Compensation for flight delay from the EU

[FIYes]

Does anyone have any experience filing for this? Our flight back from the EU was canceled and we couldn’t get rescheduled until the next day. If I’m reading correctly EU rules say that we are 600 euros for the delay.

 

[Sojourner]

In these kinds of situations, I think what you end up getting, typically, is directly related to your ticket class, your loyalty status with the airline, and how persistent you are with their customer service people.

When this happened to me several years ago (flight from US to Europe cancelled/postponed one full day), I called the airline's customer service number and badgered them until they offered, IIRC, a $200 credit plus 20k frequent flier miles.

 

[SecondCor521]

Not much.

The compensation rules in the EU are more generous than in the US for those kinds of situations.

I think it may depend on whether you were flying on a US-based carrier or a European carrier. I suspect your chances of getting the EU rules to apply will be higher if you were flying British Airways or Air France than if you were flying United or Delta.

 

[Aerides]

Here's a good write up:

https://onemileatatime.com/guides/e...tance of 1,500-3,500km,by at least four hours

 

[Go-NoGo]

Does anyone have any experience filing for this? Our flight back from the EU was canceled and we couldn’t get rescheduled until the next day. If I’m reading correctly EU rules say that we are 600 euros for the delay.

You can use a service like Airhelp to get your compensation - they will fill out all the paperwork and make sure it it is correctly done. They charge a 35% fee for their work and this might (or not) be acceptable to you.

I used them once and the claim was honored by American Airlines and I got my full compensation (less the fee).

https://www.airhelp.com/en/

 

[fosterscik]

We received compensation when an Aegean airlines flight was cancelled a few years ago. I don't remember the details, sorry, but I am pretty sure it was handled directly by the airline and took a couple of weeks to receive the money.
This is a good source of information on what to do:
https://www.flightrights.ie/

 

[FIYes]

Go-NoGo, I’m curious that you felt using a company to file for you was worth it. 35% is a pretty steep fee. It seems pretty straight forward that I am owed the compensation. I do understand that the airline will try to get out of paying. I wonder if there is an overseeing agency that I will need to bump this up to.

 

[walkinwood]

OP,
Please keep us updated on what you do & the results. This would be useful to a lot of people if they find themselves in your shoes. Thank you.

 

[FIYes]

I’ll report back. Right now I’m in the “we will contact you in a week or two” response to request. I feel like the amount of run around I get will be indicative of the level of customer service if the airline. I have a very clear cut case. Woke up the morning I was to leave to a 3 hour delay message followed by a cancellation message. I couldn’t get a flight rescheduled until the following day.

 

[ItsAllGood]

I filed a claim in mid May directly with British Airlines for an airline caused travel delay of a flight on April 30. Received word today that I will receive 1200 Euro compensation (600 pp). I'm very pleased with the response time to my claim. Hopefully the cash shows up promptly too!

 

[FIYes]

I hope that United will be as responsive. I have a very clear case, cancellation was the day I was originally supposed to fly out and I could not reschedule until the next day. Cancellation was due to mechanical issues.

 

[Closet_Gamer]

We had flights get canceled due to weather from Iceland to Heathrow a couple months ago.

I was shocked when BA gave us £400 of compensation for our three tickets to help cover hotel expenses. I figured if it was due to an airline issue we might get something, but £400 for weather was amazing to me. That was almost the price of the tickets.

 

[COcheesehead]

If you had travel insurance, they may pay as well.

 

[FIYes]

Well, United finally contacted me. They offered $150 flight credit. Sorry, but that doesn’t cut it. I report back when I get more information from United.

 

[FIYes]

United has now notified me that I will receive the $600 plus the cost of the extra hotel, meals, and Covid test. I am very happy with this outcome.

 

[brett]

I filed a claim for both of us yesterday. 600Euro X 2 with Canadian carrier Transat. Flight from Faro, Portugal was delayed 7 hours.

Will see what happens. Not interested in a flight credit. Read up on the program. I have no doubt that we will be offered something considerably less.

I am willing to be persistent and to involve our Government air regulator in the process should I feel the airline is not dealing in a fair manner.

 

[FIYes]

I received the checks in the mail…one for me and one for DH. At first the process for applying for this seemed opaque. However, once my claim reached the correct group, it was fairly quick and easy. Less than 2 months from start to finish.

 

[brett]

Does anyone have any experience filing for this? Our flight back from the EU was canceled and we couldn’t get rescheduled until the next day. If I’m reading correctly EU rules say that we are 600 euros for the delay.

https://onemileatatime.com/guides/europe-flight-compensation-eu261/

I filed a claim last week because of a seven hour delay on a Faro-Toronto flight. The carrier was Transat.

I do not expect a response for several weeks. I am prepared to work it through the system, up to and including, registering complaints with the Canadian and the UK airline regulators.

Retired, and have all the time in the world, absolutely nothing to loose by pursuing this.

We did not even get a heads up from the carrier.. Plane was still sitting in Canada (seven hours away) when we left our hotel in Faro in the morning.

 

[SecondAttempt]

I hope that United will be as responsive. I have a very clear case, cancellation was the day I was originally supposed to fly out and I could not reschedule until the next day. Cancellation was due to mechanical issues.

A few years ago I sat on the ground in Edinburgh for 9 hours on a United plane while they dealt with a mechanical issue (lavatory door would not lock, seriously.) Even the pilots were clearly frustrated by the stupidity of the situation because they had to fly in a mechanic from Germany. United got me home to Hawaii through a series of revised reservations but they would not even pay for a hotel when I had to overnight in San Francisco. It was a business trip so I did not fight too hard since my company paid for my hotel. I hope you have better luck. The flight attendants did give out free drinks when we finally took off saying "Do you think we will charge you after that delay?" Unfortunately my answer would have been "Yes!" And I like United.

Usually, at least in the US airlines are not required to compensate for weather, mechanical, or other issues that may be safety related.

 

[FIYes]

Once my claim reached the correct group, it was resolved quickly and to my satisfaction. I am happy with the outcome.

 

[brett]

Does anyone have any experience filing for this? Our flight back from the EU was canceled and we couldn’t get rescheduled until the next day. If I’m reading correctly EU rules say that we are 600 euros for the delay.

Our plane coming home from Faro, Portugal was 7 hours late.

We filed a claim five weeks ago for 600E each, 1200e total, based on our understanding of the EU261 regulations.

The airline sent us a response this week. They are honoring the claim and are sending us a cheque for the full amount.

The other interesting part to the EU regulations is that, my understanding, the compensation schedule would also apply to any EU based airline flying from North America to Europe.

So....we flew TAP to Lisbon/Madeira from Toronto. If there had been a delay, depending on the reason, compensation would fall under the EU reg.

If we flew on a North America based carrier such as Air Canada, United, etc we would not be entitled to the same graduated compensation schedule.

All things being equal we would typically select an EU based carrier because we typically prefer their service levels to NA based carriers. This is an added incentive to do so.

 

[brett]

Our plane coming home from Faro, Portugal was 7 hours late.

We filed a claim five weeks ago for 600E each, 1200e total, based on our understanding of the EU261 regulations.

The airline sent us a response this week. They are honoring the claim and are sending us a cheque for the full amount.

The other interesting part to the EU regulations is that, my understanding, the compensation schedule would also apply to any EU based airline flying from North America to Europe.

So....we flew TAP to Lisbon/Madeira from Toronto. If there had been a delay, depending on the reason, compensation would fall under the EU reg.

If we flew on a North America based carrier such as Air Canada, United, etc we would not be entitled to the same graduated compensation schedule.

All things being equal we would typically select an EU based carrier because we typically prefer their service levels to NA based carriers. This is an added incentive to do so.

Update:

Received two cheques from Air Transat for $785 CAD (600euro) each today. Claim was satisfied as submitted.