Don and Carol Webb may have lost a coin toss, but the Hubbards couple ended up with a few more pennies than they started with after being denied boarding on a flight in Faros, Portugal.
Bright and early on Sept. 5, the Webbs headed to the airport with their friends, Dave and Janet Mattingley of Langley, B.C. The group of four, who go on trips together every two years, had just wrapped up two weeks of vacation in Portugal and were set to fly to Luton, U.K.
From there, they would head in different directions. The Webbs were going to stay in the U.K. for a bit to visit friends and family, while the Mattingleys were heading back to B.C.
“We got to the airport just after 7, so we were there well before we needed to be as our flight wasn’t until 10,” Carol, 71, said in a recent interview.
Carol said the group got their boarding passes, grabbed a couple of snacks and headed to the boarding gate to wait for their flight.
"We had booked and paid for our tickets well in advance and arrived at the airport early, so why were we not on this flight?"
“About 45 minutes before the flight was about to take off, Dave Mattingley and party were called to the counter and it was just at that point we learned they had no room for all of us on the flight,” she said.
The easyJet customer service agent said the flight had been overbooked, so only three people from the two couples would be able to board.
“We couldn’t understand. We had booked and paid for our tickets well in advance and arrived at the airport early, so why were we not on this flight?” Carol questioned.
The group was told because they hadn’t checked in online they didn’t claim their seats and all but three remaining seats were already assigned.
“We’re experienced travelers, we’ve been traveling a lot over the last few years, and we’ve never hit this particular situation before,” Carol said. “It was upsetting.”
The couples didn’t want to leave one person behind, but neither volunteered to take the next available flight.
“So we flipped a coin,” Carol said with a laugh, “and they won and off they went.
“Dave was terribly upset leaving us behind because we only see each other every now and then because of the distance.”
“It was upsetting.”
As the flight to Faros departed without Carol and Don, the couple grew nervous.
“We didn’t even know if we’d get out that same day because if our flight was overbooked, then that would send reason that every other flight was overbooked as well,” Carol said.
Carol and Don trucked across the airport to speak with someone who handles overbooked flights – and the customer service agent had some good news.
They could board a flight to Gatwick, U.K., that was departing in 90 minutes and as per EU Regulation 261/2004, “If boarding is denied to passengers against their will, the operating carrier shall immediately compensate them.”
In Canada, passengers with a valid ticket denied boarding because of overbooking are to receive a minimum of $900 as per the Canada Air Passenger Protection Regulation.
The Webbs were told to go online and fill out a compensation form for easyJet.
After arriving in the U.K., Carol’s sister-in-law mentioned Bott and Co., an England-based solicitor company with expertise in flight delay compensation.
Carol said she submitted the form online, but didn’t want to deal with emailing back and forth, so she contacted Bott and Co.
On Dec. 13, Carol and Don received compensation cheques of about $540 each after a fee for Bott and Co.'s service was deducted from the total amount awarded.
“We were grateful for anything, so this was really quite handsome given the circumstances,” Carol said.
“Nothing would have replaced the night that we didn’t have with our friends, but on the other hand, Donnie and I said to each other that nobody died, we’re all still alive and we made it back to the U.K. in good timing.”
Carol said the couples have at least learned a lesson for future travels.
“At the very least, we’ll make sure we have the telephone number of the airline that we’re traveling on and if we can’t get ahold of them on the computer, we can at least phone the airlines. We’ll be doing that from now on.”
