Israeli travelers whose flight was delayed by at least three hours in the past two years are entitled to as much as NIS 300 million in compensation from airlines according to European legislation. Belgian website “Claim it” which offers compensation for delayed flights launched a Hebrew-language version on Monday to help them (at claim.it/eu/he).
The idea is simple: according to European law, an airline which had a flight delay and its passengers landed late (the delay is measured by touchdown and not takeoff) must compensate its customers based on the flight distance €250 for flights up to 1,500 kilometers, €400 for a flight between 1500 to 3,500 kilometers, and €600 for a flight longer than 3,500 kilometers.
All European airlines must comply with the compensation regime, including low cost companies regardless of where their flights originate, as do all international airlines departing European airports.
If El Al, for example, has a flight from Rome to Tel Aviv delayed by at least three hours it must compensate its passengers by law. The airlines naturally prefer to minimize the compensation which is unrelated to any other compensation they provide including meals, hotel rooms, or service class upgrades.
Claim it was founded on the back of this law two years ago, setting up a site which demanded the compensation from airlines on behalf of its customers for a 25% fee. All eligible users need to do is sign up for the site enter their names and the details of their flight itinerary, and wait for their compensation to arrive within two to three months.
Users who want an immediate payout are offered a symbolic payout of 25% of the expected compensation, with the rest taken eventually by the site.
If a legal challenge is required in the case an airline refuses to accept responsibility Claim it attorneys, headed by Adv. Abraham Moskowitz, will undertake the legal proceedings (they do not believe there is a need to be present at any stage of the hearings held in European countries.)
This compensation does not interfere with Tibi’s law, which sets compensation for flights delayed by at least 8 hours regardless of their citizenship or the price they paid for the flight.
What’s in the fine print?
If the delay is caused by a volcanic eruption, political incidents, war, illegal strikes, or terror attacks, then the airlines are not liable to pay compensation; the many passengers affected by the closure of the Brussels airport after the terror attack are thus not entitled to compensation.
But there’s more. The law allows for retroactive compensation suits, meaning Israeli passengers can demand compensation for flights delayed up to two years back. There are countries, like Spain and the UK, in which travelers can file suit up to six years later, and Israelis are also eligible if they departed a relevant airport.
The company was founded in 2013; in 2015, it gave back European customers in its area of operations €1.5 million out of 3 million suits (with some still pending trial).
Estimates place the compensation due to Israeli passengers at NIS 300 million (if every eligible traveler sues and wins) for flights that landed late in the past two years.
Claim it, for its part, managed to turn the law into a financially profitable model for both it and the many travelers who not only were unaware they were due compensation but may have also been too exasperated to even demand it.
And the potential for compensation is massive. Since 2015, after the Open Skies agreement was implemented and new airlines made Israel a destination, more than 700 flights per week now depart to European airports.
Claim it CEO Ralph Pais said on Monday at the launch of the site in Israel: “We hope to extend the success we started with in Europe getting proper compensation for our customers who were forced to experience flight delays or cancellations. Israelis are smart consumers who are knowledgeable of their rights I have no doubt they will be able to receive what they are due.”
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 5, 2016
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