Lastminute.com/Jet 2 moved the flight without telling us.
Discussion
Hi All,
My wife, 2 children and myself went on a short break to Jersey, the outgoing flight was successful although we received an email from Lastminute.com many weeks before departure advising us of a TEN minute change which was obviously of no consequence.
However the return flight which was meant to be at THREE oclock in the afternoon had already left at ELEVEN oclock in the morning, we arrived at the airport at 12pm so in theory in plenty of time, but the flight had already left.
Jet 2 (the operator) advised me that the flight time had been changed around 10 days prior, but no one had got in touch with us to advise us of this.
The Jet2 ground staff said to get in touch with LM.com and pursue the costs of additional flights we had to purchase from Blue Island Airways (£382.50).
LM are saying its not their fault as J2 did not inform them of the changes so could not inform us, LM rang me today to say that in their T&C's that it says our contract is with the airline and they have no responsibility.
See extract from the email I have just received. I am a Sole distributor for a French company and my understanding is that whomever you pay for the goods and services, this is who your contract is with?
Further to our telephone conversation today I would like to outline our position with your case.
At the time of booking, you made a flight-only booking. This means that your contract is direct with the airline and LM works as an agent on their behalf. Please find and extract from the terms and conditions agreed by you at the time of booking outlining this.
My wife, 2 children and myself went on a short break to Jersey, the outgoing flight was successful although we received an email from Lastminute.com many weeks before departure advising us of a TEN minute change which was obviously of no consequence.
However the return flight which was meant to be at THREE oclock in the afternoon had already left at ELEVEN oclock in the morning, we arrived at the airport at 12pm so in theory in plenty of time, but the flight had already left.
Jet 2 (the operator) advised me that the flight time had been changed around 10 days prior, but no one had got in touch with us to advise us of this.
The Jet2 ground staff said to get in touch with LM.com and pursue the costs of additional flights we had to purchase from Blue Island Airways (£382.50).
LM are saying its not their fault as J2 did not inform them of the changes so could not inform us, LM rang me today to say that in their T&C's that it says our contract is with the airline and they have no responsibility.
See extract from the email I have just received. I am a Sole distributor for a French company and my understanding is that whomever you pay for the goods and services, this is who your contract is with?
Further to our telephone conversation today I would like to outline our position with your case.
At the time of booking, you made a flight-only booking. This means that your contract is direct with the airline and LM works as an agent on their behalf. Please find and extract from the terms and conditions agreed by you at the time of booking outlining this.
Edited by Brummmie on Thursday 4th November 16:35
Edited by Brummmie on Thursday 4th November 16:37
I thought this was common knowledge, and is the first part of the first section in the T&Cs.
The groundstaff will of course want nothing to do with it, as they don't want the hassle, but you may have to complain directly to Jet2 (copying in LM) pointing out that no communication was received by you or LM - unless they're saying (as is common, but rarely checked, on scheduled flights) that it's up to you to ensure that there have been no changes to flights?
Was there no requirement to do an online check-in the day before, where you'd have seen this change?
The groundstaff will of course want nothing to do with it, as they don't want the hassle, but you may have to complain directly to Jet2 (copying in LM) pointing out that no communication was received by you or LM - unless they're saying (as is common, but rarely checked, on scheduled flights) that it's up to you to ensure that there have been no changes to flights?
Was there no requirement to do an online check-in the day before, where you'd have seen this change?
Edited by mmm-five on Thursday 4th November 17:41
The airline should refund you for the unused ticket, unless they can prove they told LM about the change. If they can show they told LM, then LM should refund the unused ticket.
Additional costs will be very hard to claim for but worth trying
Do you have legal expenses insurance on travel or any other insurance? They will instruct a Solicitor if you have
Additional costs will be very hard to claim for but worth trying
Do you have legal expenses insurance on travel or any other insurance? They will instruct a Solicitor if you have
Loveholidays did this to us when our flights to Turkey with Easyjet were cancelled.
We had to do all the leg work ourselves to get the refund which LH had booked themselves, which was then deposited into LH's account and 4 weeks later they transferred it to us!
Not sure how all these online holiday companies keep dodging their responsibilities.
Sorry OP doesn't really help you.
We had to do all the leg work ourselves to get the refund which LH had booked themselves, which was then deposited into LH's account and 4 weeks later they transferred it to us!
Not sure how all these online holiday companies keep dodging their responsibilities.
Sorry OP doesn't really help you.
Aren't all check ins online? A close family member works for Jet2 and I can check what, if any recourse you might have with them directly however it looks like some sort of breakdown in comms here.
What you think should have been don is that J2 should have told LM, who should then have told you. However LM were not told so they couldn't tell you anything. As above it is clear in their terms that the contract is with the airline directly for flight only bookings, we use people like LM to get the best deal / convenience for the flights that they bulk purchase and sell on. As is their business model?
But, back to the logistics and governance of getting on the flight - were you not told to check in on line or were you able to check both journeys before the time change? either way I know that J2 would email you directly as a passenger so as to reduce the possibility of having to deal with the delays that come from managing no shows for flights.
What you think should have been don is that J2 should have told LM, who should then have told you. However LM were not told so they couldn't tell you anything. As above it is clear in their terms that the contract is with the airline directly for flight only bookings, we use people like LM to get the best deal / convenience for the flights that they bulk purchase and sell on. As is their business model?
But, back to the logistics and governance of getting on the flight - were you not told to check in on line or were you able to check both journeys before the time change? either way I know that J2 would email you directly as a passenger so as to reduce the possibility of having to deal with the delays that come from managing no shows for flights.
Davie_GLA said:
AAs above it is clear in their terms that the contract is with the airline directly for flight only bookings...
Just because a company publishes T&Cs, doesn't mean they're legal or binding.The USUAL form under UK law, as noted above, is that your contract is with whoever you pay. That isn't watertight though, so it's probably worth the OP checking with a solicitor.
It's definitely worth the OP writing formally (& separately) to both LM and Jet2, informing them that he received no communications from their party and that he requires compensation for losses and inconvenience (exact wording depending on what feels right).
I had something similar happen when I booked flights with Budget Air, short of it is China Air said I could get £125 back as my wife was unable to travel but as I bought through BA, the refund had to be filed by BA.
This was going to lead to BA taking £80-£100 of it in 'admin fees' so I thought rather let the airline keep it as they did all they could to get us home at least.
As others have said, the airline was in no doubt my contract was with the agency.
This was going to lead to BA taking £80-£100 of it in 'admin fees' so I thought rather let the airline keep it as they did all they could to get us home at least.
As others have said, the airline was in no doubt my contract was with the agency.
The big yin said:
sheapy@jet2.com
Stephen Sheapy CEO of Jet 2 contact him and kick up .
This is a good call. Polite and reasonable email setting out the situation and expressing your disappointment that it's not the level of service that you would expect from the airline. Stephen Sheapy CEO of Jet 2 contact him and kick up .
IME Jet2 is one of the better budget airlines to deal with so you are more likely to get a result from them than from some of the others. Just be glad it's not the one with the harp on the tail fin...
dontlookdown said:
Just be glad it's not the one with the harp on the tail fin...
You mean the one that held customers to ransom at the check-in desk for daring to use their credit card companies to enforce their legal right to a refund when their prior flight was cancelled due to Covid lockdowns?
havoc said:
You mean the one that held customers to ransom at the check-in desk for daring to use their credit card companies to enforce their legal right to a refund when their prior flight was cancelled due to Covid lockdowns?
People seemed to assume that because the Gov said they couldn’t travel, the flight should be cancelled and they should get a refund - which isn’t the case at all.
My understanding is Ryanair are only stopping these people from boarding.
Hmmm, the credit card companies decided otherwise...can't see a c-card company wanting to get into an argument with a vendor that they can't win.
...and 'stopping from boarding' a flight to a holiday that is all paid for, until money is paid for a debt that isn't legally owed, is effectively blackmail.
...and 'stopping from boarding' a flight to a holiday that is all paid for, until money is paid for a debt that isn't legally owed, is effectively blackmail.
bigandclever said:
You’ve done well there, I thought ABTA only got involved in package deals, not flight only.
LM.com are members of ABTA, but airlines are not, as we booked the flights via LM we were able to pursue through ABTA, if it were direct with J2 that avenue would have been closed.So this bit was just a bluff? Good to know!
Brummmie said:
Hi All,
Further to our telephone conversation today I would like to outline our position with your case.
At the time of booking, you made a flight-only booking. This means that your contract is direct with the airline and LM works as an agent on their behalf. Please find and extract from the terms and conditions agreed by you at the time of booking outlining this.
Further to our telephone conversation today I would like to outline our position with your case.
At the time of booking, you made a flight-only booking. This means that your contract is direct with the airline and LM works as an agent on their behalf. Please find and extract from the terms and conditions agreed by you at the time of booking outlining this.
bigandclever said:
ABTA is a Trade Association not a Statutory body, if it has sided with the OP it is likely that it is down to an issue with the Code of Conduct for members rather than a point of contract law.
Seeing as it is a flight only LM is acting as an agent for the Airline, as long as they haven't wrapped their own additional service in there or given credit they probably would not have a liability to the customer.
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