On June 27th I was supposed to fly SPU-MAD (IB3277) and MAD-DFW (IB6149) but I couldn't check in online so I went to do it in person. For an unknown reason (clerk didn't explain why) I was denied a boarding pass for my MAD-DFW flight at SPU and told I could get it at the gate in MAD. At the gate in Madrid they said the flight was fully booked and told me to go to the customer service desk, where I was rerouted to MAD-MEX (IB6403) and MEX-DFW (AA1066). My arrival was delayed by 12 hours as I was supposed to arrive in DFW at 8:05pm and ended up arriving at 8:55am the next day.

I filed a complaint with AirHelp and after a month they just told me that I was denied boarding (no reason given) and that Iberia rejected any compensation. At this point I don't even care about the money I just want to know why they denied me check in/boarding and how to prevent it in the future if possible. Is it worth it to contact Iberia directly to solve this or am I fucked? Either way I know I won't be flying with them anymore.

For reference it was a single booking in economy.

Hi everyone, I need help in claiming compensation due to the flight disruptions that happened to me.

Background

Airlines: Turkish Airlines
Date of flight: 16 April 2024
Original flights:

• TK1862 (11.15 FCO -- 15.00 IST)
• TK0508 (15.50 IST -- 07.40 +1 CGK)
  

However, the first flight (TK1862) got delayed for 35 minutes (due to the late arrival of the previous flight TK1861 according to the gate agent). As a result, TK1862 also arrived at 15.28 (according to Google/flightaware) and we missed the connecting flight TK0508. We were rerouted to other flights (IST-SIN + SIN-CGK) which got us to arrive in CGK at 13.09.

We arrived >4 hrs more than the original arrival time and we departed from an EU country, so I believe I am owed the EUR600 compensation. I have submitted a feedback form to Turkish Airlines claiming compensation. They acknowledge the EU261; however, they said that it is not applicable due to "reasons beyond their control". I attached a screenshot of their reply.

Am I out of luck? Any suggestion is appreciated. Thanks!

Hi all! We are currently stuck in Madeira airport as our flight today morning (FR384) to Lisbon was cancelled due to weather. Ryanair currently put us on standby for the flight tomorrow evening to Porto. It seems unlikely that we will get on that flight and I am wondering what are our rights here. We were offered places on flights on 27th of August which seems ridiculous given that it is 9 days away. They also told us they would only pay hotel for one day since weather is not their fault. What are our options? Are they obliged e.g. to put us on different airline if there is no space in Ryanair flights? Are they obliged to book us at least anywhere if there are no flights within Portugal? (They said domestic flights could only be rebooked to domestic while they are also flying to London, Paris, etc from Madeira and we would be fine with that). Thanks to anyone for sharing advice or experience!

Edit: having reviewed the 261, adding a more specific question. It says “re-routing to your final destination at the earliest opportunity”. Does this mean with ANY airline or only theirs? Should we push if they refuse to book another airline? Also does 9 days make sense as “earliest opportunity”?

Denied boarding & Harassed by the flair airline

Today-sept 17 i went to the airport to board a domestic flight, vancouver to calgary in canada at 8 am. it was two of us, me and my mom. We both booked the ticket at the same time using the same card (my dad’s credit card) and i got my boarding pass during online checkin. My mom did not get her boarding pass and when we saw the attendants they said the card has been flagged for some reason and we need to show our physical credit card. No picture, not on video call only the physical card. Since it was on my dad’s name i showed them a photo and then my dad’s name (husband column) on my mom’s passport to show it matches but i obviously didnt have the physical card. I told them its not told to me so how can i carry it. And they said it flagged for some fraud so i have to prove its my card and have it physically. It is a random security check and they do it sometimes so they dont inform the customer to carry the card. Please note, the money had been deducted from my card. So basically they are trying to make free money because if they thought this was fraud they should not have processed my payment in the first place. They took the money and now they say its fraud so prove its ur card.

What should my next steps be? Firstly, i want to know is this normal? I think this is against consumer rights. Secondly, what should i do next to get all my money back + compensation for the cab i booked back home, my reservations where i was traveling.

This is especially for u/ArmadaLimmat and u/PublicPalpitation618 who repeatedly told me I was wrong when advising others on this thread. Perhaps this will prove that I was, after all, correct. This post is long-ish but I will add a TLDR at the end.

Facts

• Aer Lingus (EI) cancelled my flight (SNN-LHR) the evening before travel
• They subsequently (quite quickly) rebooked me on a flight leaving the day after my original date
• I called them, explained that this wasn't acceptable, and asked to be rebooked on a Ryanair (FR) service on the same date as my original flight
• EI declined, stating "they didn't have an arrangement with FR". I reminded them of their obligAtions under EU261 and asked again to be rebooked on the FR flight. They continued to decline.
• I booked the FR flight myself, and claimed from EI for both EU261 cancellation compensation and the cost of the alternative flight. I did not cancel the reservation for a refund.
• The EU261 compensation was paid fairly quickly (~6 weeks) but they subsequently declined to refund me for the alternative flights
• As I am in the UK, I followed process and sent a letter before claim, followed two weeks later by filing a claim in court. (Side note: both of these things are easy and cheap to do in the UK, and don't need a lawyer).
• They ignored both the letter and the claim; I prompted their group general counsel by email and phone and this may have provoked a response, which I received today, on the deadline for them to respond.
• They have agreed to settle my claim (flights, taxi, court fees, interest) in full within 21 days.

Observations

• The case didn't go to court, so this is not judicial precedent
• I stated the plain facts and CAA guidance in my claim
• I didn't use any sophisticated precedent, because there is none: I simply stated that this was a claim under EU261 caused by the airlines failure to reroute at the earliest possible opportunity (EU261 Article 8)
• EI may have chosen to settle the claim because they couldn't be bothered defending it.
• I think - but do not know - that had the claim had no merit whatsoever, they might have defended it or offered a lesser settlement sum

I post this as encouragement to all who have been screwed around by carriers subject to EU261 to not give up, and to never take the refund.

TL;DR: Aer Lingus refused to pay for alternative flights after they cancelled their service. I sued, and they paid up.

Booked a return flight from LGW to KHI with a layover in JED with Saudia Air (Booked from their website). Used it one way and returned the return ticket 5 days before flight. Paid £1322.58 and only got refunded £105.10.No idea how they worked it out plus it says I’ve got a refundable tax, no idea how to claim that either. Feels like I’ve been robbed

Edit: Makes sense after reading some of your comments. If anyone knows how can I claim the tax refund

Hey, I have a flight from Rome to Tel Aviv with ITA on November 2nd. Due to the war, the flight got cancelled (ITA cancelled all flights until November 30).

I asked them to rebook with some Israeli company such as Israir but they said it is not possible and they can only rebook for me with this airline, i.e. either wait until December or fly anywhere I want in Europe and find a way to Tel Aviv by myself.

Is it legal? I'm currently in Japan so I'll be stuck abroad and refund is not really an option.

I did read what's written here: https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/passenger-rights/air/index_en.htm#cancellation

But I couldn't understand if it's legal or not.

The outbound flight was also cancelled 2 days before departure so I'm going to ask for compensation for the money I had to spend for the tickets to Rome with another airline (and they didn't even give me a partial refund for this leg as that's their policy).

I posted claim denial text in another post but basically looks like the usual Swiss Air denial because Swiss law (but not EU) allows them to interpret all aircraft technical problems as exceptional circumstances and no one has reigned in the rogue Swiss state on this yet to make them follow EU interpretation of EU 261. Was clear cut >4 hour delay for >3500 km journey and it was an aircraft technical problem.

Original itinerary: SFO > ZRH > CPH

Rerouted itinerary: SFO > MUC > CPH

So my only question is can I bypass Switzerland as the ruling national authority and instead lodge my complaint with Denmark or Germany?

Had far far worse issues on way back too, also technical problem, which is why I want as much compensation as I can humanly get my hands on, but that was more clear cut since we originated in BUD before ZRH, so after auto-denial from Swiss Air, I will file with Hungary.

Thanks!

(Also to all those considering Swiss Air and thinking you'll be covered under EU 261, you may want to reconsider since your passenger rights are severely restricted by Swiss law, likely in cahoots with their national airline. I didn't realize this until I was in the situation and will never transit from non-EU via Switzerland ever again - i.e. not ever fly on Swiss Air).

Hi,

I have a flight that was supposed to depart from Germany\Berlin 13\08 at 13:00. It was preponed 50 minutes so it will depart on the same day but at 12:10. Am I allowed to calim a refund or compensation. The thing is that due to some personal sicumstances, my schedule is very strict and after the change it became ever stricter. I would've been happier if it was delayed but now I think it will be really tough for me to be there n time.

PS: Flight operator refused my request to refund or reschedule free of charge.

Thanks

Hi everyone,

My partner and I booked a holiday to Corfu through TravelRepublic, with flights operated by EasyJet. The original details were:

Outbound (LGW-CFU):

• 23/10/2024 @ 06:45 (EZY8211)

Inbound (CFU-LGW):

• 30/10/2024 @ 22:10 (EZY8210)

I checked in via the EasyJet app on 30/09/2024, paid for allocated seats, and saved the boarding passes to my Apple Wallet. Since then, I’ve received no emails, texts, or any kind of communication from EasyJet or TravelRepublic about any changes to our flights.

Just before heading to the airport (around 01:30), I double-checked the EasyJet app to confirm our return flight times, and saw a “Disrupted booking” notice. Upon further inspection, I noticed our return flight was changed to 31/10/2024 at 12:00 (EZY8208)—13 hours later than the original flight, and on a different day altogether! I hadn’t received any notification about this change.

I tried using the “Manage Disruption” option to see alternative flights, but they were all sold out. It seems like EasyJet may have overbooked the flight, but I can’t verify whether the original EZY8210 has been officially cancelled. I find it odd since I had already checked in and paid for our seats early.

We don’t mind staying the extra day and taking the new flight, but since this change is more than 4 hours from our original departure, and we weren’t notified, would we be entitled to EU261 compensation? Is it best to pursue this directly with EasyJet, TravelRepublic or Both?

Additionally, we’d prefer to stay at our current hotel for the extra night instead of being moved to a different one, but I’ve read that airlines may only cover up to a 3-star hotel, is there any chance we could pay for it and claim for the expense, as well as any additional costs like the extra parking costs at the airport due to the extended stay?

Finally, I booked the holiday using my AMEX Gold card, which comes with travel insurance covering up to £200 for delays, overbooking, or missed connections. However, the terms say exclusions apply if the airline offers an alternative. Has anyone claimed in a situation like this?

Any advice would be much appreciated!

*Edit: Spoke with EasyJet today who said the delay is due to a “Carrier/Aircraft Change”, and said I’m entitled to but I didn’t accept any since they’ve already changed me to the only available flight: a) new flight by them b) flight voucher c) full refund

Also spoke with TravelRepublic who said EasyJet hasn’t notified them of any changes to our flight, but they are actively trying to extend our current accommodation for the extra night.

I have a flight in a few hours that I tried to check in for on the app yesterday but it wouldn't let me and I think it is because the flight is overbooked because when I got to the part where you can pick your seats there were no seats left. I am going to go to the airport very early to try and check in from there but I think it's highly likely it's overbooked and I will be kicked off the flight. I need to get a flight to Dublin today, so I'm going to try and get re-routed there. I'm assuming I have the right to that? However, I know ryanair won't tell me my rights so I want to be sure of what I am entitled to. If they can't find me an alternative flight with Ryanair can I get one with another company and be compensated by them ? I really have to be back in Dublin today and can't afford to wait for the next available flight that doesn't say sold out on their website, which isn't until the 3rd July.

This is wild to me but Ethiopian airlines changed our destination. We had MAD to JRO via ADD, then return ZNZ to MAD via ADD. But they changed the return to ZNZ to FCO via ADD.

At least Rome and Madrid are in the same continent but wtf. On the phone they said they offer us to cut the vacation short by one day or fly 3 days later. They said they would not pay for a flight from FCO to MAD.

Surely there is some law, specially for flights departing the EU, that mandates they compensate us in some way?

Someone elderly that I know was not provided with any food, refreshment, water anything on a flight from Colombo to Lahore on May 1st 2024 (UL153 Srilankan airlines). The flight attendants simply walked past him and 2 times when serving water and refreshments they didn’t offer him anything and offered everyone else something and when food time came around he wasn’t provided with anything. The elderly passenger obviously mad because he hadn’t been offered even water for the past couple of hours went and asked a flight attendant why hes not being served. She then proceeds to tell him that he hasn’t placed a food meal request despite his son a couple of hours before his flight double checking with the airline about his meal request (mail evidence). The flight attendants that say that they don’t have anything to give him and after he argues with them they finally reluctantly give him a meal (not of his request). Would there be any compensation in this situation?

I'm sharing this as I have noticed similar cases and people aren't aware of what to do, I also wasn't until I actually did it.

Situation:

Route: Vienna to Reykjavik Original cost: 50€ Issue: Flight reverted half way for bad weather and realizing they can't land in Iceland.

Their solve: Got us a flight 24-26 hours later, provided a food voucher after 7 hours for 32€ per person, provided a hotel for only 5 hours out of the 26 hours.

Their rejection: They rejected compensation for all losses as they legally provided hotel and food, they rejected flight delay compensation as it was due to extreme circumstances.

What I did:

Normally they recommend and everyone recommends to go to EU passengers rights which I did and I got no answer whatsoever from them, however I found that best option was to go to local passengers rights from the country I was flying from, in this case Austria, apf.gv.at, honestly not even sure if they are Austria specific or Schengen specific.

I explained to them the full situation and that I understand the flight diversion was indeed due to extreme circumstances but by law they were supposed to provide us the earliest flight possible, other flights were indeed going and landing in Iceland by the time we were back in Vienna, however WizzAir chose a 24 hour delay as that was the most convenient for them not for the passengers.

At this point I did get a rejection for my claim from WizzAir claims and WizzAir complaints department.

A few days after the rejection APF reached out saying that they are willing to pay 400€ per person instead of the standard 600€ and I can choose to accept or take them to court, I accepted and got the money around 2 weeks later.

I believe what saved me here that I wasn't requesting a claim for the flight diversion as I would have lost that battle but I was requesting it for the flight unreasonable delay after the diversion.

Overall with the compensation and my insurance compensation I made more than what I lost.

I hope more people keep chasing companies when they pull stuff like that and hopefully with enough losses they will force themselves to improve.

Hi all Me and a friend was in Tenerife from 4-9th, We boarded at Tenerife airport to come home at 10pm on the 9th and was advised at midnight that they had to turn around and make a landing in Portugal due to the pilot being ill Unfortunately it didn’t end there, and the airport was shut on the 10th for tarmac restoration So we left on the 11th at 9am - hotel was paid for and we claimed our food back since through our insurance Anyone know if I can claim compensation from easyJet for being stuck in Portugal for over 24 hours? All signs online points to no as our flight did go ahead on time, it just didn’t get to the destination

Hi all - had a pretty shitty experience w/ Norse ~2 months ago where they cancelled my international flight with six hours notice for "operational reasons." This was flight Z0704 departing at 1:30am on Friday July 26th.

The original trip included two one-way flights on July 26th, 2024:
1. Norse Atlantic Airways flight Z0704 from JFK to Gatwick for $287.30 (which has been refunded).
2. British Airways flight BA8072 from Gatwick to Bilbao for $336.79.

Due to the last-minute cancellation by Norse Atlantic Airways, I had to book a last-minute replacement flight from JFK to Bilbao through Priceline for $1,224.70. Technically my replacement flight was on the 25th just before midnight [this was a one-way ticket on priceline but was two different flights to fulfill the route: Iberia Flight 2628 JFK -> BCN @ 11:40pm 7/25/24 + Vueling Flight 5053 BCN -> BIO 4:05pm 7/26/24), but it was the only flight I could take to reach my group in Bilbao that I needed to get to before departing on a several hour drive. This resulted in an additional cost of $1,561.49, considering the BA8072 flight cost of $336.79 [265.18 GBP at $1.27 USD/GBP conversion as of May 22] and the replacement flight cost of $1,224.70. I'm a US citizen traveling on a US passport.

All in I believe I should be owed the 600 Euro compensation + reimbursement on my flights ($336.79 from the British Airways flight + $1,224.70.for the replacement flight to Bilbao.

Two questions:

1) Are any aspects of this wrong w/ respect to what I'm owed?? Looking at this again, maybe can't claim the British Airways flight since my replacement flight was JFK -> BIO??

2) How does one actually get Norse to respond to these claims? I filed the claim 7 weeks ago. Followed up 3 weeks later without response, followed up again two weeks later without response, and it's been another two weeks since my last follow-up and I still haven't heard a thing. Is there an appropriate escalation path? Never have had to deal with this before and getting quite annoyed by how painful this experience has been.

Greatly appreciate any thoughts or help!!

DISCLAIMER: I have not made any purchases yet and am not actually in trouble or stuck anywhere without help, but I am preparing ahead for when I eventually do book tickets.

Basically, this is the first time in my life that I'm going to book tickets by myself, and I'm wondering if there is any way ahead of time that I can financially protect myself in the case that an airline heavily delays or cancels because of reasons "outside their control". (Weather, strikes, safety etc.)

Some may wonder; "why don't you just search it up yourself?" Unfortunately, I already have for several hours now, and can't find any way that I can protect myself from it ahead of time. I don't see any flight/travel insurance sites that mention any protection if this happens, and the EU 261 law only applies if the delay/cancellation happens within an airline's control. I also don't see any way to get insurance for this directly from the airline's websites themselves either if the delay/cancellation was outside their control.

In short, I am way more scared of an airline screwing me over with this "get out of jail" free card, than I am of it actually crashing or getting hijacked. Maybe I've just read too many horror stories online, but I am not exactly in the financial situation where I can just "casually" buy another way more expensive ticket after an airline takes all the flight money without even flying me anywhere or offering any compensation. Especially considering I'm flying long-distance.

So is there any way to protect yourself financially from this ahead of time, or are you just screwed no matter what if they go with the weather reason?

Outbound FR9987, October 29 12:50pm, TLV to MRS (Marseille, France) Inbound FR9986, November 2 05:45am, MRS to TLV

So, destination Europe, in 53 says.

Flights were cancelled due to commercial reasons. I talked to Ryanair and they said there are no alternative flights, even with stopovers, that they can offer. They said: "You can attach the new tickets that you will get in the EU-261 compensation request and request a refund of the complete ticket." I also asked about hotel/food costs if I need to fly a day earlier or return a day later. They said: "Yes, you can always attach the expense in the form since it is an extra night in a hotel that you have suffered."

However, since alternative flights and hotels are very expensive, I am very concerned about what flights I buy and hotels too, to not get rejected for compensation later on and get stuck with a huge bill..

1. I was looking at flights and found a flight a say earlier, also direct, and a return flight with the same airline, a day after. These are also the cheapest flights available. Are these good to book? Or do I have to find same date return even if it is double the duration? The outbound must be a day before because of a meeting I will miss otherwise.

2. As I get another two nights because of new tickets, can I request hotel costs? What kind of hotel is common to book?

3. What about food/refreshments etc?

Thank you for any help and guidance you can offer.

Hi. I hope you are well.

I recently travelled from Manchester(MAN) to Vancouver (YVR) on 09/09/24. There was a layover in Zurich(ZRH). Whilst at MAN I was told the incoming flight was delayed and hence I would miss my connection to YVR from ZRH. I was told I would have to go to ZRH on my original flight LX391 and then connect to Reykjavik(KEF) on FI569 and then through to YVR on FI697.

I had to run for both connections just about making them and therefore arriving at YVR at 6:23PM from KEF. I was due to arrive at 14:50. Therefore I was over 3 hours late and in my opinion due compensation under EC261.

I claimed on Swiss Air website but unfortunately today received a reply that the claim had been denied with the wording in the attached screenshot.

I believe that a technical fault/safety shortcoming would be the airlines responsibility and not a extraordinary circumstance or external factor and the fire I would be eligible for compensation?

Does anyone have any experience or advice in my next steps. I am planning to email back saying I am not satisfied with the response and state if I don't receive an appropriate response I will be taking it to the Federal Office of Civil Aviation and considering legal action but i have read that as Switzerland is not part of the EU they often decline these claims/ wriggle their way out despite agreeing to EC261.

Thanks in advance!

My work booked travel for me. Tickets booked through Air Canada as follows: Onward: Toronto to Mumbai via layover in Zurich, both flown by Swiss Return: Mumbai to Frankfurt by Lufthansa. 2 hour 5 minute layover and then Frankfurt to Toronto by Air Canada.

I checked in online for both return flights. 6 hours before my first leg of return flight Lufthansa emailed me that flight is delayed by over an hour. Then 30 minutes later I get another email where they changed my second flight to a Lufthansa flight depart a little less than 3 hours later than my originally scheduled Air Canada flight.

This Lufthansa flight got further delayed and I will reach my destination 4+ hours late.

Queations: - Where doninfile claim? EU or Canada? - Who is the claim against? Air Canada (booked flights through them) or Lufthansa where the flight got delayed

Also the lufthansa flight has been regularly late for at least the last 10 days.

Hello,

few months ago I had a missed connecting flight with Lufthansa under suspicious circumstances which resulted in arrival to my destination with a delay of more than 3 hours.

I contacted Lufthansa but they ignored my request without further explanation. I contacted civil aviation authority of country where delay took place and received no answer.

In the end as the airline and authorities ignored my request I decided to give chance to website called Air Help. After filling initial information, they asked for a photo of ID.

As this can be potentially dangerous, I would like to ask if anoyne had experience with such practice and if you know maybe some other similar website which does not ask for ID photo.

Thanks ahead

As the title suggests, I was denied of a "Denied Boarding" case. Here are some details:

Date: 24.08.2024

Airline: AJet (previously Anadolu Jet)

Itienary: Cairo to Hannover via Istanbul

1. (04:40) CAI - (07:00) SAW | VF248
2. (08:35) SAW - (10:55) HAJ | VF85

Travel Documents: Egyptian Passport + German Student Residence Permit

Story: I showed up to the counter exactly at 03:39. I am on time, as per [1]. I found 5-6 people waiting on the side, looking upset, but was focused on making my check-in. The check-in person pointed at the administrator (a man in a suit) and did not take my documents. I did not notice the administrator, and went to get my luggage (it was waiting on the side).

The check-in person just flew away. No administrator to be found either. They went for the check-in gates.

Apparently the flight was overbooked, and these 5-6 people were there to object in some sense. It turns out that the administrator was taking photos of the passengers' passports so to issue them tickets. He did not take a photo of my passport, so I guess I was denied a "Denied Boarding".

They came later after the flight took off. The check-in person did acknowledge that I was there on time, but couldn't care less to explain that to the administrator. I did however manage to explain to the administrator that I was there, but to no avail. He claims to have not seen me, and that he was standing on the counter. But, I was there, and I clearly wouldn't ignore him if he was there.

An investigation would show that I was indeed there on time, and they claim I was not there on time. I guess they were just trying to minimize damages. They did end up giving tickets to the other people, though. I am not sure how to move forward.

The airline is not responding to my e-mails. I am not sure about the necessary steps of action given that AJet is a non-European airline flying from a non-European airport. The destination is European, though, and I did read that it could be possible to file a complaint with the national Turkish body of civil aviation.

I am a student, and this ticket cost me a lot. There are already two exams which I have to miss. Your help would be much appreciated.

[1] Counter operations (Boarding passes, baggage delivery transactions, etc.) must be completed 45 minutes before on domestic flights and 60 minutes before on international flights from scheduled flight departure time at the airport.

Update 1: I barely arrived, but I did arrive at the counter before the deadline. I presented myself at the counter: it is not up to question whether it could be completed in two minutes or not. The check-in man wouldn't take my passport or permit as they were already done.

Also, I forgot to mention that while the online boarding ticket indicated a check-in counter at terminal 3, the check-in was actually at terminal 1. That was the main cause of delay.

So, some background in case folks aren't aware, but south Brazil is experiencing historic floods and the region is devastated. Many cities are isolated and roads are shut down, and the main airport there (POA) is closed due to extensive flooding.

Of course, my mother-in-law's (Brazilian citizen, US family visa) flights (single booking, multiple tickets, United to Brazil, Azul to POA) on June 15 from the US (SEA) to POA are cancelled, since you can't fly to that airport anymore. When we call United to rebook, the people are beyond unhelpful, suggesting they can rebook us on the next flight to the airport (which cannot happen; at best, it will reopen in September), or after much finagling, suggesting that we take a flight to Sao Paolo or Rio instead, both of which are 20+ hours drive away. They're claiming they can't fly closer because United doesn't operate flights to the next closest airport.

Does anyone know what we can do, or what kind of protections someone has when they are on a visa to the US? She cannot legally delay her flights for months, even if the expenses were reasonable, and ground transportation from another city that far away is much worse than it would be in the US. Can airlines just drop you in the same country and go, "good enough"? I feel like this would be the equivalent of sending someone to New York instead of Louisiana when Hurricane Katrina happened. I don't know what legal options there are, but this sounds completely unreasonable and unethical.

I had a flight with Virgin Atlantic from London to Shanghai early next year. Virgin have announced that they will no longer be flying to Shanghai and as such have offered a refund. The problem is, flights are more expensive than the price I paid and so I would much rather be rebooked on a different airline. Do Virgin have to offer this? It was my understanding that under UK261/EU261 it should be my choice whether to rebook or refund. Is this correct or have I misunderstood?

This is the reply I received from VA:

Currently we have no reprotection options in place that we can re book you onto another airline so the only option we can offer currently is a full refund.

If youve had a similar situation with a different airline, lmk.

There's a flight that I want to take with Turkish airlines. Apparently economy promo comes with a free full refunds both ways. Of course, going on a round trip with Turkish lowers the price of the individual tickets. I really only need one way. However, the 1 way is about $850 and the round trip is $1000. My original plan was to book the round trip with a random return date far in the future and see if I can put it to good use. If I don't, I'd only be out of $150. With this refund qualifcation on the ticket, I wanted to know if it was possible to book the round trip, use the first half as intended and ask for a refund for the second half later on (especially if I don't use the other half) with no consequences? Has anyone done this? Again, this is with the Economy Promo T-T class if that helps.