What Are My Rights?

I booked five one-way award tickets in July for my family on TAP.

 

3 tickets are in Y - orginally the routing was GRU/OPO/AMS , leaving on July 7, arriving July 8. Our cruise begins in AMS on the 9th.

 

My ticket was booked one the same flight in J ( my kids are all older and are very frequent fliers ...the three of them sit together, no rude comments please).

 

My husband is in J on a different flight ...we couldn't find an award ticket on the same flight. So his routing was GRU/LIS/AMS on the same dates.

 

When I was checking my flights last week, I noticed my arrival date had changed to the 9th! ( on my flight with the kids).

 

I immediately called TAP and they told me the flight to Porto had been cancelled and the only available date was the 9th.

 

I explained the issue of the cruise boarding on the 9th. Although they said flying a different route was not permitted for award tickets, I pleaded for them to put us on the same flight as my husband.

 

They proceeded to say that there was no award availability and they would need to waitlist us and that was the only alternative.

 

We have non-refundable hotel rooms and our return one way flights are non-refundable flights booked with a different airline.

 

My J seat on the waitlist cleared but the kids( they are on the same reservation) are still waitlisted. This seems unacceptable to me. TAP cancelled my flight. The flight they rebooked me on for the 9th was unacceptable. Don't they need to reaccomodate us? There is revenue space on the flight. What should I do?

TAP cancelled my flight. The flight they rebooked me on for the 9th was unacceptable. Don't they need to reaccomodate us?

Yes, I think they do. I believe that EC Regulation 261/2004 should apply here. Tell them that you think that Article 5(1)(a) and Article 8 require them to re-route you to AMS "under comparable transport conditions" and "at the earliest opportunity" because you have chosen your right to this under Article 8(1)(b) (and it is your choice, not the airline's). I don't think that they should be messing around with citing availability; if they have to rebook you into a revenue class, or to make award inventory available, they ought to do it.

Ah, the wonderful world of TAP's organisation. They can be a whole lot to deal with.

If the flight they offer does not suit you and they have no alternative through any other airlines/airports to get you to AMS on the 8th, they have to refund you the entire tickets.

 

Can you leave the 6th (with an arrival the 7nd)?

I am not at work, so I can not check it for you (won't return to work for another 5 week), but I think TAP has direct flight GRU-LIS as well.

Unless that flight is full (on both the 6th and 7th), the GRU-LIS-AMS routing has to be considered by TAP as well.

Is there any way you can get to the airport in person? In my experience, getting something done in person might work better rather than over the phone.

 

Good luck!

 

PS. I will not be able to respond for 14 days as I'll be leaving on a 14 day cruise tomorrow.

Globaliser... Excellent! I will cite the articles to them Monday!

 

Headhunterke...

Thanks for your very kind offer of help!

Yes, TAP has a direct flight to LIS ... Which my husband and I are now booked on, but they are citing no availability for our 3 kids who are on a separate award booking.

The booking is for the 7th, arriving on the 8th. The LIS/AMS leg has been confirmed but they are waitlisted for the GRU/LIS leg.

I find this absurd as there are three of them, their parents are on the flight and TAP was the one who changed the flight.

I have spoken to the supervisor and 3 other agents. I was calm and firm.

Now I will cite articles to them .

TAP is pretty lame.. But usually has good award availability to Europe and the States ( on partners) . That is the only reason I deal with them.

While I understand this must be a drama and I'd rather see it differently as well, I'm not sure TAP has any obligation to get you guys together since the bookings were seperatly.

Don't get me wrong, it's lousy of them and I would be furious as well, but if they are going to stick to it, there is not much you can do except refund the entire amount of the tickets.

 

However, I'd like to know if the issue here is the award availability or the availability in general. In case there are revenue seats open, TAP should book your kids on one of those type of tickets. Should, as in: "Customer service-minded". I'm not sure though what their legal obligations are there.

And to be honest, I don't think you'll find out if there's really a seat open or the problem is just the award availability.

Were the kids on seperate bookings from the beginning?

 

Again, if the plans TAP offers you and there's no way they can get your kids on the same flights as you, your only option left will be to refund your tickets and look for other options.

 

I agree, TAP has good awards, but their service lacks. A lot. Often late, huge oversales, connection issues at both LIS & OPO.

At my home airport, many of their high tier frequent flyer agree and the only reason they fly TP is the same single reason you just gave :-)

So, if it can help you cope with the frustration just a bit, you're not the only one who feels that way :-)

Edited February 27, 2016 by headhunterke

When this has happened, I've always had UA open seats on other flights, even if none were available for award tickets.

 

I am not sure about your rights under EC 261/2004 because you have been notified five months in advance, and no airline has an obligation to make award seats available.

 

Did you book these seats using UA award miles? Did you try calling MP and seeing if they could help? If not, I would certainly try calling again and trying working this out with another person.

 

Good luck.

I am not sure about your rights under EC 261/2004 because you have been notified five months in advance, and no airline has an obligation to make award seats available.

Article 5, concerning cancellations, has no time limit as far as re-routing is concerned. While the airline doesn't have an obligation to make award seats available, once it's made the seats available to you and entered into a contract with you to carry you, the legal obligations to look after you in the event of a cancellation are set out there.

While I understand this must be a drama and I'd rather see it differently as well, I'm not sure TAP has any obligation to get you guys together since the bookings were seperatly.

Don't get me wrong, it's lousy of them and I would be furious as well, but if they are going to stick to it, there is not much you can do except refund the entire amount of the tickets.

 

However, I'd like to know if the issue here is the award availability or the availability in general. In case there are revenue seats open, TAP should book your kids on one of those type of tickets. Should, as in: "Customer service-minded". I'm not sure though what their legal obligations are there.

And to be honest, I don't think you'll find out if there's really a seat open or the problem is just the award availability.

Were the kids on seperate bookings from the beginning?

 

Again, if the plans TAP offers you and there's no way they can get your kids on the same flights as you, your only option left will be to refund your tickets and look for other options.

 

I agree, TAP has good awards, but their service lacks. A lot. Often late, huge oversales, connection issues at both LIS & OPO.

At my home airport, many of their high tier frequent flyer agree and the only reason they fly TP is the same single reason you just gave :-)

So, if it can help you cope with the frustration just a bit, you're not the only one who feels that way :-)

 

 

Thanks for the information. I am fairly certain it is award availability which is the issue as I simulated a revenue purchase on the flight in question and it was available.

 

I agree it a customer service issue. My big challenge is that I have purchased one way tickets for our return flight which were not cheap and cancellation of the TAP tickets would cause a myriad of problems.

 

The reason our bookings were separate was the award availability challenge . It took my months to get all five tickets and I triumphed ! Not an easy feat. But it was done little by little. Now I am really upset.

 

The real snafu is that if I were to cancel , one way tickets are much more expensive and I would be at a big loss.

 

Thanks for commiserating with me! It makes me feel better!

Article 5, concerning cancellations, has no time limit as far as re-routing is concerned. While the airline doesn't have an obligation to make award seats available, once it's made the seats available to you and entered into a contract with you to carry you, the legal obligations to look after you in the event of a cancellation are set out there.

 

 

Very good to know. I always appreciate your help Globaliser!

Article 5, concerning cancellations, has no time limit as far as re-routing is concerned. While the airline doesn't have an obligation to make award seats available, once it's made the seats available to you and entered into a contract with you to carry you, the legal obligations to look after you in the event of a cancellation are set out there.

 

This is certainly useful to OP from Article 5:

 

1. In case of cancellation of a flight, the passengers

concerned shall:

(a) be offered assistance by the operating air carrier in accordance

with Article 8; and

(b) be offered assistance by the operating air carrier in accordance

with Article 9(1)(a) and 9(2), as well as, in event of rerouting

when the reasonably expected time of departure of

the new flight is at least the day after the departure as it

was planned for the cancelled flight, the assistance specified

in Article 9(1)(b) and 9(1)©; and

This is certainly useful to OP from Article 5:

 

 

 

1. In case of cancellation of a flight, the passengers

 

concerned shall:

 

(a) be offered assistance by the operating air carrier in accordance

 

with Article 8; and

 

(b) be offered assistance by the operating air carrier in accordance

 

with Article 9(1)(a) and 9(2), as well as, in event of rerouting

 

when the reasonably expected time of departure of

 

the new flight is at least the day after the departure as it

 

was planned for the cancelled flight, the assistance specified

 

in Article 9(1)(b) and 9(1)©; and

 

 

6Rugrats...

 

I boomed the tickets using TAP Victoria award points. I have spoken with them directly several times and they have been adamant that we would have to be waitlisted.

 

Having all this information will certainly be helpful . I will call again "armed and ready"... Crossing my fingers.

 

I hate loose ends and plan very early ... Good thing I checked my reservation and noted the change has they sent no email informing me of it. Another customer service issue!

That's horrible and unacceptable IMO! I would call and demand to speak to a supervisor again. Ask them specifically to open up revenue seats for your children due to their schedule change. Good luck!

I'll be back home in 3 weeks. If nothing changes, I'll ask the TAP manager at my airport to see if there's something he can do. But in the meantime, I hope something will happen, of course.

I'll check this thread again in a few weeks. Good luck in the meantime!

I'll be back home in 3 weeks. If nothing changes, I'll ask the TAP manager at my airport to see if there's something he can do. But in the meantime, I hope something will happen, of course.

I'll check this thread again in a few weeks. Good luck in the meantime!

 

 

That is so kind. I truly appreciate it.

 

I will post an update here.

 

I do agree it is unacceptable! No amount of reason seems to sway them.

Just wanted to check back...pleased that my children's reservations were confirmed this afternoon.

I used the information given to me here to write an email to management. I am sure the tips here were a big part of getting this problem solved quickly. I really appreciate all your help!

Now I will sleep better at night!

Excellent news! Very glad to hear it, and well done for persevering.

Thank you for letting us know the outcome. Glad it worked out for you!:)

 

Globaliser, I just clicked on the Fascinating Aida link in your signature. Thanks for my laugh of the day!

Edited March 8, 2016 by critterchick

:) doing the happy dance

Woohoo!! Thank you for sharing the great news! [emoji574]️

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

:) doing the happy dance

 

You just gotta love cruise critic and all the people who go out of their way to offer assistance and information. What a great site. So much great info.

You just gotta love cruise critic and all the people who go out of their way to offer assistance and information. What a great site. So much great info.

 

 

So true!

Just wanted to check back...pleased that my children's reservations were confirmed this afternoon.

I used the information given to me here to write an email to management. I am sure the tips here were a big part of getting this problem solved quickly. I really appreciate all your help!

Now I will sleep better at night!

 

Well done! I would not have slept well either until this was solved.

 

Happy cruising!

I'm back on land and so glad to see everything worked out :-)

I'm back on land and so glad to see everything worked out :-)

 

 

Thanks for your offer of help. It was much appreciated. I hope you had a nice trip.

Glad to be able to help. It was a memorable trip: Great holiday and met a special someone :)