Delta Compensation

Rules and Rights Every Passenger Should Know

7 min readOct 5, 2019

Still wondering how to get Delta flight cancellation compensation? Find out about all the intricacies of this procedure and make sure your rights are protected.

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Table of contents:

Delta Flight Delay Compensation. Essential Facts
Delta Flight Cancellation Compensation
How to Deal with Baggage Problems
Summary

Flights are delayed and cancelled all the time. This very moment tons of passengers are stuck at the airports because of some inconvenience caused by their air transportation.

Have you struggled as well?

Let’s shed the light on flight delay compensation with Delta.

First and foremost, you’ve got the right to be informed about your rights (sorry for tautology) if your departure was delayed or called off. Feel free to ask your airline to announce them.

Secondly, with late delays and flights cancellations, an air carrier is to provide you with substitute flights.

Finally, in case of such inconvenience you may be entitled to compensation of 250, 400 or 600 euros.

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Delta Flight Delay Compensation. Essential Facts

So what are your rights in case of a delay? How much reimbursement can you get and under which circumstances?

Remember that as in any agreement both sides have to fulfill their duties. For your part as passenger you must:

arrive at the airport at the stated time of a check-in
have a valid ticket
confirm the reservation
follow all the rules and instructions of the air-transport

If you met all the above mentioned requirements, your job is done. Now let’s see what are the rules for an air travel company.

In case your departure is retarded for more than 2 hours, according to EU261 regulation, an air carrier has to provide you with some sustenance like drinks and snacks. Plus, you have the rights to communicate via phone, email or fax (2 calls/2 emails or 2 faxes).

In terms of money, you’re entitled to compensation of 250, 400, 600 euros for flights of different distance (short, medium and long respectively).

Short — below 1500 km
Medium — 1500–3500 km
Long — above 3500 km

It’s worth noting that this money compensation applies if your flight was late for more than 3 hours. We count the hours from the point when the doors are opened at the plane, not when it lands. This little tricky detail may come in handy as some companies claim the later variant to be true.

If you feel uneasy, whether a carrier isn’t lying to you, or trying to avoid paying you the money, you can communicate with professional team of lawyers at AirHelp. Over the years of experience they’ve scrutinized all the pitfalls of dealing with transport companies, so they know how to protect your rights.

If your departure was retarded for more than 5 hours, a passenger has the right to abandon the flight and request a refund. Plus, they can ask a company to provide them with the flight back to their first point of departure.

In case a departure is held up until the next day after the originally planned departure, an air transport service is to provide you with accomodation, as you need to spend the night somewhere (and it’s not going to be at the airport).

It’s also noteworthy that even if you’re provided with accomodation to stay, or you received a refund for a 5-hour delayed departure you abandoned, you still are entitled to compensation.

Delta Flight Cancellation Compensation

Now let’s examine what happens if your flight was called off.

If your departure is cancelled, you can choose from two options:

rerouting — this means a company will provide you with a substitute flight to get to your destination at the earliest chance
ask for a ticket refund

But for these options you may be eligible for indemnity. To put it shortly, an air service owes you money in the following situations.

A company told you about the problem later than 14 days before the departure.
You discovered about the problem in the time period between a week or two. A company gave you an opportunity to travel with a substitute flight. However, this substitute departure took place more than 120 minutes before the original departure. Plus, it arrived at your expected destination more than 240 minutes later than it was scheduled.
You found out about the cancellation less than a week before the departure. A company provided you with an opportunity to get to your destination with a substitute flight. However, this substitute departure took off more than 60 minutes before the original departure. Plus, it arrived at your expected destination more than 120 minutes later than it was scheduled.
Your departure was called off and it was a carrier that was responsible for the problem.

Now here are few important figures. If you found out about the cancellation less than 14 days before the departure, you can receive 125, 200, 250, 300, 400, 600 euros depending on two things: your flight distance and your departure/arrival late hours.

To be 100% sure you’ve calculated your flight length right, we recommend you to turn to an experienced company AirHelp. Not merely they can help you define your travelling details in terms of kilometers, but they can also assist you deciding whether your particular situation is eligible for payback.

You may also wonder, and what if I missed a connecting flight due to the cancellation? If these two flights were within the same booking, you followed all the rules and it was the carrier’s fault, then yes, you’re entitled to money reimbursement.

However, if a substitute flight brought you on time, but you missed the connection, because you lost all sense of time, it won’t qualify for any repayment.

Keep also in mind that if your departure is called off and rerouting is the next day, you won’t stay at the airfield. An air company is required to offer and provide you with a hotel room. Plus, they must pay the transfer spendings that may occur to and from the hotel.

How to Deal with Baggage Problems

Another hurdle you may face is your baggage being damaged, delayed or even lost. What are passenger rights in that case?

So you haven’t received your baggage. The company claims it’s being retarded. They’ve got 24 hours to bring it to you.

If an air transportation company fails to deliver you the baggage within 24 hours, you’ve got all the rights to ask for money reimbursement.

It’s vital to keep the track for all the additional expenses you’re facing, because your luggage is delayed. Collect the receipts, so that you can then ask for reimbursement.

A baggage is considered lost if an air service fails to find it within 21 days.

As with a retarded luggage, make sure you have all the receipts for unexpected spendings like toiletries or underwear, because these items were left in your baggage.

Plus, make sure you create a detailed list of all the things that were in your lost bag. Unfortunately, dealing with reimbursement for lost items is quite a tiring process, as it requires long hours of discussion what and why is/isn’t eligible for paying up.

As to damaged baggage, there are also a few things to keep in mind. You can report the harm up to a week period. However, the best way is to do it straight away at the flying field.

After filling out a claim form, you’ll discuss with the air service possible solutions of the issue. It can be repairing the damaged item, replacing it or money return.

Be ready that a carrier may claim the damage wasn’t their responsibility, but rather a packing problem.

That is why it’s highly advisable to receive assistance from knowledgeable experts from companies like AirHelp. This is how you can be sure to defend your rights.

Summary

Let’s sum up all the essential information you could keep in mind dealing with inconveniences during your flights.

Always make sure you’ve got the valid ticket
Arrive at at the airport on time so that you can check in within the limited time period
Know your rights
If your flight is retarded for more than 2 hours, feel free to ask for sustenance
You’re eligible for reparation of 250, 400, 600 euros if your departure was put off for more than 3 hours
Offering you rerouting doesn’t exclude recompense for inconvenience
Technical problems aren’t defined as extraordinary circumstances
Exceptional circumstances include weather crises, political issues, security risks
You’re not entitled to money payback if the problem wasn’t the fault of the air carrier
An air transport company must inform you about your departure being called off no less than 14 days before your flight
If you found about the cancellation more than 2 weeks before the departure, you’re entitled to money reimbursement of 150, 200, 250, 300, 400, 600 euros
Calculate the distance of your flight right (short — up to 1500 km, medium 1500–3500 km, long — more than 3500 km)
Additional spendings for accommodation or transfer because of the delay or cancellation must be covered by the air carrier