a)

Delivery was ultimately delayed by 200 days;

b)

The ferry operator had to cancel a full season of sailings;

c)

No suitable alternative vessel could be obtained;

d)

Over 20,000 passengers were rebooked by the ferry operator on different sailings or refunded their fares;

e)

The sailings were on a new route being opened by the ferry operator with no similar alternative service on the route?

a)

If Article 18 is applicable then if a sailing is cancelled and there was no alternative service operating on that route (i.e. no direct service between those two ports) does providing an alternative sailing on any other route or routes available and chosen by the passenger including by ‘landbridge’ (e.g., travelling from Ireland to the UK by ferry and then driving, with the fuel costs reimbursed to the passenger by the ferry operator, to a UK port with a connection to France and travelling from there to France with the passenger choosing each of the sailings) amount to ‘re-routing to the final destination’ for the purposes of Article 18? If not, what criteria are to be employed in determining if a re-routing is ‘under comparable conditions’?

b)

If there is no alternative sailing on the cancelled route, such that the affected passenger cannot be accommodated on a direct sailing from the original port of embarkation to the final destination as set out in the transport contract, is the carrier required to pay any additional costs incurred by a re-routed passenger in travelling to and from the new port of embarkation and/or to and from the new port of destination?

a)

Can Article 19 apply when the voyage has in fact already been cancelled at least seven weeks prior to the scheduled departure? If Article 19 does apply, does it apply where Article 18 has been applied and the passenger has been re-routed at no additional cost and/or reimbursed and/or has chosen a later sailing?

b)

If Article 19 does apply what is the ‘final destination’ for the purposes of Article 19.

a)

How is the period of delay to be measured in such circumstances?

b)

How is the price within the meaning of Article 19 to be calculated when determining the level of compensation payable and in particular does it include costs referable to extras (e.g., cabins, kennels and premium lounges)?

a)

What principles and rules of EU law should the referring court apply in assessing the validity of the Decision and/or the Notices of the national enforcement body by reference to Article 16, 17, 20 and/or 47 of the Charter (2) and/or principles of proportionality, legal certainty, and equal treatment?

b)

Is the test of unreasonableness that should be applied by the domestic court that of manifest error?

a)

Articles 16, 17, and 20 of the Charter?

b)

The fact that airline operators have no obligation to pay compensation if it informs the airline passenger of the cancellation at least two weeks before the scheduled time of departure [Article 5(1) (c)(i) of Regulation 261/2004 (3)]?

c)

The principles of proportionality, legal certainty and equal treatment?