Jul 18, 2019, 5:20 pm
Last edit by: Prospero
Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 February 2004 establishes common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delay of flights, and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 295/91.
Best FT thread for referencing EC261/2004: The 2019 BA compensation thread: Your guide to Regulation EC261/2004
Note update - 2016 June 10
EU clarification on EC261/2004
http://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes...16)3502_en.pdf
Where and how to address for EC 261 claims:
Link to article on Wikipedia: "The Flight Delay Compensation Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 is a regulation establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding, flight cancellations, or long delays of flights. It repealed Regulation (EEC) No 295/91, and went into effect on 18 February 2005. It sets out the entitlements of air passengers when a flight that they intend to travel on is delayed or cancelled, or when they are denied boarding to such a flight due to overbooking, or when the airline is unable to accommodate them in the class they had booked." It applies to Member States and includes French overseas territories.
Heretofore, the ruling only applied to flights leaving Europe on all airlines, or flights from anywhere to Europe, on European airlines. Most recently (July 2019), a new European Court of Justice ruling commands that even flights which connect to non-EU airlines, but were booked as one ticket from the EU must be compensated. (link to article on godsavethepoints.com)
Link to EC 261/2004 text in several languages.
Link to language (English) Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) of EC 261/2004
Link to description by Air Passenger Rights a "multilingual consumer website explaining the rights of air passengers in the European Union."
Link to contact details of EC 261/2004 enforcement bodies
Link to English language EC 261/2004 compliaint form PDF
Email for EC claims at (to determine)
Link to BAEC Forum lengthy EC261/2004 thread.
Link to thisismoney.co.uk article explaining EC261/2004.
Emirates told to pay out on missed connection claims, by Mark Caswell, Business Traveller, 19 Mar 2018
“Despite all this, expect airlines to give you a hard time with your claim. File a claim on your own, but if you find yourself stonewalled or denied unfairly, enlisting a firm like AirHelp or Bott & Co can be huge, since they fight the case for you, in exchange for a 25% cut of the recovered cash. A 75% chunk of something is better than 100% of nothing.” (godsavethepoints.com)
Signed in members with 90 days / 90 posts can edit this Wikipost; wiki contents may be printed by using the
(lower right wiki corner)
Best FT thread for referencing EC261/2004: The 2019 BA compensation thread: Your guide to Regulation EC261/2004
Note update - 2016 June 10
EU clarification on EC261/2004
http://ec.europa.eu/transport/themes...16)3502_en.pdf
Where and how to address for EC 261 claims:
EC261/2004 claims should be lodged with the operating airline.
Go to the complaints page, select "Submit a complaint", and select "Delay" in the drop-down box.
Keep the comments to the bare minimum - stick to the facts, and best to use bullet points. Keep all commentary about anything other than the bald facts of the case out of the submission ("We were very upset and disappointed..." etc etc) and make no reference to any of the topics already explained to you in this thread to be of no relevance to the airline or to this claim ("We lost the first pre-paid night of our vacation as we had a non-refundable hotel booking" etc etc)
Attach scans/photographs of your boarding passes - the original boarding passes showing the original departure details, and the replacement boarding passes showing the later actual departure details - and include the original e-ticket receipt and any communications/emails/texts from the airline notifying you of the delay.
I would also advise you specifically write that you want the €600 per passenger in cash (transferred to your bank account) rather than a voucher to be used with TAP within 12 months of 50% greater value...unless this truly is your wish. I've explained above why it is generally a bad idea to accept a voucher in lieu of cash.
Go to the complaints page, select "Submit a complaint", and select "Delay" in the drop-down box.
Keep the comments to the bare minimum - stick to the facts, and best to use bullet points. Keep all commentary about anything other than the bald facts of the case out of the submission ("We were very upset and disappointed..." etc etc) and make no reference to any of the topics already explained to you in this thread to be of no relevance to the airline or to this claim ("We lost the first pre-paid night of our vacation as we had a non-refundable hotel booking" etc etc)
Attach scans/photographs of your boarding passes - the original boarding passes showing the original departure details, and the replacement boarding passes showing the later actual departure details - and include the original e-ticket receipt and any communications/emails/texts from the airline notifying you of the delay.
I would also advise you specifically write that you want the €600 per passenger in cash (transferred to your bank account) rather than a voucher to be used with TAP within 12 months of 50% greater value...unless this truly is your wish. I've explained above why it is generally a bad idea to accept a voucher in lieu of cash.
Code:
The regulation applies to any passenger: - departing from an airport located in the territory of a Member State to which the Treaty applies;
Code:
The protection accorded to passengers departing from or to an airport located in a Member State should be extended to those leaving an airport located in a third country for one situated in a Member State, when a Community carrier operates the flight and where a community carrier is defined as any carrier licensed to operate within that community.
Code:
- departing from an EU member state, or travelling to an EU member state - on an airline based in an EU member state if that person has: - a confirmed reservation on the flight, and - arrived in time for check-in as indicated on the ticket or communication from the airline airline, or, if no time is so indicated, no less than 45 minutes prior to the scheduled departure time of the flight or - have been transferred from the flight for which he/she held a reservation to some other flight unless - the passenger is travelling on a free or discounted ticket not available to the general public, other than a ticket obtained from a frequent flyer programme. It does not apply to helicopter flights, to any flight not operated by a fixed-wing aircraft, nor to flights from Gibraltar Airport.[1] (wikipedia)
Heretofore, the ruling only applied to flights leaving Europe on all airlines, or flights from anywhere to Europe, on European airlines. Most recently (July 2019), a new European Court of Justice ruling commands that even flights which connect to non-EU airlines, but were booked as one ticket from the EU must be compensated. (link to article on godsavethepoints.com)
Link to EC 261/2004 text in several languages.
Link to language (English) Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) of EC 261/2004
Link to description by Air Passenger Rights a "multilingual consumer website explaining the rights of air passengers in the European Union."
Link to contact details of EC 261/2004 enforcement bodies
Link to English language EC 261/2004 compliaint form PDF
Email for EC claims at (to determine)
Link to BAEC Forum lengthy EC261/2004 thread.
Link to thisismoney.co.uk article explaining EC261/2004.
Emirates told to pay out on missed connection claims, by Mark Caswell, Business Traveller, 19 Mar 2018
“Despite all this, expect airlines to give you a hard time with your claim. File a claim on your own, but if you find yourself stonewalled or denied unfairly, enlisting a firm like AirHelp or Bott & Co can be huge, since they fight the case for you, in exchange for a 25% cut of the recovered cash. A 75% chunk of something is better than 100% of nothing.” (godsavethepoints.com)
Signed in members with 90 days / 90 posts can edit this Wikipost; wiki contents may be printed by using the
(lower right wiki corner)
GUIDE: EC261 / EC 261/2004 “EU” complaints, compensation and TAP
Dec 11, 2018, 6:52 pm
#46
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: SYD
Programs: UA Premier Gold (*G), IHG Platinum & Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 1,456
Dec 12, 2018, 10:07 am
#47
Join Date: Aug 2008
Programs: UA MP, Delta Sky Miles, AA Advantage
Posts: 163
My firend was flying LED-MUC-LIS with Lufthansa (first leg) and TAP. The second flight has been delayed. It arrived to LIS 4,5 hours later than scheduled. He filed the complaint with TAP and after over SIX months received the following response:
Hello,
Thank you for contacting TAP Air Portugal. Your comments will allow us to improve customer experience with our company.
We apologize for the delay of flight TP 557 from Munich to Lisbon on the 9th June, 2018. The delay was due to Air Traffic Flow Management. All the reasonable measures have been taken in order to minimize the consequences of a situation, which is completely unrelated to TAP Air Portugal. In the terms of the EU Regulation 261/2004, there is no compensation in case of extraordinary circumstance, as verified in this situation.
We look forward to welcoming you on board soon.
Yours sincerely,
Fale connosco
Somehow I do not believe that delay caused by the Air Traffic Flow Management (even if this explanation is true) constitutes "extraordinary circumstances".
What should be his next step(s)?
Hello,
Thank you for contacting TAP Air Portugal. Your comments will allow us to improve customer experience with our company.
We apologize for the delay of flight TP 557 from Munich to Lisbon on the 9th June, 2018. The delay was due to Air Traffic Flow Management. All the reasonable measures have been taken in order to minimize the consequences of a situation, which is completely unrelated to TAP Air Portugal. In the terms of the EU Regulation 261/2004, there is no compensation in case of extraordinary circumstance, as verified in this situation.
We look forward to welcoming you on board soon.
Yours sincerely,
Fale connosco
Somehow I do not believe that delay caused by the Air Traffic Flow Management (even if this explanation is true) constitutes "extraordinary circumstances".
What should be his next step(s)?
Dec 17, 2018, 12:34 pm
#48
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: HAG
Programs: Der 5* FTL
Posts: 8,063
Yes, they are. Especially in busy summer months, some flight routes just get overwhelmed and ATC systems start selectively delaying flights. Nothing the airline can do about it. Extraordinary circumstance beyond reasonable control almost per definition.
Dec 17, 2018, 1:16 pm
#49
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
My firend was flying LED-MUC-LIS with Lufthansa (first leg) and TAP. The second flight has been delayed. It arrived to LIS 4,5 hours later than scheduled. He filed the complaint with TAP and after over SIX months received the following response:
Hello,
Thank you for contacting TAP Air Portugal. Your comments will allow us to improve customer experience with our company.
We apologize for the delay of flight TP 557 from Munich to Lisbon on the 9th June, 2018. The delay was due to Air Traffic Flow Management. All the reasonable measures have been taken in order to minimize the consequences of a situation, which is completely unrelated to TAP Air Portugal. In the terms of the EU Regulation 261/2004, there is no compensation in case of extraordinary circumstance, as verified in this situation.
We look forward to welcoming you on board soon.
Yours sincerely,
Fale connosco
Somehow I do not believe that delay caused by the Air Traffic Flow Management (even if this explanation is true) constitutes "extraordinary circumstances".
What should be his next step(s)?
Hello,
Thank you for contacting TAP Air Portugal. Your comments will allow us to improve customer experience with our company.
We apologize for the delay of flight TP 557 from Munich to Lisbon on the 9th June, 2018. The delay was due to Air Traffic Flow Management. All the reasonable measures have been taken in order to minimize the consequences of a situation, which is completely unrelated to TAP Air Portugal. In the terms of the EU Regulation 261/2004, there is no compensation in case of extraordinary circumstance, as verified in this situation.
We look forward to welcoming you on board soon.
Yours sincerely,
Fale connosco
Somehow I do not believe that delay caused by the Air Traffic Flow Management (even if this explanation is true) constitutes "extraordinary circumstances".
What should be his next step(s)?
ATFM occurs in busy airspace worldwide and it is unpredictable and beyond the carrier's control.
If you think that TAP is lying, you could start an investigation. The information about these programs is all publicly available (if not online).
Dec 28, 2018, 12:26 am
#50
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: AMS/RTM
Posts: 2,827
I want to report that after filing a complaint with the Dutch regulator I got a reply from TAP offering the 150% voucher or the EC261 compensation amount. I chose the cash and it was transferred within a week. The affected flights were in early September, and the complaint to the regulator was in early November.
I am not sure the complaint to the ILT is what got them moving, but I'll definitely use them again if I have the same problem.
I am not sure the complaint to the ILT is what got them moving, but I'll definitely use them again if I have the same problem.
Mar 30, 2019, 2:10 pm
#51
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Toronto
Programs: AC, Delta, BA, Hilton
Posts: 49
I have regular success getting TAP to pay up. You must be persistent and they will use every delaying tactic at their disposal but as soon as the 6 weeks after the complaint are expired, go to Twitter and write an Email to:
TAP Fale Connosco <[email protected]>
They will at the end also offer you a TAP travel voucher for 25% more than the cash value of your EU261 claim which is also good if you buy tickets with TAP a lot.
Also, do not play the silly game they do with you at Lisbon airport when delayed overnight. They love to bus 50 people at a time to a hotel about 30Km away for the night where they get good rates. This would be ok if the transport were organised promptly and the transport back to the airport wasn't at a fixed time of 6:30am. So, in brief, ignore the lines, the inefficient under-motivated staff, get your own taxi, hotel and meals and claim it back from them later.
TAP Fale Connosco <[email protected]>
They will at the end also offer you a TAP travel voucher for 25% more than the cash value of your EU261 claim which is also good if you buy tickets with TAP a lot.
Also, do not play the silly game they do with you at Lisbon airport when delayed overnight. They love to bus 50 people at a time to a hotel about 30Km away for the night where they get good rates. This would be ok if the transport were organised promptly and the transport back to the airport wasn't at a fixed time of 6:30am. So, in brief, ignore the lines, the inefficient under-motivated staff, get your own taxi, hotel and meals and claim it back from them later.
Regarding being shuttled around -- if you're traveling business class, leave the secure area and head over to the TAP office at the far corner of check-in. Here I was provided the hotel voucher and was in a taxi 5 minutes later headed to the hotel. This definitely was better than waiting several more hours for a bus both to and from the hotel.
Apr 26, 2019, 4:52 pm
#52
Join Date: Aug 2008
Programs: UA MP, Delta Sky Miles, AA Advantage
Posts: 163
I want to report that after filing a complaint with the Dutch regulator I got a reply from TAP offering the 150% voucher or the EC261 compensation amount. I chose the cash and it was transferred within a week. The affected flights were in early September, and the complaint to the regulator was in early November.
I am not sure the complaint to the ILT is what got them moving, but I'll definitely use them again if I have the same problem.
I am not sure the complaint to the ILT is what got them moving, but I'll definitely use them again if I have the same problem.
Apr 28, 2019, 6:19 pm
#54
Join Date: Aug 2008
Programs: UA MP, Delta Sky Miles, AA Advantage
Posts: 163
Apr 28, 2019, 11:02 pm
#55
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: AMS/RTM
Posts: 2,827
That said, the moment TP is forced to admit it wasn't extraordinary circumstances they are much more likely to pay up.
Otherwise consider the EU online dispute resolution.
May 1, 2019, 4:37 am
#56
Join Date: Aug 2008
Programs: UA MP, Delta Sky Miles, AA Advantage
Posts: 163
You can try of course. Keep in mind that these are not enforcing bodies though, the best they can do is to ask TP why your flight was delayed and let you know whether your claim under EC261 is justified or not.
That said, the moment TP is forced to admit it wasn't extraordinary circumstances they are much more likely to pay up.
Otherwise consider the EU online dispute resolution.
That said, the moment TP is forced to admit it wasn't extraordinary circumstances they are much more likely to pay up.
Otherwise consider the EU online dispute resolution.
https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/m...screeningphase
It seems that it works for EU-residents only.
May 1, 2019, 5:14 am
#57
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: AMS/RTM
Posts: 2,827
You mean this one:
https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/m...screeningphase
It seems that it works for EU-residents only.
https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/m...screeningphase
It seems that it works for EU-residents only.
Jun 26, 2019, 6:46 pm
#58
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Toronto
Programs: SPG LT Plat, Hilton G,Priorty Club G, AC E
Posts: 2,979
Merged ec261 compo thread
Should be heading to the airport now but instead I'm on FT as TAP has delayed my YYZ-LIS flight until 18:00 tomorrow.
So what does this mean...one lost hotel night plus a higher re-booked car rental fee.
Do I have any recourse against TAP or do I have to chase my CC for some type of cancellation insurance?
Any help appreciated.
So what does this mean...one lost hotel night plus a higher re-booked car rental fee.
Do I have any recourse against TAP or do I have to chase my CC for some type of cancellation insurance?
Any help appreciated.
Last edited by JDiver; Jul 18, 2019 at 2:58 pm Reason: Restore original post title
Jun 26, 2019, 7:43 pm
#60
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Toronto
Programs: SPG LT Plat, Hilton G,Priorty Club G, AC E
Posts: 2,979
I'm not sure that works with the flight originating out of YYZ, but I will look into it.
Anyone else had this issue?
Why oh why did I book this cheap-o airline for my wife's b'day trip????
Anyone else had this issue?
Why oh why did I book this cheap-o airline for my wife's b'day trip????