Our Top Tips to Maximise Your Flight Compensation Case

13 Aug Our Top Tips to Maximise Your Flight Compensation Case

Make sure you receive the compensation you deserve by following these key steps.

Experiencing a delayed or cancelled flight can be a nightmare. You can miss family holidays, important connecting flights and sometimes be left in a busy airport wondering where to turn.

Many passengers are unaware, however, that they are protected by law against flight delays and cancelations. For over a decade now, passengers have been able to claim compensation against poor treatment by airlines when their flights have been delayed, cancelled or over-booked.

Understanding this law and knowing the steps to take can ensure that you receive the compensation that you are entitled to. Here are our experts’ tips.

1. Know what you can claim for

On 17^th February 2005, the European Commission introduced a new law called the EU Regulation 261/2004. This is known as the “Flight Compensation Regulation” and it established rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding, flight cancellations, or long delays of flights.

Under these rules, EU passengers may be able to claim up to €600 (£550 depending on exchange rates) per passenger. However, passengers will need to answer “yes” to all of the below questions:

• Were you delayed by more than three hours?
• Was the delay not due to “extraordinary circumstances” that were outside the control of the airline?
• Did your flight depart from the EU or arrive in the EU, or was the flight on an EU-based airline?
• Was your flight within the last six years?

If you answer yes to all of those questions, it is very likely you are owed compensation from your airline.

2. Understand what evidence you need

When you present a case to your airline regarding compensation, you need to show evidence of the following:

• That you were indeed a passenger on the flight for which you are claiming compensation
• That the flight was delayed or cancelled

To maximise your chances of success there are certain documents or information that can assist your case. These are the following:

• Booking confirmation or flight itinerary
• Copy of passport pictures for all passengers on the booking
• Boarding passes
• Email or SMS communication received from the Airline if they have informed you of a delay or cancellation
• Copies of tickets including ticket numbers

All of these documents can help when going to an airline to present a case for compensation.

3. Use an expert

Airlines are notoriously difficult to deal with when trying to claim compensation. It can often take weeks to get a response and payouts can take even longer, if they come at all.

Luckily, Smooth Law are hugely experienced within the Flight Compensation world. We have helped clients up and down the country claim compensation for delayed and cancelled flights.

Once we confirm you have a reasonable claim, we can send a formal letter to the airline on your behalf. We can also cross-reference our database to see if there were any previous successful claims on the same flight, potentially giving you an answer within a few days.

Smooth Law also operate on a No Win, No Fee basis, meaning there is no financial risk to you if you do choose to claim through us.

You can save time and money using our Flight Compensation experts, rather than issuing proceedings against the airline yourself.

Get in touch today by calling us on 0800 161 5709 or by contacting us on the Flight Compensation Enquiry Form here.