Thomson Airways to take compensation case to Supreme Court
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Thomson Airways has announced it will take a compensation claim case to the Supreme Court after losing in the Court of Appeal.
In the second court blow in a matter of days for the airline industry, the carrier said it was surprised by the judgement which would allow customers to make claims on delayed flights up to six years after the incident.
“We believe that it is reasonable to expect that those who perceive they have suffered a real loss as a result of an unfortunate delay should be able to make their claim within two years. We also continue to believe that the law stipulates this and we are therefore surprised by today’s judgment.” the airline said in a statement.
It continued: “If unchallenged, this judgment could have a significant impact on the entire airline industry and specifically upon the price that all air travellers would need to pay for their flights. We therefore confirm that it is our intention to seek an appeal to the Supreme Court.”
Passenger James Dawson started court proceedings against Thomson Airways in 2012 after a delayed flight from Gatwick to the Dominican Republic in December 2006.
Thomson had rejected his claim for the eight-hour delay stating that international flights are under the Montreal Convention which has a two-year limit on claims.
Cambridge County Court took Dawson’s argument that the Limitation Act of 1980 give UK consumers six years to make a flight delay claim, although Dawson made the claim under EU261 which does not state how far back claims can go.
Today a judge at the Court of Appeal said Thomson should pay Dawson despite the six-year gap of his claim, which could open up more compensation claims.
David Bott, senior partner at Bott & Co said: “This is a huge victory for passengers in what has been a David versus Goliath type battle against the airlines. We welcome the judgment and the much needed guidance it has brought to the flight compensation process here in the UK. Despite the ruling in favour of consumers, our advice remains the same and that is for anyone who has suffered delays to make their claim as soon as possible after it happened as it makes it easier to access information.”
The judgement is the second in days to go in favour of consumers, after the Court of Appeal said airlines should pay out for delays if there is a technical fault in the aircraft (within EU laws), which Jet2.com is also taking to the Supreme Court.
Yesterday Aviation Minister Robert Goodwill MP said he was surprised by the Jet2.com ruling as money paid out by airlines would lead to an increase in air fares.
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