(de Ware Tijd) THE HAGUE – A 36-hour delay in Amsterdam of a Surinam Airways/SLM flight on 20 November last year has cost the airline some 8 million Euros. This is revealed in papers related to a court case filed against the airline by two passengers on that flight.
The passengers, assisted by the Association of Travelers (VvR), are demanding compensation. Surinam Airways takes the position, however, that the delay was caused by exceptional circumstances and compensation is not warranted. The airline refers to a 2005 ruling by the European Court which absolves airlines from paying compensation in case a flight is delayed or cancelled due to exceptional circumstances. The passengers also base their complaint on the same ruling, as it also states that in case of a delay or cancellation of a flight that lasts over three hours, passengers are entitled to 600 Euros compensation at the most.
“Surinam Airways must not only mention this amount, but reveal the profits it makes as well,” says VvR chairman Mahin Jankie. He claims fares SLM uses on the mid-Atlantic route are rather high, and this leads him to conclude that the airline is making “handsome” profits. Jankie says he cannot state yet whether the VvR will use this court case to demand openness or do so in a letter later. He calculates that, based on the number of seats and the fares, the airline makes an average of around 100,000 Euros per flight from Amsterdam.
SLM claims in court papers obtained by dWT that during routine maintenance in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, serious engine problems were suddenly uncovered, and these problems were such that the plane in question could not fly due to safety reasons. “SLM has done everything possible afterwards so the flight could take place. After it had been concluded that the SLM plane could not carry out the flight in question, the airline immediately arranged for a replacement plane. This has cost the airline about 8 million Euros. This is a case of exceptional circumstances that could not have been prevented,” the airline states.
