[lostinlondon]

Originally Posted by Abooismail

Just got some interesting news. My wife got through to a manager in Saudi Airlines in NY and will investigate. The woman couldn't believe it. She got the 'big-picture'. I'll post the outcome...

Could be good news. However I do not dare congratulating you as it might be premature. My advise is to pursue the route of ''friendly'' negotiation with SV rather than pointlessly threatening to take them to court. Whether the correct claim procedure was made clear to your relatives or not, it is mentioned in SV's General Conditions of Carriage (= the contract between the carrier and the passenger). The law is on their side. Your relatives should have filed a claim in writing with the carrier within 21 days of arriving and they did not. I can only reiterate that the report made at the airport does not constitute a claim for damage in the meaning of the Montreal Convention.

For all its worth, The Montreal Convention was ratified by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Oct 2010 and became effective in Dec of the same year. It is therefore incorporated in Saudi laws. SV will abide to it since, in your case, it actually gives them an excuse not to pay you anything.

Let's hope they will take a "commercially" orientated decision and settle on the basis of goodwill.