IBERIA flouting EU261. Any recommendations or success?

[hmmm]

Hi there,

I recently had a flight with Iberia from Granada to Rome via Madrid. Long story short, the first flight was delayed initially by three hours. It was a 7am departure and Iberia explained that the aircraft had a technical issue and a new part was arriving from Madrid at 9am for a 10am departure. This new ETD was further delayed and I forced them to move me onto a Vueling Flight via Barcelona that left around 12pm, by which point the actual Iberia flight still didn't have an updated ETD. ultimately, we were delayed by over 5 hours, which qualifies for EU261 compensation.

Iberia "detailed" response is as follows:

'We apologise for the inconvenience caused in relation to the delay of flight IB8639 on 10/05/2018.

Airlines are affected by numerous factors, such as weather conditions and air control permissions, and this means that our aircraft and crews are sometimes held up or find themselves at a different airport from where they should be.

We understand that these circumstances make travelling more tiring, and although the reasons are beyond our control we do everything within our power to limit the inconvenience.

We strive every day to improve the service we offer to customers and we hope you will see this for yourself the next time you fly with us.

Kind regards,
Iberia Customer Services'

What a complete and utter JOKE!

Anyone have advice on how to proceed and hold this despicable airline to account?

 

[straitman]

Hi there,

I recently had a flight with Iberia from Madrid to Rome via Madrid. Long story short, the first flight was delayed initially by three hours. It was a 7am departure and Iberia explained that the aircraft had a technical issue and a new part was arriving from Madrid at 9am for a 10am departure. This new ETD was further delayed and I forced them to move me onto a Vueling Flight via Barcelona that left around 12pm, by which point the actual Iberia flight still didn't have an updated ETD. ultimately, we were delayed by over 5 hours, which qualifies for EU261 compensation.

Iberia "detailed" response is as follows:

'We apologise for the inconvenience caused in relation to the delay of flight IB8639 on 10/05/2018.

Airlines are affected by numerous factors, such as weather conditions and air control permissions, and this means that our aircraft and crews are sometimes held up or find themselves at a different airport from where they should be.

We understand that these circumstances make travelling more tiring, and although the reasons are beyond our control we do everything within our power to limit the inconvenience.

We strive every day to improve the service we offer to customers and we hope you will see this for yourself the next time you fly with us.

Kind regards,
Iberia Customer Services'

What a complete and utter JOKE!

Anyone have advice on how to proceed and hold this despicable airline to account?

Why call them despicable? What did they do that was so despicable?

They have ignored you claim and I can't comment about its validity but everything else they wrote is true.

 

[boomy]

There are companies in Europe that specialise in claiming EU261 compensations for a fee. Best and easiest solution for you would be to let them submit you case.

My friend had 4hr delay with Ryanair earlier this year on a €32 ticket. Somehow one of those companies who specialise in claims (with 97% success rate!) contacted them (apparently they have ways to get flight manifests, not sure how legal that is...). Their advise was not to bother contacting the airline, instead take them to court to save time. My friend tried communicating with the airline at first, with no success, then let that company deal with them and eventually they won and got the money less the commission.

 

[serfty]

Anyone have advice on how to proceed and hold this despicable airline to account?

Airlines hate EUC 261 /2004. There are many FT threads on this.

It looks like BA have sublet their outsourced customer care department.

See here: The 2018 BA compensation thread: Your guide to Regulation EC261/2004 - FlyerTalk Forums

As for Iberia claims, they will not pay compensation unless they are forced; see here:

IBERIA - Refusing Compensation and lies - FlyerTalk Forums

Iberia Delay Am I entitled to compensation - FlyerTalk Forums

EU261 claim - FlyerTalk Forums

Going by those threads, you could try the Spanish agency: AESA-Agencia Estatal de Seguridad Aérea - Ministerio de Fomento (run via Google chrome translate)

AESA reminds you that if your flight is canceled or delayed this summer you must claim your rights - Agencia Estatal de Seguridad Aérea - Ministerio de Fomento

Form: Form to loge a complaint with AESA

Expect it to take many months. If that fails, then it may be you will need to check out one of the specialist companies @boomy has suggested ...

 

[serfty]

Why call them despicable? What did they do that was so despicable?
...

By completely ignoring any mention of a EU261 claim which I presume was in
@hmmm 's initial contact with the airline?

I would suggest this was deliberate and, so in this case, "despicable".

 

[boomy]

Asked my friend and this is the company they used:

Flight delayed or canceled? You could be owed up to $700.

No win no fees so there’s nothing to lose.

 

[hmmm]

Why call them despicable? What did they do that was so despicable?

They have ignored you claim and I can't comment about its validity but everything else they wrote is true.

What they wrote 'may' be true, but it is also irrelevant. My delay was NOT because there was a weather or air traffic control restriction. the operating aircraft arrived the previous evening, and therefore it and the crew must have been in Granada to operate the outbound flight. Crew scheduling falls outside EU261 defences.

As for why they are despicable, are you kidding me? If their horrible customer (dis)service of not letting people know about the delay and basically treating us all with contempt wasn't bad enough, how about ignoring clearly defined international law?

They can hate EU261 all they like... but that doesn't mean they can willfully disregard it. They are legally obligated to display a notice advising passengers about their rights, provide assistance, by way of two phone calls/emails, meals and refreshments in proportion to the waiting time and if the delay exceeds two hours, MUST provide each affected passenger with a written notice setting out their rights under the regulation, and the contact details of the national body tasked with enforcing the regulation. Iberia failed to do All of these things.

Their conduct in this matter and any other case you care to google, can only be described as despicable. Their contempt for customers is absolutely appalling!

 

[straitman]

As for why they are despicable, are you kidding me? If their horrible customer (dis)service of not letting people know about the delay and basically treating us all with contempt wasn't bad enough, how about ignoring clearly defined international law?

Thanks for the clarification. That's all I was asking for.

 

[Franky]

My dictionary defines despicable as 'morally reprehensible' which seems pretty close to me..

 

[vetrade]

A few years ago we had a delayed IB flight from MUC - MAD which caused us to miss our connecting IB flight to the US. We were delayed 12 hours in total. When I heard about our eligibility for compo through the AFF forum I contacted the UK company which was mentioned but they emailed me back saying they couldn't take up our case against IB because we were not residents of the UK but they did send me the form I could use to make my own claim.

I submitted the form to IB with all flight details, times, dates etc which clearly showed we were entitled to the compensation but IB stalled us at every turn - lengthy delays before they replied, then their reply was in Spanish, then they just said sorry you were delayed, have a nice day etc etc. then they asked me for the details of flights etc which I had already sent in my original email.

I persisted for about 9 months and eventually reported the episode to the European body which is supposed to police these things (sorry, I forget its name now). They didn't even reply to my emails so I gave up.

Wasted so much time that, in retrospect, I wished I hadn't bothered. My advice would be to not bother with a claim against IB - maybe you'd have better results with other carriers but IB were very frustrating to deal with, deliberately, I think.

 

[RooFlyer]

So all in all, 'despicable' seems pretty appropriate.

 

[serfty]

My advice would be to not bother with a claim against IB

On the contrary, this should be followed up - you are doing exactly what IB are hoping for.

You have six years to claim - maybe try following up using the AESA links in post #3.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

On the contrary, this should be followed up - you are doing exactly what IB are hoping for.

You have six years to claim - maybe try following up using the AESA links in post #3.

Agree.

Worth spending 10-15 minutes time on your own to seek compensation (that’s the initial letter and a response to their denial), and then move to one of the claim firms if need be. You lose 30% or so, but for some that’s worth it.

 

[Isochronous]

Definitely use one of the claim firms so the airlines are forced to pay and fulfil your rights as a passenger.

 

[Andyc]

I had an issue earlier this year where I was forced to pay for an extra bag with Iberia when my QF status entitled me to a free bag. It was a contract check-in agent who just kept telling me computer says no, so I simply paid and submitted an email later requesting a refund.
I ran into the same issues of long delays and answers that ignored the facts I had supplied.
After 3 wasted responses, I simply did a chargeback through AMEX. No repercussions and no contact from Iberia.

Obviously this strategy has risks, but it worked well for me.