Are you affected by a delay caused on a flight served by Southwest Airlines? How can this damage be repaired?
Few people know this, but a European regulation (n ° 261/2004) gives the right to compensation in the event of a flight that is canceled, unduly delayed or even overbooked, when a company sells more tickets than seats on an airplane.
Who can benefit? To be eligible, it is imperative to fly from an airport of the European Union, whatever the nationality of the company. A return from a foreign country outside of Europe will have to be done on a plane of a European company (this is not the case for Southwest Airlines).
To obtain compensation, in which case?
A traveler can benefit from this in the event of a delay of more than three hours on arrival, in the event of cancellation less than fifteen days before departure, but also in the event of refusal to embark due to overbooking the cabin, ”continues Romain Drosne.
How much can we expect? In addition to the reimbursement of the ticket, compensation can reach pretty sums: € 250 if the journey is less than 1,500 km, € 400 from 1,500 to 3,500 km and € 600 beyond.
What if the company goes bankrupt? The situation is more complicated, as in the case of the bankruptcy, in early October, of the British company Monarch. It is almost impossible to get anything when the purchase of the ticket was made directly from the company. Each passenger becomes a creditor but is far from being a priority. If the flight is part of a stay (with accommodation and meals for example), the reimbursement procedure is compulsory but must be provided by the travel agency which provided the service.
– How do we really get this compensation?
First of all, it should be noted that only 5 to 10% of passengers who are entitled to compensation will take steps to obtain it. In question: the bad faith of the companies, their phony excuses, the cost of a procedure, etc. But to remedy this, clever little ones have created platforms on the internet which offer travelers, for a commission paid only in the event of success, to represent them to carry out the procedures for them with the airline concerned.
These are companies which offer passengers to take charge of the reimbursement procedure, against remuneration. We must also pay attention to code share, this system that allows companies to sell tickets while stealing customers from one another. We must therefore ensure, even if we buy a ticket from Southwest Airlines, that it is she who operates the flight and that she does not delegate it to Delta, for example for round trips to the United States.
A file is filled in online, explaining the problem encountered, to which the supporting documents requested, including airline tickets, must be attached.
– Where to find these platforms and what is the amount of the commission received?
The platforms are managed by lawyers who can be contacted through electronic forms (such as the one offered on this site).
As for commissions, they are deducted directly from the amount of compensation (25% inclusive of tax).