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Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Minneapolis: DL DM charter 2.3MM
Programs: A3*Gold, SPG Plat, HyattDiamond, MarriottPP, LHW exAccess, ICI, Raffles Amb, NW PE MM, TWA Gold MM
Posts: 102,617
An airline cannot avoid liability for EC261 compensation by renumbering the flight at the last minute, although schedule changes and cancellations in advance come under different rules with a two week threshold.
Assuming that the flight was AF operated and AF marketed, you would request compensation through AF, not DL. Check the AF forum for experiences with EC261 claims. IIRC you might not get anything if the delay is under four hours.