$ 600 for flight delay: how to get compensation from the airline

Фото: Depositphotos

Christmas holidays, clogged airports, delayed flights. Is this a familiar picture? It doesn't change much from year to year. On the eve of the holidays, airlines traditionally prepare for an influx of passengers, and passengers themselves are prepared for the possibility of being stuck at the airport for more than one hour. However, not everyone knows that for flight delays you can get not only free food and overnight stay in a hotel, but also substantial monetary compensation. ForumDaily together with the company Flightbucks, which helps passengers receive payments from airlines, figured out how to defend their rights if you are stuck at the airport.

Interrupted flight

Ukrainian Sergei Moskovka with his wife and little son was flying from Minneapolis to Kyiv. They had a layover in Boston, the plane was delayed for several hours, and the family ended up missing their next flight from Paris to Kyiv. At the Paris airport they changed their tickets for a flight via Amsterdam. However, when the family began to leave the gate for the flight to Amsterdam, they were detained by the police because Sergei and his relatives did not have a Schengen visa.

“They explained to us through an interpreter that we were detained for trying to enter the Schengen area without a visa. I showed all the tickets, explained that we just followed the instructions of the company AirFrance. But they didn’t listen to us,” shares Sergei Moskovka.

Then it got even worse - the passengers were treated like criminals: they searched them, described their belongings, and confiscated valuables and money. In total, Sergei and his family spent eight hours at the police station. Sergei called the Ukrainian consul in Paris and explained the situation. He replied that the company was to blame AirFrance, but the police are still required in such cases to follow the prescribed procedure.

“After that, the police promised that the next day we would fly to Kyiv, and sent us to spend the night in a hostel for refugees - behind barbed wire and under police control. They gave us a dirty room 3 by 3 meters, took away our money and all our electronic devices. The toilet and shower are on the floor, there are a lot of people from other countries around. We were simply in shock, my wife and son were crying all the time,” continues Sergei.

Departing from the USA to Ukraine, Sergey could not even imagine what problems were waiting for him because of the flight delay. Photos from the personal archive

The next day, the family was transported to a cell at a police station on the airport’s territory, then under the control of two policemen they led to the plane and, like criminals, they handed over to the captain of the board, and in Kiev he handed Sergei and his relatives to the Ukrainian border guards.

“Not to convey in words what we had to go through! I wrote a complaint to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, but they did not help me. Then my friends told me to contact the company. Flightbucks, because they themselves have already used its services. Thanks Flightbucks we received compensation of $1,329 for three, for us this is a serious amount,” says Sergei.

Knowledge is power... and money

The company Flightbucks admits: such stories as Sergei, happen infrequently. Most often, inconveniences for passengers create flight delays and baggage loss. They account for more than 70% of complaints to the airline. However, because passengers do not know own rights, carriers, as a rule, do not pay the full amount of compensation, at best, offering a free hotel and lunch, or a small payment, often in the form of a voucher.

“The husband of one of our clients was flying with two children from America to Turkey via Paris. There the flight was delayed for 6 hours, and because of this they did not have time to catch a domestic flight across Turkey and a bus to their final destination. As a result, the total delay was more than a day. However, at the airport, airline representatives handed them a voucher for 200 euros - the passengers were sure that this was compensation. Our specialists explained to them that in addition to the voucher, they also receive monetary compensation. As a result, a lawsuit was filed and the family received $1,400. This case once again proves that there is no need to be shy to find out what can you claim”, comments Elena Belokon, founder and CEO of the company Flightbucks.

Elena Belokon, founder and CEO of Flightbucks. Photos from the personal archive

Elena herself had worked in the airline industry in the past, so she knew very well that the legislation allows passengers to receive compensation under certain conditions. After moving to America, she increasingly began to hear complaints from people about long flight delays from Europe. She advised victims to seek compensation from the airline, but her interlocutors increasingly shrugged it off - they did not believe in a positive outcome of the case or simply did not want to get involved with the air carrier. And then she decided to open her own company in order to defend the rights of passengers in this way.

“When I realized how few people knew about their rights or were hesitant to claim them, I had an idea to help passengers get the compensation they were due. We have been in business for three years and have managed to help tens of thousands of passengers. In this case, our client does not risk anything: Flightbucks receives payment for her services only if the outcome is successful,” says Elena Belokon.

Money for the inconvenience: for what and how much you can get

There is certain criteria for compensation through the company Flightbucks: your departure or arrival point must be an airport located in one of the EU countries. The law on monetary compensation applies to all airlines in the world. The flight must be canceled or delayed more than 3 hours due to the fault of the airline. (that is, not because of the weather or the airport employees strike, for example).

The amount of compensation depends on the distance between destinations: if the distance is less than 1500 km, the compensation is 250 euro per passenger, 1500-3500 km - 400 euro, over 3500 km - 600 euro.

Фото: Depositphotos

The deadline for receiving payments may also vary. Elena Belokon emphasizes: if some airlines process a lawsuit for several days, then others have to wait for a decision for months. The limitation period for accidents for which compensation can be claimed also varies. On average, these are 5 years, but there have been cases of applications for compensation for flights made by 10 years ago.

As Elena Belokon notes, the risk of problems during a trip depends not on the airline itself, but on the congestion of the routes. The more flights on one route, the greater the likelihood that there will be a delay.

Just one of these delays has created a lot of inconvenience for цchurch choir from Texas, which performs around the world and regularly makes long flights. The delay in departure from Amsterdam to Houston ruined all their plans. The team leader repeatedly appealed to the airline for compensation for the inconvenience, but to no avail. Provided payments were achieved only after the intervention of the company. Flightbucks.

“We drew up a claim and sent it to the airline with reference to all legitimate sources, obliging them to pay the passengers - members of this group - the compensation due to them by law,” recalls Elena Belokon. “In the end, the claim was approved, and the passengers received a payment totaling $13,000. By the way, a couple of months later, the same client brought another claim to us when the flight the choir was traveling on was diverted to another airport, and the passengers arrived at their final destination much later. This claim resulted in a settlement of $7,500.”

Фото: Depositphotos

Company Flightbucks ready to help any passenger in obtaining cash compensation. To find out if you can claim cash compensation from the airline, just fill out short form with flight information. It should be noted that from each paid claim the company Flightbucks transfers funds to local charities, and provides such an opportunity (only if desired) to each client. Here are some of these organizations: RedeemedMinistries, HopeBeyondBridges, Rescueher, and the Harvey Hurricane Relief Fund.

Flightbucks also leads blogby subscribing to which you will always be aware of the latest news of the airline industry, you will learn how to act in case of problems with the flightand also get lots of useful information and travel tips.

Read also on ForumDaily:

10 airline secrets you may not have known

The rights of air passengers: what to do if they try to remove you from the flight

How to get the second portion of lunch on the plane

At the airport in New York, almost collided two aircraft

Flight secrets that only flight attendants know

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