I recently had a long-haul flight from ZRH cancelled at the last minute and went through the process of claiming my compensation from the airline. Let’s share some of the knowledge I picked up along the way:
Firstly, yes, the EU Air Passenger Rights (EC 261/2004) do apply to flights departing from Switzerland. It actually applies to EU countries + EFTA, but flights from third countries to these participating countries are only covered if the airline’s main place of business is in one of the participating countries.
Don’t use any of those websites that help you claim your rights which are popping up in a simple Google search. If you dig into their terms and conditions, they will (obviously) take a big chunk of your compensation (e.g. 35%). Not really minimalist.
Instead, contact the airline directly. They won’t necessarily make it easy for you, you may have to contact them with a general request to their customer services (i.e., no dedicated forms).
If the airline doesn’t want to pay the compensation you think you are entitled to, don’t use the services mentioned above thinking they will do a better job of defending you. The correct escalation procedure is to refer your case to the FOCA (or equivalent in an other participating country).
Hope it can help some of you in the future by being aware of your rights and the procedures.
If you have time then this DIY will be cheaper, but many will just give up (or don’t even try) and don’t get any compensation.
From that perspective I kind for respect the business model of these websites that streamline the refund, as in the end you walk out with more money (65%) than if you would have given up with the DIY (0%).
Yes, they do actually sometime go to court for you (which most people wouldn’t bother once their claim is rejected).
I heard of someone who went to small claims court (without lawyers, it’s meant to be lightweight) in Switzerland against Swiss for something like that, Swiss didn’t even show up iirc and they won. (But obviously it’s only suitable for people who actually enjoy doing that kind of stuff )
Thanks a lot for providing this. Funny enough I have just today completed the process to claim via one of these online services (Reviews For Bott and Co Flight Delay Compensation Service). I did it after my first 3 e-mails to the airline (Air Europa) was unsuccessful. My rational for using this service was also that either I’m not getting anything back (for a delay of 7h) or I try it via this service.
It’s the first time that it happens to me flying from the EU, and I thought that as they laws are very prominently pointed out at every airport the claiming process would be very straight forward let’s see how it ends
I did it as well last year with Swiss that cancel my flight to an european city (250km range) at midnight from a departure next morning at 7am.
They offer me a food voucher and an alternative flight that land me in my destination 4 hours later. A waste for a long weekend.
You need to first contact the airline in the first 2 months. You can do it online and spend less than 1 hour to submit it. I was surprised that they rejected my claim arguing the destination airport did not accept to land our flight. I knew it was a false excuse as my friends landed there at the same time with other companies. I’ve tried to argue by email but no possibility to get a constructive exchange.
I then had to fill this horrendous european pdf that took me less than 1 hour.
I had no news by email since but was surprised to receive the 235 chf refund 2 month later without other communication.
Happy with the result but I was disappointed with Swiss behaviour.
I made claims in the past years 3 times. Swiss, easyjet and British Airways. Process was always pretty straight forward. 2 times there was night accommodation included.
Last time it was at least financially interesting: Short haul flight, 4h delay —> 250.- per passenger. Surprisingly this included also our toddler, which did not have a own seat (that means we only paid fees/taxes for her)
It should actually be more as the flight was to South America and it was for a family of 4. Will keep you posted. What is really driving me crazy is that you have to take all these steps and spend several hours in figuring out send emails, etc. for a law that is pretty straight forward.
It seems that this is something a consumer watchdog should address. Like forbidding supermarkets from raising prices only to lower them back again the next week and calling it a discount. Or the rule they introduced that it should be easy to cancel stuff online rather than having to click a thousand buttons. Beyond me that airlines not only do not need to provide forms to make these claims, but can actively try and stop you and make you have to escalate.
Some airlines are really stubborn, like Ibearia and Aegen. I can’t be bothered anymore to talk to them. Now I’m going straight to AirHelp. Yes, they’ll take a cut, but I’m willing to forgo that for some justice and convenience
It’s a very straight forward process, but it doens’t help if the airline uses trickery (tarmac delays).
Ok, after reading your experience I should relax my statement about these services.
The airline might be cooperative though, so I would still recommend contacting them directly first, especially for the large payouts. In my case it was with Cathay Pacific (so not an EU airline), and I haven’t met any resistance.
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let’s see how it ends