AUA works meetings: Rights in case of rebooking
Rebooking in the event of flight cancellations
Austrian Airlines is currently holding another works meeting. Flights are being canceled at short notice and almost 100 flights are affected.
The airline is already contacting passengers and offering rebookings and cancelations.
The Agency for Passenger Rights and the Standard have summarized the most important questions from our conciliation body:
My flight has been canceled, do I have to accept a rebooking?
Calls to the APF's flight conciliation body have shown that although passengers were offered other connections, these were often impractical. For example, the outbound flight for a city trip to Spain was canceled. When rebooking, a flight was finally offered that would have taken place on the day of return. This meant that the city trip was no longer feasible.
In such cases, the airlines are obliged to offer the earliest possible connection to the destination. This also includes flights with other airlines. The route in question is served by several airlines every day. In such cases, the airline must also rebook flights with competing airlines - in this specific case, Iberia, Ryanair, Vueling and WizzAir flew the route on the same day.
If you arrive at your destination more than two hours late, you are also entitled to a compensation payment of between 250 and 600 euros, depending on the flight distance.
Can passengers also book an alternative themselves?
Customers turned to the conciliation body with the complaint that contacting Austrian Airlines had proved to be very difficult. The service hotlines and online forms were overloaded and the chatbot did not work.
In such cases, it is advisable to document an attempt to contact the airline, e.g. by email, set a short deadline and then book an alternative flight yourself.
Passengers can subsequently claim the costs of this alternative flight from Austrian Airlines - and are also entitled to compensation if the destination is reached two hours or more after the originally planned arrival time.
What about support and follow-up costs?
During the waiting time for the alternative flight, the airline is obliged to provide snacks and refreshments or meal vouchers free of charge. These must be collected from the airline counter at the airport. If an overnight stay is necessary due to a long waiting time (flight the next day), this must also be organized by the airline. The same applies here: if you cannot reach anyone, you can make the bookings yourself. However, it is essential to keep the invoices and make sure they are reasonable (i.e. do not book any 5-star luxury hotels). Other consequential costs, such as the hotel at the vacation destination, do not fall within the scope of the Air Passenger Rights Regulation - the law on compensation applies here.
Is it possible to cancel the trip completely and receive money?
It is also possible to agree to cancel the trip at the suggestion of the airline, have the ticket price refunded and receive a compensation payment of between 250 and 600 euros. In one case, for example, a flight was booked to attend a major concert in Germany. Due to the cancellation, it was no longer possible to get to the concert on time. The applicants therefore decided in favor of the cancellation offered, including a refund of the ticket price and a compensation payment.
It is important to note that no compensation is payable if the passenger cancels the flight - only if the airline offers a corresponding option (choice between canceling and rebooking).
Where can you turn if the airline refuses to pay?
If the airline does not - or only insufficiently - respond to the claims, you can go to the Agency for Passenger Rights . An arbitration procedure is opened there free of charge and an attempt is made to reach an agreement between the airline and the passenger.