Flight Compensation: How to Get When Flights Go Wrong?

Complaints about flight delays, cancellations, denied boarding, and other issues are commonly witnessed by the air travelers. What do they get in return makes a difference? Right?

There are so many propositions, where passengers may or may not rightly get the flight compensation, and there is a fine line between when they get in compensation and when they don’t; this gets even more mysterious because of the lack of awareness.

In this article, I will tell you how and when you should approach airline to claim flight compensation, when you encounter such tragic issues during your air travel.

When do you get justified flight compensation?

If you don’t speak, nobody will listen. There are times when you need raise a voice, while other times you need to be little patient so that you get the best of the situation. Now, let’s look at the situations, when you should not expect any flight or air travel compensation:

Weather

Since it is a natural circumstance and for your safety, airline don’t take off. Weather delays and cancellations happens because neither you nor flight operators can control, it is something which is not in anybody’s hands; So, it is important to save yourself than to walk on danger; Thus, it is suggested not to ask for any compensation.

Air Traffic

Not only roads but sky is getting busier day by day and there are no traffic police or traffic lights to control traffic. So, if the patter is full, it is not wise to expect any compensation for flight delay.

Equipment Faults

Although airports have such big open spaces, but still there are a lot of things that needs care and maintenance. In case of runways closure and unplanned maintenance, it is not in airline’s control; so, you must not expect any flight compensation in return.

Your Plan Changes

Everything is different for everyone and for some reason, if your change your travel plans or miss your flight; you are responsible for the same and you should not expect from the airline to compensate you for your altered plans.

Above mentioned are the circumstances where you are not eligible to get any flight compensation. It is also important to note that every country follow its own compensation protocol; so, it can happen EU may compensate you while USA may not compensate you for the same scenario. In the next coming sections, I will discuss the laws and other situations where you should request for the compensation.

Air Passenger Rights

EU 261/2004

This regulation is covered under the European Union. Typically, if you are travelling through an EU-Licensed aircraft that operates to or from within the European State, or on a non-EU-licensed aircraft that operates from a European member state, then, you are eligible for some substantial compensation in a few circumstances.

If you encounter flight cancellation, denied boarding, or flight delay of 3 hours or more, you are eligible to get compensation up to 600 euros. You are qualified to get compensation, if delays and cancellations are not caused by the severe weather conditions. There are a lot many other criteria which you need to look upon before you approach an airline for the compensation. To know in detail, check out this compensation manifesto.

USDOT Passenger Rights

The US Department of Transportation proposed a passenger bill of rights in 2012 which covers several scenarios in which you are entitled to get compensation from the airline. The situations like – denied boarding, long delays of 3 hours or more, lost/delayed baggage. It is important to note and understand all the rules and eligibility criteria before you demand any compensation.

DGCA – CAR: Indian Regulation

Flight Compensation in India enacted by the government through the Director General of Civil Aviation (“DGCA”) to ensure that passengers encountering denied boarding, delayed or cancelled flights, are provided with certain benefits in order to compensate for any deficiency in service.

Passengers can get up to INR 10,000 as per DGCA regulation depending upon the flight compensation rules practiced in India in accordance with CAR Section 3, Series M, Part IV.

How to Get Flight Compensation the Right Way?

When it comes to approaching for the flight compensation, there are some little things which you need to take care of. These are:

Brief and Simple: There are a lot of several other things and issues that the airline is dealing with, and nobody would want to hear your whole detailed story; so, you need to be subtle and direct while complaining about your flight disruption and stick to it.

Don’t Get Emotional: If you sharply and calmly state all your facts in writing or in person, it gives a sense of professionalism and sincerity to your complaint. Using all the punctuation marks and yelling at customer service won’t help you much.

State what you want: Airline representatives wants to know what they can do to rectify the unpleasant situation. You should present reasonable statements or accommodations, so that airline can also fulfill your requirements. If you present the solution directly, it will service agent’s job easier and you will easily get what you have been seeking.

Keep Everything Documented: This idea helps everywhere, because we don’t remember everything if told verbally. Keep everything either on a piece of paper or digitally- including all your important documents such as – boarding pass, claim tickets, booking confirmations, and almost everything.

Final Words

Air travel is not easy as it seems. There are a lot of things which needs careful attention that helps in coming out of the tough travel situations. The best thing is to stay calm and deal with the situation smartly; so that you can benefit yourself.

Now you know, how you should approach the airline for the flight compensation when the flight gets cancelled, delayed, denied boarding, or lost/damaged baggage. Make sure you have idea about your Air Passenger Rights and your eligibility before you present your case to claim flight compensation.