Experience with EU 261

That's interesting, Frank, and good to know.

With regards to the gift card vs. cash, I've recently come across that when returning an item, and I'm wondering if more businesses will start doing this. I returned a bag I bought online, and was offered the full value back of $90 if I took a store credit, but if I wanted a refund to my credit card, I would receive $75. Like you, I opted for the cash (refund) in hand.

I think in this case, it may have been the opposite for Frank II. The payment schedule for EU261
is based on distance and length of delay. My guess is that Frank II's delay entitled him to 400EUR
in cash, and the airline offered 600 EUR on a gift card.

If it was a transatlantic flight and the delay was 8 hours, then the cash payment should be 600 EUR,
and perhaps the airline might offer 700 or 800 as a gift card/voucher. At least that's the way it
used to be.

All of this can be very tedious and the airline often measures delays in their own way. So the fact
that the payment came so quickly was very nice.

Finnair, numerous times, stated that if I accepted the gift card it would be worth 50% more than the cash value.

If I accepted the gift card, it would be beneficial to Finnair because they wouldn't have to hand out any cash. It could only be used towards future flights. I'd also have to spend it with Finnair within the next year.

Of course, the money isn't in my account....yet.

A number of years ago I also had a claim with Iceland Air Connect. Even though the flight was within Iceland, and Iceland isn't in the EU, I got a compensation equal to 400 Euros.

Frank, I'm glad Finnair settled your claim quickly.

In 2023 we had a claim with American Airlines. After over 2 months of weekly automated emails from AA saying they were working on it, they finally settled our claim. We were offered a cash settlement or a higher amount in the form of a trip credit. I used the credits to fly Premium Economy to Europe this year for only $300.

The payment schedule for EU261 is based on distance and length of delay. My guess is that Frank II's delay entitled him to 400EUR in cash, and the airline offered 600 EUR on a gift card.

shoeflyer, I did understand that. Frank said that the extra 25% was coming from Finnair. My point was that either way, companies are seeing the value of refunding extra money in the form of gift cards or credit. And technically that was what the company I dealt with did. They charge a $15 handling fee that is waived if you accept a credit. Either way, it's the principle I was talking about.

United does something similar. They offered either 600 EUR for a canceled flight from Europe to the U.S. or a $1000 credit on United good for a year.

Is there a time limit on submitting an EU 261 claim? My flight cancellation was in October 2024.

I had a flight cancellation on British Air, a ticket I purchased through American Airlines. The cancelled flight was from Paris to London, where I would connect for my homeward bound flight. AA rebooked me, we were delayed a day - British Air offered no assistance on the cancelled flight, did not offer us any booking options. I called AA to resolve it.

If I can still file this claim, which airline do I put in the claim with?

Thanks

Jojo, EU261 is 3 years, UK261 is 6 year deadline.

From what I have read, for codeshare flights, it's the carrier flying the plane that is responsible, not the airline you purchased the ticket from.

British Airways Flight Cancellation Compensation

Also @Jojo - because this thread started out with an experienced traveler getting an EC261 claim
approved, and is now perhaps moving towards others wondering how it works, please note that

• you will need information about your flight to be able to file the claim; ticket #, flight #, etc.
  
  Make sure to gather it (AA.com may have some of it) before you start.

• if you aren't aware of the reason for the original flight cancellation, review the reasons for which
  compensation will not be paid (essentially, circumstances outside the airline's control). No need
  to submit a claim if it's going to be rejected. Websites like flightaware may have historical data
  that would be of help (although going back too far requires a paid subscription).

• not clear from your post, but, even if the flight is cancelled for reasons outside the airline's control,
  you are entitled to "duty of care". If BA did not put you up in a hotel for the night and provide some
  level of meals, you can file to be reimbursed (within reason) for expenses you incurred. This also
  applies for things like toiletries and clothing if you could not get to your checked baggage. I don't
  know if the statute of limitations here is as long as EC261.

• be prepared to be patient. Frank II's results are something of an outlier in my view.

To add to Shoeflyer's information on duty of care.

For American Airlines you must have an itemized receipt for restaurant reimbursement. I only had the actual credit card receipt. After some back and forth with AA, we received 2 $75 trip credits which greatly exceed our lunch expense at Heathrow.

You will need your record locater, ticket number, and original flight information. You will be asked the length of the delay. You are then asked to choose which compensation you qualify for in regards to time and distance.

I wasnt asked exact reason the flight was canceled just that the flight was canceled and I was delayed.

At the Finnair compensation site, the instructions were very good and not confusing at all. The only issue I had was when I wanted to convert the Finnair gift card to cash. I needed the Bank's BIC/Swift code. I had to call them for it. Had I been more diligent it was available on my bank's app if I had looked hard. (This is the code needed for foreign currency transfer from one bank to another.)

I was shocked at how fast it was processed.

If you were delayed a day, definitely go for compensation--especially if you had out of pocket expenses because of it.

Even though the flight was within Iceland, and Iceland isn't in the
EU, I got a compensation equal to 400 Euros.

The rules applies to Iceland as well. To quote the actual source:

"EU means the 27 EU countries, including Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Mayotte, Réunion, Saint Barthélemy, Saint-Martin (French Antilles), the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands, but not the Faeroe Islands. EU rules also apply to flights to and from Iceland, Norway and Switzerland."

I had a delay several years ago on Virgin Atlantic flying JFK to LHR.

They offered me the cash (Seems like it was a few hundred pounds) or a free roundtrip business class ticket... (not being crazy I took the ticket :) )

In case anyone is interested, Finnair wired the money to my bank and it cleared within 6 days of my request for the credit to be converted to cash.

Thanks for the update, Frank. I think it’s useful people to know how things turn out.