Flight Delay Compensation: How to Get Compensation When Your Flight is Delayed – Anytime!

Many people have heard about the EC 261 (or EU 261). In the most basic terms, this is a regulation by the EU Parliament which establishes common rules on compensation when a flight gets delayed or cancelled. Because of it, you may be eligible for compensation of up to €600.

This is obviously great, but not everything is as straightforward as it seems. The problem comes when you actually have to claim your compensation. Can you be compensated for a delayed flight? Yes, but under some very strict rules.

EC 261 states that you can get money back only in the case that a flight has been delayed more than 3 hours or has been entirely cancelled. However, there is one more problem – you will not get a single penny if the airline company is not responsible. How can you find that out? It is not easy!

See, you can only file a compensation claim if you know the airline is at fault. So it is not in the airlines’ interest to inform you whose fault a delay or cancellation is. You have to sometimes do an extensive research in order to find out whether or not you can even take any action. That can be incredibly frustrating and time-consuming.

With Colibra we make things much simpler. We can get you instant compensation for any flight that is delayed for more than 1 hour or cancelled. The best part? It does not have to be the airline’s fault and the service does not cost you anything. Do you want to learn more about it?

We at Colibra believe that more people should be eligible to get flight delay compensation. Because of that we have come up with a solution that works for all of us.

All you have to do is simply scan your boarding pass when your flight gets delayed or cancelled. You do that with our free application. Then you get instant compensation of €20+ regardless of the reason for the delay. You even get to see how big this compensation can be!

With Colibra we work together to bring flight delay compensation to more people. The amount is smaller, but instant and guaranteed. That way we can all benefit!

You will no longer have to waste your time and energy figuring out if you can even file a claim. You won’t have to spend months in back-and-forth emails. You simply get your compensation and have peace of mind!

Other flight delay compensation services have one inherent flaw – they do nothing to fix an already convoluted process. You can go to them, and they will only file the claim for you. Sure, they will try to keep track of how everything is progressing, but you are just one client among the many.

Additionally, there is no guarantee that you will get any money at all. Instead of the €600 compensation they all advertise, you may end up waiting for months and get nothing in the end.

As you can see, the process doesn’t get any better with or without the help of another company. We want to fix that! Here at Colibra we think that people prefer a smaller, but much quicker compensation. With us, you won’t have to research whether or not the airline is responsible for the delay or cancellation. We simply give you €20+ for any flight that gets delayed for over an hour, no questions asked.

The EC 261 regulation often gets too simplified, which leaves people ill-informed. Here we will tell you what you need to know about getting compensation on your delayed or cancelled flight.

First and foremost, you have to know who is eligible for EU flight delay compensation. You can file a claim with any EU-based carrier, even if the departure point is outside the EU.

If your delayed flight was within the UK, click here to read more about your UK flight delay compensation rights.

Compensation can also be claimed for delays caused by non-EU airlines if the departure airport is in the EU. If the company is not based in the EU and the departure is outside the EU, you cannot claim compensation.

Additionally, you may have seen €600 compensation advertised by other companies. Sadly, such compensation does not apply in most cases. Here are the conditions to get it:

• The flight delay is longer than 3 hours

• The airline is responsible for the delay

• You have checked in on time

• No more than 3 years have passed since the problematic flight

• The travel distance of the flight is longer than 3,500 km.

If only the first 4 conditions are met, you are still eligible for compensation, but the amount would be smaller. If the travel distance is over 1,500 km but below 3,500 km, you are only eligible for €400 in compensation. For distances of less than 1,500 that amount is €250.

Do not get tricked by ads claiming you can get “up to €600 in compensation”. The compensation amount is not about chance, but about travel distance. How much you can get is strictly determined by the EU regulation. So you will never “have the chance” to get €600 if your flight was not longer than 3,500 km.

However, all of this only tells you what you are eligible for. Truth is, most people do not get to see such compensations. Even if you file your claim, you may have to go to court. Most people consider this not worth the trouble, and airlines bank on that. This is why it is better to save yourself time, headaches and money with Colibra!

If your flight is outside of the EU, check out our international flight delay compensation guide here.

We have already covered the major details about how you can get compensation for a delayed flight. Nevertheless, there are certain details, which can make it even harder for you to get compensated. Let’s see what these are!

The most important part is that the airline will not give you compensation if they are not responsible for the delay. That means you will get no money in the case of delays due to bad weather, air traffic control strikes, or other extraordinary circumstances.

It gets worse. Most of the time you will never know who is responsible for the delay. Even if you go with third-party flight delay compensation companies to file your claim, they will not guarantee you a positive outcome.

Another bad thing is that if the flight was delayed for only 1 hour, you still get no compensation. Even if that ruins your plans, you have no right to getting at least some money back.

We should note that the delay is accounted for when you arrive at your destination. If you have waited for more than 2 hours to board the flight, but it still arrives with a delay of only 1 hour and 45 minutes, you are not eligible for flight delay compensation.

Finally, you are not always entitled to full compensation. If your travel distance is more than 3,500 km (hence being eligible for €600 compensation), but the delay is between 3 and 4 hours, you can only claim 50% of the total amount. On top of that, it is not guaranteed that you will get even that.

All of that sounds pretty frustrating, doesn’t it? Indeed, the compensation process can often leave you more stressed than the delay itself.

Save yourself all that trouble and get some compensation instantly with Colibra Application. That way you will not need to wait months without knowing whether or not your claim has passed.

In general, all flight delay compensation rules apply to cancelled flights as well. However, there are additional circumstances, which may render you ineligible for such compensation.

If you were notified of the cancellation two weeks prior to the departure date, you are not eligible for compensation. However, you have the right to reimbursement. Re-routing can also be a possible option, and you can take it, if the airline offers it.

You are eligible for compensation if the flight was cancelled and you were not notified at least 14 days in advance. This compensation is in addition to the reimbursement or re-routing. The airline has the responsibility to prove if they have indeed contacted you in time or not.

The problem here stems from the fact that if the airline proves they are not to blame for the cancellation, you get no compensation at all. That means that no one will be responsible for your issues, and you are left to deal with that on your own. Don’t worry though, with Colibra you can still get some compensation. Just scan your boarding pass and ensure it for your next flight!

We have already explained the idea behind Colibra service. You get flight delay compensation without having to prove anything or waiting months on end. We take on the trouble of pursuing the airline for any expected compensation afterwards.  

With that said, we are happy to tell you that this is not all Colibra does. We are an innovative insurance company that wants to revolutionize the way our industry works. What is the problem with insurance in the first place though? Let us explain!

Insurance companies have a conflict of interest with their clients. Why? Because having to pay out in the case of an accident means a loss for the company. So they do their best to NOT give you any money.

To avoid all that most people purchase insurance through broker companies. The broker has an interest in helping you because they want to keep you as a client. On the other hand, the insurance company depends on the broker to deliver clients to it.

Here at Colibra, we want to cut the middleman, while still giving up the power to deny you your fair compensation. We do that by employing innovative technologies and software.

Our application is an example of our overall mission – to help more people with the use of modern technology. Join it now and get flight delay compensation without a problem!