Originally Posted by
irishguy28
That compensation is for delayed arrival - which may be due to a cancellation of course, but not necessarily - the compensation is never just for "cancellation".
You can have a flight cancelled, be rebooked on another carrier, arrive within 3 hours of your original arrival time, and not be due compensation.
Or you can have a flight cancelled, ask for a refund, and that's the end of it! To be due for delayed arrival compensation, you must NOT accept a refund and must NOT rebook yourself, but travel on the airline's re-issued ticket.
Not to break your theory, but I'd rather rely on what is written in the EC261 - you're somewhat forgetting the paragraphs about 50% reduction of compensation in case the flight is cancelled, but the passenger is transported to their final destination with arrival time not exceeding the originally scheduled time by 2 / 3 / 4 hours.