A LoyaltyLobby reader sent us a question about an American Airlines flight cancellation from Rome to Philadelphia and subsequent EC 261/2004 compensation that nobody at AA appears to be aware of.
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Reader’s Question:
Could you quickly guide me on how to request the EU mandated payment for delayed or cancelled flights?
My wife and I were both booked in premium economy from FCO to DEN via Phil beginning on AA 719 FCO to PHIL on Dec 5.
That flight was cancelled about 1 hour before the scheduled departure.
They did take the whole plane of passengers to various hotels by bus and my wife and I were rebooked on Dec 6 on AA that left at 9:45am then we spent about 6 hours waiting in PHL waiting for the flight to Den.
When I asked the AA staff about it, they appeared to not know what I was talking about.
It seems that American Airlines fulfilled the EC 261/2004 Duty to Care requirement, which means providing accommodation and meals in case of long delays.
They should also have made available a leaflet, like the one below from Finnair, explaining the Air Passenger Rights in the European Union and how to claim and enforce them.
As long as the flight cancellation was not an extraordinary circumstance, such as crew sickness or plane defect don’t quality, both of the passengers and anyone else on this flight are eligible for a 600 euro cash payment each from American Airlines.
The reader should send a short notice to American Airlines and request 600 euro delay compensation per EC 261/2004.
I am sure that the customer care employees are aware of this, even if they pretend not to in order to save the airline 600 euros per inconvenienced passenger.
This is just a reminder that American Airlines flight cancellations ex-US would not have been eligible for compensation per EC 261/2004 as it only applies to community carrier (EU + EEA) flights to the EU and all flights from the EU/EEA regardless of where the airline is based.
Conclusion
Many agencies handle these complaints on passengers’ behalf, but they tend to take 25% to 40% of the compensation amount.
The reader’s case should be clear, so there isn’t a need to engage an agency but to deal with American Airlines directly.
I couldn’t find a page on AA’s website about EC 261/2004 in English (there is one in Spanish), and there must be a reason for this. I guess that AA hates paying out cash compensation.
