Judge Hands Woman Victory Against Airline For Cancelled Flight | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-04.01.24

Airborne-Unlimited-04.16.24

Airborne-FlightTraining-04.17.24 Airborne-Unlimited-04.11.24

Airborne-Unlimited-04.12.24

Join Us At 0900ET, Friday, 4/10, for the LIVE Morning Brief.
Watch It LIVE at
www.airborne-live.net

Tue, Jul 17, 2007

Judge Hands Woman Victory Against Airline For Cancelled Flight

Spirit Airlines Forced To Pay In Small Claims Court

One airline's apparent predilection for not showing up on time has resulted in big bucks -- and greater vindication -- for a Michigan woman.

Jane Waun sued Spirit Airlines in small claims court, after the airline cancelled her family's March 23 flight from Detroit Metro... and never rebooked them. She told the Detroit Free Press litigation was a last resort, after the airline failed to resolve the matter to her satisfaction.

During a May 14 hearing, the judge agreed, and awarded Waun $1,370.75. That amount works out to hotel costs for Waun, her husband, and her elderly parents throughout the debacle, as well as meal costs and four tickets on a different airline.

Spirit didn't win any points with the judge, the paper notes, for failing to show up for the original hearing. At a second hearing last Monday, called at Spirit's request, Judge Richard Ball chastised the airline's Detroit operations manager for not showing up the first time.

"Why should I set aside this judgment?" Ball asked Spirit's Michael Cox, who responded Spirit's headquarters in Florida never received word of the first hearing.

The judge didn't buy that argument, however... producing a document signed by Spirit's local Michigan agency as evidence the airline had been served with the notice.

Spirit spokeswoman Alison Russell said it's likely the airline will pay the judgment, "and move forward"

While the ruling wasn't for a particularly large sum of money, aviation attorney Don Frank says news of the decision may encourage other passengers, fed up by lousy treatment from airlines, to speak up before a judge.

"I'd encourage them to give it a shot," Frank said. Even if you don't win, he added, "it can be cathartic."

Waun just wishes the airline would have gotten it right the first time... and, she adds, an apology would have been nice.

"If Spirit just would have admitted their error and apologized," she says, "I would have flown them again."

Now? Not so much.

FMI: www.spiritair.com

Advertisement

More News

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (04.15.24)

Aero Linx: International Flying Farmers IFF is a not-for-profit organization started in 1944 by farmers who were also private pilots. We have members all across the United States a>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: 'No Other Options' -- The Israeli Air Force's Danny Shapira

From 2017 (YouTube Version): Remembrances Of An Israeli Air Force Test Pilot Early in 2016, ANN contributor Maxine Scheer traveled to Israel, where she had the opportunity to sit d>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (04.15.24)

"We renegotiated what our debt restructuring is on a lot of our debts, mostly with the family. Those debts are going to be converted into equity..." Source: Excerpts from a short v>[...]

Airborne 04.16.24: RV Update, Affordable Flying Expo, Diamond Lil

Also: B-29 Superfortress Reunion, FAA Wants Controllers, Spirit Airlines Pulls Back, Gogo Galileo Van's Aircraft posted a short video recapping the goings-on around their reorganiz>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (04.16.24): Chart Supplement US

Chart Supplement US A flight information publication designed for use with appropriate IFR or VFR charts which contains data on all airports, seaplane bases, and heliports open to >[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2024 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC