Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Don't Fly Aer Lingus

Aer Lingus Have a simple but cunning plan in place to deal with customer claims and complaints.

  • The 'Customer Care' department will only accept complaints in writing.
  • They will not accept telephone calls.
  • They do not answer any complaints or correspondence.
It was in March 2008 that my return flight with Aer Lingus from Amsterdam to Cork was cancelled at around 11pm due to bad weather. I was offered the next available flight back to Eire the following day which only went to Dublin rather than Cork. As the next Cork flight was an even longer wait of some 24 hrs I accepted the Dublin flight which was due to leave the next day at around 10am. We were refused any food or any overnight accommodation. "It's not our responsibility as the cancellation was due to the bad weather".

Being rather prudent when I booked on-line I took out Aer Lingus insurance and consequently kept all the receipts for the extra costs. (Elvia travel insurance) Of course they will not allow my claim to proceed without written confirmation from Aer Lingus that my flight was cancelled. Aer Lingus simply do not respond to any request, nor will the switch board put you through to the so called customer care centre. "Only in writing" they say. Meanwhile Aer Lingus travel claims refuse to process any claim without that magic letter from Aer Lingus.

No amount of searching www.aerlingus.com will allow you to contact them other than by letter.

Meanwhile I'll e-mail the insurance company to see whether they will pay out for the hotel, food and travel from Dublin to Cork without that magic letter from the insurers. I'm not holding my breath.

6 comments:

Lundy Wilder said...

I certainly hope a lot of people see this blog post, and maybe, just maybe the airlines will respond and do 'right by you'...At least you might like to know that Google is indexing your post, as I got to it from a Google Alert for the term "Dave Perry" ...also my boyfriend's name. He is Dave Perry publisher of www.MobileBayBusinessJournal.com FYI

You might try contacting www.airfarewatchdog.com to see if they have any insider info to help you.

Now that I think about it, here is what you need to do. Do a search for the Securities and Exchange Commission info on who is on the board of directors of this airlines, (assuming it is not privately held) and write a letter to each individual on the board and mail it to their HOME address...you should be able to get that info from Google.
My friend did this about a Dell computer and got PROMPT attention.

Sincerely, Lundy Wilder
Concrete Construction

Unknown said...

Hello, I agree completely. Aer Lingus has just emailed me to cancel my flight. They arent going to refund the money until the 21st of next month. So I checked who I could ask to have the money back asap so I could buy another flight - fax only ! Ridiculous

Unknown said...

Hello

I couldnt agree more ! Aer Lingus have just cancelled my flight to Portugal and arent planning to refund the money for another month ! There is no one to complain to and only a fax number to write to about it. Ridiculous

Unknown said...

Its ower 32days and newer got mi money back for the canceled flyght ,i was ringing them to mike shore mi email whent stright after i fill the form for refund and they told me yes no problem 30days and now no answer anymor i hawe to send a letter about complayns .Robing basterds what a hassel thay miking for the people i am shure this is money making mashin if its smole amount nowan realy care prabobly to get them money back god incom .I swer to gad i will newer flight anymore with them and mi family to !

Unknown said...

I was traveling with my son on Aer Lingus EI 684 from Dublin to Geneva on 29th June 2010, flight departing at 12 noon. We reached the airport at 10.50 am . There were long queues for check in and we went to the self service check in. My son keyed in his PNR no 2YE43N and followed the steps including scanning his passport. He was checked in , got a seat no and just had to drop his bag.
My PNR no 2LEGV5 he keyed in and my particulars appeared but the machine would not scan my passport although it was also a machine readable one issued last year. My son and I tried 3 times but it kept telling us each time to go to check in counter. My son stood in the bag drop line and I in the check in line. My son reached the counter first and asked the woman there to check me in as well but she declined saying it was too late
I explained what had transpired to her once again but she was adamant. It was still only 11 20 am or so. I told her I had very important and urgent appointments in Geneva which could not be changed , I had a 5 star Hotel booking which I would lose. I offered to run to the gate – there were still 40 minutes for the flight but her attitude seemed obstructive and judgemental.
I was forced to miss the flight, lost the value of this ticket, paid 612 Euro for a fresh ticket on Air France and spent the whole day at airports trying to get to Geneva via Paris, landing only at 21 45 pm instead of 3 PM
Other airlines in such circumstances not only try to help the passenger/ customer but for example send someone to run with the passenger and facilitate various procedures like security. I travel at least 6 times a year to Europe and the US- always Business or First Class. This was the first time I was trying Aer Lingus .
At European airports usually the check in is 40 minutes before the flight for flights within Europe . We reached the airport more than an hour before the flight. On the electronic ticket no check in time is mentioned. Is this how Aer Lingus wants to compete and make profits ? And is this how check in staff should deal with customers ? And to add insult to injury there is no onwe to complain to. They require a complaint in writing. RIDICULOUS.
Gun Nidhi Dalmia

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.