Travel is one of life’s greatest pleasures but when it goes wrong it can cause endless heartache, as two readers have recently found out to their considerable cost.
“You’re the last resort to get an issue resolved after a horrendous experience with Aer Lingus,” begins the mail from Gerry.
He was scheduled to fly from Newcastle to Dublin on an Aer Lingus flight operated by Emerald Airlines on March 30th with a scheduled departure time of 16:10.
“After boarding, we left the gate but sat idly on the taxiway with the engines running for approximately 20 minutes. The captain then informed us of a technical fault and advised that we would be moved to a remote stand to assess the issue,” he writes.
“Upon arriving at the remote stand, the engines were shut off, and we were instructed to remain on board. The cabin quickly became uncomfortably hot, with passengers visibly struggling in the rising temperature. This continued for 30–40 minutes until the captain entered the cabin, commenting, ‘Phew, it’s hot in here.’
“It would appear that he had the cockpit windows open and was unaware of the heat in the main cabin and none of the cabin crew informed him. Thankfully, the cabin crew then opened the doors, providing much needed relief.”
But the temperature of the cabin is not our reader’s main concern.
“After another 15 minutes, the captain announced that the issue could not be resolved and that a replacement aircraft would be dispatched. We were towed back to the terminal and disembarked.
“At 19:15, I received a text from Aer Lingus stating that the flight was delayed until midnight, only to receive another message at 20:38 informing us that the flight had been cancelled.”
The – relatively speaking – good news is that Swissport arranged hotel accommodation for the night – something that does not always happen these days.
When Gerry called Aer Lingus customer service at 20:39 he was told that all flights the following day were full, and they had no information on the replacement aircraft.
“I waited overnight, expecting an update. None came. At 08:11 on March 31st, I contacted customer care again, requesting to be rebooked and seeking recommendations. After much deliberation, I opted for a flight from Edinburgh at 15:30. Less than an hour later, at 09:08, Aer Lingus notified me that this flight had been delayed to 16:40.”
He was hopeful that would be the end of it so he travelled to Edinburgh by train.
“Then, at 15:02, I received yet another message – departure had been further delayed to 17:55. Given my prior experience, I decided to cancel the flight and request a refund for my original booking. I promptly booked a Ryanair flight for €179 one way from Edinburgh to Dublin that same day and finally arrived home at 19:00, a full 26 hours after my original scheduled flight.
“Upon arrival home I received a text message at 18:28 that the flight from Edinburgh had been cancelled.”
Gerry submitted a claim to Aer Lingus on April 2nd, providing all the necessary receipts.
“While the EU-mandated €250 compensation will cover the cost of my Ryanair flight, I am still left significantly out of pocket, not only due to Aer Lingus cancelling both flights, but also because of the additional annual leave I had to take and the burden of arranging my own transport from Newcastle to Edinburgh,” he writes.
We contacted the airline but independently it made contact with our reader and offered him €700 to cover his expenses as he tried to make it home.
Gerry described it as a “semblance of resolution” be he said he was left wondering what it had all taken so long.
We received the following statement from the airline. “Aer Lingus sincerely apologises to Gerry for his recent experience with us. We can confirm that eligible expense payments have now been refunded and we are liaising directly with our customer to resolve this matter fully.”
