Getting Compensation For Flight Delays & Flight Cancellations (2023)

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Contents

1 Flights Inside And Outside Of The U.S.
2 Flights That Are Delayed Or Cancelled
3 Baggage Damage, Delays, and Loss
4 Trip Delay Insurance From Credit Cards
5 Bottom Line

There are often flight delays and cancellations when you fly. When either of these things happens, it’s important to know what your rights are and what kind of compensation you are entitled to.

The U.S. and the European Union (EU) have different rules and policies about delays and cancellations of flights to, from, and within their countries. When you look at the U.S. and EU rules, you’ll see that air travel in the EU offers more protection for passengers than in the U.S.

In the United States, when a flight is cancelled or significantly delayed, passengers are typically entitled to compensation from the airline. The amount of compensation, as well as the circumstances under which it is offered, will vary depending on the airline and the situation.

For flight cancellations, passengers are generally entitled to a refund or a rebooking, depending on the circumstances. If a flight is cancelled with little or no notice, the passenger is entitled to a full refund. If a flight is cancelled with more notice, the passenger may be offered the option to rebook.

For flight delays, airlines typically do not offer compensation. However, if a flight is delayed for an extended period of time, or if a passenger misses a connecting flight as a result of a delay, the passenger may be entitled to a refund or a rebooking.

In addition, under the U.S Department of Transportation’s regulation, airlines are required to compensate passengers for denied boarding on oversold flights. The compensation range from 200% of the one-way fare to 400% depending on the duration of the delay and the cost of the fare.

Keep in mind that these are general guidelines and specific situations will require a case-by-case review. Airlines may have their own policies and terms of service, which can vary, and it’s always best to check with the airline directly.

This article will tell you when you have the right to compensation as a passenger, what your rights are, and which credit cards cover travel when problems happen on a flight.

Flights Inside And Outside Of The U.S.

Unlike the EU, the U.S. does not have a big law that protects passengers who have problems with their flights. Even though you aren’t as safe in the U.S. as you are in the EU, the U.S. The Department of Transportation (DOT) does give money in some situations, such as:

Delayed and cancelled flights
Overbooking
Baggage damage, delays, and loss

Flights That Are Delayed Or Cancelled

Flight Delays From Europe Or In Europe

You could get up to $700 in compensation if you have flown within Europe or from the EU to the U.S. or other countries. AirHelp can help you fill out all the forms you need to get your money. (This service can’t help you if you’re stuck in the U.S..)

Airhelp.com Review 2023: Get Compensation For Flight Delays, Flight Cancellations, Lost Luggage…

These Delays Or Cancellations Don’t Require Compensation

Bad weather, traffic jams, and mechanical problems can be hard to predict and are sometimes beyond the airline’s control. So, if your flight is delayed or canceled because of bad weather, air traffic delays, or mechanical problems, the airline doesn’t have to pay you anything.

If one of these things causes your flight to be late, ask the first airline if it will pay for a ticket on a different airline. The DOT does not require the airline to pay compensation, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.

Since the government doesn’t require airlines to pay passengers who are delayed, you’ll have to look at the airline’s policies to find out how much it will pay. If there is a big delay, ask the airline if it will pay for your meals while you wait.

If the airline doesn’t offer you compensation right away for meals or other costs you had to pay for because of the delay, you may be able to get reimbursed for those costs under Article 19 of the Montreal Convention. To do this, you would need to file a claim with the airline. If that claim is turned down, you could also go to court to get your money back.

If your flight is canceled, the airline should put you on the first flight to your destination that has space on it at no extra cost. If the new flight will take a long time to get to, ask the first airline if it will pay for a ticket on another airline.

Overbooking

Overbooking is a way for airlines to make sure their flights are full and to account for passengers who don’t show up. When a flight is overbooked, the DOT requires airlines to pay compensation to both willing and unwilling passengers who have to be moved to another flight.

To get a better idea of what this all means:

When an airline asks a passenger to give up his or her seat voluntarily in exchange for money, this is called “voluntary bumping.”
Involuntary bumping is when an airline moves people off a flight against their will, but they still get paid.

Tarmac Delays

A tarmac delay on a domestic flight is another thing that can happen that doesn’t mean you have to get paid. These things can happen before or after the plane takes off.

Most U.S. airlines are not allowed to stay on the tarmac for more than 3 hours, unless one of the following things happens:

Because of a safety or security risk, the pilot decides that the plane can’t taxi to the gate and let its passengers off.
Air traffic control decides that airport operations would be severely disrupted if the pilot were allowed to taxi to the gate or another place to let people off.

If you are on an international flight that is being run by a U.S. airline and there is a delay on the tarmac, the DOT time limits do not apply. The airlines decide on any time limits and/or rules that go with them.

U.S. airlines must give people on domestic and international flights food and water no later than 2 hours after a tarmac delay starts. The airline has to make sure the bathrooms work and that medical help is available.

Voluntary Bumping

Before forcing people out of their seats, the DOT says that airlines must ask people if they are willing to give up their seats in exchange for money. If you agree to be bumped voluntarily, the airline will put you on a later flight and probably give you vouchers as compensation.

Before agreeing to be bumped, make sure you know what you’re agreeing to by asking the airline the following questions:

When will the airline confirm your seat on the next flight?
Will the airline cover your costs if you agree to take a later flight by giving you free meals, a hotel room, and/or a ride from the hotel to the airport?

It’s important to ask these questions because the DOT doesn’t set a standard way to get paid or a standard amount. Airlines can negotiate with people who want to give up their seats, so you should know what you’re agreeing to before you give up your seat. If the airline gives you a free flight or free transportation as a form of compensation, ask if there are any rules about how you can use it.

Involuntary Bumping

If you are bumped from your flight without your permission, the DOT requires that the airline send you a check or cash to make up for it. How much you get from the airline will depend on how much your ticket cost and how long the delay was.

Update:
A new DOT rule went into effect on April 13, 2021. It says that passengers can’t be forced to move once their “boarding pass has been collected or scanned and the passenger has boarded”

The amount of compensation you will get depends on the following:

If you get to your destination within an hour of the time you were supposed to, you won’t get any money back.
If you arrive at your destination 1 to 2 hours after the time you were supposed to, you will be paid 200% of the price of your one-way ticket, up to $775.
If you arrive at your domestic destination more than two hours after your original arrival time or at your international destination more than four hours after your original arrival time, or if the airline does not make other travel arrangements for you, you will be paid 400% of the price of your one-way ticket, up to a maximum of $1,550.
If you are on an award flight or bought your ticket through a consolidator, you will be paid the price of the same fare class for your flight.
If you choose to book your own flight instead of taking the airline’s rebooking flight, you will get the price of the ticket you bought back.
If you paid extra for seats, checked bags, Wi-Fi, etc., and didn’t get them on your rebooked flight or had to pay for them again, you’ll get your money back.

The above rules about compensation don’t work perfectly all the time, though. You will not get paid if:

There is no record of your reservation.
You don’t check in on time.
The airline has to give you a smaller plane than you booked.
The plane has 30 to 60 seats, and you have to move because the weight or balance of the plane is too heavy or too light for safety.
You booked a chartered flight, but you get bumped from it.
You bought a ticket for a flight with less than 30 seats.
You booked a flight from another country to the U.S.

Lastly, if getting bumped costs you more money than the airline will give you at the airport, you can try to talk to the airline’s complaint department about getting a bigger refund. If you don’t accept the compensation and can’t get more money from the airline’s complaints department, you can sue the airline.

Baggage Damage, Delays, and Loss

We’ve all had our bags get damaged, be late, or even get lost. Even though this is annoying, it’s good to know how you can get paid if any of the following things happen to your luggage:

Lost Bags

If your luggage goes missing, you should file a claim to start the process of getting paid. If you flew on two different airlines with a connection, the final airline is usually in charge of handling your claim.

When you start the claims process, keep in mind that the airline is not required to pay you the full amount of your claim.

In general, this is how the claims process works:

First, the airline will use the information on your claim form to figure out how much your lost items are worth (up to $3,500). It will figure out how much your things are worth now, not how much they were worth when you bought them or how much it would cost to replace them.
Next, it will take the airline anywhere from four weeks to three months to pay you for your lost luggage.
Lastly, the airline will give you a settlement in the form of cash or a free flight, which may be worth more than the cash payment.

Delayed Bags

If your bags are late, you may be entitled to compensation if any of the following happen:

If your luggage is late and you have to pay for things that are missing, you will have to negotiate with the airline to pay for what you and the airline agree are “reasonable expenses”
If the airline doesn’t give you a cash advance, it may still pay for the things you need to buy later.
If sports gear is delayed, the airline will sometimes pay for the rental of replacement gear.
If your clothes or other items are delayed, the airline might only pay you a portion of what you paid for them.
Most airlines have rules that allow their airport staff to reimburse you for emergency purchases if something goes wrong.
If your luggage is late, the airline won’t pay you back for food or other items that go bad because of the delay.

It’s important to remember that the airline’s current liability limit for consequential damages is $3,500 per passenger on domestic flights and about $1,545 for international round-trip flights that start in the U.S.

Damaged Bags

In the following situations, you may be able to get money for your broken luggage:

Most of the time, the airline will pay to fix your broken or torn luggage.
If your broken or torn luggage can’t be fixed, the airline will work out a deal to pay you the value of what it’s worth now.
If your luggage gets damaged because of the airline’s carelessness, the airline may have to pay for the damage.

Trip Delay Insurance From Credit Cards

With the right credit card, you can pay for flights or just the taxes and fees on award flights. This can solve many of the problems listed above.

Rewards cards are a great way to make sure you get fair compensation for problems that happen inside or outside of the airline’s control.

Some of our top choices for Trip Delay Insurance also give you up to $500 if your trip is delayed by more than 6 hours:

Bottom Line

Every passenger’s situation is unique. If your flight is canceled or delayed, or if your bag is damaged, delayed, or lost, or if the flight is overbooked, you should read the DOT’s Consumer Guide to Air Travel to learn the rules.

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