Getting Delayed by Air China: How Can It Make You Money?
Travelers’ rights are protected by the European Union in the event of flight cancellation or delay, denied boarding (overbooking) and even downgrading.
You can recover between 250 and 600 euros, or even more in travel vouchers with certain companies.
Problem: most travelers fail to claim their allowances. Millions of people bite their beaks thinking about what they could have asked for.
We tell you everything about your rights and what to do.
Are you ready to go and everything is not going as planned? European Regulation 261/2004 establishes common rules for compensation and assistance to passengers.
Compensation of air passengers: how does it work?
To be entitled to compensation, there are three conditions to check:
– Eligibility of the carrier,
– The absence of exceptional circumstances,
– Finally, the moment when you are informed.
If you are leaving or arriving in Europe, there is a good chance that you are entitled to compensation since European regulations concern flights:
– From the European Union, Iceland, Norway (or Switzerland) regardless of the airport of arrival and whatever the nationality of the carrier;
– To the European Union, Iceland, Norway (or Switzerland) regardless of the departure airport, as long as the carrier is European. Namely, it is the carrier who operates the flight that counts, so if it is American for example, it will not work.
It is important to know that in the event of a connection, if the second ticket was purchased separately with another company and you miss the flight due to the delay of the first plane, you will not be reimbursed, unless the ticket is exchangeable and refundable.
Cases where it is impossible to obtain compensation
– Carriers are not considered responsible in exceptional circumstances:
• Civil war and security problems,
• Natural disasters,
• Weather conditions (including if the airport is unable to thaw the plane in time),
• Air traffic control restrictions,
• Strike by airport or air traffic control personnel,
• Medical emergency on board,
• Strike by on-board staff not declared.
Note that a technical problem is not considered an exceptional circumstance. And if the flight is canceled, but much more in advance:
• You are informed of the flight cancellation at least two weeks before the scheduled departure time,
• You are informed between two weeks and 7 days before the scheduled departure time and provided that by leaving no more than 2 hours earlier you do not arrive more than 4 hours after the arrival time originally planned,
• You are informed less than 7 days before the scheduled departure time and by leaving a maximum of 1 hour earlier you do not arrive more than 2 hours after the originally scheduled arrival time.
Important: a ticket acquired with the loyalty program of your Air China airline entitles you to compensation, even if you have not paid for it. It goes without saying that this does not work for tickets issued free of charge or at a reduced price not accessible to the public.
Obtain success if his flight is canceled
– The regulations provide for the following benefits, which can be combined:
• The right to reimbursement of the ticket within seven days, or a return flight to your initial point of departure or a re-routing to your final destination.
• The right to be taken care of: refreshments and the possibility of dining, hotel accommodation, transport from the airport to the accommodation, the possibility of making two free telephone calls or ‘Send two telexes, two faxes or two e-mails for free! The last point is not a joke, it is in the text.
– The right to compensation, the amount of which is fixed at:
• 250 euros for all flights of 1500 km or less,
• 400 euros for all intra-EU flights over 1500 km and for all other flights from 1500 to 3500 km;
• 600 euros for all flights that do not fall under the previous points.
– It is always possible to obtain compensation in case your plane takes off late:
When the delay is at least 2 hours, I advise you to go to the counter of the carrier. You are entitled to a drink or a snack. Note that the carrier is required to present a brochure informing you of your rights.
Have you been waiting more than 5 hours? You can request cancellation of your Air China flight and full refund of your ticket. If you have already traveled a first route for a flight with a stopover, the re-routing to your departure point must be covered by the carrier.
If you plan to depart the next day, you are entitled to a nearby hotel room with transportation between the hotel and the airport, round trip.
In the event that you end up leaving and as soon as the actual arrival at your destination is delayed by at least 3 hours, the calculation of the compensation is a complex feather but everything is clear with my table below:
Receive compensation from the Chinese company without moving from your sofa?
It’s not magic, it’s the service of law firms that you can reach them by filling out our form.