TRAVEL TALES

Fred Guildea has waited more than nine months for a resolution to his complaint to Aer Lingus

Fred Guildea has waited more than nine months for a resolution to his complaint to Aer Lingus

“I made a claim to Aer Lingus on April 8th, 2008, about a flight delay of more than 13 hours after a co-pilot fell ill with no replacement available. The customer-care team responded on April 22nd, advising that they were investigating the matter and would respond as soon as possible.

“They have failed to respond to date, despite a further letter from me on November 24th, 2008, followed by two e-mails in December through their US customer care (I am aware that at least one was forwarded), as they do not provide an Irish e-mail address.

“I was due to depart on flight EI779 to Lanzarote on February 9th, 2008, at 6.20pm, but was delayed until 1.45pm on February 10th.

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“Thankfully, Aer Lingus put us up for the night, but the delay itself caused us major problems and inconvenience.

“We presented the claim initally through our travel insurer, which responded with a detailed explaination as to why this type of claim had to be made to the service provider. (The letter was passed on as part of the claim to Aer Lingus customer care.)

“As far as ‘putting us up’ was concerned, we are both in our 60s and not as fit as we used to be (my wife is short of breath). Pulling cases from the airport to the bus, from the bus to the hotel, and then to the hotel room, as well as in the opposite direction the following day, was not very pleasant.

“The food was okay if you ate duck. It was duck for everybody – and my wife does not eat duck.

“One is always out of pocket and inconvenienced in these situations – phone calls home to relatives to explain the delay, cancelling the arrangements we had made for February 10th, an extra day in the car park, food and drinks and so on.”

On Tuesday Go sent Mr Guildea’s complaint to Aer Lingus in Dublin. The following day the airline responded: “We are in receipt of Mr Guildea’s correspondence and our customer relations team are dealing with this customer directly with regard to the issue he raised.”