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A banging look at the scoreboard: I missed my connection with American Airlines
Photo:
Matias Delacroix/AP
Anyone who misses the connecting flight hopes at least to be compensated for the inconvenience.
In order for this to succeed, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has now strengthened the rights of passengers in the event of a long delay of the plane.
According to a court decision, you can also claim compensation if a trip consists of several flights – and these were operated by different airlines.
Even if the airlines have nothing to do with each other legally, the Luxembourg judges decided that these are “direct connecting flights” within the meaning of the Air Passenger Rights Ordinance, so that compensation can be demanded.
Otherwise the high level of protection for passengers would not be sufficiently appreciated.
The only requirement for such a claim is that the flights were the subject of a single booking.
A travel agency can combine the flights, charge a total price and issue a single ticket.
Now the Supreme Court has to decide
The background is the lawsuit filed by a woman who wanted to travel from Stuttgart to Kansas City on three separate flights.
Everything went smoothly on the first flight with Swiss from Stuttgart to Zurich, as did the second flight with American Airlines to Philadelphia.
The flight from Philadelphia to Kansas City, also with American Airlines, landed four hours late.
The travel agency calculated a total price for the partial flights and issued a single ticket.
It is not the first decision of the ECJ in favor of air passengers.
In April, the court ruled that travelers are entitled to compensation even if they land late at an airport outside the EU and the flight was operated by a third-country airline.
In the current case of the now suing passenger, who is demanding 600 euros in compensation under the European Air Passenger Rights Regulation, the German Federal Court of Justice must now decide on the specific case, taking into account the ECJ case law.
The anger of many vacationers about aviation has recently been great.
After canceled and delayed flights this summer, the number of applications to the arbitration board (SÖP) increased.
According to their data, 3,808 arbitration requests were received in September for the flight sector.
Compared to pre-Corona September 2019, an increase of 13 percent was recorded.
In Germany, the practice had recently caused a dispute that travelers had to pay for their flight tickets when booking.
The state of Lower Saxony submitted an application to the Bundesrat to abolish advance payment for air travel.
Flight cancellations were almost always at the expense of the passengers.
In the event of a cancellation, they would have to work hard and sometimes tediously to get a refund, the state government argued.
The industry rejects the move away from advance payment, which consumer advocates are also calling for.
The industry association BDL argues, among other things, that with the money raised in advance, the airlines achieve greater planning security and can use the machines optimally.
Customers could also benefit from early booking discounts.
Case number: C-436/21
Apr/dpa/AFP