Travel question of the day: Simon Calder on getting an apology from an airline

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Peter Pauwels had been due to attend a family reunion in Brussels

Q I am at a loss how to deal with Brussels Airlines, who failed me so completely that I was unable to attend a family reunion in Brussels. The facts are, briefly, that we scheduled a reunion in November but, because of the security situation following the Paris attacks, decided to postpone. I contacted Brussels Airlines, who agreed that, although my flight from Manchester was non-refundable, they would allow me to travel at a later date up to 25 November 2016.

The Ibis hotel I had booked and paid for did the same. The family agreed a new date for the weekend of 9 April and, starting on 5 February, I tried to contact Brussels Airlines to rebook my flights. I had enormous difficulties in finding somebody at their service centre who knew what to do, spending well over £20 in phone calls. Eventually, on 20 February, a booking was made and I was given a reservation number, but the agent said she didn’t know how soon I would get my ticket. By early March I still had no ticket and, when I checked their online reservation system, my reservation was unrecognised. I had an exchange of emails with the service centre culminating in an email from them on 10 March which, apart from apologies, said "Please be advised that we will expedite on this and ensure that your ticket is issued accordingly.”

Two days before my flight I called the service centre and they took down my details and promised that somebody would call me back; they didn’t. The next day I phoned again with the same result. I thus had no documentation and I abandoned the trip.

I should like to claim for the flights, hotel and telephone costs but don’t know how to proceed. I should also like compensation for the general inconvenience and disappointment but, most of all, I should like an apology.

Peter Pauwels, Merseyside

A Sorry to hear about your experience. I imagine that the disarray you describe towards the end of your story was one of the many consequences of the terrorist attack on Brussels airport in March, which temporarily shut down the airline’s operations and wrecked the travel plans of more than a million passengers.

If you have proof that Brussels Airlines promised you something but did not deliver, and as a result you suffered financial loss, you can of course make a legal claim - either against the airline’s UK office or against the HQ in Belgium through the European Small Claims procedure. But that will cost you money. I should point out that it is possible a judge may decide the airline has no case to answer: it was not obliged to let you postpone flights in the first place, and did so only because of the Belgian connection with the Paris attack. You will need to judge the strength of your case.

Every day, our travel correspondent Simon Calder tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder