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The original was posted on /r/lifeprotips by /u/toobulkeh on 2023-08-11 19:58:30.

Thanks to EU 261 regulation, airlines that delay or cancel flights owe you money.

I had a US domestic leg on the way back from the EU return $1300 for 2 tickets because it was delayed more than 4 hours.

With more than 20% of flights being delayed every day, there’s a good chance there’s real money in it for your trouble.

I had 3 emails with the airline’s support, and was even offered more in flight credits. It took a month from the first request to check in the bank.

Note that there are online services that will do this for you, but:

1. You basically have to submit the same information to them. They’re only useful if the airline forces you to go to court, as they’re theoretically do that for you.
2. They’re “free” up front, but charge 20-30% in success fees. Worth a few emails in my experience.

Thanks to hacker news for the story that had me look into it. It took that guy 3 months and even a request to the EU agency, but that wasn’t too bad. I’m curious how airlines are going to fight this. Hope they don’t flag the account/travelers, which seems illegal, but that never stopped a corporation.