Thomas Cook switches couple's North Carolina flight to airport 160 miles away from their destination

​Exclusive: Derbyshire couple told: ‘If you want to change back to your original destination we’ll charge you a minimum of £200’

Journey’s end? Raleigh, state capital of North Carolina (iStock/Getty)

After a Derbyshire couple booked a flight to Raleigh in North Carolina, Thomas Cook told them it had changed the destination to Charlotte – a distance of 160 miles by road.

The firm then said it would charge the couple at least £200 to switch the ticket back to their intended destination.

Keith and Pauline Elliott, a couple in their 70s, had each paid £763 return for summer flights to the North Carolina capital from Manchester, their nearest airport.

The transatlantic flight to New York JFK was booked on Thomas Cook Airlines, and the US domestic connection to Charlotte was on its “interline” partner, jetBlue. Such arrangements, in which the domestic airline provides preferential rates in return for extra traffic, are common.

JetBlue then axed the route to Raleigh. At that point, European passengers’ rights rules required Thomas Cook to re-book the couple on a suitable alternative flight, such as American Airlines or Delta, at no extra charge.

Instead the firm changed the destination to Charlotte, to which jetBlue still flies. The UK equivalent would be switching from London to Cardiff.

The couple had no plans to rent a car; their son-in-law lives in Raleigh and had planned to collect them from the airport.

Mr Elliott called Thomas Cook to protest at the change and to ask for the trip he had booked to be reinstated.

But he was told: “If you wish you can change your flight to a new one, but you will need to cover the fee of £50 per person per flight plus the difference in prices if your new flight is more expensive.”

With two pairs of flights needed, the minimum charge was £200.

Mr Elliott then asked for a refund, but was told: “If you wish to cancel your flights you will be refunded airport taxes only”. That would leave them well over £1,000 out of pocket.

He asked the agent: “Are you happy that Thomas Cook and their preferred partner airline are dropping myself and my wife, both in their 70s, five hours from our destination and are basically saying ‘it’s now down to you’?”

The agent responded: “I understand your concerns, Keith, however I am not able to offer anything else on my end.” He was advised to contact jetBlue “for compensation or options” — an absurd suggestion since the couple’s contract was with Thomas Cook.

Eventually Thomas Cook offered an alternative flight via Boston, but it required a six-hour stopover and arrived in Raleigh over three hours later than originally booked.

Going west: Pauline and Keith Elliott (Keith Elliott)

After Mr Elliott contacted The Independent, Thomas Cook agreed to re-book the couple to their original destination of Raleigh on American Airlines at no extra charge.

A spokesperson for Thomas Cook Airlines said: “We are sorry to Mr Elliott for the mistake we made with his booking.

“While we offered to re-route Mr Elliott’s booking to Raleigh through Boston with our interline partner, we should have offered an internal flight with another airline, which we have now done.”

Mr Elliott told The Independent: “They were trying to make their problem my problem, and at 71 years old I am disgusted with their service.”