[jddj]

Unless they claim, by noreply email, that it (eg. ATC strike in a 3rd country for which they had 2 weeks' notice) was out of their control and so no compensation is owed.

Then you get the pleasure of a phone tree that only allows the option of giving feedback about the noise on the plane or the cleanliness.

Then once you get through and manage to plead your case you'll get quarterly emails about how your case is in review and sorry about the delay but you should have news next week.

Not bitter.

[MaxikCZ]

Yea, they tend to deflect. Then you send email quoting laws and inform them that next email will be trough lawyers, and they pay out quick (personal experience)

[buzer]

In recent case I quoted the actual law & caselaw and the response I got was that I need to contact the marketing carrier and they will stop responding now. Funnily enough, the carrier I was in contact with was the marketing carrier (as background, codeshare flight was cancelled almost month earlier but I was never informed & I only discovered it when I went to airport).

So in my case the next step is to find lawyer.

[Izikiel43]

Have you raised a complaint with the regulatory body they are registered to? That also works well.

[buzer]

NEB in Finland is Traficom, but they don't handle individual complaints. Those handled by Consumer Advisory Services and European Consumer Center & these are residence based as far as I understand (I'm Finnish citizen but I don't live in EU).

The only alternative to court is Consumer Disputes Board but their resolutions are just recommendations & Finnair has a long history of ignoring them so spending 2-3 years there seems like waste of time.

[Izikiel43]

In my case, I filed a complaint with Iceland air regulatory authority, even though I lived in canada at a time, and when I told Icelandair I had done that, they suddenly became very proactive.

[cianmm]

There are also firms that handle all of this for you for a % (in the region of 20%). They validate the claim and threaten ti take the airline to court if they don’t pay out.

I generally go direct to the airline these days but if I get pushback beyond what I’m willing to deal with myself, I’ll use one of those services.

[bobafett-9902]

Although a pain, I've had great success by simply asking for "some form of compensation" for my delay. They're not going to offer you cash back, but you can then push them to give future flight credit. I've gotten $30-$150 on average depending on the value of the ticket purchased

[tgsovlerkhgsel]

If you have a working small claims court system in your country - go for that.

[Izikiel43]

The law is clear though, if the airline doesn't comply, raise a complaint with the regulatory body of the country they are located. Suddenly they become very friendly (been there, done that, got all the monies)