02 July 2008

Millions go unclaimed by airline passengers

A company that specialises in helping airline passengers get compensation says 1000 people are entitled to Ã£430 every day in the UK.

Dutch company EUclaim gathers and analyses flight data and uses the information to prove the cases of travellers who have suffered delays or cancellations and want compensation from the airlines.

It has based the figures on an average UK flight cancellation rate of 1.2% and concludes that Ã£115m is going unclaimed. The company says few people know about the EC regulation 261/2004 introduced in 2005 which gives air passengers rights to compensation and help if boarding is denied, flights cancelled, delays suffered or downgrades made.

EU law states that airlines donÃ¢â¬â¢t have to pay out if flights are cancelled at the last minute due to extraordinary circumstances such as technical problems but EUclaim says carriers use this law to their advantage.

Said EUclaim chief executive officer Hendrik Noorderhaven: Ã¢â¬ÅâœIt is virtually impossible for passengers to object to airline statements about technical circumstances. As a result the airlines have been able to effectively hide behind the claim of extraordinary circumstance - until now."

The company says it monitors every aircraft of every airline 24/7 and uses this flight intelligence to successfully prove that airlines have delayed or cancelled flights for economic reasons rather than technical ones.

By Dinah Hatch

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Your Comments (7)

Path of least resistance

I am in no way, shape or form affiliated with EUClaim, but it is in my mind no secret why they believe they have a winner here. In this day and age arguably our most precious resource is time. I would personally much rather have a well-informed 3rd party do my battles for me and, at the time of writing this comment, 4300 passengers (clients of EUClaim) say I'm right on the money. Other than being ingorant of this regulation (as indeed I was until reading this article!), the only reason I can imagine £115m has gone unclaimed is because people aren't willing to put in the effort. So, I say good hunting to EUClaim.

By Chris Wernich, Friday, July 4, 2008
One additional comment

In the article EUClaim is quoted as saying 'It is virtually impossible for passengers to object to airline statements about technical circumstances." I beg to differ, just go to the Commission's web-site at http://ec.europa.eu/transport/air_portal/passenger_rights/information_en.htm and click on EU Complaint Form for air passengers - you've got a choice of 22 languages.

By Tom Bowlie, Friday, July 4, 2008
Interesting Analogy

Interesting Analogy Chris. May I take it just a little further? I don't see EUClaim's role as the traffic cop, I see them as the ambulance chaser. The traffic cops are the National Enforcement Bodies (NEBs) - (the AUC in the UK) and the courts. The ECJ has had a number of lower court decisions on claims that the airlines are using the extra-ordinary circumstance defense as a 'loophole' to their advantage. i.e. refusing to pay compensation for flight cancellations that are outside of their control. In each case the ECJ has agreed with the airline commenting that the paramount concern is safe operations. As I mentioned the Regulation does not provide for 'Compensation' of £430 for passengers whose flights are delayed as EUClaim seems to think. Why is EUClaim saying it is? While I can only speculate, as I'm not privy to their Business Plan, I suspect they are hoping to receive pay-outs which will cover their costs and give them a nice tidy profit. However that cost will ultimately come from my pocket! My advice to any passenger who believes that the airline is not following the regulation is for them to contact their NEB. They can find them here: http://ec.europa.eu/transport/air_portal/passenger_rights/information_en.htm Each NEB can advise the passenger of their rights, and their options in their native language. No need to cut a share of the Compensation for advice from a third party when you can get it free! The AUC (The UK's NEB) has an excellent guide on their web-site here: http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=306&pagetype=68&gid=355 (If you go to their FAQ, you will see they agree with me that Compensation is not applicable in cases of delay)

By Tom Bowlie, Friday, July 4, 2008
Law of the land

Let's consider the bigger picture for a moment: EUClaim is in accordance with this regulation enforcing the law and, in so doing, providing a service to the public by helping to improve airlines services. That is after all the undisputed purpose of this regulation. Applying the very same rationale, a traffic officer issuing a parking ticket for an illegally parked vehicle is also providing a public service by helping to improve the flow of traffic. Are the folks in uniform therefore 'parasites' too? Don't get me wrong, I hate paying that little fine as much as the next guy, but I do it anyway because I accept responsiblity - and so should the airlines. And one can hardly consider such a penalty a hand dealt in misfortune...

By Chris Wernich, Thursday, July 3, 2008
No "Compensation" for delays

Chris, I don't want to be argumentative but the Regulation does not provide for compensation in case of delays. Compensation is payable in cases of cancellations, under certain circumstances, and denied boarding under almost all circumstances. The regulation also has rules in respect of 'downgrading' and provides for the level of "refund" You are correct that the Regulation applies to long delays, in that it sets out what 'care' (meals, refreshments, hotel, etc.) the passengers are entitled to. Nowhere does it say that a passenger is entitled to monetary compensation. IMO groups like EUClaim are parasites, feeding off the misfortunes of others.

By Tom Bowlie, Thursday, July 3, 2008
Airlines are accountable

Regulation 261/2004 does in fact apply to and is not limited to delays, in some cases. Cancellations, boarding denial due to overbooking as well as class demotion are all cause for potential compensation. I believe EUClaim has in fact a pretty good business model. Having said that, I don't think placing more pressure on an already highly stressed industry is in everyone's best interest.

By Chris Wernich, Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Do they know the Regulation?

The article says "Dutch company EUclaim gathers and analyses flight data and uses the information to prove the cases of travellers who have suffered delays or cancellations and want compensation from the airlines." If EUClaim had actually read the regulation they would learn that 'compensation' does not apply to delays, regardless of the length of the delay. Also is this really smart? Do we want these 'middle-men' to be collecting a fee, which could encourage the unsafe operation by cash-hungry airlines? The regulation, as written, correctly does not compromise safety. This greenmail could very well have the opposite effect.

By Tom Bowlie, Wednesday, July 2, 2008