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Hi. We have a Cathay pacific flight to Perth from London (via Hong Kong). It was due to take off on Boxing Day but it’s been pushed back 24 hours. The second leg has been cancelled and the first leg is the same flight number. What are our rights? Do we have a right to be transferred on to a partnering (one world) airline for the entire journey at times that suit us better than the replacement they are offering? We’ve been told only one of the legs can be a partnering airline. We are desperately seeking alternatives as we need to be there by the night of the 27th and the rebooked flights doesn’t get us there until 5am on the 29th, including a 7 hour layover in Hong Kong. Any help is much appreciated!
AFAIK, if the original flight was all on one PNR then the whole thing is considered to be cancelled and you have the full UK261 re-routing rights (on any airline, not just partners). That said, I have a feeling that people have reported here that Cathay are quite difficult to get to comply with their obligations and you may end up having to pay for new flights and taking Cathay to CEDR or MCOL to get your money back. I imagine this won’t be cheap over Xmas, either. Have you identified a satisfactory alternative and specifically asked Cathay to put you on it? I would persevere and see if you can get them to co-operate, ideally, ask to be escalated to a manager if you have no joy.
You have the right to a rerouting at a similar time in comparible conditions.
However Cathay Pacific unfortunately have not been forthcoming with this during COVID and you may end up in a scenario where you’d have to buy the tickets and try get the money back from them via MCOL.
What you should try first of all
-check if there are any CX routing that would suit ( I know they have chopped Perth so not many options)
-check if there are any alternatives still via HK with one leg on CX (can’t think of any unless BA-CX works due to availability)
-have proposed alternatives on Oneworld – Qatar or QantasIf the agent won’t budge on either of these then you’ve 2 options 1) refund and rebook yourself or 2) don’t do anything with their ticket for now, have them note their refusal to offer you your UK261 right to reroute, buy the cheapest comparible new ticket and then go down the small claims route to their UK address for reimbursement of the rerouting expense
One CX option is to go 26th morning with an extra stop in Singapore connecting to Singapore Airlines, gets you in very late 27th. Or leave UK 25th evening on CX
Start the conversation now with your insurers. And if you paid by credit card then cc company jointly liable under s75, so worth speaking to them in advance.
Start the conversation now with your insurers. And if you paid by credit card then cc company jointly liable under s75, so worth speaking to them in advance.
Which section of any travel policy are you suggesting would cover this situation? Where there is any cover, it is for the actual time of travel and at a very low level (eg Amex Plat travel inconvenience £300).
Also, unfortunately the card provider may be jointly and severally liable in respect of the contractual obligations between the passenger and the airline in some circumstances, but will not be liable re entirely separate UK261 statutory rights. If you attempt a chargeback which is the precursor to the s75 claim, it is also the same as asking for a refund. There isn’t time for the process anyway.
This needs to be done by the airline with suitable pressure applied.
I think an S75 for alternative more expensive tickets where the airline is offering an alternative (albeit not an ideal one) would be a struggle anyway especially where the airline has the liability under Uk261. Agree with JDB, need to put pressure on the airline
One tip is to make sure you’re calling during HK working hours, this may get you to a local call centre and be able to reach someone with sufficient authority for the reroute
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