Are you owed a slice of the pie?
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again – and then get a lawyer if that doesn’t work. The European Union offers some of the very best air passenger rights on the planet, with up to €600 per passenger in compensation owed for flights delayed over three hours. While the rules are crystal clear, some airlines don’t enjoy following them, which has lead to a fascinating amount of wrongfully denied claim cases. Here’s what you need to know…
Flight compensation law firm Bott & Co shared details of airlines which are wrongfully denying delay compensation claims in the UK. The firm singled out airlines Thompson (TUI) and EasyJet, citing that 73% of compensation claims against Thompson were forced to go to court. In other words: the airline wouldn’t pay out for rightfully owed passengers until a court ordered them to do so after a lawsuit. These claims come just a week after the CAA won a landmark case against Emirates, ordering compensation for wrongfully dismissed claims by the airline.
According to the Bott & Co report, EasyJet, Ryanair and Thompson (TUI) alone owe over £4 million in compensation to more than 10,000 delayed passengers in the UK. We receive regular reports of inadequate dealings from Norwegian and other airlines, and would imagine the total owed to passengers is far greater than £4 million. In some cases, the court has already ruled in favor of passengers, yet airlines remain unpaid.
If your flight was delayed for reasons within the airlines control, and not because of weather – you may be entitled to serious cash. It’s imperative to file a claim with the airline first. Attempt to document everything involving your delayed flight, including weather reports from the day, delay info for other flights and anything which bolsters your position. Present your case to the airline directly seeking rightful EC261 compensation. If your delay claim is denied, consider taking on a solicitor like Bott & Co or flight delay claim service, which does not charge you – but only takes a slice of the pie if they win your case. Fair enough, right?
Can’t believe the relative size of the BA in the graphic but I suppose if only drawn from Bott and Co. stat’s it could be true… Just doesn’t reflect the scale of issues reported in online forums.
The real scandal is that ALL the airlines involved clearly see themselves as above the law and are able to get away with simply ignoring the courts… NOT a sustainable business model!