We booked flights with SAS to Stavanger, two through the SAS app and one online. The day before departure we received a text advising us that the flight had been brought forward 20 hours, but it was too late to get to check-in in time.
We discovered that SAS had lost the original flight slot three months previously, but failed to inform us. Because it was a public holiday, we could find no SAS offices open and had to buy more flights online in order to travel.
These departed four hours after our original booking and SAS insists that because the delay did not exceed four hours we are not due any refund. Five emails have been ignored. KM, Tarves, Aberdeenshire
The issue wasn’t that original flights were delayed by four hours; it was that you had to pay £500 for new tickets to take that later flight, having missed your original departure.
Schedule change is not specifically covered by EU flight delay regulations, but according to the Civil Aviation Authority, if an airline does not inform a passenger of a change, or informs them too late to make the flight, they could argue that they were “denied boarding” and so be eligible for denied boarding compensation.
You’d have to show when SAS sent the text and when you received it. SAS says it emailed you about the flight change three times and offered a refund or an alternative. It has sent me copies, but you say you never received them. You also point out that the SAS app did not show a new check-in time.
SAS acknowledges that you were inconvenienced, but is only offering a £350 voucher to be redeemed against a future flight. If you still want a refund the CAA will advise whether you have a valid case and may take it up with the airline.
If you need help email Anna Tims at your.problems@observer.co.uk or write to Your Problems, The Observer, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU. Include an address and phone number.
