A landmark ruling by the European Court of Justice in March 2021 confirmed that airline strikes aren’t an extraordinary circumstance and that all passengers affected deserve financial compensation — a decision that is now binding for all courts across the EU. If you are or have been affected by an airline strike in Europe you may be entitled to compensation. AirHelp may be able to help.
As part of our effort to enlighten Canadian consumers about their rights and how to enforce them, we present the following AirHelp case study.
Mr. Thrifty first came across AirHelp in 2016, well before setting up this blog was even a twinkle in his eye. It was thanks to Expedia.com, the online travel site.
The Delay: Frustrated But Neither Shaken Nor Stirred
Mr. and Mrs. Thrifty were delayed for 4+ hours on an Aeroflot flight from Stockholm to Moscow (sounds very James Bondish, but it’s entirely true……).
Now, Aeroflot is hardly known for its cheery or helpful customer service, and we were not disappointed in that regard as we waited for those hours without much in the way of explanation or refreshments. If you travel often enough, you just deal with the inevitable delays and diversions. Consider it as part of the adventure. On the plus side, there were no additional connections to make that day – Moscow was our final destination. In fact, the delay was actually beneficial as the original arrival time was something like 4am local time.
Introducing AirHelp
A couple of weeks after the delayed flight, Mr. Thrifty received an intriguing automated email from Expedia:
Now, being the adventurous sort, Mr. Thrifty did not hesitate for a moment to pursue this promising offer of assistance. There was a slight sense of poking the bear and what consequences might arise, given Aeroflot’s near monopoly in the Russian market. But heck, being blacklisted by Aeroflot may give Mr. Thrifty a reason to avoid future business trips there 🙂
Initiating the Claim
Pressing ahead, after clicking the big yellow button, Mr. Thrifty was teleported to AirHelp’s site, where the claim initiation process was remarkably straight forward: (1) upload copies of booking documents / boarding passes, and (2) e-sign their Assignment Form.
AirHelp takes on the case purely for contingent compensation, so the downside was only the cost of Mr. Thrifty’s time. Little did Mr. Thrifty suspect that it would also provide such good material for a blog post 3 years later.
After a bit of back and forth, AirHelp confirmed receipt of Mr. Thrifty’s documents and made the initial approach to Aeroflot. Predictably, Aeroflot claimed to be exempt from EU passenger laws and rejected the claim out of hand.
Mr. Thrifty was informed of this in an email from AirHelp, which suggested that they were dropping the case:
Aeroflot Russian Airlines has rejected your claim for compensation for disrupted flight from Stockholm Arlanda Airport, Stockholm (ARN) to Sheremetyevo International Airport, Moscow (SVO). I’m so sorry I don’t have better news for you, but unfortunately we cannot move forward with your claim. Our legal team has reviewed your claim in great detail and discovered that the circumstances that caused this flight to be disrupted legally exempt the airline from recompense.
In other words, even if we took the airline to court over this specific claim, the case would be lost due to a legal exemption in favor of the airline.
We’re so sorry that this claim cannot be taken further! We aim to hold airlines accountable for every flight they disrupt, but unfortunately the law exempts them in a variety of circumstances…
Cutting Through the BS
Mr. Thrifty thought nothing more about it, until an even more curious email from AirHelp arrived in his inbox several months later, stating:
Aeroflot Russian Airlines has rejected your claim, but in no way does that mean your case is lost. This is simply a common tactic airlines use to get away with not paying your rightful compensation of 500 EUR.
Well, what do you know… Mr. Thrifty could have told AirHelp the same thing.
So the claim was back on, and the next stage would be to take Aeroflot to court in Sweden. AirHelp provided Mr. and Mrs. Thrifty with a Power of Attorney to sign, which needed to be sent by post to their attorney in Stockholm. This took a bit of time, as printers are not easy to find these days, especially on the road. Nevertheless, Mr. and Mrs. Thrifty managed to sign and send back the PoA within a few weeks.
Victory at Last
And that was the last effort needed on our part. The waiting game continued for another couple of months until, schwing!…. A delightful email arrived from AirHelp confirming our victory and asking where to send the proceeds.
Conclusions of this AirHelp Case Study Experience
The intent of this AirHelp case study is to present the process, timeline, and final compensation earned.
While there were a couple of twists and turns, all-in-all, the process was fairly effortless and it was a great feeling of satisfaction that justice won in the end.
AirHelp is a godsend to powerless consumers and is rightfully taking its place amongst the disruptors. It’s one of the few companies with a meaningful business model that levels the playing field against greedy and recalcitrant airlines.
Mr. Thrifty highly recommends checking out AirHelp and bookmarking their site for the inevitable occasion when your flight is delayed or cancelled, and the airline tries to blow you off. Thrifty readers will save 10% on AirHelp’s commission when they initiate a claim through our link.
AirHelp works around the world, including Canada, and it looks set to have an uptick in demand for their services, as the new Canadian regulations for flight delay compensation recently became effective (July 15, 2019).
To date, AirHelp has aided more than 10 million people, is available in 30 countries and has more than 600 employees.
AirHelp Case Study: Timeline
| Sep 2, 2016 | Flight delay incident (4+ hours) on Aeroflot Stockholm - Moscow |
| Oct 9, 2016 | Contacted by Expedia with referral to AirHelp to request compensation from Aeroflot |
| Oct 10, 2016 | Mr. Thrifty submits initial claim to AirHelp; AirHelp requires (1) booking confirmation and (2) Assignment Form |
| Oct 17, 2016 | AirHelp submits claim to Aeroflot. |
| Dec 2, 2016 | AirHelp advises that the claim was rejected by Aeroflot and that they cannot pursue it any further, due to an ‘exemption’ claim by Aeroflot. |
| Apr 25, 2017 | AirHelp sends a new email, advising that "Aeroflot Russian Airlines has rejected your claim, but in no way does that mean your case is lost. This is simply a common tactic airlines use to get away with not paying your rightful compensation of 500 EUR." AirHelp requests a Power of Attorney in favour of a Swedish attorney, so that they can pursue legal action for delayed and cancelled flights under EC Regulation 261/2004. |
| Jun 2, 2017 | Mr. Thrifty posts the original Power of Attorney to AirHelp's attorney in Sweden. |
| Jun 13, 2017 | AirHelp confirms receipt of the Power of Attorney. |
| Aug 16, 2017 | AirHelp confirms that the legal action is moving forward. Warns "Aeroflot Russian Airlines is not one of the fastest airlines in these situations, so it may be around 51 days before we have an answer on your case." |
| Nov 24, 2017 | (100 days later...) Great Success! AirHelp emails to say that they’ve won the case and to send them payment instructions for the compensation due. |
| Feb 21, 2018 | Payment received via PayPal for the equivalent of €500 less fees, which amounts to about C$500. Case closed. |
For Further Reading:
Flight Compensation Rules: Knowledge is Money