Overbooking, cancellations, and delays seem to be dominating headlines regarding travel. But what should you do you guess your passenger rights have been violated by an airline, and if these stories turned into a reality? A website called AirHelp could be the solution.
Last week, I took a flight with Norwegian Air into London-Gatwick from Boston. It had been one of those flights to the new transatlantic course, along with my parents and I were excited to try. Matters took a turn for the worse when our 9:00 p.m. flight has been postponed until 11:00 p.m. Not a massive deal, we thought: We’d still get there pretty much on time. But then 11:00 p.m. passed without a indication of a plane, or even a gate agent. Rather the plane arrived at 1:00 a.m.. We took off an hour .
The airline handed a $ 5 food coupon at the time of the first delay to us, and just gave no excuse and no point of contact. There was no bad weather at play and all other flights that evening went out, so I understood the delay had to be Norwegian’s fault.
I understood that my rights as a passenger had been violated because I work in the travel industry. Because I did not want to destroy the remainder of our daily life or holiday by arguing with the airline at the airport, I decided to do some research once I got home.
After trying on my own to understand the ins and outs of contracts of carriage, transatlantic flight regulations, and various European airline rights, I was at a loss. I came across a site called AirHelp. Upon an initial eligibility check, AirHelp explained my parents and I were eligible for $300 each. That seemed more like what I thought the airline owed us because there was no “act of God” cause because of our delay. So I decided to go through with the process.
The Basics: What’s AirHelp?
AirHelp can submit a claim. The service handles four distinct kinds of claims: flight delays refused issues.
The Procedure: How Does AirHelp Work?
AirHelp doesn’t cost anything upfront (more on that later), which made my decision to test out the service simpler. Users must enter info like departure airport and destination, connecting flights, flight numbers, and dates of travel get your itinerary handy.
If AirHelp thinks you have a case, it’ll submit a claim directly to the airline. In the event the airline denies your initial claim (as Norwegian did for mine, and lots of airlines do), AirHelp takes it into court for you. This mainly requires you to sign off on some records. AirHelp kept in continuous communication during my situation.
Because of the nature of my case (transatlantic flight, international airline, etc.), I was told my claim could require a little longer than ordinary. It took approximately 10 months. But, I did not have to do something else after registering Power of Attorney files, and I was pleasantly surprised to have an email recently with my final claim amount. The website states that the average time.
In case AirHelp wins your claim, you may choose to have the cash delivered to you (for no extra cost) or by check. I selected the digital transfer choice, and the money was in my bank account the next day.
How Much Can AirHelp Price?
AirHelp charges a 25 percent administration fee based on. However, it requires a whole lot of work, knowledge, and time to submit a claim, and many average passengers do not have the art to do it on their own. Furthermore, in case your claim is taken by AirHelp to court, there is an added fee that’s taken out of your final claim amount.
Fundamentally, AirHelp just gets paid if you win your case against the airline and receive compensation, so either you get paid (minus the administration fee and in some cases legal charge), or you don’t lose anything if your claim is refused or you don’t go through with the legal process.
The Final Verdict: Does AirHelp Really Work?
If you have experienced a delayed flight and get zero (or hardly any) reimbursement for it, try out an AirHelp eligibility test. If you are eligible for a few hundred dollars, you don’t have anything to lose by submitting a promise.
Here’s the breakdown of my settlement for three passengers:
Yes, the service fees and lawful actions fees add up, and seeing how much you could have gotten is a tough pill to swallow. However, there was no way I would have filed a claim gone to court for reimbursement from the airline without AirHelp. Being in a position to file a combined claim with my parents rather than three distinct ones helped streamline the procedure.
Do not just take it from me. I spoke with a few other AirHelp users that all said the exact same thing: that the procedure was simple, well managed, and value it in the long run.
The business also supplied me with a few stats on settlement amounts and success rate with its claims: AirHelp has a 95 percent success rate up to now, winning more than 30,000 cases which have gone to court.
AirHelp also reports it has helped over two million air passengers regain a total settlement of $195 million since 2013, with an average payout of $600 per individual passenger. The average reimbursement for damaged or lost checked bag ranges from $1,500 to $3,500.
Tips for Using AirHelp
- Have your itinerary useful when checking your eligibility.
- Recall that due to various regulations, European flight delays and cancellations frequently have higher payouts.
- Be ready to wait a while for a response if your dispute is all about international flights.
- Once you have a damages sum, request the deposit electronically, which is fast and free.
- Should you export your email, AirHelp will search your inbox for previous flight delays for which you may have a situation.
Even when you’re not qualified to submit a claim, then the site of AirHelp is super-helpful. It’s explanations and resources for your rights European airlines, U.S. airlines, and more. AirHelp even ranks airlines and airports worldwide.
Moral of the story: Do not settle for a $5 food coupon next time your trip is delayed.