KLM Delayed Flight Compensation
 

KLM ATL-AMS on 12.26.2023 delayed 3+hours. Requested and approved compensation. KLM offered €500 voucher (do not think I can cash it in). Yet KLM website states compensation for 3+ hour delayed flight to Europe, non refundable ticket is €800. Which amount is correct? Can it be cashed in. If not can I use voucher directly on Delta or does ticket have to be purchased in KLM site?

If your delay is under 4 hours, the airline can lower the compensation by 50%. I assume your post contains a typo since the compensation for this flight is 600 EUR, not 800.

The airline can offer vouchers in a higher value than cash payments; this is what I suspect happens here:

> you have a delay of 3+ hours, which by precedent is equivalent to cancellation
> however the delay is less than 4 hours, which triggers the cause allowing the airline to lower compensation by 50% (for this type of flight)
> you are therefore entitled to 300 EUR pp
> airline offers you 500 EUR pp in vouchers as an alternative

Yes, this is what I thought, yet is is directly from the KLM website which states €800 compensation for 3 + hours delay of a non refundable ticket:
”Voucher types

If you’re entitled to compensation, you’ll get a travel voucher (also called an EMD voucher.) The amount of compensation depends on the type of voucher.

Check what applies to your trip:

• Was your original flight 1.500 km or less? You receive voucher type A with a value of EUR 350 (non-refundable) or EUR 250 (refundable.)
• Was your original flight within the EU and more than 1.500 km, or outside the EU and between 1.500 and 3.500 km? You receive voucher type B with a value of EUR 500 (non-refundable) or EUR 400 (refundable.)
  • Was your original flight outside the EU and more than 3.500 km? You receive voucher type C with a value of EUR 800 (non-refundable) or EUR 600 (refundable.)

Your voucher will be either non-refundable or refundable; this will be indicated on the travel voucher you receive.

You can use a non-refundable travel voucher to purchase a new flight or extra options. You can also spend your refundable travel voucher on a new flight or extra options, or exchange it for cash. If you choose to use it for a new flight or extra options, the higher value of a non-refundable voucher applies. ”

KLM offers higher compensation than EU 261 stipulates if you agree to take it as a (non-refundable) voucher rather than cash.

I always take the voucher option as I spend more than enough on AFKL flights anyway that the extra value is easily used, but if you're not an AFKL frequent flyer the cash option may be worth more to you. AFKL vouchers must be used with AFKL.

Ah, 800 EUR in case of a voucher. I see.

in your case then it looks as if KLM CS mislabeled the flight as <3500km.

now, you can let CS know that your flight is more than 3500km, however bear in mind that if your delay in less than 4 hours, that means you'll only get 50% of the larger amount, ending up with less.

Hi all, apologies if this is the wrong thread - my parents flight sept 5 Oslo-ams on klm 1200 was delayed causing them to miss their connection to yvr. They were rebooked via yyz and arrived 8.5 hours after original flight. I believe they are due compensation but klm has denied the request since they said it was due to air traffic control. However, I think my parents were told something else on the plane (maintenance) - is there any way to check the real reason for the delay? Thank you very much

You can ask KLM to send you proof but on 5 September AMS was a mess as they only used one runway for landing instead of the normal two. Lots of delayed flights during the morning so my guess would be that your oarents' OSL flight was also affected.

Non-EU to non-EU
 

Return leg of my trip: SIN-AMS-LAX
SIN-AMS is delayed (rolling) due to issue with their navigational system. They manage to fix it, but we departed three hours late, causing me to miss my onward connection to LAX. Unfortunately, they only have one daily flight until the summer schedule kicks in. Since it’s non-EU to non-EU, I don’t think I’m eligible for EU 261. But, I had to spend the night in Amsterdam. Do you think they’d reimburse me for expenses incurred due to the forced overnight?

For sure. Compensation (for wasted time) is separate from duty of care.

Are you currently on the delayed KL836 or was it the one on 17 March? If it is today's flight, although you will miss the nonstop KL601, KLM should still easily be able to get you to LAX through an alternative combination of flights. I would proactively search for a solution. They may offer you a connection through MSP/DTW/ATL but I would look for an AMS CDG LAX option, so your first entry into the US is immediately your final destination.

I was on the 03/17 flight. Problem is it was originally booked with KL, but I applied my DL GUC to the itinerary, which allowed DL to take control of the ticket. When the rolling delays were announced, the KL gate agent in SIN refused to help rebook anyone. She said they don’t have the power to rebook; it had to be done once we arrived in AMS (also because it was unclear when we would depart SIN and arrive in AMS due to the rolling delays, so it would be futile to rebook on a flight I may also miss). That didn’t stop DL DM line when I contacted them. I wanted to be rerouted through CDG but they estimated that we wouldn’t make it to AMS in time for the CDG flight so they protected me on a 3pm from AMS-DTW getting me to LAX 10 hours behind schedule (though at least I wouldn’t have had to overnight anywhere). But, they told me KL/airport has control of the ticket since I’m checked in on day of departure so they couldn’t reissue. I told them gate agents weren’t helping so I called KL reservations and they said they don’t have access to DL flights but could put me on KL601 the following day. There were only two seats left in J at that point so I said okay fine. As I understood it, I would board the delayed KL836 flight to AMS on 03/17 and have to overnight in AMS (unless they somehow manage to reissue the ticket with the segments DL put in) and take KL601 on 03/18. Buttttttt… the KL reservations agent either misunderstood (or maybe it was me) and moved both KL836 (SIN-AMS) and KL601 (AMS-LAX) to 03/18. Right as she reissued the tickets, boarding for KL836 started. So, there was no way reservations could put me back on KL836 leaving that evening (03/17). The gate agent initially said there was nothing they could do on their end since the ticket had already been exchanged and boarding had already started, but she said she’d try a few things; and after lots of clicking, she somehow managed to move me back to that evenings very delayed flight to AMS. I was almost sure I was going to be the sole passenger denied boarding on KL836 that night (for being too proactive, I suppose). So by the time I got on the plane I was so exhausted from the stress I passed out. Had I been conscious and of my wits, I would’ve noticed KL605 to SFO was delayed enough to the point where I might have been able to make the connection. Other options would’ve been AUS and YVR (assuming, as I was told, KL could only put me on their own metal; and that once I arrived in North America DL could take it from there). I thought, because DL and KL are close JV partners, moving us between flights during IRROPs would be nbd. Is it much more complicated than that?

Update: KLM will not provide a reason for the delay of my flight. The only explanation given online is "due to the late arrival of the aircraft." I'm assuming they mean the inbound flight was delayed, causing your flight to be delayed, but it also reads like "your flight was delayed because it did not arrive on time." Is there any way to find/prove the real reason reason other than recording the pilot announcement (if one had the foresight to do so)?

Late arrival of the aircraft is the reason.

Of course the question is, why did the aircraft arrive late.

I don't believe that matters for compensation; the inbound aircraft was late, this is (usually) under the control of the airline, therefore compensation is due.