Perhaps KLM realised at some time it could not live up to its own company motto as “The Reliable Airline”, and so now there is a different one. My recent journey with KLM certainly inspired me… inspired me to complain!
Never really been a fan of the Dutch national carrier. Bad food (‘stroopwafel’ on a two hour flight, one piece only), cramped seating (I believe one of the worst in Europe, ironically for the tallest people in the world), old planes (and from my experience, likelihood to have mechanical failures), and on one occasion cabin crew who were sitting in the back reading their magazines while the passengers disembarked. Frankly, I’ve flown low cost carriers that provide better service, and KLM is supposed to be the biggest airline in Europe (together with Air France and Northwest).
So as with most people and cases, I looked into my rights after they have been violated. Fascinating, even more so because this is what I’ve been studying in recent months. My flight was an obvious case of a delay which turned into a cancellation, as the airline admitted once we were back at Schiphol. Part of my letter (the legal bit) reads:
"The delay and/or cancellation, and subsequent economic loss on my part in missing my connecting flight, was solely due to the KLM’s poor maintenance. According to Article 19 of the Montreal Convention 1999, which is applicable to all “international carriage of persons”, the carrier is “liable for damage occasioned by delay in the carriage by air of passengers”. In addition, the obligation on air carriers to pay compensation for damage in the event of a delay and/or cancellation is enforced under Regulation (EC) No. 889/2002. Article 5(3) of Regulation (EC) No. 261/2004 further obliges the air carrier to pay compensation if the cancellation was due to circumstances which could have been avoided if all reasonable measures had been taken. Faulty maintenance does not qualify as taking all possible measures to avoid the damage occasioned by the delay and/or cancellation, nor was it impossible for KLM to take measures to ensure that damage as a result of the flight’s delay and cancellation did not occur. The unfortunate events that took place surrounding flight KL1767 could have been avoided had mechanical crew performed their tasks to industry standards”.
Obviously, the first place to look is the Montreal Convention 1999, which deals with compensation and liability of air carriers in the event of death, injury or passenger delays on all international flights. The limit on liability is 4150 Special Drawing Rights (approximately US$6200). Further, as my (unfortunate) flight was (fortunately) within the European Union, regional regulations on air transport also apply. (Indeed, when the Montreal Convention was ratified, the Netherlands declared that it would comply with any action under taken by the Community in any matters governed by the Convention).
Say what one would like about the bureaucracy in Brussels, but the European Union does have its merits, and has perhaps the highest standards in consumer protection anywhere. So, according to
Regulation 261/2004 , in the case of a flight cancellation (Art. 5), I have a right to re-routing or reimbursement (Art. 8), and also a “right to care” (Art. 9). The latter includes meals and refreshments, hotel occasion if a stay of one or more nights is necessary, and also the offer of “two telephone calls, telex or fax messages, or e-mails” free of charge. There are similar provisions, but to a lesser extent, for care and rerouting in the case of a delay.
I was poorly informed of my rights by the KLM ground staff, and just shoved a coupon booklet. In fact, there is a pamphlet by KLM which contains all the rights of passengers in the case of delays and cancellations (and to be fair does comply with EU regulations), but this was never given or mentioned.
Yes, there was a coupon for refreshments, but because I missed my connecting flight I needed accommodation, but this was not offered at all. When I asked to used the phone or email, I was told to go to the public cell phone (even though the coupon booklet contained a voucher for calling… which I don’t think the ground staff knew about). It was pointless for me to be rebooked on the next available flight to Frankfurt, since arriving late in the evening meant there were no more flights onto Canada. So I requested to be rebooked to the following day, which the “gate supervisor” did, but only grudgingly and as if I owed him a big favour.
It’s not that (if I can) I can claim a lot of money. It's probably not about the money, but pricinples. My pure economic loss was only the €95 (CAD$150) I had to pay to rebook my Canada-bound flight. KLM should be responsible for this, because it is their fault that I could not catch my connecting flight, despite the ample time I estimated to transfer in Frankfurt had KLM flown me there on time.
But then there are other losses too… lost time, unexpected expenses of staying another day in Europe, wasted efforts and energies travelling back and forth between the airport, and trauma of having to wear the same clothes for much longer than expected.
I should get a response back from KLM in reaction to my complaint soon enough. No more than 17 days. That’s a guarantee.
Or is it?
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*Another horrible "Journey of Inspiration" here.
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