Booking a flight through an agency: Who is going to be held responsible if the flight is cancelled?
You can book your flight yourself or from a travel agency.
While some prefer doing it on their own, others opt for the latter.
Travel agencies sell not only charter flights and package holidays, but also scheduled flights. But what happens if the flight you have booked with an agency is cancelled? What are your rights in a situation like this? Can you get a full refund from a travel agency? Does it affect your chances of getting EU / UK flight compensation?
Check your compensation online!
Read on to find out more.
Booking a flight through an agency
So, what should you do if your flight is cancelled?
First of all, contact your travel agent. Find out what are your options. If you have booked a flight with a reputable tour agent, mostly you don’t need to worry. If your flight is cancelled, the agent must act in accordance with the contract — refund the money you paid or book you on a different flight for free. In some cases you may even be entitled to a compensation from the airline.
Once you know the options, you can make a choice.
What about the compensation for cancellation?
You might be entitled to it if the cancellation has happened less than 14 days before the day of departure. As long as it’s due to your airline’s fault not something unavoidable. However, you also must remember to make a claim yourself. While the agency is responsible for booking you on a new flight or giving you a full refund, it is not responsible for flight cancellation compensation.
Alternatively, you can let us file a claim on your behalf.
Are you entitled to flight cancellation compensation?
In Europe there are two laws protecting air passenger rights.
One is EU Regulation 261/2004, the other — Regulation UK261.
They apply to most of flights to and from the EU and UK.
The rules are as following.
If you are notified of the cancellation 7 - 14 days before the time of departure:
- You choose a new flight offered by your airline, which departs not more than 2 hours before the original departure time and you reach your destination less than 4 hours after the original arrival time. In this situation you are not entitled to compensation.
- In other situations you are entitled to compensation.
If you are notified of the cancellation less than 7 days before the scheduled time of departure:
- You choose a new flight offered by your airline, which departs not more than 1 hour before the original departure time and you reach your destination less than 2 hours after the original arrival time. In this situation you are not entitled to compensation.
- In other situations you are entitled to compensation.
The only other condition is that it must be due to fault of your airline not something unavoidable. With EU and UK airlines (including charter airlines) it applies to all flights, with other airlines — only to flights departing from the EU and UK, but not the other way around.
Important! If you choose a full refund, you may still be entitled to compensation. If the airline is refusing your request, refer to EU Regulation 261/2004 and Regulation UK261.
How to claim compensation?
In order to get flight cancellation compensation, you have to request it from the airline. Your travel agent is not responsible for it. To apply for flight compensation in the UK and EU, you have to contact the airline. You can do it yourself, or you can also take a shortcut and work with us.
These are your two best options:
1. You can do it all on your own.
Contact your airline and make a claim for compensation.
2. You can also take the easiest path — register your claim online with us, and let us be your legal representatives. In this case we will do all the negotiations on your behalf. At the end of the process you will only have to tell us your bank account, so we know where to transfer the money.
When working with us, here is all you will have to do:
- Go to this page;
- Fill in the details about yourself and your flight;
- Upload your boarding pass and passport copy;
- Sign the claim online.
We will do the rest.
Learn more:
By Europe and EU we mean all EU Member States, the United Kingdom (UK), Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Reunion, Mayotte, Saint Martin (French Antilles), the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland.