Email about missed connecting flight compensation 5 months after flight, is there a point?
5 months ago, I flew from Moscow to London with a connection in Amsterdam. My flight was late by nearly 3 hours and my connection was missed. I was put into a hotel overnight and flew the next day. At that time no compensation was offered from the airline. The journey was booked with lastminute.com It was with KLM and the delay was the airline's fault.
A few days ago I received a legitimately-looking email saying that passengers could be entitled to compensation. The email:
From: "lastminute.com" flight-compensation@e.lastminute.com
Hi [MY NAME],
Get compensation for your flight delay!
At lastminute.com, we want our customers to have the best travel experience possible, That’s why we were sorry to see that your flight from Moscow to Amsterdam on 25 February, 2019 may have been delayed.
Under EU Regulation (EC) No. 261/2004, introduced to protect European passengers against lengthy delays and other travel disruptions, you could be entitled to as much as €400 in compensation.
You can either submit your claim directly to the airline, or get assistance from an external organization such as our partner AirHelp. AirHelp are the travel experts, making the process of gaining compensation for delayed, cancelled and overbooked flights simple and stress-free.
AirHelp doesn’t charge any service fees unless your claim is successful. Before using AirHelp’s service, we advise that you check the company’s terms, conditions and fees on their website www.airhelp.com.
[LINK TO CLAIM]
Is it a bit suspicious I was contacted 5 months after the flight? Is there a point in making a claim 5 months after the delay?
Best Answer
IANAL/IANYL. That said, the ECJ (and some higher national courts) have recently been shedding light on how this directive is to be interpreted. As this question makes clear, it's time lost at final destination that determines eligibility for compensation. Since you missed your connection and were twelve hours late, you're entitled to compensation, assuming your flight is covered.
Note this directive cuts both ways: since the passenger in the linked question was severely delayed on his first leg but didn't miss his/her connection because of the long layover, (s)he was on time at the final destination, and thus isn't eligible for compensation.
As your flight was operated by KLM, a European operator, it's covered. In the UK you generally have six years to pursue breach-of-contract-type remedies, and I'd imagine other EU nations have comparable timescales for seeking this type of redress. I'd contact the airline and ask for compensation according to the directive. Be ready to use the court system if it proves necessary.
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How long after flight can you claim compensation?
If your flight's delayed for 3 or more hours You're entitled to get compensation if the flight arrives more than 3 hours late and it's the airline's fault - for example, if they didn't get enough bookings or there was a technical fault.Do airlines compensate for missed connections?
If a flight delay leads to a passenger missing a connecting flight, and the delay at the final destination is 3 hours or more, they have a valid claim for compensation. The flight plan needs to be all one booking for this to apply \u2013 although it does not matter if you have a mix of different airlines in that booking.How long do you have to be delayed before compensation?
Delays must be three hours+ to claim It's about when you arrive, not when you leave. So if you're on a flight that takes off four hours late but lands 2 hours 55 minutes late, you're not eligible for compensation. Your arrival time is actually deemed to be when the plane opens at least one of its doors.What happens if you miss a connection because of a delay?
If the missed connection is the airline's fault (a delayed initial flight due to mechanical problems, for example), the airline should rebook you on the next available flight. If the next outbound flight is the following morning, the airline should either book you on another airline or provide accommodations and meals.How to claim compensation for flight delays
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Answer 2
UPDATE: We decided to submit a claim for compensation through AirHelp. The process was quite slow as they needed to take legal action, but eventually, we got the €400 per person we were entitled to, minus any fees.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Andrea Piacquadio, Andrea Piacquadio, Jeremy Bishop, LT Chan