The Difference Between Compensation and Reimbursement for Flight Disruptions

Are you entitled to remuneration for flight disruptions, but confused about whether you should submit a claim for reimbursement or compensation? Airline terminology can be confusing, but it doesn’t have to be. Once you understand aviation regulation terminology, you can get the proper settlement for your disrupted flight.

In this article, we’ll break down the difference between compensation vs reimbursement, and how to submit your claim.

Dissecting Compensation

When traveling by air compensation is available when you experience disruptions like delays, cancellations or denied boarding. But what is compensation and how can you receive it?

Photo by Sasun Bughdaryan on Unsplash

The Essence of Compensation

Flight compensation is when airlines pay a monetary sum to passengers, to make up for inconveniences caused by flight disruptions. While it’s difficult to put a price on missed vacations or family gatherings, compensation acknowledges the inconvenience caused to travelers. 

Factors Influencing Compensation

Compensation depends on the flight distance and length of delay. Regulations like EC261/2004 establish fair compensation amounts based on these factors.

In some cases, airlines aren’t required to pay compensation. For example, if the disruption was outside the airline’s control, the flight was delayed for less than 3 hours or the airline gave at least 14 days notice of the cancellation.

Compensation Strategies

The flight claim compensation process is relatively straightforward, but there are some strategies you can use to ensure you receive maximum compensation:

• Acquire Knowledge

If you’re filing a flight claim, familiarize yourself with compensation regulations. All airlines must follow regulations like EC261/2004. By learning about these regulations, it’s easy to understand how much compensation you’re entitled to. 

• Dispute decisions

If the airline rejects your air claim compensation claim, you can still dispute the decision. Some airlines try to avoid paying compensation claims to reduce expenses, but you can overturn their decision by using valid reasoning to fight their claim.

• Flight claim companies

Hiring flight compensation companies like Skycop can be a particularly effective strategy. Just submit your claim information to Skycop and they’ll manage the entire process, communicate with the airline and dispute any decisions on your behalf.

The Fundamentals of Reimbursement

Reimbursement is when airlines pay passengers for expenses incurred as a result of their flight disruption. This can include meals, accommodation and any other costs passengers prove to be a result of the flight disruption. 

The Procedure of Reimbursement

• Gather relevant receipts 

Airlines reimburse passengers for any expenses that result from a flight disruption. Keep receipts from meals, accommodation or transportation during your flight disruption. If you’re not sure if an expense qualifies, it’s better to keep the receipt and submit it anyway. 

• Submit reimbursement claim online

Next, submit your reimbursement claim online. You can usually do this together with your compensation claim. Simply explain your request for reimbursement and provide a justification for your expenses. Attach copies of your receipts to the claim form.

• Wait for a response

After submitting the claim form you must wait for a response from the airline. In the event that the airline rejects your reimbursement claim, you can dispute the decision if you think the airline must reimburse you in accordance with airline regulations.

Comparative Analysis

When passengers file a flight claim in the  EU, regulation EC261/2004 requires airlines to offer compensation and reimbursement. Airport compensation and reimbursement both aim to fairly compensate passengers. 

While the two concepts have many similarities, let’s take a look at some distinguishing factors between compensation vs reimbursement.

Distinguishing Features

One of the main distinguishing factors between airline compensation and reimbursement procedures is that airlines reimburse to make up for any expenses incurred, while compensation is designed to give passengers a payout to make up for the inconveniences they experienced.

In addition, compensation and reimbursement are outlined by different articles of EC261/2004. Article 7 establishes the compensation criteria and amounts. Article 9 establishes passenger rights to free care, such as meals, transportation and accommodation, which means if the airline doesn’t pay for these directly, they must reimburse passengers for the costs.      

In conclusion

While compensation and reimbursement are both aimed at ensuring passengers are treated fairly during flight disruptions, there are some key differences. Compensation is aimed at acknowledging the inconvenience caused by flight disruptions and paying customers to make up for it. 

Reimbursement is when airlines make payments to passengers to cover the expenses incurred during flight disruptions, adhering to passengers’ rights to free care. Compensation and reimbursement procedures are very similar, and passengers can usually submit a claim for both at the same time. 

Photo by Alexander Shatov on Unsplash

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