I was denied boarding for a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul, Turkey to Dehli, India last December. I was supposed to check in for that connecting flight in Munich, Germany.
They told us there are no seats left on the flight and the next we can get on is in 2 days time. We decided to take our flight to Istanbul and try to sort something better out from there, and stay in Istanbul for the 2 days if nothing better is available with the flight. At Istanbul airport we managed to get on a flight that was going 10 hours later. So we hung around the old town in Istanbul for a while and then went back to the airport to catch our flight. Flight eventually took off 5 hours later than it was supposed to.
I dont know what our rights in the situation would have been if we pursued the issue of being denied boarding. Does anyone else know what a passangers rights are in situations such as this?
Mel
Reply to this Recently when getting a Cebu Pacific flight they were very insistent on the reading of the flight conditions which lets me think that they do this so that you understand that you need to be at the gate when they say you need to be there, or risk not getting on. As it is in writing you will not have much of a chance of collecting unless you can show that they were at fault for you not being there. For instance, they rescheduled and moved the flight time up and you did not get the word.
Like everything else that has corporations attached to it they probably are using the government rulings to their advantage. If they can get you to pay for the flight twice they get extra profit, if only that they have no weight assigned for a seat, it takes x amount of energy to move every pound of cargo, be it luggage or a person.
In the US you need to be at the airport 3 hours before an international flight. I was coming in from Bangkok to San Francisco and then going on to Chicago and got off my flight which was on time and went to the next flight direct with out stopping and with the security and customs I almost missed the flight. I remember the check in person saying where you have been as they moved me to the front of the line and me saying waiting in the security lines. I had to go through 3 security checks to get on the flight after getting off an international flight and never being out of the security zones and I was on the same airline!
The best advice is get there early.
Reply to this Well, I was at the check in desk in plenty of time, for the Istanbul to Delhi flight.
There was actually another time when I was not at the check in desk in plenty of time and couldnt get on the flight. I almost forgot about that one. It was a Ryanair flight from Dublin to Luton. I was at the check in desk 20 minutes before the flight, instead of the 30 minutes stated in the rules. But, ChuckMiser has already answered about what a persons rights are in this situation..... Thanks ChuckMiser 😊
Reply to this Happened to me twice. Once, while flying from orlando to Pensacola in Florida, USA. Though I was early and got confirmed bookings, they would not let me fly. My friend videotaped the whole episode while I was arguing at the check in counter. In no time, they let me fly. I suspected they had a favored waitlisted passenger they wanted to accommodate.
The 2nd time was when I was flying out of San Francisco to Seattle, WAshington. The lady at the counter took my ticket then requested for it anew. When i told her I just gave it to her, along with 5 others for the 5 friends traveling with me, she flatly denied having received all 6 tickets. It was so frustrating that I almost bought a new ticket then and there..........but the price was so prohibitive , so I opted to carry on with my arguments instead. Guess what, she found my ticket on the floor right beside her feet. She dropped it! Then, she told me, "That must have been a scare"......The nerve!
Reply to this In no time, they let me fly. I suspected they had a favored waitlisted passenger they wanted to accommodate.
They probably try to bump lots of people off the flight, and the ones who dont make a fuss are the ones they actually do bump.
It happened to me in Thailand. They wanted to put me on another flight that went 5 hours later than the one I was booked on. I agreed to go on the later flight. I was just walking away after making some comment, about it being a pity we are not on this flight because my daughter loves the playground we would be going to on our layover. We were immediately put back on the flight, just so my daughter could visit the playground.
Reply to this 
