Thomas Cook : flight delay, cancel, compensation and claim

The one thing every traveler dreads altogether is a delayed flight. I arrived at the airport on the concluding day of my vacation, getting there just to be told that my flight back home has been canceled due to an industrial action by the workers of the airline operator.

Of course, no one would like to be caught waiting till the moment they are stranded at the gate before plotting the next step or action to take.

I had to demand a refund of my $600 that I paid as expenses incurred. You must have an idea of what to expect should you encounter a delayed flight or possibly, a canceled flight.

Furthermore, the bureau of transportation statistics made statements about flights as of mid-September, 2019. The statement had to do with the fact that over seven hundred and nineteen thousand flights have been delayed.

And, over eighty-five thousand others have been canceled. These figures are worse than those of the year 2018. When these numbers are multiplied by the number of people meant to be on the planes, you will find out that millions of travelers are affected yearly

Be it weather, an aviation system that is stretched, strike, or some other events that happened unexpectedly; people tend to find themselves stuck.

You can get stuck at your home airport, your destination, or sometimes, the middle of the journey in a state you never planned on visiting. However, when you get unlucky and have canceled flights, you may have no choice but to wait it out.

Nonetheless, there are times whereby your reaction to cancellations will highly impact how and when you arrive at your given destination.

Before we get into how you can reduce the chances of getting stuck with these flight delays, there are things to note. So many of us are already aware that our flight schedules can never be guaranteed.

This is because airlines get to cancel flights for diverse reasons. It can range from staff strikes down to the maintenance of the plane. Also, passenger benefits tend to fluctuate as well.

Generally, airlines are not known to provide compensation should a flight be canceled or delayed as a result of happenings beyond their control. It could revolve around:

• A core weather incident, or;
• Airline union strike

Nevertheless, when delays and cancellations are caused by things the airlines could prevent like inadequate staffing or even, equipment maintenance, travelers have a right to compensation.

There are so many airline operators who see it as a very distasteful business to abandon their customers without any form of compensation. As expected, there will always be passengers who are not the least bit satisfied with such.

Currently, there are diverse ways by which airline passengers can get the justice they deserve. Indemniflight is providing this route.

Bear in mind that Indemniflight has successfully made it possible for customers to receive their complete compensation claims. All that is expected from the client is to pass by them, and of course, deposit their claims.

Indemniflight has highly professional and qualified lawyers to make sure airline passengers get their claims.

About Thomas Cook Group Plc

The once-upon-a-time prominent Thomas Cook Group Plc was actually a British global travel group. It was established on the 19^th of June, in the year 2007. It was actualized as a result of the merger of Thomas Cook AG and MyTravel Group.

Furthermore, the group functioned in two segments. It operated as both a tour operator and an airline. Also, it operated some agencies in Europe as well. However, liquidation hit the Thomas Cook Group and all of its UK bodies.

On the 23rs of September 2019, the company embarked on a compulsory liquidation. This collapse has a huge impact on an estimated six hundred thousand travelers around the world, including Americans.

Although it was a British company, Thomas Cook was able to attract customers from around the globe, especially Europe. Currently, British stranded travelers are being directed to the United Kingdom’s Civil Aviation Authority.

They have plans to fly back passengers who had already booked their flights with the Thomas Cook agency.

How To Make A Thomas Cook Claim

While tens of thousands of individuals have entered their details on the Civil Aviation Authority site, they have made reports that they got error messages.

However, the CAA, Civil Aviation Authority, made statements that thousands of claims are yet to be submitted. Moreover, with so many customers being eligible, we will be providing you with all you need to make a Thomas Cook Claim.

To make a Thomas Cook Claim, bear in mind that your claims can only be actualized through the process. And, it is only the lead passenger on the booking that can proceed to make a refund claim

When you get to the website, it actually states that diverse types of bookings will have separate claims processes. An example is the fact that a credit card payment will be a totally different process to the direct debit.

More so, you will find three different cases at the bottom of the page that you are to select from. You must choose the one that applies to you in a bid to launch the form.

The website further advises that the now-defunct Thomas Cook owned, as well as operated some travel companies. They include:

• Thomas Cook Retail Limited -ATOL 0020
• TCCT Retail Limited – ATOL 10585
• Future Travel Limited, which is trading as Freedom Personal Travel Advisors – ATOL 5704
• Freedom Travel – ATOL 6042

Furthermore, you will not be capable of claiming a refund if your holiday was known to be protected by Freedom Travel Group. If you fall under this category, Indemniflight can help you with advice.

The people who are eligible to apply also include the ATOL protected customers who were abroad when the company collapse.

They can claim for the cost of replacing aspects of their holiday that were monetarily protected or the out of pocket costs for delayed flights.

According to the CAA, over eleven thousand five hundred claims were submitted successfully. It is worthy to note that, even if you never booked via Thomas Cook, you can always claim for aspects of the holiday covered by the travel company.

A sound warning is that the claim form applies to ATOL protected holidays ATOL. But, if your booking was never ATOL protected, there is available advice on the CAA website on the next step to take.

You, your lawyer, can get your Thomas Cook compensation, and probably, a third-party company you hire, such as Indemniflight. When you undergo this journey on your own, you may be required by an airline operator to fill an online form.

Some others will demand that you contact them via their postal address, and a selected few will ask for your complaints to be sent via mail. Nevertheless, you must be formal in your approach and not rude.

You can also pass through a lawyer. Although energy and time consuming, some people do not mind setting up a forum to discuss. But, instead of doing this, others would rather lay their complaint to a third-party company.

It will be the duty of the third-party complaint to cross-check your complaints and have their lawyers handle the situation with the airline operator.

How To Handle Flight Delay And Cancellation

Whenever you realize that your flight may likely get delayed as a result of where it will be coming from, you should keep a watchful eye on the status of your flight.

And, in circumstances wherein the delay turns out to be a reality, you can seek for rebooking alternatives. You may likely have the options of not just a newer flight time but new nearby destination cities.

At times, all you need is simply to get home. You may be left with no choice but to shop for new tickets.  However, you may need to carry out the work as well as layout the expenditure involved by yourself.

In handling delayed flights or flight cancellations, there are steps to take. They include:

Have an understanding of your passenger rights

At a point in time, airlines have no choice but to transfer passengers to yet another carrier. This was done when the second one was not able to get them to their destination faster.

It was being guaranteed by the federal aviation administration’s rule 240. Although, it was later undone by airline deregulation in the year 1978. Currently, the traveler’s fate rests upon the contact carriage of the airline involved.

Because airlines now have their set policies, there is, however, no known universal rulebook anymore. However, it gets hard to seek guidance on such matters when on an airline. Most especially when you are frantically sifting all over jargon-heavy contracts from your mobile phone straight from the gate

To help yourself out, you can make it an aspect of your packing ritual. You can have to passport, toothbrush, and airline policies.

Maximize all of your compensation

Although there are no federal demands that assure passengers of compensation in cases of delay or cancellations.

However, leaving the airline customers stranded in a foreign land is bad. This is why airlines usually make more room for passengers on yet another flight. Meanwhile, never be afraid to ask for your compensation if you feel it is actually fair.

You can call the customer service line or better still, go to the website of the airline as you wait and then, request for either a refund or an optional flight.

Some airlines will rather depend on the passengers to make their demands instead of offering available alternatives. In some circumstances, the airline may as well cancel the tickets that are remaining. It is done as a request from passengers.

Also, the airline can refund the unused portions. The money that gets refunded can be used in booking another carrier. Some airlines will rather take on the booking on a customer’s behalf.

Note that some airlines tend to provide customers with things like:

• Hotel accommodation
• Ground transportation in overnight delay circumstances, and;
• Meal vouchers

It will amaze you to note how much an airline is willing to accommodate you in a bid to avoid negative reviews, especially on social medium forums.

How To Find Out Your Flight May Be Delayed ?

Asides from being able to see all the flight trends across the country, you can carry out a checker on the status of your flight within the twenty-four hours leading to your travel time.

Furthermore, you can opt-in for the flight notifications with your airline. It can be sent to your email.

Things You Can Do If There Is A Bad Weather

The bane of most, if not all, travelers has to do with the bad weather. You can embark on the task of monitoring weather patterns some days before your flight. It is vital to check on the forecast of the day you are bound to travel.

Like we mentioned earlier, ensure you get notifications about your flight’s status. If the weather turns out bad later in the day, you can book for an earlier flight. Lately, lots of airlines are enabling travelers to change their plans due to severe weather issues.

These weather issues could be an ice storm, upcoming blizzard, or probably, heavy thunderstorm.

How To Handle An Airline’s Strike ?

In cases whereby the airline goes on a strike when you are meant to travel, you can find yourself in a complex spot. If there is an advance notification of the strike, you can rebook, or a reimbursement takes place. Although the airline must not act that way.

Another option is to reach out to your airline on social forums like Twitter for assistance when they will not operate on your travel day.

Wrapping It Up

In moments where you get indecisive in circumstances that get you faced with cancellations and delays, your flight alternatives may disappear all at once.

This is because hundreds, if not thousands of other passengers, can get to beat you to rebooking if you are not fast enough. You should weigh all your realistic options and make a swift decision. This will help in keeping control of your plans.

Nonetheless, if you are actually ok with getting stuck in a place for a while, or probably taking a creative route, waiting on the airline for directions seems feasible. Meanwhile, you should not stress any decision you get to make.

Conclusively, no matter the situation you find yourself in, you can always file a complaint with Indemniflight. It is a company that is more than willing to listen and act based on your complaint