It is June 30, 2022. Anne Berret Trollstol Anne Berret Trollstol and her husband, Arne Trollstol, board Gardermoen with luggage and passports, preparing to board a plane that will take them to southern Europe.
In the holiday paradise of the Algarve in Portugal, a large house awaits them and several family members have rented it for the couple's 70th birthday celebration.
But the start of the holiday turned out to be not at all what they had imagined, and it ultimately turned out to be the start of an almost two-year dispute worth thousands of kroner – with two different airlines in the same group each blaming them. Others and refused to take responsibility.
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Trauma notice in Gardermoen
When Anne Perrett and her husband approached the Gardermoen office to collect their boarding passes, they were told that there were no boarding passes with their names on them.
-We just got a note with a phone number we can call. We called, but quickly understood that it was just an English chat phone, as we were not allowed to talk to anyone, Anne Perret tells Netafisen.
– So we stand there, and then you continue.
They booked plane tickets with KLM via the travel agency Travellink.
It later emerged that the flight was overbooked and therefore there were no seats for the couple on the ship. They allegedly did not learn about this until several months later, when Anne Perrett complained to KLM.
He had to pay a huge sum
Nettavisen has seen documents in which KLM admits an error on its part.
The couple boarded a flight to Portugal the next day, but had to pay NOK 23,610 to buy new plane tickets.
“It was the only flight available to get to the house we rented in time,” says Anne Perrett.
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The rest of the family traveled as planned with the Norwegian the next day.
Anne Perrett believes she and her husband are entitled to a refund for their new plane tickets, as they did not take the first flight. They are also demanding a standard compensation of 400 euros per person in accordance with EU regulations, in addition to hotel costs related to staying overnight in a hotel due to delays on the way to Portugal.
This gives a total amount of around NOK 35,000.
Blame each other: – Moves away
KLM did not want to be held responsible for this amount. They believe that Transavia, which operated the flight, should bear responsibility for the accident. Transavia is a subsidiary of Air France-KLM.
But Transavia didn't want to foot the bill either. For their part, they believed that KLM should bear the responsibility.
“This booking was not made via Transavia. We were about to make the flight. Therefore, your request should have been submitted to the airline that took responsibility for your request, which is KLM,” the airline wrote to Anne Perrett on February 20 this year.
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– We live well without this money, but the principle is that airlines cannot decline in this way, she says.
– This process has been going on for nearly two years. How demanding was it?
-It was very frustrating and time consuming. For me, it took extra time, because I had to write in English and it's not something I do every day.
He succeeded in the Transportation Complaints Board
The couple also appealed the case to the Transportation Complaints Board.
In a unanimous decision, they concluded that Transavia was responsible for compensating Anne Perret and her husband.
“The Transport Complaints Board recommends that Transavia Airlines pay standard compensation of €400 per person, in addition to fully refunding the complainant's expenses for new aircraft tickets. If the complainant provides receipts for food, drink and hotel accommodation expenses in anticipation of a new flight departure, it is also recommended That this be paid to the complainant,” as stated in the decision dated November 27, 2023.
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Unfortunately for Anne Perrett and her husband, the Transportation Complaints Board has no legislative authority. In practice, this means that the decision is just a recommendation – not something transnational He should Submit to.
-Will you be flying with KLM or Transavia in the future?
– never. Never again, answers Anne Perret.
Within a short time, Air France-KLM officially became the majority owner of SAS, which had been financially struggling for a long time. In this context, SAS will move from Star Alliance cooperation to KLM Alliance's Skyteam, and will work closely with KLM.
– SAS is a really serious company, so I hope this doesn't become the practice at SAS as well.
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Transavia turns around: – Sorry
After Nettavisen began work on the case, Transavia apologized to Anne Perrett and her husband, concluding that it was right and reasonable for Transavia to foot the bill.
Robert Honing of Transavia's communications department wrote the following in an email to Nettavisen:
– We would like to apologize to the Trollstuhl couple for any delay or confusion in this matter. I have been informed and they do not need to provide us with any additional information beyond what we already have. The relevant department will take action and must provide compensation within a short period of time.
– We'll just have to wait and see, then, says Anne Perret as Netavisen delivers the message.
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