What you are entitled to when your airline messes up

Jetting off abroad this summer? Find out what you're entitled to if it all goes horribly wrong.

What with the volcanic ash and the British Airways strikes, airline passengers have had a pretty tough time of it lately.

With many of us jetting off on holiday in the next few months, here's a guide to what you can claim if it all goes horribly wrong.

Baby steps

Under EU law, airlines are not obliged to give compensation for cancelled flights if they offer suitable alternative travel arrangements or if 'extraordinary circumstances' apply.

In the past, airlines have been accused of defining technical faults as extraordinary circumstances, to avoid having to shell out.

However, earlier this year, the European Court of Justice closed this loophole. In a new ruling, it deemed that airline passengers are now entitled to compensation when a flight is cancelled because of a technical fault.

The ruling applies to all EU-based airlines and to all airlines when operating a flight out of an EU country.

It's a baby step on the road to airlines treating customers more fairly - but at least it's one in the right direction.

Do you meet the following criteria?

The Denied Boarding Regulation (otherwise known as EC Regulation 261/2004) came into force at the beginning of 2005. In a nutshell, it offers an improved framework for people whose flights have been delayed or cancelled to claim compensation refunds and/or compensation.

For you (as the customer) to be legally protected by this regulation, the following criteria must apply:

You need to have a confirmed booking;
You need to have checked in on time;
You need to be departing from an EU airport, or from a non-EU airport and flying into an EU airport on an airline with its headquarters and main place of business within the EU.

Assuming that you meet all these criteria, here's what you're entitled to:

If your flight is delayed

Sadly, you probably won't be entitled to financial compensation. What you can claim depends on how long you're kept waiting, and how far you're travelling.

There are four main 'time + distance' categories defined:

A flight under 932 miles which is delayed for more than two hours;
A flight within the EU which is longer than 932 miles, and which is delayed by more than three hours;
A flight which isn't within the EU, which is between 932 and 2174 miles, and which is delayed by more than three hours;
Any other flight which is delayed by more than four hours.

If your delay falls into any of these categories, here's what you're entitled to:

Two free phone calls, faxes or e-mails;
Free meals and refreshments appropriate to the delay.

That's it. Not great, eh? And of course, 'appropriate to the delay' is a very subjective and foggy concept.

If you're delayed overnight, the airline must also put you up in hotel accommodation - and provide the transport for you to get there and back.

And finally, if you're delayed for more than five hours, you can decide not to travel at all, and get a refund. I think that's pretty poor consolation for a wasted day and no holiday, personally.

If your flight is cancelled

If your flight is cancelled after you've arrived at the airport, you should be offered a choice of the following:

A refund of the full cost of the flight, within seven days;
A re-routed journey to your final destination at the earliest opportunity;
A re-routed journey to your final destination at a later date convenient to you.

As you can imagine, that 'earliest opportunity' is another grey area and inevitably introduces another set of frustrating variables.

The compensation conundrum

Even if your flight is cancelled at the last minute, you're not necessarily entitled to compensation.

Simply put, you don't have a right to compensation if you're offered the chance to re-route on a flight that leaves no more than one hour before the original flight and is scheduled to arrive no more than two hours after the original flight.

And of course, there are those 'extraordinary circumstances' to contend with. You're not entitled to compensation if the airline can show that the cancellation was caused by 'extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures have been taken'.

In plain English, this could mean anything from snow and political instability to terror alerts and strike action.

How do I make a claim?

If you are entitled to compensation, the specific amount will depend on the distance you were intending to travel, and the suitability of any alternative flight you're offered.

For a breakdown of the sums involved, have a look at this Which? Advice page on how much you can claim.

If you decide to pursue the matter, the how to make a claim section also suggests the action to take, and includes some useful template letters to get things started.

Unfortunately, I can't cover every eventuality in a single article. For example, slightly different rules apply to flights that have been overbooked - and flights that are cancelled more than seven days in advance.

So, to cover all your bases, I recommend you also have a look at the air travel advice offered by the Air Transport Users Council.

Fingers crossed for the holiday season!

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