Air travellers told to stand up to airlines over delay compensation
British passengers are being encouraged to seek compensation for airline delays by a so-called ‘passenger rights specialist’.
The start-up company, called refund.me, accused airlines of deliberately making it difficult for passengers to make claims by ‘creating obstacles’ and ‘making the process as difficult and bureaucratic as possible’.
It said airlines often hide behind a variety of ambiguous excuses to avoid paying out affected passengers, among them severe weather conditions and unspecified technical issues.
But it told passengers that the recent Jet2.com v Hazar case should give passengers cause for optimism.
"The recent ruling of the courts is a positive step that should encourage more passengers to stand up to airlines and assert their rights," said Eve Buechner, founder and CEO.
"Nevertheless, on the whole awareness remains relatively low, something that airlines take full advantage of to avoid paying out. We want to change that."
The company, which was set up in August 2012 and claims to be backed by a pan-European network of legal experts, is processing claims from over 110 countries and against more than 250 airlines.
It said British passengers suffer some of the highest flight delay rates in Europe and could claim up to £185 million in compensation from airlines each year.
One out of four UK passengers suffers at least one flight delay every year, it claimed.
But French travellers are even more likely to experience delays, with one in every three flights leaving a major French airport affected by delays of at least 15 minutes.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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