*This post is written in collaboration with Flightright *

Delayed?

The world is getting smaller or is it? Apart from that ices are melting at our poles due to the climate change I do personally think that. As a true traveler that every year visit more than a handful of countries in the world in order to explore new places and met up with family and friends I think so. The more I travel the more important it gets to me to arrive on the place I am going to according to the schedule. I have seen many airports over the world and honestly I think most of them are so boring that I plan my time being there to a minimum.

But as a true travel with a lot of travels it is unlikely that you at one point will miss a flight or a connection messing up your initial plans. When the plan is messed up it is just to face the fact and try to do the best out of it. Practical problem solving. Whether you are going home or away it is likewise frustrating sitting at an airport, most likely waiting in long ques and getting the answer of “I don’t know” to your question from a customer service representative when you finally reach the service counter. Will you come to your destination later the same day, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow? Will the delay be that long that it is not a point to go on the trip anymore? Will the accommodation or car rental booking just turn into a number at your credit card bill and the insta friendly pictures you planned to post at your account be replaced by you sleeping at a floor at any airport instead of a cozy business class seat?

How to handle a delay

Well, this is what have happened to many travelers this summer. It happens not just in the summer, it happens when the first snow comes, when flight control centers are striking, aircraft maintenance cannot keep the aircrafts airworthy so they have to stay on the ground longer than expected, when the crew is not fit for flight due to too many working hours, when planes are not where they are supposed to be because of earlier delays. The reasons are many to why trips not always turn out as planned. Of course nothing can replace a trip that turned out to be an unforeseen camping trip at an airport floor or a trip where you actually had to go back home again because the new flight schedule you got was not making the trip worth it anymore. But when trips with air does not turn out the expected way there are some simple rules to follow.

First, stay positive, don’t scream and yell at the staff trying to help you at the airport. It’s not their fault. They are there trying to help you out as good as they can.

Secondly, keep all your receipts and boarding cards because you have the right to be compensated for delays.

Third, when you get back home. Make sure that you get the compensation that you are allowed to. Either you can do it yourself but then it is you against the airline. But as a single person, less bargaining power so I would advice you to contact a specialist on the topic like Flightright  that will be the counterpart against the airline when claiming the compensation you are legally allowed to.

Need help to handle the admin?

As a true traveler and travelblogger myself I get recommendations from friends the real world and online how to go about extra ordinary situations like flight delays and cancelations. Two fellow travel bloggers readyfortakeoff.se and Patrik from Ett annat liv have themselves or would recommend using Flightright in order to get compensated. The job you have to do when claiming compensation though Flightright is of course much smaller than if you would do it yourself. You just need to enter some basic details about the delay and then Flightright is taking the fight with the airline for you. You don’t have to pay anything for the service but they keep 25%+ VAT of the compensation that you will receive. Sounds like a good deal right?

Have you ever had any claim on an airline for a delayed or canceled flight? I am curious to get to know how you dealt with it. Please tell me.

/ Pernilla that hope this guide will be helpful