Guide: How to Get Flight Delay Compensation in the US

Many Americans don’t know this, but you could be entitled to compensation if your international flight to or from the US is delayed.

This includes many flights operated by US carriers!

As a result, hundreds of thousands of dollars go unclaimed because many American passengers are unaware of their rights and how easy it can be to receive compensation for the inconvenience of a long delay on an international journey.

In this guide, I’ll explain the international laws surrounding flight delay compensation and show you how to claim compensation if your flight is delayed.

Flight delay compensation in the US

Although US law does not require airlines to pay cash compensation for flight delays, Americans may still receive compensation when their flight is delayed.

In some cases, airlines will owe you money for a delayed flight!

You just need to know when you qualify for compensation and how to claim your money.

Unfortunately, the lack of any federally mandated flight compensation laws in the US means that you can’t claim money if you face a delay on a domestic itinerary.

However, if your itinerary includes an international flight to or from the United States, the situation can change completely.

It could suddenly mean that you can claim compensation for your delayed flight under applicable foreign regulations.

And best of all, everyone can benefit from these generous laws, including American passengers!

Countries with flight delay compensation laws

Numerous countries around the world have laws that allow you to claim compensation if your flight is significantly delayed.

This includes some of the most popular travel destinations for Americans.

For example, Canada has air passenger protection regulations that allow you to claim compensation for a delayed flight.

In this guide, I want to focus on the regulation that is in place in Europe: EC/261.

Whenever you travel from the US to Europe for business or vacation, EC/261 could make you eligible for compensation if your flight is delayed.

This can even be the case when you are flying with a US airline!

About regulation EC/261

EC/261, often erroneously written as EU261, is the regulation that the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted to set out airline obligations and passenger rights in situations such as delays, cancellations, overbooked flights, denied boarding, and downgrades to a lower travel class than the one originally booked.

Basically, this regulation determines whether you are entitled to compensation when your flight in Europe is delayed.

EC/261 is applicable when:

– Your flight is departing from an airport within a member state of the European Union (EU), Iceland, Norway, or Switzerland, regardless of the airline operating the flight
– Your final destination is an airport within the EU, Iceland, Norway, or Switzerland, and your flight is operated by an airline based in one of these jurisdictions.

Currently, there are 27 member states of the EU.

Iceland and Norway are not EU member states but are part of the European Economic Area (EEA), while Switzerland has a separate agreement with the EU.

As a result, EC/261 also applies to airlines based in these countries and to flights departing from airports there.

What about the UK?

Although the United Kingdom is no longer part of the EU or EEA after Brexit, it does have similar passenger rights laws.

After Brexit, the UK chose to retain most of the EC/261 rules, rebranding them as UK 261.

This regulation works in exactly the same way, but applies to British airlines and flights departing from the UK.

How Americans can get compensation under EC/261

Everyone, regardless of nationality, can claim compensation under EC/261.

After all, it is your flight that needs to fall within the scope of the regulation.

For American passengers, there are many situations where this could apply.

Of course, this includes almost any flight itinerary that takes place entirely within Europe, as well as flights operated by airlines from EU member states.

EC/261 also applies to the majority of transatlantic flights.

All transatlantic flights operated by European airlines such as Air France, Lufthansa, ITA Airways, and SAS fall under the scope of EC/261.

If you begin your journey at an airport within the EU, Switzerland, Norway, or Iceland, EC/261 also applies to flights operated by non-European airlines.

This means that even a transatlantic flight with American Airlines, Delta, or United could qualify for EC/261 delay compensation!

In the case of US airlines, only flights from Europe to the United States fall within the scope of EC/261, not flights in the eastbound direction.

An ITA Airways and American Airlines flight from Rome to New York will therefore both fall within the scope of EC/261.

However, in the reverse direction, only the ITA Airways flight – not the American Airlines flight – would fall under this regulation.

When does EC/261 apply

It’s important to know that EC/261 has two main components:

– Duty of care
– Compensation

Let’s take a closer look at these two principles.

Duty of care

According to EC/261, airlines have a duty of care regardless of the reason behind a delay or cancellation.

This means airlines must look after you if a significant delay or cancellation affects your flight.

In such cases, depending on the length of the delay, you may receive free drinks or meals, free phone calls to inform friends, family, or work colleagues, hotel accommodation, and transportation to and from the airport.

Sometimes airlines provide these services proactively to affected passengers, especially at their hubs.

However, at outstations, airlines often don’t have the staff or resources available to provide these services to passengers.

In that case, you will have to make the arrangements yourself.

Make sure you keep receipts for all expenses you incur so you can claim them back from the airline later.

EC/261 does not set a specific limit for these costs, although the regulation does state that they must be “reasonable”.

A taxi from the airport to your accommodation is reasonable, as is a decent hotel.

However, the duty of care principle does not give you a free pass to splurge.

A lavish five-course meal or a stay at the most expensive hotel in town will likely result in the airline refusing to reimburse those costs.

The airline may consider such expenses unreasonable if decent three- or four-star hotels are available.

When can you get delay compensation

EC/261 delay compensation involves more nuances than the duty of care principle.

The duty of care applies to flights regardless of the reason behind the delay or cancellation, which is not the case for compensation.

Simply put, you can only receive compensation if the airline is responsible for the delay.

Whenever extraordinary circumstances cause a delay, airlines will not have to pay you compensation.

Extraordinary circumstances include:

– Adverse weather conditions, such as storms or heavy snowfall
– Security issues, such as bomb threats, terror scares, or unruly passengers
– Diversions due to medical or safety reasons
– Strikes by third parties not affiliated with the airline, such as air traffic control staff
– Mechanical issues caused by a bird strike
– An aircraft type being grounded by order of the manufacturer due to a newly discovered design issue

However, in cases where the airline is responsible for the delay, EC/261 dictates that compensation may be due.

This includes:

– General technical problems with the aircraft
– Operational problems (lack of staff, late inbound flight)
– Planned strikes by airline personnel

How much compensation can you get

The flight distance and length of the delay determine whether you receive compensation and how much you could get.

Let’s take a look at the different categories:

1. Every flight under 1,500 kilometers: €250 in compensation for a delay of at least 3 hours.
2. All intra-European Community flights of more than 1,500 kilometers, and all other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 kilometers: €400 in compensation for a delay of at least 3 hours.
3. All flights not falling under categories 1 or 2: €600 in compensation for a delay of at least 4 hours.

This means that American travelers flying to or from Europe could easily receive €600 ($692) in compensation when an airline delays their transatlantic flight!

How delays are calculated

Delays are always calculated based on the final arrival point of your ticketed itinerary.

This is quite simple when you have a direct flight. Let’s say you are flying with United from Frankfurt to Washington, DC.

If a mechanical issue delays your flight and it arrives at Dulles Airport more than 4 hours after its originally scheduled arrival time, you would be eligible for €600 in delay compensation.

However, things can become a bit more complicated when you have connecting flights.

Let’s say you are flying from Prague to Los Angeles via Amsterdam with KLM.

In this case, any delay on your Prague to Amsterdam flight is completely irrelevant.

The only thing that matters is when you were originally scheduled to arrive in Los Angeles and when you actually arrive in LA.

Your Prague to Amsterdam flight might have a 5-hour delay, but if you have a long layover in your itinerary and still catch your originally booked connecting flight to Los Angeles, arriving there on time, no delay compensation is due.

How to claim compensation

Many people successfully claim compensation themselves after contacting the airline.

However, for many travelers, this can be highly challenging due to the complex regulations involved.

That’s why many Americans and Europeans alike turn to claim agencies such as AirHelp to help them obtain compensation.

Thanks to AirHelp, you can receive flight delay compensation in the US without having to do anything yourself.

Simply enter the details of your delayed flight to see if you might be eligible for compensation!

If you are, all you need to do is upload your originally booked ticket and boarding pass, and AirHelp will handle the entire process.

AirHelp works on a no cure, no pay basis.

Only if AirHelp successfully claims compensation from the airline on your behalf will they retain a portion of the money.

You therefore face zero risks!

Reasons to use AirHelp

There are many more reasons why people use claim agencies such as AirHelp to chase compensation.

The EC/261 regulation and applicable case law contain many caveats that determine whether your flight qualifies for compensation.

Not everyone has the legal knowledge or first-hand experience needed to navigate these rules.

Secondly, not everyone has the time to go through the lengthy process of emailing back and forth with the airline and filing a claim.

Moreover, some airlines are notorious for ignoring claims and delay compensation requests, doing everything they can to stall the process.

Some even unjustly deny valid claims in the hope that passengers will simply give up.

This is where claim agencies such as AirHelp really come into their own.

They have the legal knowledge and expertise to pursue delay compensation claims.

Sadly, while some airlines may ignore claims from passengers, they are far less likely to do so when claim agencies like AirHelp are involved.

Even when an airline still refuses to pay, AirHelp will pursue your claim through the European courts if necessary.

Again, all of this comes at no financial risk to you.

You pay nothing out of pocket, as AirHelp only takes a share of the compensation if they successfully claim it for you.

If AirHelp does not manage to claim your money, you do not lose anything.

AirHelp takes on all risks when pursuing your compensation claim, whether through normal channels or legal action.

Conclusion

Even though the United States has no laws requiring airlines to pay cash compensation for delays, American air travelers can often still claim compensation when airlines delay their flights.

Many other countries around the world do have flight delay regulations.

These foreign regulations can sometimes also apply to international flights to and from the US.

They can even apply to American carriers operating these flights!

The best examples are flights to and from Canada and Europe, where Canada’s Air Passenger Protection Regulations and Europe’s EC/261 regulation apply, respectively.

A delayed transatlantic flight itinerary on your vacation to Europe could earn you nearly $700 in delay compensation!

If you lack the time or knowledge to handle compensation claims, claim agencies can manage the process for you.

AirHelp is one such claim agency that can take on your flight delay claim on a no-win, no-fee basis.