Mariell and her family’s direct flight to Athens was cancelled
Mariell was going on holiday to Greece with her family of five. They had booked a direct flight from Oslo to Athens, but the day before departure, the family woke up to a message from SAS saying that the flight had been cancelled.
Instead, they were rebooked onto a journey via Frankfurt and Zurich, arriving in Athens in the middle of the night. For Mariell, who is already afraid of flying, and her three children aged 7, 9 and 13, the journey proved far more challenging than planned.
Refundmore is now taking the family’s claim for 2,000 euros to court against SAS.
The journey had already been changed before departure
The problems began even before the family were due to set off.
Mariell’s brother discovered via the SAS app that the family’s planned return journey had been cancelled. Initially, they were offered a flight the day before their original return date, but this would have meant losing a day of their holiday, even though the family’s holiday home had been booked until the original return date.
After spending about an hour and a half on the phone with SAS, they were instead rebooked for the following day with a stopover in Stockholm. This meant that the family had to arrange an extra night’s accommodation themselves.
Even before the holiday had begun, the changes had therefore cost them both time and extra planning.
The direct flight to Athens was also cancelled
The family chose to travel from Sogndal to Oslo the day before their scheduled departure for Athens. They did this to minimise the risk of problems, as the flight from Sogndal is often cancelled.
After spending the night in a hotel near Oslo Airport, they woke up the next morning to yet another message from SAS: the direct flight to Athens had been cancelled.
Mariell rang SAS again and was told that the only option was a new route with two stopovers.
For the family, this meant that a direct journey was replaced by three flights and an arrival much later than planned.
With three excited children and a family who had already arrived in Athens, we just had to switch to emergency mode and get on with it.
Mariell
The changes also meant they now had to find food along the way, make it to new gates at two unfamiliar airports and keep track of three children who were getting more and more tired.
It was a huge strain on everyone, and the stress of trying to get something to eat whilst having to rush to the gate in a new country twice with three tired boys was really quite a spectacle.
Mariell
The journey turned out to be far more stressful than planned
Mariell herself describes how she is very afraid of flying. Consequently, the rebooking – involving multiple flights and stopovers – made the journey significantly more stressful for her and her family. Along the way, the youngest children also started to feel unwell, which didn’t exactly make the trip any easier.
The family didn’t land in Athens until around 2 or 3 in the morning. Because of the late arrival, it took about an hour before they could collect their hire car and leave the airport. Shortly after setting off, the car had a puncture on the motorway, which meant even more waiting time and hassle at a time when both children and adults were already very tired. It was not until around 10.30–11 the following morning that the family finally reached their destination.
For Mariell, it was particularly frustrating because the family had originally booked a direct flight to Athens, precisely to avoid this sort of hassle.
A friend recommended Refundmore
During the trip, Mariell shared the experience on Snapchat. There, she received a message from a friend:
You should make a claim with Refundmore. We did, and we got our money back.
After speaking to her mum, Mariell therefore decided to submit the case to Refundmore.
She didn’t want to spend any more energy on a case against SAS herself.
We haven’t spoken to SAS directly because we never received any further information, so I felt I couldn’t be bothered to fight that battle myself.
Mariell
How Refundmore is helping the family
After assessing the family’s case, Refundmore has filed a claim for 400 euros for each of the five passengers, totalling 2,000 euros.
We have contacted SAS several times regarding the family’s claim, but have not received a response from the airline. We have therefore now referred the claim to the courts, where we are pursuing the case on the family’s behalf.
Why is Refundmore taking the case to court?
We do not need a response from the airline to assess whether a case is strong. Based on the details of the journey and the documentation we have received, we can assess for ourselves whether, in our view, the passengers have a valid claim.
We always try first to resolve the matter directly with the airline and avoid legal proceedings where possible. However, when the airline fails to cooperate or does not respond to the claim, it may become necessary to take legal action. This is the situation in Mariell’s case.
Refundmore is handling the further legal proceedings so that Mariell and her family do not have to take the case against SAS themselves.
Fortunately, the holiday ended better than it began
Even the return journey had been changed in advance, and during the holiday Mariell also discovered that the family’s seat reservations had disappeared from the SAS app. After yet another phone call, they managed to ensure that the family could sit together on the flight home.
New rules to make it easier for families to sit together
New rules will soon come into force as part of the revision of EU Regulation 261. One of the changes is that families will have the right to sit together on the flight, so that airlines cannot simply seat parents and children separately.
This is particularly relevant in situations such as Mariell’s, where the family’s journey was changed several times and where the seat reservations for the return journey had suddenly disappeared.
The return journey then went ahead as planned.
After a total of seven flights, however, the family were more than ready to get home.
After seven flights across several different countries, the tears were flowing freely when we finally got home to our dog, Madonna.
Mariell
What can you learn from this case?
Mariell’s case shows, in particular, that a flight cancellation can have far greater consequences than just a few extra hours’ travel time. When a direct flight is replaced by several connecting flights, it can make the journey significantly more difficult, especially for families with children.
The case also highlights why it is important to keep messages, booking confirmations and other documentation from the airline. This makes it easier to assess whether you are entitled to compensation.
And even if the airline does not reply or refuses to pay, the matter does not have to end there. If the documentation shows that you have a strong claim, Refundmore can take the case forward on your behalf and, if necessary, take it to court.
Has your flight also been cancelled?
If your flight is cancelled or severely delayed, you may be entitled to compensation.
Refundmore will investigate your claim and handle the matter with the airline. If necessary, we can also pursue the matter through the courts.