access to basic food at a cheap cost. It's about fulfilling a need to feed rather than dine as you wish.

Ultimately I do feel that people think they deserve the moon on a stick in these scenarios rather than the most basic obligation and then wonder why the airline won't pick up the tab. Of course they won't - they can't afford to and turn a profit at the prices they are charging. And if they say 'yes' to a hot meal like that, it opens to door to everyone trying that rather than a basic sandwich. I wish they actually had a published budget per person for each country in this situation so no one could argue over this. If everyone claimed the hot meal at the sit in restaurant over the sandwich from the canteen it'd add ££££s to everyone tickets. It's not viable.

The excuse that 'weve been traveling for x number of hours' boils my piss and suggests real hardship.

BH airlines isn't a big airline. It has a fleet of three. It has a very limited number of destinations (which has also made me raise my eyebrows when the OP said expensive meal).

If you want the comfort aspect rather than the basic obligation to feed, fly with a premium airline and/or get really good travel insurance. Otherwise accept it's part of travel that if you are delayed, it's a shitty sandwich.

We were delayed by four hours coming back from our (all inclusive) family holiday in the summer. We flew with EasyJet. Because of this we all got free food / drink (including alcohol) on the plane!

Yep pretty much. The cheapest option is the airline obligation. Not a sit down meal.

As a one off you could have surely just got some crisps and sandwiches and chocolate rather than going for a massive meal 😂😂😂😂