Denied boarding by Tui - entitled to compensation?
Discussion
Anyone got any experience of this?
I was on holiday earlier this month in Kos, on a package holiday booked through Loveholidays, but the flights were booked with Tui. We were due to return on 14/08/24, on a flight scheduled for 20:55 departure. The flight was due to return to London Gatwick, which was the point of origin. We had our car in airport parking there.
On the evening of 13/08/24, I received the following email from Tui:
Dear Mr XXXXXXX,
We’re getting in touch to let you know about an important change to your flight.
We’ve had to do a bit of re-arranging within our fleet, so your flight, TOM4331 Kos to London
Gatwick will now be on a smaller TUI plane, departing on 14th August 202 . We have made the
difficult decision to offload passengers from this flight and we want to support our customers by re-
protecting you on the flight TOM6343.
Your new flight details are below:
Flight number: TOM6343
Departure Airport: Kos Airport
Date of departure: 15th August 2024
Time of departure: 00:20
Arrival Airport: Bristol Airport
Arrival Time: 23:20 14th August 2024
As you’re now arriving to a different UK airport, we’ve arranged transport to take you from Bristol to
London Gatwick airport. The coach will depart from Bristol at 03:30. There will be TUI
representatives to assist you.
Or, you can make your own way to London Gatwick and claim your travel costs back using the
following link. TUI Holidays | TUI Web Form
The above change may mean we can’t provide you with your Extra Legroom or Extra Space Seats.
We’re sorry for any disappointment this may cause and have arranged for you to get a refund of
these costs. This will be refunded within 28 days of your return back to UK, or if you’ve booked
through a Retail Agent this will be refunded to your agent to pass onto you.
At this point, we’d like to remind you of your rights in accordance with EU Regulation (EC)
261/2004 you’re entitled to Denied Boarding Compensation per person. We’ll send you an email to
organise this compensation. Please allow 28 days for the payment to arrive.
Thank you for your understanding.
Your TUI Team"
Now the quick-witted amongst you will notice that the arrival time is wrong on that email unless they were sending us in a flying Delorean. It actually landed in the UK at 02:40 BST on 15/08/24.
I contacted Tui on 13/08/24 before the flight, and highlighted to them that this new suggested flight was not suitable for a number of reasons (including that my wife has epilepsy triggered by stress and tiredness, and both of my kids have neurodiversity issues - so bearing in mind we had to check out of our hotel by 11am Greek time on 14/08/24, not getting back to Gatwick until around 8 or 9am on 15/08/24 wasn't going to work for us. I also had searched for alternative flights myself and seen that there was an easyJet flight leaving earlier in the day that was going to LGW (scheduled for 14:55 departure on 14/08/24) and asked Tui if they would cover the cost of that, given that the email above says "Or, you can make your own way to London Gatwick and claim your travel costs back". I received the following response:
"Hello XXXXX
I am so sorry about the changes to your flight and completely understand your decision of
booking a more suitable flight.
As we are the in destination department, we are not able to compensate you for the new
flight you booked but please raise your complaint through
https://www.tui.co.uk/destinations/contact-us/afte...
the day after you have arrived home attaching the receipts of the flights you purchased with
EasyJet.
I hope this helps and I hope you and your family are having excellent holiday in Greece
despite if this
Kind regards
Teea Jarvela
Your TUI Customer Service Team"
So, we booked the easyJet flight, booked a taxi to the airport since our pre-paid transfer said they could not accomodate any changes at less than 24hrs notice, returned to the UK and once back, submitted a claim to Tui. There has been a lot of back and forth since then, but it has boiled down to the following:
1) they are refusing to refund the easyJet flight cost or the transfer to the airport.
2) they are refusing compensation of any kind.
3) they have provided no reasoning whatsoever other than to say "we have reviewed your complaint and our handling of it, and feel our decision is correct."
4) they are refusing to engage any further with me on the topic.
I have applied for ADR but so far it's not gone anywhere.
Anyone have any experience of this situation? I feel the matter has been complicated by their operational decision to change the plane size but not actually cancel the flight. I think (in the absence of an explanation from them of their reasoning) that they are rationalising that because neither TOM4331 nor TOM6343 arrived more than 3 hours late (based on each flight's scheduled departure time), I'm not entitled to compensation - but I don't think this is right, I'm entitled to denied boarding compensation not delay compensation and denied boarding compensation depends on the difference between the time you would have arrived if you'd boarded your original flight, and the time you would have arrived if you had taken the substitute flight they offered. In the absence of any explanation from them I don't think they can rely on the "exceptional circumstances" excuse but even if they were trying to rely on it, I don't think it applies to denied boardings - only delayed flights?
I was on holiday earlier this month in Kos, on a package holiday booked through Loveholidays, but the flights were booked with Tui. We were due to return on 14/08/24, on a flight scheduled for 20:55 departure. The flight was due to return to London Gatwick, which was the point of origin. We had our car in airport parking there.
On the evening of 13/08/24, I received the following email from Tui:
Dear Mr XXXXXXX,
We’re getting in touch to let you know about an important change to your flight.
We’ve had to do a bit of re-arranging within our fleet, so your flight, TOM4331 Kos to London
Gatwick will now be on a smaller TUI plane, departing on 14th August 202 . We have made the
difficult decision to offload passengers from this flight and we want to support our customers by re-
protecting you on the flight TOM6343.
Your new flight details are below:
Flight number: TOM6343
Departure Airport: Kos Airport
Date of departure: 15th August 2024
Time of departure: 00:20
Arrival Airport: Bristol Airport
Arrival Time: 23:20 14th August 2024
As you’re now arriving to a different UK airport, we’ve arranged transport to take you from Bristol to
London Gatwick airport. The coach will depart from Bristol at 03:30. There will be TUI
representatives to assist you.
Or, you can make your own way to London Gatwick and claim your travel costs back using the
following link. TUI Holidays | TUI Web Form
The above change may mean we can’t provide you with your Extra Legroom or Extra Space Seats.
We’re sorry for any disappointment this may cause and have arranged for you to get a refund of
these costs. This will be refunded within 28 days of your return back to UK, or if you’ve booked
through a Retail Agent this will be refunded to your agent to pass onto you.
At this point, we’d like to remind you of your rights in accordance with EU Regulation (EC)
261/2004 you’re entitled to Denied Boarding Compensation per person. We’ll send you an email to
organise this compensation. Please allow 28 days for the payment to arrive.
Thank you for your understanding.
Your TUI Team"
Now the quick-witted amongst you will notice that the arrival time is wrong on that email unless they were sending us in a flying Delorean. It actually landed in the UK at 02:40 BST on 15/08/24.
I contacted Tui on 13/08/24 before the flight, and highlighted to them that this new suggested flight was not suitable for a number of reasons (including that my wife has epilepsy triggered by stress and tiredness, and both of my kids have neurodiversity issues - so bearing in mind we had to check out of our hotel by 11am Greek time on 14/08/24, not getting back to Gatwick until around 8 or 9am on 15/08/24 wasn't going to work for us. I also had searched for alternative flights myself and seen that there was an easyJet flight leaving earlier in the day that was going to LGW (scheduled for 14:55 departure on 14/08/24) and asked Tui if they would cover the cost of that, given that the email above says "Or, you can make your own way to London Gatwick and claim your travel costs back". I received the following response:
"Hello XXXXX
I am so sorry about the changes to your flight and completely understand your decision of
booking a more suitable flight.
As we are the in destination department, we are not able to compensate you for the new
flight you booked but please raise your complaint through
https://www.tui.co.uk/destinations/contact-us/afte...
the day after you have arrived home attaching the receipts of the flights you purchased with
EasyJet.
I hope this helps and I hope you and your family are having excellent holiday in Greece
despite if this
Kind regards
Teea Jarvela
Your TUI Customer Service Team"
So, we booked the easyJet flight, booked a taxi to the airport since our pre-paid transfer said they could not accomodate any changes at less than 24hrs notice, returned to the UK and once back, submitted a claim to Tui. There has been a lot of back and forth since then, but it has boiled down to the following:
1) they are refusing to refund the easyJet flight cost or the transfer to the airport.
2) they are refusing compensation of any kind.
3) they have provided no reasoning whatsoever other than to say "we have reviewed your complaint and our handling of it, and feel our decision is correct."
4) they are refusing to engage any further with me on the topic.
I have applied for ADR but so far it's not gone anywhere.
Anyone have any experience of this situation? I feel the matter has been complicated by their operational decision to change the plane size but not actually cancel the flight. I think (in the absence of an explanation from them of their reasoning) that they are rationalising that because neither TOM4331 nor TOM6343 arrived more than 3 hours late (based on each flight's scheduled departure time), I'm not entitled to compensation - but I don't think this is right, I'm entitled to denied boarding compensation not delay compensation and denied boarding compensation depends on the difference between the time you would have arrived if you'd boarded your original flight, and the time you would have arrived if you had taken the substitute flight they offered. In the absence of any explanation from them I don't think they can rely on the "exceptional circumstances" excuse but even if they were trying to rely on it, I don't think it applies to denied boardings - only delayed flights?
"Or, you can make your own way to London Gatwick and claim your travel costs back"
So, there you go, you did, and you're going to claim your costs back
"Oh, we just meant for getting to Gatwick once you land in the UK, not for getting back to Gatwick from your holiday"
Tough f
king st. Write your emails better.
So, there you go, you did, and you're going to claim your costs back
"Oh, we just meant for getting to Gatwick once you land in the UK, not for getting back to Gatwick from your holiday"
Tough f
king st. Write your emails better.My thoughts exactly, but I especially can't understand the reasoning for refusing denied boarding compensation. Even if they had a good reason for moving their fleet around, it doesn't exempt them from paying us compensation unless they had a good reason to specifically deny boarding to me and my family, e.g. if I was pissed or clearly very ill.
From the EU's own website:
https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/passe...
Denied boarding
You may be denied boarding by the airline:
For safety, security or health reasons (for example if you did not inform the airline in advance of any severe infectious diseases or allergies) or if you don't have the correct travel documents (more information on documents you need for travel in Europe)
If you didn't take the outbound flight of a reservation which included a return flight
If you didn't take the other flight(s) included in a reservation with consecutive flights
If you don't have the relevant documentation for your pet when it is travelling with you
If you have presented yourself on time for check-in with a valid flight reservation and travel documentation and you're denied boarding by the airline due to overbooking or for operational reasons, and you don't voluntarily give up your seat, you are entitled to:
Compensation - denied boarding
Amount in EUR
Distance
1500 km or less - 200 Euros
More than 1500 km within the EU and all other flights between 1500 and 3500 km - 400 Euros
More than 3500 km - 600 Euros
If you arrived on time for check‑in, you should always receive compensation if you're denied boarding. The only exception is if there were reasonable grounds to deny you boarding, such as health, safety or security concerns. Or if you did not have the required travel documents.
Even in cases where such grounds exist, airlines might still offer you compensation depending on the specific terms and conditions attached to your ticket.
https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/passe...
Denied boarding
You may be denied boarding by the airline:
For safety, security or health reasons (for example if you did not inform the airline in advance of any severe infectious diseases or allergies) or if you don't have the correct travel documents (more information on documents you need for travel in Europe)
If you didn't take the outbound flight of a reservation which included a return flight
If you didn't take the other flight(s) included in a reservation with consecutive flights
If you don't have the relevant documentation for your pet when it is travelling with you
If you have presented yourself on time for check-in with a valid flight reservation and travel documentation and you're denied boarding by the airline due to overbooking or for operational reasons, and you don't voluntarily give up your seat, you are entitled to:
Compensation - denied boarding
Amount in EUR
Distance
1500 km or less - 200 Euros
More than 1500 km within the EU and all other flights between 1500 and 3500 km - 400 Euros
More than 3500 km - 600 Euros
If you arrived on time for check‑in, you should always receive compensation if you're denied boarding. The only exception is if there were reasonable grounds to deny you boarding, such as health, safety or security concerns. Or if you did not have the required travel documents.
Even in cases where such grounds exist, airlines might still offer you compensation depending on the specific terms and conditions attached to your ticket.
So what they meant was "Or, you can make your own way to London Gatwick from Bristoland claim your travel costs back using the following link"
The assumption being that you would be going on the re-arranged TUI flight to Bristol, yes?
I agree with the poster above, it's a poorly worded email from TUI, they should have the decency to own the situation, refund you the cost of the Easyjet flights and apologise.
The whole idea of a package holiday is that you don't have to deal with this kind of arrangement yourself. We actively avoid them because we hate being herded like cattle on transfer coaches etc. But pulling a stunt where they fly you to a different arrival airport because they are basically trying to save money is a stty trick to play.
The assumption being that you would be going on the re-arranged TUI flight to Bristol, yes?
I agree with the poster above, it's a poorly worded email from TUI, they should have the decency to own the situation, refund you the cost of the Easyjet flights and apologise.
The whole idea of a package holiday is that you don't have to deal with this kind of arrangement yourself. We actively avoid them because we hate being herded like cattle on transfer coaches etc. But pulling a stunt where they fly you to a different arrival airport because they are basically trying to save money is a s
tty trick to play. Yeah I'm probably going down that route. I've already applied for ADR but so far not had the case reviewed. ADR isn't binding though.
The real kicker is that there was a Gatwick flight after that Bristol one, 30 mins later, which they could have offered but didn't.
If they'd done that, we'd probably have accepted it and taken that flight.
The real kicker is that there was a Gatwick flight after that Bristol one, 30 mins later, which they could have offered but didn't.
If they'd done that, we'd probably have accepted it and taken that flight.
PurpleTurtle said:
So what they meant was "Or, you can make your own way to London Gatwick from Bristoland claim your travel costs back using the following link"
The assumption being that you would be going on the re-arranged TUI flight to Bristol, yes?
I agree with the poster above, it's a poorly worded email from TUI, they should have the decency to own the situation, refund you the cost of the Easyjet flights and apologise.
The whole idea of a package holiday is that you don't have to deal with this kind of arrangement yourself. We actively avoid them because we hate being herded like cattle on transfer coaches etc. But pulling a stunt where they fly you to a different arrival airport because they are basically trying to save money is a stty trick to play.
Yes, that's what they said when I raised it first time back in the UK - that they would only cover the Bristol to Gatwick leg if I didn't want to take the coach. I had a long chat about what had previously been said (by email, webform etc) and explained that I was trying to claim back the easyJet flights to Gatwick, explained that we had not gone to Bristol for the various reasons explained, and then the guy asked me what receipts I had that specifically covered the Bristol to Gatwick leg... because that's all they intended to refund... The assumption being that you would be going on the re-arranged TUI flight to Bristol, yes?
I agree with the poster above, it's a poorly worded email from TUI, they should have the decency to own the situation, refund you the cost of the Easyjet flights and apologise.
The whole idea of a package holiday is that you don't have to deal with this kind of arrangement yourself. We actively avoid them because we hate being herded like cattle on transfer coaches etc. But pulling a stunt where they fly you to a different arrival airport because they are basically trying to save money is a s
tty trick to play. The other point at the bottom of that first email seems pretty watertight to me as well:
"At this point, we’d like to remind you of your rights in accordance with EU Regulation (EC)
261/2004 you’re entitled to Denied Boarding Compensation per person. We’ll send you an email to
organise this compensation. Please allow 28 days for the payment to arrive."
Not you *may* be entitled to compensation - it plainly says "you're entitled to compensation" - not apply for it and it may be granted, not that it may be paid subject to exclusions etc. It clearly says we ARE entitled and they will send me an email to arrange it. That offer never materialised and they have since said they won't be paying it.
"At this point, we’d like to remind you of your rights in accordance with EU Regulation (EC)
261/2004 you’re entitled to Denied Boarding Compensation per person. We’ll send you an email to
organise this compensation. Please allow 28 days for the payment to arrive."
Not you *may* be entitled to compensation - it plainly says "you're entitled to compensation" - not apply for it and it may be granted, not that it may be paid subject to exclusions etc. It clearly says we ARE entitled and they will send me an email to arrange it. That offer never materialised and they have since said they won't be paying it.
InitialDave said:
I've never had to do it, but as I understand it, the next step is to elevate it to the dispute resolution service they're aligned with (should be aviationadr.org.uk).
And then if that doesn't work, money claim online for small claims court?
This, TUI's ADR are AviationADRAnd then if that doesn't work, money claim online for small claims court?
https://www.aviationadr.org.uk/how-to-complain-abo...
Easy enough to do yourself, just make PDFs of all communications and stick to the facts.
Assume the airline will try to lawyer their way out of it so just mention the facts and avoid making any inferences or conclusions (that's the ADRs job). Easier if you just list events in bullet points.
If that fails you can go to PACT (the CAA) but generally if the ADR doesn't rule in your favour PACT likely wont either.
What you might find out is that they will only pay the EC/UK261 compensation as they technically didn't agree to the EasyJet flights. If it's covered under the £320 per passenger than the ADR will likely settle for that.
The email is poorly worded and deliberately so. If they're refusing to compensate you, even just under UK/EC261, make a complaint with the ADR. I had to go to PACT with my Air Europa complaint (Air Europa isn't part of an ADR), it took the better part of 6 months but I got £500 odd in compensation in the end. They denied the EC261 claim hoping I'd give up, I didn't but it was a fair bit of waiting.
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