Denial of justified compensation...SURINAM AIRWAYS
I am disappointed about the below mentioned experience with SURINAM AIRWAYS and want to share this with you.
We bought tickets via Trip.com to travel to Suriname with SURINAM AIRWAYS (SLM).
Before departure from Suriname on 6/10/2024 we received a message that flight PY 994, scheduled for 23.15, was delayed to Monday, October 7th, 2024 DEPARTURE PARAMARIBO 03:20, ARRIVAL AMSTERDAM 17:50. Due to this delay, Trip.com offered three options to respond to: 1. cancellation, 2. alternative flight or 3. accept the delayed flight. Option (partial) cancellation was chosen due to a sick 4-year-old child for whom traveling at night would be too much of a burden.
SLM's policy in the event of a delay is as follows:
DELAY COMPENSATION
“If upon arrival the delay is 3 hours or more after the scheduled arrival time, passengers are entitled to compensation, except in case the delay is caused
by extraordinary circumstances that could not have been anticipated by the airline and if the airline has taken all reasonable measures to prevent the
delay”. ==> a clear definition for “extraordinary circumstances” is not available.
Both personal attempts for compensation to the SLM claims department and attempts via Trip.com have failed to accept the justified claim. SURINAM AIRWAYS, however, refuses to cooperate by claiming that there is a delay, which would make a refund not possible. According to Trip.com, the right to appropriate compensation from SURINAM AIRWAYS is justified.
The reason for the 1* rating is that as a customer we do not feel being taken seriously by SLM due to playing a cat and mouse game in this matter.
October 6, 2024
Unprompted review