Originally Posted by eshroom

While the obligation to provide alternative transport or a refund as per passenger preference is clear, the consequences are not.

Luckily I have always managed to have my rights under EU261 applied (even with some airlines e.g. LH/TP being much slower than others e.g. A3/BA. I have never needed to use a lawyer.

All that said, it is worth setting alerts and working out if alternatives work as per my post, unless you are truly litigious and enjoy the thrill (and potential expense) of a fight, because award tickets are the toughest to hold airlines accountable on.