Maybe insurance companies didn't want to pissed off Satan!
It is an act of God, sorry, I edit it!
http://www.bazl.admin.ch/index.html?lang=en
Your cancellation was due to extraordinary circumstances but I think I heard they would still have to compensate something-
Is 250chf enough, hm...
it's complex your case and really depends on what the european law decided.
Actually... they SHOULD pay you 100% of the hotel but NO compensation:
see here:
Could the presence of volcanic ash in the airspace be considered to be an extraordinary circumstance within the meaning of Article 5.3?
This has yet to be ruled upon by the courts but it seems unlikely that the courts would rule that the presence of volcanic ash is not an extraordinary circumstance within the meaning of Article 5.3.
Examples
Paul planned to travel home to Dublin from Glasgow. He was notified by text that his flight was grounded because of volcanic ash in the airspace above Dublin. He is entitled to reimbursement of his ticket or re-routing at the earliest opportunity or re-routing at his convenience. He is also entitled to meals and drinks reasonable to the length of the delay occasioned by the cancellation. He is entitled to two telephone calls or faxes or emails. If the earliest re-routing will not take place until the following day or week, he is entitled to hotel accommodation and transfers to and from that accommodation and the airport until he is successfully re-routed. He is not however entitled to the monetary compensation as it can be argued that the cancellation has been caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided.
Contrast his situation with that of Dan who was also planning to travel to Dublin from Glasgow on the same flight. Dan opted for reimbursement of his flight cost and travelled home independently by hiring a car and taking a ferry to Ireland. He has no automatic right to reimbursement of his costs under the Regulation as his contract with the airline ended when he cancelled his flight.
Source:
http://ec.europa.eu/ireland/contact_...l/index_en.htm
Enjoy,
that's the LAW
(and technically its not "money back" its called "Care" .
PS: don't cry for them they do have insurances, etc...
And that law is to protect the poor people who can not afford to bribe someone erm I mean to pay in case they are stranded abroad.
To save the back and forth, and potentially more long quasi-legal sounding mails I decided to accept their offer.
It's not a million miles away from what I asking for, so I'm happy with that. I consider discussing it for a couple more weeks and potentially getting no-where not really worth the hassle 100+ CHF
Thanks to everyone who chipped in with advise though - it's appreciated.
Cheers,
Phil.