“I’m due to fly to Australia for a family get together in just over two weeks, and it was all planned so that I’d be flying from Gatwick in the evening, giving me enough time to get to the airport during the day. I also booked extra legroom, a bigger baggage allowance and other perks for the flight as it’s going to be a long one.

“I had a telephone call from the airline this morning saying that the flight has had to be cancelled, and they will be switching me to an earlier one, which leaves at 10am. Not only that, but the plane is smaller, they can’t guarantee me more legroom, and I can’t have the extra baggage allowance.

“I paid for the extras, and although they are willing to refund the extra I paid, they refuse to budge on anything else, so now I’m either going to have to book a taxi or stay in a Gatwick hotel overnight. The flight will be uncomfortable, and I will have to take less baggage with me.“

Advice

Oh dear, it’s a difficult problem, but sadly there probably isn’t much that you can do in this case, because the details of your flight were changed well in advance. The airline are also offering to refund the premium that you paid for the extra baggage and leg room, so legally they don’t have to do any more than that.

Under EU law, you could alternatively ask the airline for a refund of the cost of your ticket, but that won’t help in your situation, when you still need to get to Australia.

Because your flight is departing on the same day as your original one, even though you have to stay overnight or book a taxi, you’re still expected to cover the extra cost. Most airlines have a clause in their booking terms and conditions which gets them out of the responsibility for extra costs like this. In most cases, if the new flight time is within 12 hours of the one you’d originally booked, you won’t be entitled to anything.

The only possible loophole to this would be if your flight had been changed drastically – from a day flight to a night one. A night flight is usually defined as a flight which leaves the UK between the hours of 10pm and 6am. If your flight had been changed the other way round, and was departing at least three hours later than originally planned, you might be able to squeeze some compensation out of the airline.

What Should I Do Next?

It’s still worth appealing to their better nature, and asking them for a discount or some money back on the flight, due to the inconvenience that the change in flight times has caused.

It’s also up to you to make sure that you don’t pay over the odds if you’re going to try and claim any kind of compensation. Stick to a basic hotel, or get the cheapest quote for a taxi you can find, and ask them very nicely if they wouldn’t mind contributing.

If they say no – there’s nothing you can do, I’m afraid

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