The airline offered me a voucher: what do I do?

According to Article 7.3 of the EU Regulation 261/2004, “The compensation [...] shall be paid in cash, by electronic bank transfer, bank orders or bank cheques or, with the signed agreement of the passenger, in travel vouchers and/or other services."

In other words, you can refuse the offer from the airline and ask them to pay your compensation in cash or bank transfer instead.

If you filed a claim via ClaimCompass and received a voucher proposal from the airline, please forward the message to our support team at [email protected] 

Note that if you have already accepted the voucher from the airline, we are unable to secure further compensation for your disrupted flight and the amount of our commission will be calculated based on the amount of the voucher. 

For more information on what to do when the airline offered you a voucher, read this post

Luggage issues: can I claim compensation?

According to the Montreal Convention, you can indeed claim compensation for a delayed, damaged, or lost luggage. 

However, please note that for the time being, ClaimCompass specializes exclusively in claims for delayed, cancelled or overbooked flights and cannot assist in cases related to damaged or lost luggage.  

For more information on compensation for lost or damaged luggage, have a look at the  Montreal Convention

What is the Statute of Limitations?

The Statute of Limitations is the period of time after your flight during which you can submit a claim for compensation, including submitting your claim to court. Airlines often cite their own deadlines for submitting a claim, but the latter does not affect your right to go to court if you are still within the period prescribed by law. 

The EU Regulation 261/2004 does not set any time limits for bringing a claim and these are regulated by the laws of each EU member state (the limitation period is set by each country independently and may therefore differ from one country to another). You can check the time limits for each country here.

Additional expenses: how to get a refund?

In addition to the compensation for your disrupted flight, the airline must refund your additional expenses (e.g. taxi, hotel etc.). 

Note that ClaimCompass does not handle the refund of these additional expenses.

If you have already started a claim for a delayed, cancelled, or overbooked flight, we recommend that you wait until your claim has been processed before contacting the airline regarding the refund of your additional expenses; otherwise, it could take longer to collect your compensation from the airline and/or have the airline restore only the additional expenses and not the entire compensation amount. 

What are “extraordinary circumstances”?

Under EU Regulation 261/2004, extraordinary circumstances refer to certain cases, where the flight disruption was caused by an event, which could not have been avoided by the airline even if all reasonable measures have been taken. Similar to the insurance industry, such circumstances qualify as force majeure or “Acts of God” and include bad weather, lightning strikes, air traffic control restrictions and medical emergencies. If the airline is capable of proving that the disruption was caused by extraordinary circumstances, no compensation is due.

The airline reimbursed me for my additional expenses and accommodation - am I still entitled to compensation?

Yes! Even if the airline provided accommodation and reimbursed you for your additional expenses, and/or provided food vouchers etc, you are still entitled to compensation under EU Regulation 261/2004 if you arrived at your destination 3 or more hours late. To check how much you can claim, use our free Compensation Calculator

When am I entitled to compensation?

You can check if you’re entitled to compensation with the help of our Compensation Calculator - it takes two minutes and it is completely free. 

To secure compensation for our clients, ClaimCompass works on the basis of EU Regulation 261/2004 which covers

You can claim compensation for delayed or cancelled flight, so long as the delay at your final destination is at least three hours. The EU Regulation also covers overbooked flights and disruptions caused by a missed connection.

 

How far back in time can I claim for a disrupted flight?

This depends on the statute of limitations in the country of departure. Within Europe, this could be anywhere between 1 and 6 years after the actual flight took place.

 

You can check if you’re entitled to compensation with the help of our Compensation Calculator - it takes two minutes and it is completely free.

Someone else paid for my ticket - can I still file a claim and get my compensation?

In cases where somebody else paid for your ticket, such as an employer, a relative, a friend etc, you can still claim for compensation yourself. Under EU Regulation 261/2004, the compensation follows the passenger and not the payer of the ticket.

You will not be entitled to compensation only if your ticket was part of a promotion, voucher or was granted for free from the airline. 

I missed my connection - am I entitled to compensation?

If you had multiple flight segments under the same booking and a delayed or cancelled flight caused you to miss your connection, resulting in arriving at your final destination 3 or more hours late, you are entitled to compensation. The airline is exonerated from liability and will not pay compensation only in the event that the disruption was caused by an extraordinary circumstance, such as a lightning strike, security concern or bad weather, for example. 

You can check if you’re entitled to compensation with the help of our Compensation Calculator - it takes two minutes and it is completely free.

Denied boarding: am I entitled to compensation?

If you were denied boarding because the airline overbooked your flight - i.e. sold more seats than there actually are available on the flight - you are entitled to compensation. 

Please note that under EU Regulation 261/2004, passengers who have been denied boarding for reasons other than overbooking, such as late arrival at the gate or issues with their travel documents, are not entitled to compensation. 

If you have been denied boarding because of an overbooked flight, you can check the applicable compensation and file a claim via our Compensation Calculator - it takes two minutes and it is completely free.

Cancelled flight: am I entitled to compensation?

If your flight has been cancelled and you were informed less than 14 days prior to departure, you are entitled to compensation. The airline is exonerated from liability and will not pay compensation only in the event that the cancellation was caused by an extraordinary circumstance, such as a lightning strike, security concern or bad weather, for example.

You can check if you’re entitled to compensation with the help of our Compensation Calculator - it takes two minutes and it is completely free.

Delayed flight: am I entitled to compensation?

If your flight is delayed, you are entitled to compensation if the following applies to you situation: 

You can easily check if you’re entitled to compensation with the help of our Compensation Calculator - it takes two minutes and it is completely free.

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