My Eurowings Discover Flight Was Canceled, And I Messed Up (Kind Of)

You don’t need to be checked in. You are due cancellation compensation regardless whether you rebooked yourself or not. You did not voluntarily cancel as the airline already cancelled without informing you. The rebooking (Article 8) and cancellation/delay compensation (Article 7) are entirely separate clauses under EU261 and you can claim both separately . For all they know you asked for a refund which is also allowed under Article 8 in addition to delay/cancellation compensation.

What you missed out on is rebooking on another airline or at a later date free of charge under article 8 plus any duty of care under article 9.

Flew Eurowings peasant class ONCE out of an Eastern US city to Cologne on a bizarrely almost empty flight where the stewerdii generally ignored the few passengers, but at least I was able to stretch out in an empty middle row for a good trans-Atlantic snooze. Later, I was checked-in for my return, and then discovered about 8 pm (on my own, like you did) my next-day flight was canceled. I tried calling Eurowings both foreign (no help at all: "We don't speak English,") and domestic (USA) and was finally told no other EW flights were flying out until Friday (this was Sunday night). Luckily I convinced the agent on the phone to put me on a very early Lufthansa flight I knew about to Munich where I then had them put me on a flight home (later was surprisingly upgraded by a check-in agent). The scramble to get a last-minute early morning transfer from my airport area B&B in Cologne (I had to cancel my prepaid, prearranged service) was also a nail biter (a sleepy driver finally picked me up at 4 am). As for the famous European passenger refund, I was told by the USA EW agent that I first need to obtain specific paperwork from the EW counter at the Cologne airport. Of course, no one from EW was there, but I finally wrangled the paperwork from a Lufthansa agent. When I returned home, I filed, claiming compensation for not only the flight, but the unexpected costs of the early morning transfer, lost B&B breakfast, and, of course, my canceled flight. At first, I was turned down by EW, but I kept at it and eventually received full compensation. If it's worth the $ to you, for the European compensation, then go for it, but if you chose to walk from this particular dance partner, I feel you'd be justified too. As ever in travel: value vs aggravation.

You are still entitled to the compensation as you had a confirmed and ticketed reservation on the flight at the time that it was cancelled. That you subsequently chose to rebook yourself to protect your own interests does not change your eligibility. I suggest you submit your claim ASAP with copies of your AC ticket and the cancellation info you got on Lufthansa website as supporting documents.

So under eu rules, the airline needs to get you to your destination as soon as possible, this means booking on any other available route with any airline (sometimes airlines play dumb to this), you only get the compensation if you arrive more than 4 hours late to your destination. So you have not just lost out on compensation but also maybe a great business class swap out

+1 for "stewardii".

Did you have any difficulty understanding the requirements for entry/transit through Germany? I have a trip starting next week from JFK on Singapore Airlines that goes through Frankfurt also but I think the proof of vaccination information I’m seeing is very confusing. Wondering if I should get a test also as a backup.

You would be entitled for compensation either way. But I suppose that flight was cancelled due to strike of German TSA? That means you do not get compensation

@ Klaus -- German security was striking on Tuesday, and not Thursday. So I don't necessarily think that was even related, and even if it was, I think this would be considered an operational reason, rather than something out of the carrier's control? Anyone have more insights as to how that would be viewed?

@ Glen -- If you're fully vaccinated you should be totally fine. While Europe has all kinds of covid "pass" concepts, there's no need for that if just transited, and your CDC vaccine cards will do the trick.

@ Simon -- I think that would be easier said than done, though, given that the ticket was booked through Aeroplan for travel on Eurowings Discover, and there was no one at the airport who could even help, since there was no flight on Wednesday.

So while that's how it's supposed to work in theory, reality is probably a different story.

@ meta -- Fascinating, thanks! Okay, I'll give this a try! Would you just submit a customer service form on Eurowings' website, or what? Eurowings seems to have an automated feature on its website where you can see if you're due compensation based on the flight delay, but oddly Discover flights are excluded. So not sure if this is technically considered separate from Eurowings, or what.

@ Sean M. -- Very helpful, thanks!

Thanks for the reply!

Hi. You don’t need to be checked in for a flight to be entitled to compensation, assuming it’s within the airlines control. If you rebooked an alternate based being notified the original was disrupted, you can still claim provided your arrival at the destination was > 4 hours later

Not familiar with Eurowings procedures for claiming, but try to either find out contact details for their EU compensation claims department or their general legal team and send them an email/letter outlining the timeline and what you’re due and under which article of EU261 (just quote it). You have to contact operating airline though as only they are liable.

Not familiar with Eurowings procedures for claiming, but try to either find out contact details for their EU compensation claims department or their general legal team and send them an email/letter outlining the timeline and what you’re due and under which article of EU261 (just quote it). You have to contact operating airline though as only they are liable.

Strikes are not considered extraodinary circumstance under EU261 if they are announced well in advance. Can’t remember on top of my head exact timing, but there is case law on that.

You could have also been rebooked on a competing alliance and earn miles/points/status credits. Best case triple dipping of miles, better product and EU compensation if still delayed…

You are getting good advice here. The EU261 compensation is well laid out online. Airlines will be v keen to 'tell you how it works'. Their interpretation is almost always wrong, and for their benefit. They cancelled and you can argue that you were 'informed' of the cancellation by seeing it on their website.

https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/travel/passenger-rights/air/index_en.htm#compensation-cancellation-1

Note that they must prove the extraordinary circumstance if they want to avoid compensation, not just tell you that it happened.

You should fight for this one - it will be a good blog post on how EU261 (there's also UK261 which is identical) works

Oh, and BTW, I think your confusion about needing to be checked in is that the airline is liable - on top of compensation - for 'looking after you' when something happens on the day. Hotels, food etc. That only applies to people who have checked in on the day. However, those costs are completely separate, and additional to, the compensation for cancellation. Those costs are also an absolute entitlement, and can't be avoided through the 'extraordinary circumstances' argument.

You should be compensated - you lost a day of your trip.

Hi Ben,
I recommend you to file a complaint with the German consumer board.
It will probably be a while (6 months) before they will answer, but they do a deep investigation. And it is free of charge.

€1200 That’s chump change and a decision had to be made. Ben did the right thing by rebooking swiftly and accordingly .

Rebooking generally doesn't happen after you check-in if the flight was cancelled before that. Once it is officially cancelled, you can call the airline (even before check-in), ask for involuntary rerouting and you're still eligible for the compensation. You don't need to wait until you get to the airport.

As for airlines fighting back, that's true but it can be solved by using one of agencies that can deal with it for you. They take a cut but you can just lay back and let them fight with the airline.

Kudos to you, Ben for keeping straight which LH Group airline you have to work with. Is it Eurowings? Germanwings? NO, it's Eurowings Discover and that's not confusing at all - even though it's different than Eurowings which also flies international. The fact that you can work through all of this overly convoluted German corporate gibberish makes you more advanced than 99% of the traveling public.

Have you done a post on what to do when your partner award flight is cancelled/changed? I think that would be very helpful to me and other readers.

In a situation like this, is the operating carrier generally obligated (by law or their agreement with the ticketing carrier) to accommodate you on other flights (even if no award space is available)? Or will the ticketing carrier open space for you? What is the risk of a downgrade?

Cite your sources please. The regulation doesn't say such things. You need to give the airline a chance to rebook you. Article 5 concerns cancellation:

1. In case of cancellation of a flight, the passengers concerned shall:
(c) have the right to compensation by the operating air carrier in accordance with Article 7, unless:
(iii) they are informed of the cancellation less than seven days before the scheduled time of departure and are offered re-routing, allowing them to depart no more than one hour before the scheduled time of departure and to reach their final destination less than two hours after the scheduled time of arrival.

As others have said, definitely pursue compensation. That you took proactive steps to avoid an even worse situation is not a get out of jail free card for an airline with a bad record.

That said, I definitely think you did the right thing, even if you have a harder time getting 261. It is always best to get things done proactively and not screw your entire trip just to get the compensation.

I flew the route yesterday. You only need vaccination to transit, and it is only checked at check in, not in Germany.

Ben, what you should have done: get in contact with them email bcc Ford as proof) and ask them to rebook you on the next possible flight which leaves after the original departure time. Give them a very short response time.
You will not get a reply. Now book the flight on your own. Of course paid ticket and not with miles.
Ask for the refund of your expenses and compensation.
You probably will Not get an answer.
Sue them in the court in Germany where their headquarter is based. You will win. Might need some time but you will win.

My initial reaction is good on Ford for that question! Many of us do all bookings for the family, who don't know enough to offer that feedback/reminder. I always second-guess myself if I've optimized everything for a given travel situation and would've left EU261 on the table here.

Actually Germany has the weirdest transit requirements, found the following information on lufthansa.travel-regulations.com

Transfer in Germany to a Non-Schengen Country:
Travelers who are just transiting in Germany to a Non-Schengen country (and are not leaving the airport) are not required to provide a COVID-19 related medical certificate.

Transfer in Germany to a Schengen Country:
Travelers intending to transfer via Germany to a Schengen country must meet the entry requirements of Germany.

So if you are flying let's say JFK - Frankfurt - Istanbul, you actually do not need to meet the Germany entry requirements. But if you fly to a European destination, you have to.

And to keep in mind, you need 2 jabs of Johnson & Johnson to be considered fully vaxed. Germany is making up their own vaccination rules compared to other countries in Europe who follow the standard EU vaccination regulations.

Eurowings Discover's business class does indeed look familiar. It looks like Lufthansa's business class, or any other airline's premium economy.

Sadly, this seems to be a recurring problem with Eurowings. Their flights to Namibia are frequently delayed overnight, more than 10% of the time. It happened to us on Dec. 26, and the woman behind us said it also happened to her on Oct. 2, and the guy behind her said it happened to him on Oct. 5. I feel lucky that only happened once in our 3 Namibia trips! Beyond losing a day of our trip, we needed to book a new covid test (129 euros for a 3 hour result since there was no time for a standard test). We also had a luggage issue on the way back 2 weeks ago - but that is another story. I found their onboard business class service to be decent (in many ways better then United's), but the overall product is just not reliable. Unfortunately, that's still the best way for us to get to Namibia.

If the requirement is that you have to have checked in for a flight they will not allow you to check in if the flight has been canceled.

Since that is "chump change" I am guessing you returned the money sent to you by the US Government for Covid relief. Yeah, maybe no so much chump change.

You have been misinformed - you are still eligible. You do not have to be checked in, and you had a confirmed & ticketed reservation that the airline cancelled. That it was short notice works in your favour.
That you took pro- active steps to seek alternative travel after they had told you, does not remove your eligibility. Done exactly this many times (albeit not with eurowings).
Get on it.

Ben, don't worry about the EU261 compensation. As a matter of policy LH Group airlines only pay if you litigate (my own experience in 6 out of 6 cases).

I also have problem with Eurowings from Tampa to Frankfurt. Look like not just one time, is regular. I will not use them anymore, i suggest also for friends to do the same. Low cost or not, this is not Lufthansa, is a stain on service for Lufthansa group

Hello Andy,

why litigate?
I have handled all my cases via the german consumer board, which is free of charge. They provide the lawyers and they do a great job.
You can find an overview of national enforcement bodies on europa.eu - I also used the danish board when a flight with SAS was cancelled.

Hi Ben,
in addition of trying to get an answer from Eurowings regarding your cancellation claim, I highly recommend involving the german SOEP. You will need to contact Eurowings first, but as soon as you have an email reference number you can start and additional claim with
SOEP. This is a non profit organization and by law, the costs have to be paid by the national transport companies (e.g. Lufthansa) - even if you "loose". "Loose" means that you are not entitled to compensation.

You can start your claim here:
https://soep-online.de/ihre-beschwerde/online-formular-flug/

And all other european countries have a similiar enforcement body:
https://transport.ec.europa.eu/transport-themes/passenger-rights/national-enforcement-bodies-neb_en

Read the regulation properly and its entirety. And it is not 7 days, but 14 days. I’ve been claiming for myself and helping family and friends for years now with enforcing EU261 rights and have been 100% successful. In addition to the regulation, there is huge amount of case law by ECJ which needs to be consulted.

The original regulation is here:

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/HTML/?uri=CELEX:32004R0261

This is probably because if you transit from Germany to another Schengen country you arrive without going through immigration where they often check your COVID status. Think of it like travelling domestically.

Hi! I just wanted to mention Eurowings Discover is purely a holiday carrier not a low coster. It is quite confusing but they also don‘t have anything to do with Eurowings (a real low coster), despite the similar name. Eurowings is a rather special airline within the LH Group. They are somewhat independent in scheduling (not part of LH API), internal software usage, etc. They sometimes don’t even share the same terminal. Discover however is part of the Lufthansa Group network airline circle and is therefore closely connected to Lufthansa, etc.

Correct

If you are in Milan and need ideas let me know! Ps the restaurant of Bulgari is top notch (chef has Michelin stars at his out of Milan restaurant). Go for the “vitello Milanese”, the “risotto” or the cotoletta.

Hi Klaus,
The national enforcement bodies are a kind of litigation. They come with some procedural requirements. In general, they require that

(a) you can prove that the airline rejected the claim (make sure you copy all correspondence, which is sometimes a pain if you have to submit via online forms);
(b) you submit the claim in the country of departure (which makes it almost impossible if your flight departs outside the EU/EEA/EFTA. For instance, I had several claims rejected by the Swiss enforcement body, because the flight concerned was the return flight back to Switzerland and they insisted to submit the claim the departure country.

Depending on the country, the process can also take very long (e.g. I had one claim in Italy only resolved after 8 ½ years).

All the wonderful advice here.
OMAAT needs to up its game.

Your lifestyle change is taking your edge out. Gone are the fearless days of who cares where do I spend the night at. Now, I must guarantee I make my trip.
I'm still expecting that passionate kid who spent hours trying (successfully) to game the system.
In the 'old days' you probably will take any voucher and improvise for some interesting outcome to share with readers. Today it seems you're not giving up the last 2 seats so that you can stick to your schedule.

Not only you can't hunt for compensation anymore, this one was literally on your dinner table and you threw it away.

I guess for you it's not about the journey anymore, just the destination. I still appreciate that you are true to yourself and admit you messed up.

All the last few open discussions about you didn't really point to losing passion in the game. This one does. I know you can do better than this.

This one slip is your wake up call.

The same happened to me on March 17th. Flight TPA-FRA was cancelled but we were rebooked by Eurowings Discover to the next day. Actually the whole flight was moved by one day. I guess the same happened to your flight. That's the reason why there were two business class seats available. That were your seats you just canceled. I have submitted my EC261 claim and wait for the money. I also was able to get a hotel room payed by the airline but I had to insist. The ground crew did a great job to book us a hotel (Holiday Inn Tampa North) even they did not get any information from the management in Germany on booking rooms. One thing went wrong at the end. All seat reservations were lost. We had to start a discussion at the gate to get our reservation with the baby bassinet back. So I can confirm that the airline is not very reliable at the moment.

Eurowings Discover and Eurowings are not related in any way. Their operations are completely separated. Eurowings Discover is closer to LH mainline and I still do not understand why LH choose the name Eurowings Discover for its new subsidiary. The real Eurowings has a completely different brand!