[doogiedog]

Dear sir , i booked a return flight with bmi baby on january 1/2010 to Praguefor two persons, my wife and a friend, leaving from Manchester airport on thursday 1 july 2010 and returning on tuesday 6/july 2010. outgoing flt no ww3573 incoming flt no3574.on arriving at prague airport for the return journey they were told by airport staff that the return flight had been moved to a earlier day 5/ july 2010 and the next bmi baby flight was not until 9/july i contacted bmi baby customer services by telephone at premium rate and was told that there was nothing they could do, my wife and friend then had to book a hotel room for the night and a return flight the next day with another airline at considerable expense, at no time was i informed of any re- scheduling to my flight itinery by bmi baby .
has this happened to any other members and what was the outcome.

[jimworcs]

If the airline failed to contact you and offer you an alternative flight, then they are in breach of their contract with you and you have a remedy through small claims court. Write and demand copies of their evidence that they wrote to you.

One note of caution. The method low costs use to advise passengers of schedule changes if via email. It is not uncommon for these emails to be put into the "spam" filter of the email programmes, and unless you check you are likely to miss key communications. It may well be that you got an email, but didn't see it.

[doogiedog]

thank you for your prompt reply, i did check all e mails , spam included .

[jimworcs]

Then I think you should write to BMI Baby asking for evidence that they notified you. If they cannot provide it, then I would go to small claims court. You can file a claim online, it is very easy and quick and low cost. You can recover your costs if you win. You do not have to go to the court, unless a hearing is required.

Here is a link which you can use to file the claim and get more information on the process.

https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome

In general, I have found BMI Baby to be a bit better than the likes of Ryanair, so an initial letter outlining your claim and intention to pursue the matter in small claims, might be all it takes to get a resolution. Your claim should be for the following:

1. The hotel costs plus the cost of additional meals
2. The cost of the new airline tickets

Do not claim for the unused ticket to get you home, nor should you accept any payment from BMI baby for this amount.

Let us know how you get on...

[doogiedog]

thanks again for the advice , i will let you know thw outcome