Flight delay and cancellation compensation

Usually not. In C-549/07 (Wallentin-Hermann) the Court of Justice of the European Union held that a fault found during aircraft maintenance is part of an airline's ordinary activity, not an extraordinary circumstance. The exception is a hidden manufacturing defect disclosed by the maker (C-501/17). If you were refused with a generic "technical reasons", cite the case and ask for documentary proof.

From the first departure airport to the final destination, provided everything was on one booking. Take Madrid — Frankfurt — Tokyo: even if the broken flight was the 1,400 km Madrid — Frankfurt leg, the distance used is Madrid — Tokyo, which is over 3,500 km, so the amount is EUR 600 rather than EUR 250. A calculator that asks "which flight was delayed" will understate what you are owed.

No. The right to compensation comes from arriving late at your final destination, not from a late departure — that is C-402/07 (Sturgeon). An aircraft that makes up three hours in the air removes the entitlement. The airline's duties on meals and communication during the wait at the airport still stand, though.

The EU regulation applies in two situations: departure from an EU airport on any airline, or arrival in the EU on a European carrier. A US-to-Europe flight on a US airline meets neither. The same route the other way, Paris — New York on Delta, does qualify, because it departs the EU. This is exactly where calculators promise money that does not exist and cost people a month of correspondence.

Twenty-five roubles per hour. Article 120 of the Air Code sets a penalty of 25% of the minimum wage per hour of delay, and for civil-law calculations that minimum is the base figure of 100 roubles — so 25 roubles an hour, capped at half the ticket price. The real money in Russia is not compensation but the carrier's duties under FAP-82 clause 99: drinks after two hours, a hot meal after four, a hotel with transfer after eight hours by day or six at night.

No. Compensation is payable in money; vouchers, miles or a discount on a future flight are only possible with your written agreement, and by agreeing you give up the cash. If a voucher was offered without explaining the alternative, that alone is a reason to insist on payment.

From the operating carrier — the airline that actually flew the route, even if the ticket was sold under another airline's code. The agency is responsible for refunding the ticket price and its own fees, but delay compensation is paid by the carrier. That is why the claim quotes the flight number and booking reference rather than the name of the website.

It depends on the country, and the spread is wide: six years in the UK and Ireland, ten in Luxembourg, three in Germany, two in the Netherlands and Italy, one in Poland and Belgium. The limit comes from the law of the country where the claim is brought, not from the regulation itself. The tool works out the date for your route.

They take 30–35% of the payout, rising to 40–50% if the case goes to court. For that they do what you can do yourself in ten minutes: establish the amount and send the airline a letter. Here you get the amount, the letter and the regulator's address if you are refused, and pay nothing. Handing the case to an agency starts to make sense once the airline has refused and you do not want to go to court on your own.

Per person. The right belongs to the passenger, not to the ticket or the booking: four people on a flight over 3,500 km means four payments of EUR 600. Children with their own seat count the same; an infant on a discounted lap fare is the exception. List everyone by name exactly as printed on the tickets — airlines pay named passengers, and "there were four of us" without the list comes back asking for details.

The next step is the civil aviation enforcement body of the country you departed from. Its opinion is free but in most countries does not bind the airline — Canada is an exception, where the agency's decision is binding. After that comes court; for sums of this size almost every country has a simplified procedure with a small fee. The tool names the body, links to its complaint form, and puts the date to check the reply into a calendar file.

As a rule yes: these are different grounds. Airline compensation is a statutory payment for a breach; the insurance payout is performance of a contract you or your bank purchased separately. They generally do not absorb one another, but read your policy — some insurers deduct what you received from the airline. Three places are worth checking: a travel policy, cover bought with the ticket, and your bank card, where delay cover often applies automatically when the ticket was paid with that card.