In recent months, Austrian Airlines has repeatedly made it into relevant consumer protection programs and into the headlines of major mass media when passengers have made serious allegations about the carrier's behavior in the event of flight irregularities. Officially, the AUA always talks about individual cases. Allegations from passengers are “strongly rejected”.
Quite a few passengers are under the misconception that the price they paid for their ticket has something to do with support in the event of delays and/or cancellations. The credo: It's better to pay a little more and if something goes wrong, you will receive better care. The annoyance is all the greater when the situation occurs and the airline from which you buy the expensive ticket subjectively feels that it doesn't care about anything for the person concerned. At least that's how angry passengers feel.
The number of cases in which Austrian Airlines passengers report that no one took care of their passenger rights claims in the event of significant delays and/or cancellations is increasing. Most of the time it's about the fact that no one on site feels responsible for drinks and snacks and/or rebookings. It also happens again and again that flights are canceled in the evening and no hotel rooms are made available, contrary to passenger rights. This is actually an obligation that the AUA has to fulfill, but if there is no information at all from Ground Handling or the hotline, then you should pay yourself and then submit it via the homepage. “Maybe” there would be a refund then.
Compensation benefits used to be paid directly at the gate
In general, Austrian Airlines sees the issue of compensation as a kind of voluntary accommodation. At least that's what the wording of the letters from customer service suggests, because it always says that you can "offer" a compensation service or not. It is a legal obligation, but those affected report that it is now becoming increasingly difficult to collect it. Austrian Airlines was once extremely exemplary and distributed the compensation amounts directly at the gate on prepaid ATM cards. Those affected could collect the cash from any ATM or alternatively use it to pay in stores. This practice has long since ended and, subjectively, Austrian Airlines' customer service is becoming more and more creative when it comes to trying to turn travelers away if possible, even though the factual and legal situation is clear. At least you often get a bit of a “deferred payment” because the proportion of passengers who then refer the case to a lawyer or a passenger rights service provider is now extremely high.
When it comes to support in the event of irregularities that occur outside of Vienna, there are strikingly frequent “oops” such as no contact person on site at all, no drinks or snacks being provided, no hotel rooms being provided and occasional rebookings via the hotline are difficult or even impossible. Austrian Airlines always refers to the ground handling company that would not fulfill its contractual obligation. However, that is just an excuse, because the passengers' contractual partner is the AUA and they are liable for the passengers' rights and which subcontractors have been outsourced to does not matter. Especially when it comes to the topic of hotel rooms, it is grotesque to make excuses for the partner company, because booking rooms, buses and/or taxis would also be possible without any problems from Vienna.
Austrian Airlines “strongly rejects” allegations
The AUA responded to a request that summarized whether customer service had deteriorated in recent years or whether savings had even been made, as follows: “These allegations do not correspond to our observations and we reject them in the strongest possible terms back. The well-being of our passengers on board as well as support in the event of irregularities is a priority for Austrian Airlines. “Austrian Airlines always strives to find solutions as quickly as possible for passengers affected by irregularities and fulfills all legal obligations.”
The question as to whether rebookings to other airlines are often refused was answered as follows: “That is not the case, Austrian Airlines organizes replacement transport for passengers affected by irregularities if possible. In general, the earliest possible replacement transport always depends on the availability of seats. Efforts would also be made to inform customer service staff as quickly as possible, but in exceptional situations such as the hostage-taking that occurred at Hamburg Airport a few weeks ago, delays could occur. Austrian Airlines asks for your understanding.
The question of what should be improved in the future so that “individual cases” do not continue to accumulate and, if possible, no longer occur at all, was answered in a rather general way: “Of course, Austrian Airlines always strives to further improve customer service and is constantly taking measures in this regard “.
The AUA also offers the following tips to passengers affected by flight irregularities: “Austrian Airlines always strives to make guests’ journeys as pleasant as possible. We ask for your understanding that in such exceptional situations control over processes is often limited. In the event of irregularities, our passengers are usually informed directly if they provided a contact when booking. Passengers can also find further information on the Austrian website: https://www.austrian.com/at/de/fly/flight-information/flight-disruptions”.
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