At Colibra we are all frequent travellers and as such we’ve had numerous delayed and cancelled flights. However, only a few of them have resulted in a compensation because of 3 main reasons:
- Airlines are not obliged to compensate you for delays under 3 hours
- Airlines are not obliged to compensate you for 3+ hours delays (or cancellations) if it’s not their fault
- Even if you’re eligible for compensation it takes time and effort to get it
As a result, 85% of all rightful claims are never paid. Furthermore, millions of passengers each year have their flights delayed less than 3 hours because airlines have no financial downside if your delay is up to 2 hours and 59 minutes.
The whole system with flight delay compensations doesn’t really benefit the air traveller. That’s why at Colibra we have decided to reshape it with the help of a community of air travellers so we can all enjoy a better, fairer and stressless air travel.
Here’s how Colibra is able to pay all 1+ hour flight delays/cancellations in 24 hours without asking for a payment from its users. It’s actually very simple:
Before the flight has taken off or has been delayed/cancelled Colibra asks you (as a community member) to share your right to receive compensation if your flight is eligible for 3+ hours compensation.
By doing so you:
- Get a guaranteed payout if your flight delays more than 60 mins. (or gets cancelled) regardless of the delay/cancellation reason (e.g. bad weather, strikes, etc.)
- Contribute to the community and help more people get compensated – If it turns out your flight is due compensation from the airline, Colibra will redistribute it to the community members with delays over 60 minutes (or cancellations) upfront and at its own risk.
Because you agree to share your right for a potential compensation with the community, Colibra can take up the risk of paying community members before it gets any money from the airline (which can take up to 2 years for some cases).
By joining the community you help other users get paid 24 hours after flight delays 60+ minutes (regardless of the delay reason) while Colibra takes all the risk, does all the claim and legal work and eventually gets compensated from the airline.
Let’s see two case scenarios:
1. You are flying from Berlin to London and you register your flight in the Colibra app one day prior to it. You agree to share your potential right to receive compensation with the Colibra community in exchange for a guaranteed 45 EUR if your flight delays more than 77 minutes at arrival.
It turns out that the weather is bad and you arrive in London with a delay of 2 hours and 15 minutes. You understand that according to the EU261 regulation no compensation is due from the airline. The next day you receive 45 EUR to your bank account from Colibra thanks to its powerful and solidary community and you can buy your children a small present.
2. Next week you are flying from Berlin to London. You again register your flight before take-off agreeing to share your right with the community if it becomes eligible for compensation. You again choose your lucky 77 minutes delay that will get you another 45 EUR should it happen.
This time, however, your flight lands with a 3 and half hour delay in London. You think for a minute you might be eligible for a €250 compensation from the airline and for a split second the thought “45 vs 250 euro” crosses your mind. A short second after that you remember that last week you bought a present for your kid with these €45 Colibra gave you because someone at your current situation decided to join the community so that more people can get compensated and buy their kids or themselves a small present.
Colibra is built on one simple principle: Solidarity.
Without Colibra members sharing their right to the community no passenger in the world would enjoy the following benefits:
- Guaranteed payout for all 1-3 hour flight delays (without asking for an insurance premium)
- Hassle-free way of getting compensated (you don’t have to file a claim)
- Compensations paid in 24 hours (it doesn’t take a long time getting compensated from an airline)
Our magic is you. You make everything possible.
Colibra 
