Compensation under the EU regulation belongs to the passenger – but getting it takes work. There are two routes: do it yourself, for free, or use a claims agency that takes over everything for a success fee. In this article we do not tell you which one is ‘better’, but which one suits which situation.
When to claim yourself
When the case is clear-cut and the airline does not dispute it. For example, the airline itself told you the flight was 4 hours late because of a technical fault, or cancelled it 3 days before departure because of a staff shortage. The airline’s online form takes 10 minutes, the reply comes in 4–8 weeks, and there is a good chance it will pay – the full amount, with no deductions.
When you are patient and do not mind the correspondence. The airline’s first reply is often a rejection or a question; in the second round, if you cite the case law specifically (for example, ‘according to the Wallentin-Hermann judgment, a technical fault is not an extraordinary circumstance’), many airlines pay.
When it is Ryanair. Ryanair only accepts claims directly from the passenger (although courts have challenged this condition) – it is worth trying the first round yourself.
Cost: nothing. Time: 1–3 hours of correspondence, 2–6 months of waiting. Risk: if the airline rejects your claim, the next step (an authority, a court) is up to you.
When a claims agency is worth it
When the airline has already rejected your claim, or does not reply. This is the most common case: after the first template rejection, most passengers give up. This is exactly where a claims agency steps in: it rebuts the airline’s argument with evidence (Eurocontrol, weather data, fleet data) and goes to court if necessary.
When the cause is disputed. ‘Extraordinary circumstances’, ‘ATC restrictions’, ‘weather’ – proving or disproving these is specialist work. A claims agency does it every day.
When a non-EU airline or a complicated itinerary is involved. A missed connection in Istanbul, a return flight from Dubai, a codeshare booking – the legal position is complex, and national authorities rarely have the capacity for it.
When you do not want to go to court. Ultimately, compensation is awarded by a court. A claims agency advances the legal costs, and if it loses, you do not have to pay.
Cost: 35% if successful (50% if legal action is needed). Time: 10 minutes to submit. Risk: none – no payout, no fee.
The reality of the official route
Every EU/EEA country and the UK has a national enforcement body (NEB) that handles air passenger complaints. Complaining is free, but what an NEB can do varies from country to country. Since the Court of Justice of the European Union’s C-597/20 (LOT) judgment, a member state may empower its authority to order the airline to pay compensation – Hungary’s consumer protection authority does this, for example – but even then there are two limits: it takes months, and the airline can challenge the decision in court. If it still does not pay, you are left with enforcement or a lawsuit. Many cases end up in foreign courts – Maltese, Irish or German, for example – where an individual passenger struggles to find their way. That is why we, too, recommend the claims agency route when an airline refuses to pay.
Let’s do the maths
London–Milan (under 1,500 km), 3.5-hour delay, 2 passengers: a €500 claim.
- Yourself, successful: you keep €500. Likely in a clear-cut case, unlikely in a disputed one.
- Claims agency, successful without court: you keep €325.
- Claims agency, successful with court action: you keep €250 – but without the court case being at your risk or expense.
- Giving up after the first rejection: €0.
So the question is not whether 35% is a lot, but whether you would get the money without paying it.
Our recommendation
In a clear-cut case, try it yourself – it takes 10 minutes. If you are rejected, or the case is disputed, do not let it go: our partner, AirHelp, will take it further at its own risk. And if you fly several times a year, the fee is 0% with an AirHelp+ membership.
Disclosure: the operator of this site earns an affiliate commission from AirHelp when you claim through our links – this does not change the fee you pay. Details in our affiliate disclosure.
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