Japan Airlines plane arrives late: Can we still get a repair?
A European regulation stipulates that in the event of a flight delay, the carrier must offer its passengers sufficient food and drink free of charge according to the expected waiting time, accommodation in a hotel and transfers when the delay continues overnight as well as two phone calls (or fax or email).
Plane that is five hours late: In addition to the compensation, what should the Japanese operator offer you?
If the delay exceeds five hours, the company is obliged to offer each passenger the continuation of the journey or the reimbursement of the ticket. The regulations do not provide for lump sum compensation as in the case of flight cancellation. But the Court of Justice of the European Union has decided that for delays of at least three hours, the passenger has the right to claim compensation – as in the case of cancellation – unless the delay is due to extraordinary circumstances .
The European Court of Justice obliges airlines, including Japan Airlines, to compensate their passengers for delays of more than three hours, except in exceptional circumstances over which they have no control. The ECJ confirms the Sturgeon judgment which equates passengers on flights delayed more than three hours with those on canceled flights, and therefore entitles them to lump sum compensation of between 250 and 600 euros. The judgment on appeal confirms that passengers of European Union companies “having reached their final destination three hours or more after the scheduled arrival” can claim compensation, on flights served by an operator who is not part of one of the 27 EU countries like Japan Airlines provided that the delay is recorded on a scheduled flight from a European destination.
Air carriers may waive compensation for their customers are able to prove that the significant delay is due to extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken, namely circumstances beyond the control of the control of their workforce.
The European court specifies in another judgment that the airlines must compensate passengers who have been denied boarding in the event of a strike or during missed connections, when the passenger is not at fault, in particular in situations of overbooking or those linked to other reasons, notably operational.
inally the Court considers that there is no reason to limit in time the effects of this judgment, responding to companies for which Union law cannot be invoked to found claims for compensation relating to flights which were subject to delays before the date of delivery of this judgment, except in respect of passengers who have already brought legal action for compensation on the date of this judgment.