A London couple say the start of their honeymoon was ruined after an overbooked easyJet flight from Gatwick forced the bride to fly to Montenegro alone while her husband was left behind=
A London newlywed says his honeymoon got off to the worst possible start after an overbooked flight from Gatwick forced him and his wife to spend almost an entire day apart after they werre issued a cruel ultimatum by easyJet staff.
Andy and Katya Wedlake had booked a long-awaited honeymoon to Tivat in Montenegro months in advance and arrived at Gatwick Airport’s North Terminal in plenty of time for their 8.25am easyJet flight on Sunday, July 26.
However, when they tried to check in online during the early hours of the morning, they were unable to do so. When they arrived at the airport, they discovered the flight had been overbooked.
“They had overbooked the flight,” Mr Wedlake told the Telegraph. “They could only give us seats once boarding had closed – and if other people didn’t turn up to the flight.”
Overbooking is a common practice among airlines, with more tickets sold than there are seats available. Under air passenger rights rules, airlines must first ask for volunteers willing to take a later flight in exchange for compensation.
At the departure gate, easyJet staff asked whether anyone would be prepared to travel on the following morning’s flight.
Mr Wedlake said: “There was one volunteer, opening one seat on the plane.”
The couple expected they would both be moved onto the next day’s flight together. Instead, they were told one of them must travel or they would both suffer the consequences. If neither of them boarded and claimed the lone seat on their pre-booked flight, they would both be treated as “no shows”, meaning they would lose their right to be rebooked and any compensation.
“They said that either my wife or I had to take that seat otherwise we would count as a ‘no show’ and would lose all rights for rebooking and any compensation. So my wife got on the flight and I stayed behind.”
While Mrs Wedlake flew alone to the Adriatic resort, Mr Wedlake returned to the couple’s home in London. The pair were finally reunited in Montenegro 21 hours later.
An easyJet spokesperson said: “We are very sorry for Mr and Mrs Wedlake’s experience and the difficulty this caused for their honeymoon. Like most airlines, we sometimes overbook a very small proportion of flights and in the significant majority of cases do not result in denying boarding as we use data to select flights with a history of customers not travelling. By filling these seats, it helps to keep fares lower for everyone.
“In the rare event a customer can’t travel, we take our responsibilities seriously and seek volunteers to travel on a later flight in exchange for compensation. Where this is not possible, a decision is made based on order of check in.
“Whilst a seat was available for one passenger, we are sorry that an exception was not made on this occasion to book an alternative flight for them together, especially as it was such a special trip. We have since reached out to Mr and Mrs Wedlake to apologise for their experience, provide the compensation due and offer a gesture of goodwill.”
Mr Wedlake is entitled to £350 in compensation under air passenger rights rules after being denied boarding.
However, he said the payment does not make up for missing a part of his honeymoon with his new wife. “For me that doesn’t cover the stress, the sadness of being apart from my new wife, the loss of one full day in Tivat, or the wasted time,” he said.
“I understand easyJet’s terms and conditions allow them to do this kind of thing, but I’m shocked they do it to destinations where they only put on one flight per day – and that they would not be able to predict this flight on a Sunday morning in summer would have a high attendance rate.”
EasyJet have been approached for a revised comment.
