Air Passenger Rights - ECJ asked for new decisive ruling


Ever since the ECJ (European Court of Justice) ruled that passengers whose flights are delayed basically qualify for compensation in instances where they suffer a loss of time equal to or in excess of three hours airlines are up in arms. This decision rests on the European Union’s Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights.

As a reminder, not all flights fall under the Regulation’s realm. Notably, the flight must have embarked from a European airport or, if it embarked from an overseas airport, the flight must be one of an European carrier with destination to an European airport.

Now, Germany’s Federal Civil Court (BGH) has given the ECJ the chance to rule on yet another controversial question.

What if the feeder, i.e. the first flight to get connected to the subsequent flight supposed to carry one to one’s ultimate destination, suffers only a minor delay (below two hours) but the arrival at the last destination is subsequently delayed for more than three hours?
The BGH suspended the trial and asked the ECJ for clarification in a case where the travellers specifically booked a flight from Berlin-Tegel via Madrid to San José (Costa Rica) for the 20th of January 2010. At check-in in Berlin-Tegel they were already given the boarding pass for the connecting flight to San José. The departure from Berlin, however, got delayed by one and a half hours. The plane finally touched ground in Madrid at 11.28 hours. The connecting flight to San José was scheduled for 12.05 hours at a different gate. On arriving at the gate boarding had already finished, leaving the plaintiffs behind. They finally got transferred to San José on another flight the following day.
The district court denied the compensation claim of 600, 00 € for each plaintiff as did the appeals court. The court argued that a passenger who misses the connecting flight because of a delay of the feeder has no right for compensation under the EC Regulation No 261/2004: Feeder and connecting flight are separate flights and therefore have to be viewed in isolation from each other. Also, the plaintiffs have not been unduly denied boarding since they did not show up in time.
The ECJ ruling is eagerly anticipated.

(BGH, dated 13. 3. 2012 – X ZR 127/11)

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http://www.trust7.com/en/foren/faq_and_important_links/compensation_or_no_compensation_iii

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