EU Airline Compensation

Chatting with a friend recently, she mentioned their 6 hour delay departing London due to engine repairs. When they finally arrived in Orlando she was handed an airline apology letter with a $25 Planet Hollywood gift card. 

Her husband was researching European Union Airline laws and she asked if I was familiar with the policy. I told her about our situation when we were bumped off an Air France compensated €300 each.

The irony was we had booked our flights using Delta points. Delta reassigned us to Air France and they bumped us back to the original Delta flight so we had a profit of $742 US in addition to the free flights. Thankfully we were given our refund at Charles de Gaulle airport before boarding.

Online I found information on European Union passenger rights regulations. EU and non-EU registered airlines are liable for monetary damages for lengthy delays over 2 hours or cancellations provided they are arrivals, departures, or flights within the European Union.

One may file a claim up to €250 on a flight fewer than 1500 km or up to €400 for a flight of 1500 to 3500 kilometers. For a flight more than 3500 kilometers one may claim up to €300 for a delay of 3 to 4 hours up to €600 or £509 for delay more than 4 hours. If you don't wish to file the paperwork yourself there are plenty of companies online to assist.

If an airline rejects the claim, a complaint may be lodged with the National Enforcement Body regarding your passenger rights in the case of a long delay, cancellation, denied boarding under regulation (EC) 261/2004. The NEB will then give a ruling explaining why a damage claim should or should not be paid.

My friend boasted they might be receiving £300 each. I told her I believed it would be close to twice that and offered to take only a 10% surcharge on anything over the £509. Her response, How about lunch?