The time has come and you are about to travel, you are at the gate with your boarding pass ready to leave for your holiday. But suddenly, the airline informs you that your flight is an oversold flight so they have to deny boarding and you are one of the unlucky bumping passengers. This is a very unfortunate situation and what should you do if this happens to you? Continue reading to gain further information.
It is not always the case that flights fly as expected. A flight disruption, such as delay, cancellation and boarding denial happens frequently. In the event of an oversold flight, there is a risk that you will be rejected when boarding. Involuntary bump passengers can claim compensation and Air-Delay.com can help you with the process of the denied boarding compensation. The air carrier usually does not make it easy for passengers to get their rightful flight compensation but Air Delay has helped more than 10.000 air passengers get their money back.
What causes a flight overbooking?
It can seem strange that there can be an overbooking on planes. Nevertheless, it does happen often – and there is a good explanation for that. When a flight is to be booked, airlines often tend to sell a few extra tickets than there is room for. This is because they want to make full use of the aircraft’s capacity and in many cases, there are not enough passengers as there are always some people that don’t show up for their flight. However, if all passengers show up for the flight departing, then the airline has fewer seats available than passengers. Unfortunately, this also means that some passengers have to be denied boarding involuntarily.
Of course, a flight overbooking can also be caused by other things. There may be some disrupting flight operations, which is why some aircraft seats cannot be used and result in denied boarding.
What are your passenger rights for involuntarily denied boarding?
In case of denied boarding, you may face challenges such as finding an alternative flight or long waiting hours. It may also be that you can not reach your final destination in time, and what options do bumped passengers have in those situations?
The EU regulation EC 261/2004 ensures that airlines have to offer passengers compensation in events of denied boarding. Let’s look at where the EU- regulation rights apply in which scenarios:
- The departure airport is in an EU country and the flight route is inside or outside the EU. Your rights also apply if you travel with a non-European airline.
- Flights departing from a non-EU country and to an EU country, and the airline was an EU airline.
- You have a stopover outside the EU as part of your trip from the EU. Or you have a stopover outside the EU with an EU airline, as you are going home to the EU again.
- You showed up in time for check-in. As a general rule, it is 45 minutes before departure – unless you have received other information from the airline.
If one of the points above applies to your currently oversold flight and you were denied boarding, then you can choose one of the options below:
- You are entitled to a refund of your unused flight ticket. This is the entire amount that your flight ticket has cost. You also have the right to cancel your flight and get a flight ticket to the destination you flew from originally.
- A rebooking of your ticket for the next available departure. The rebooking is paid by the airline – even if the next available departure is with another airline.
- You can rebook your ticket for a later date.
If you choose a rebooking and a hotel room becomes necessary, the airline will have to pay for it, as well as transportation to and from the hotel. Remember to keep your receipts so that you can use them for proof when claiming reimbursement later.
Compensation for denied boarding
If you have been denied boarding due to an overbooked flight, you may be entitled to compensation. The denied boarding compensation is calculated based on the flight distance you have to fly, as well as whether it is inside or outside the EU.
- 1,500 km or less (250 EUR)
- Between 1,500 km – 3,500 km (EUR 400)
- Over 3,500 km and outside the EU (600 EUR)
It is not always possible to get the full flight compensation. The airline can reduce it by 50% if you rebook and the flight delay is not more than:
- 2 hours for flights up to 1,500 kilometers.
- 3 hours for flights over 1,500 kilometers – and within the EU.
- 3 hours on flights between 1,500 kilometers and 3,500 kilometers – and outside the EU.
- 4 hours for all journeys that do not fall under the points above.
When a flight is overbooked, the airline may ask if someone will voluntarily give up their seats. If you have not said yes to this and are still denied boarding, then it is possible to get a denied boarding compensation that is higher than normal in these cases. When airlines ask to give up seats voluntarily, they usually offer passengers incentives such as hotel rooms or vouchers, but no monetary compensation.
In case of denied boarding, passengers experiencing longer delays may also have the option of free meals. As a general rule, an airline must provide passengers with free food and beverages if a flight delay is 2 hours or more.
Create your case and get expert help to collect your compensation: Air-Delay.com
