Have you ever skilled a flight delay, cancellation or downgrade that you simply’re certain qualifies for EU261 compensation however the airline will not pay?
In that case, you are not alone.
Many airways incessantly reject EU261 compensation requests below the guise that unspecified “extraordinary circumstances” induced the issue. These magic phrases relieve airways of their duty to pay financial compensation below the rules established by the European Fee.
Even worse, different carriers put EU261 claims in an limitless holding sample, seemingly hoping passengers will ultimately quit.
Jonathan Hay confronted this case final summer season after Azores Airways all of the sudden canceled his household’s flight house from trip. Studying TPG’s information to EU261 satisfied Hay that the airline owed every member of his household 600 euros ($700).
Nevertheless, after months of unsuccessful makes an attempt at navigating the EU261 compensation course of, Hay requested TPG for assist.
Here is his irritating story and the steps you possibly can take if an airline is refusing to pay your legitimate EU261 compensation request.
A canceled flight house from Europe
Final July, Hay, his spouse, their three kids and his mother and father went on an journey to mainland Portugal and the Azores.
“I am completely satisfied to let you know that the numerous tips I’ve realized through the years from TPG got here in helpful,” Hay informed me. “I used to be capable of e-book most of our flights with factors that I’ve collected from varied bank cards. That alone saved us 1000’s of {dollars}! I used to be the journey hero.”
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Hay mentioned the group had a totally fulfilling and trouble-free two-week trip in Portugal. However the journey ended on a decidedly bitter word.
On what ought to have been the ultimate day of their journey, the household arrived at Ponta Delgada Airport (PDL) on Sao Miguel Island, the capital of the Azores. The household was trying ahead to getting again house. Their nonstop flight on Azores Airways would have them again at Boston Logan Worldwide Airport (BOS) in just a bit below six hours.
That’s, if Azore Airways hadn’t delayed their flight a number of instances after which ultimately canceled it.
“All of the sudden my whole household was stranded and I wasn’t certain what to do,” Hay recalled. “Azores Airways did not give us a lot steering. We have been primarily deserted.”
Resort and meals bills after a canceled flight from Europe
Hay rapidly started looking out on the web and located a lodge for the evening that might accommodate your entire household. The sudden in a single day keep value almost $1,000 for your entire clan.
However Hay was unbothered.
In keeping with the small print of the EU261, Azores Airways could be required to reimburse him for the group’s lodging, meals and transportation to and from the airport. He additionally calculated they might every obtain the 600 euros ($700) in EU261 compensation. This can be a fee that airways are required to offer passengers after a long-haul flight (over 3,500 kilometers, or about 2,175 miles) departing from Europe will get cancelled.
“It was undoubtedly inconvenient and disturbing,” Hay mentioned. “However the EU261 advantages I knew we have been entitled to made it a lot much less so.”
The next afternoon, the group headed again to the airport, and after a further delay of a number of hours, the Hays have been lastly airborne. They touched down in Boston about 27 hours after their initially scheduled arrival.
The following day, Hay started his pursuit of the EU261 compensation advantages — a mission that morphed into an unexpectedly difficult endeavor.
Asking for EU261 compensation … for six months
Initially, Hay assumed that the airline would rapidly pay his household the compensation that EU261 requires.
However instantly, Hay hit an issue: Azores Airways does not have a devoted EU261 declare type on its web site. So Hay filed a normal canceled flight grievance after which waited.
Over the course of six months, Hay periodically despatched follow-up emails to Azores Airways asking for the standing of his request. Every time, he would obtain what seemed to be an auto-generated response advising him that the airline was receiving a excessive quantity of complaints.
It learn:
“Expensive Passenger,
Thanks for reaching out to SATA.
We’re presently experiencing the next than regular quantity of complaints, leading to an elevated common response time from our Buyer Care staff.” (SATA/ Azores Airways)
With that path clearly going nowhere, Hay subsequent despatched an e mail to the nationwide enforcement company of the EU261 in Portugal — Autoridade Nacional da Aviacao Civil.
In response, he acquired a type letter explaining that ANAC was unable to assign refunds to passengers. The e-mail went on to encourage Hay to work with the airline and maybe pursue “judicial or extrajudicial means.”
Hay mentioned that after receiving that message from ANAC, he started to contemplate paying a third-party firm to take over his EU261 grievance. These firms cost about 30% of no matter they get again for the passenger.
As an alternative, Hay determined to show to the supply that made him into the journey hero his household thought of him to be: TPG.
Asking TPG for assist navigating this EU261 compensation request
When Hay’s request for help landed in my e mail field, he was nearly prepared to surrender.
“I am reaching out with a little bit of a ‘Hail Mary,’ however figured it was value a shot,” Hay wrote.
“I’ve learn many tales on The Factors Man about you serving to different vacationers who felt caught! At this level, I am contemplating paying a type of third occasion firms that take a payment to chase these items down simply within the hopes of getting one thing, however it looks as if a poor consequence.”
After I reviewed Hay’s paper path, I suggested him to carry off on that subsequent step. I might see he had made it simple for Azores Airways to principally ignore his grievance. It appeared that each one of his follow-up messages had been touchdown in an e mail field with an auto-responder connected. He had by no means reached an actual individual on the airline.
Then, when he despatched his inquiry to ANAC, he wasn’t certain if he had adopted the proper procedures for a proper grievance.
On Hay’s behalf, I despatched a request to the Azores Airways govt staff to have his declare reviewed and expedited.
As a result of Hay had been ready so lengthy for the decision to his case, I additionally suggested him to submit a proper grievance with ANAC by way of their on-line type.
Excellent news: Your EU261 compensation is accepted
I might like to say it was all clean crusing from there, however it nonetheless took about eight extra weeks earlier than Hay lastly acquired excellent news.
ANAC had reviewed Hay’s grievance and forwarded it to Azores Airways, which was required to reply.
Here is what the airline wrote to him:
“Expensive Sir/Madam Jonathan Hay,
Concerning the grievance submitted by you to this Authority, we want to inform you that ANAC, because the competent authority for executing the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004, establishing frequent guidelines on compensation and help to passengers within the occasion of denied boarding, cancellation or lengthy delay of flights, with regard to airports positioned in Portuguese territory, requested due clarification from the air provider as to the explanations for the flight disruption.
Following ANAC request, the air provider agreed to pay the compensation offered for within the aforementioned Regulation.” (Formal response from the civil aviation authority in Portugal)
Ultimately, the airline agreed to pay every member of the family 600 euros for a complete of 4,200 euros ($4,900). It additionally paid for almost the entire lodge, meals and transportation bills Hay requested for his or her sudden in a single day.
Now that he is efficiently tackled this mission, Hay has retained his title of “journey hero” in his household.
“General, it is a comparatively completely satisfied ending (ignoring, in fact, the immense stress of the particular journey expertise itself! Thanks once more to your steering right here, and be at liberty to inform my story — hopefully, others can study from it.
Jonathan Hay, Hay household Journey Hero”
How to ensure your EU261 compensation declare will get paid
EU261 offers highly effective safety to vacationers towards the monetary repercussions of flight cancellations, delays and downgrades. Nevertheless, it additionally comes with some vital loopholes for airways that go on the lookout for them to keep away from paying up.
The easiest way to guard your self towards airline shenanigans is to familiarize your self with the EU261 regulation. Understanding what to ask for and the right way to ask for it may be the distinction between getting compensation and never. It should additionally guarantee you do not set off on a mission not possible: losing your time submitting claims for money the airline does not owe you.
In case you’re owed EU261 compensation, listed below are the easy steps to get the airline to pay.
File a proper request for EU261 compensation
In case your flight delay or cancellation qualifies for EU261 compensation, and also you’re on the airport, the airline is required to offer you details about what it owes you below the circumstances.
In Europe, airways sometimes hand out a bit card with a abstract of the rules and directions about submitting your declare.
Even when the circumstances don’t require the airline to pay you based on EU261’s circumstances, your provider nonetheless has a fundamental obligation to take care of you throughout prolonged flight delays and cancellations. Meaning the airline cannot simply endlessly delay or cancel your flight and depart you stranded on the gate. Meals, drinks, lodge lodging and transportation to and from the airport should be offered to passengers.
In case you do not obtain vouchers for this stuff, be sure that to maintain the receipts for all your out-of-pocket bills. You will have to submit these in your EU261 declare.
In Hay’s case, he mentioned the airline did not present any steering about EU261 or the right way to file a grievance. However most airways make it pretty simple to file an EU261 compensation declare by way of a web-based type.
It’s important that you simply particularly point out the EU261 while you file your declare. That can route your request to the proper division.
Escalate your declare
Sadly, as a result of there isn’t a precise definition of extraordinary circumstances, I do know from my case information that, at the very least initially, an unlimited variety of EU261 claims are rejected below that subjective time period.
In fact, everybody can agree that unhealthy climate is a rare circumstance — airways haven’t any management over it. However different issues like mechanical issues, employee strikes, timed-out crew and different occasions are much less clear. Some airways declare all kinds of issues as extraordinary occasions, and it turns into very troublesome for passengers to show in any other case.
In case your first request for EU261 compensation is rejected, do not quit simply but. Ask for the particular cause for the denial.
If you cannot attain an actual individual to attraction your case on the airline, my advocacy group Client Rescue might help. We consistently replace a customer support database with the names and get in touch with info of customer-facing executives in any respect the most important airways who’ve a historical past of serving to customers. Simply ship us a request and we’ll ship you the contact info (freed from cost).
File an attraction with the nationwide enforcement physique
In case you’ve unsuccessfully appealed an unsuccessful EU261 compensation declare internally with the airline, it is time to transfer your efforts to the nationwide enforcement company within the nation the place your drawback occurred.
All international locations that adhere to the EU261 regulation keep an enforcement company and that is the place you’ll file a proper attraction.
The U.Ok. has adopted its personal regulation similar to the EU261 referred to as UK261. The U.Ok. Civil Aviation Authority offers its personal steering on compensation appeals.
Whenever you make your formal grievance, make sure to incorporate the date, flight quantity and size of delay. In case you’re unsure of the precise delay, you need to use the free model of FlightAware to search out it.
Though the enforcement companies are satirically not capable of pressure an airline to pay you EU261 compensation, carriers are required to answer your grievance through that platform. If the information are in your facet, a proper request for fee forwarded by the governing physique of the European Fee virtually at all times offers a robust nudge to the airline to course of the declare.
Backside line
The EU261 guidelines have been set as much as shield and compensate air passengers impacted by prolonged flight delays and cancellations. In case you imagine that you simply qualify for compensation, contact your airline and file a grievance. Be sure that your declare incorporates the phrase “EU261 compensation request.”
If that does not resolve the fee problem, you possibly can file an attraction with the nationwide enforcement physique within the nation your airline is working from.
In fact, if that fails, you could have yet another device in your problem-solving belt: Ask TPG for help. Ship your request for assist to ombudsman@thepointsguy.com, and I will be completely satisfied that will help you, too, if I can!
