Extra expenses claim
Don't forget to make an extra expenses claim!
Because there is a high chance that you have a right to that. In Europe, if you have to wait at the airport more than planned, often you have a right to care from the airline you are flying with. Depending on situation, you can get free food, free drinks, free hotel accommodation (if the delay is very long), and free transportation. If the airline fails to deliver what it's supposed to deliver, you have a right to claim expenses.
You will have to provide recipes proving that you made these purchases.
This applies to most flights to and from Europe.
Check your compensation online.
UK / EU air passenger rights
Air passenger rights are almost identical in the EU, EEA and UK.
That's why we may refer to them simply as European air passenger rights, and use terms like European flight compensation and European flight compensation regulation. We may also use a word "Europe" to refer to this whole region, where the flight compensation regulations EC 261/2004 and UK261 are in effect.
- With European airlines these rules apply to all flights to and from Europe
- With non-European airlines - flights departing from Europe
1. Extra expenses claim: Guidelines
Air travel is highly regulated nowadays. Especially in Europe.
We have separate guides on EU flight delay compensation, EU flight cancellation compensation and EU denied boarding compensation where we talk more into details about all the specific situations. What unites all of the situations is that:
- Airline has to take you to your destination. Every time. No matter the reason behind flight delay, cancellation or re-routing, as long as it's not due to your fault.
- Airline has to take care of you at the airport. If you have to wait 2 or more hours extra, very often you have a right to care from the airline. What it means is - free meals and drinks in a reasonable relation to the waiting time, free hotel accommodation if a stay of one or more nights is necessary, and two free phone calls, e-mails or faxes.
It doesn't stop with flight delays and flight cancellations. Overbookings and long waits at the airport. Missed connections. Re-routed / diverted flights due to whatever reasons. In all these situations you are protected by law. You have a right to be taken care of, and to be taken to your destination (as shown on your ticket).
And if the airline fails to provide what it has to...
You can pay for the services yourself, and claim expenses afterwards. That includes booking a new flight instead of the cancelled one, taking a bus to your destination, paying for a meal while waiting for delayed flight at the airport, etc.
Make sure to save all the receipts!
2. How to make extra expenses claim from airline?
Here are two best options that you have:
- We can help you with this. This is the easiest of the options. You just file a compensation claim with us, and tell us about the extra expenses you had to cover yourself. Please, send us all the receipts to the email you will receive from us. You will receive this email after we have finished initial flight check -- it's done by a computer system.
- You can contact the airline yourself. Go to the website of the airline, and fill in the claim form. Some airlines have special extra expenses claim forms, others - don't.
2.1 Claiming extra expenses on your own
Do you want to try and do it yourself? To make an expenses claim from an airline, you'll need to follow these steps:
- Gather evidence of the extra expenses incurred. This can include receipts, bank statements, or any other documentation that proves the amount of money you spent. Don't forget that you aren't allowed to spend money un luxuries, only essentials.
- Contact the airline you were flying with. Reach out to the airline's customer service department through their website, social media channels, email, or phone. Explain the situation and provide the evidence of the extra expenses. Most likely you will have to provide a copy of your passport and boarding pass.
- Request compensation you think you are entitled to. Ask the airline to compensate you for the extra expenses. If they refuse, ask to speak with a supervisor.
- Follow up once every week or two. Keep a record of all communications with the airline and follow up regularly to ensure your claim is being processed. Yes, it can be time-consuming, but that's just how it is with these kind of legal things.
- Consider alternative options. If the airline refuses to compensate you, you may consider taking legal action or complaining to a relevant government body, such as the Department of Transportation or a consumer protection agency. First, contact the consumer protection agency in a country your flight was from.
You may also decide to proceed through your travel insurance company. That's assuming that you had a travel insurace for this trip.
3. Right to care in Europe
In Europe, you have a right to care from the airline.
As already mentioned, if you have to wait at the airport more than planned, often you have a right to care from the airline you are flying with. Depending on the situation, you can get free food, free drinks, free hotel accommodation (if the waiting time is very long and over the night), and free transportation.
According to the Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Article 9:
- free meals and drinks in a reasonable relation to the waiting time,
- free hotel accommodation if a stay of one or more nights is necessary,
- two free phone calls, e-mails or faxes.
If you have to wait 2-3 hours extra, you have a right to it. If the airline doesn't provide something that it has to, you can buy it yourself, and later ask for reimbursement of expenses.
4. Last-minute flight cancellations
When airline cancels a flight, it has to give you a new flight.
You may opt for a refund instead, but most people want to fly, they want to get to their destination as soon as possible. And, so they wait for the new flight. Same like earlier in this article, we are talking about air passenger rights in Europe. With European airlines these rules apply to all their flights to and from Europe, and to non-European airlines - only to flights departing from European airports.
So, whenever a flight is cancelled, most of people choose an alternative flight. They choose to wait and fly at a later time. Very few people opt a refund.
What most of these people don't know?
They don't know that they have a right to care.
If you have to wait at the airport, you have a right to care from the airline. The same applies to all types of travel disruptions - flight delays, last-minute flight cancellations, denied boarding due to overbooking. It doesn't matter is it due to airline's fault or not. And if the airline doesn't provide something that it has to, you can pay for it yourself, and later ask for reimbursement of expenses.
5. Can you get flight compensation?
If your flight is cancelled less than 2 weeks before the date of departure.
Or if it's delayed, re-routed or overbooked, and you have arrived to destination 3+ hours later than planned. In all these situations, if it's due to airline's fault, you have a right to flight compensation from the airline. Things like technical problems with an airplane are considered airline's fault.
Has something like this happened to you?
Submit your claim for airline compensation now.
By Europe and EU we mean all EU Member States, the United Kingdom (UK), Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Reunion, Mayotte, Saint Martin, the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland.