EasyJet overbooking compensation / denied boarding compensation.
In which situations are you entitled to flight overbooking compensation? What are the rules? How can you claim compensation from easyJet, and how much could you be entitled to?
To ensure that there are no empty seats at take off, often airlines sell more tickets than there are seats on the plane. Overbooking of flights is a common practice, and easyJet is not an exception. However, sometimes all or most of the people who bought tickets show up for the flight, and someone has to be denied boarding due to overbooking. Whenever that happens, an airline is obliged to pay EU denied boarding compensation.
There are two ways you can claim this compensation.
1. EasyJet Overbooking Compensation: UK / EU Denied Boarding Regulations
Have you been denied boarding by easyJet?
What are your rights when it happens? In which situations are you entitled to denied boarding compensation from easyJet, and in which you aren’t? When it comes to denied boarding due to overbooking, the rules are extremely simple – you have a right to compensation every single time.
If you’re flying from Europe with EasyJet, and you are denied boarding due to overbooking — you will entitled to flight overbooking compensation (EU denied boarding compensation) up to €600. If you are flying from, to or within the UK with EasyJet, and you are denied boarding due to airline overbooking— you will entitled to the UK denied boarding compensation up to £520.
All of this applies only to overbookings.
The UK and EU regulations apply only to situations when you are denied boarding due to overbooking. You won’t be entitled to compensation if you are denied boarding due to visa issues, there are any problems with your travel documents or if you voluntarily give up your seat.
Read more: Regulation (EC) No 261/2004; Regulation UK261
By Europe and EU here on this page we mean all EU Member States, the United Kingdom (UK), Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Reunion, Mayotte, Saint Martin (French Antilles), the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands, Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland.
1.1 Voluntary Denied Boarding
What is voluntary denied boarding?
Yes, there are different types of boarding denials.
Let’s rewind one more time, what do we understand with term overbooking? What is overbooking? According to the overbooking definition, it simply means that an airline has accepted more bookings for a particular flight than there is room for. Airline has sold more tickets than there are seats in hope that not everyone will come. What happens if too many people come?
If a thing like this happens, you may be asked to give up your seat in exchange for a new flight and compensation in the form of vouchers or cash. If you are offered compensation like this and you accept it, it’s called voluntary boarding denial.
In this case, you aren’t entitled to any other compensation.
You don’t have to agree to an offer like this.
1.2 Involuntary Denied Boarding
There are situations when passengers don’t have a choice.
There are situations when there aren’t any free seats left, and there are not enough people who are ready to give up their seats voluntarily. In a situation like this, people with confirmed tickets may be refused boarding. If that’s what has happened to you, know that it’s called involuntarily denied boarding, and you will be eligible for compensation.
What happens in case of involuntary denied boarding?
- The airline must provide you with a new flight or give you a full refund for the flight (you must be given a choice);
- In addition to that, you are entitled to receive care from the airline*;
- You are entitled to compensation up to €600 per passenger.
* EasyJet must offer you free meals and drinks in a reasonable relation to the waiting time, two free phone calls, e-mails or faxes. If you have to wait overnight, easyJet must provide you with free accommodation and free transfer from and to the airport.
1.3 Right to Care
All passengers travelling with easyJet have a right to care.
If you have to wait at the airport for a new flight, you have a right to receive care. In case of easyJet, the EU/UK Flight Compensation Regulations apply to most of its flights to and from the European Union and the UK. For example, if you are denied boarding, or if it’s a last-minute cancellation or a long delay, and you have to wait at the airport, you have a right to receive care from easyJet. It applies to all situations when you have to wait for 3 or more hours extra.
It includes disruptions caused by extraordinary circumstances.
What does it mean for you?
EasyJet must offer you free meals and drinks in a reasonable relation to the waiting time, two free phone calls, e-mails or faxes. If your new flight is leaving only on the next day, free accommodation and free transfer must be offered by easyJet. Mostly all of that is offered in the form of coupons. Agreeing to these free services doesn’t affect your chances of getting compensation.
Contact the airline if you haven’t been offered anything.
2. How to Claim EasyJet Flight Compensation? How to Claim Flight Overbooking Compensation?
You can claim compensation yourself.
The other option is to work with professionals.
Claiming compensation from easyJet yourself. Call easyJet or contact their customer support center using their website or social media channels, and request compensation for denied boarding easyJet owes you. Refer to the above mentioned EU Flight Compensation regulation (EC) No 261/2004 or the UK Regulation 261, and don’t agree to any airline coupons. Keep in mind that it may take months until you receive the denied boarding compensation easyJet owes you.
You can also take the easiest path — legal representation.
Register your easyJet compensation claim with the help of a flight compensation company. In this case, you don’t have to do much. In many situations it takes only minutes of your time. Just fill in the compensation claim form, and the rest will be done by a flight compensation company.
Our partners offer such services.
When choosing this option, here is all you will have to do:
And that’s it — the rest is handled by professionals.
* Your boarding pass and passport or ID copy.
2.1 How Long Does It Take?
It depends on a number of factors like the time of the year and country you are flying from. But on average the process takes between 2 to 3 months — from the moment you file a claim until your denied boarding compensation is transferred to your bank account.
Quite often, if easyJet isn’t cooperative and refuses to pay compensation, it is necessary to take the case to a national enforcement body or court. If that’s the case with your flight, it will add at least a couple of months (sometimes even 6) to the whole process.
As you can see, it can take a lot of time. Hence the reason why most people choose to work with flight compensation companies. Not that it’s very difficult or requires a lot of paperwork (mostly it’s a pretty easy process). It just takes time and you have to be persistent.
3. How Much Can You Claim?
In the EU and the UK compensation amounts are fixed.
In most situations they range from €250 to €600.
Here is how you can calculate easyJet compensation yourself:
When your destination is within the EU/UK:
€250
If the distance of your flight is
up to 1500 km
€400
If the distance of your flight is between 1500 – 3500 km
When your destination is outside the EU/UK:
€250
If the distance of your flight is
up to 1500 km
€400
If the distance of your flight is between 1500 – 3500 km
€600
If the distance of your flight is more than 3500 km
This is also the amount you should be demanding, if claiming flight overbooking compensation yourself. EasyJet may offer you smaller compensation at some point. You don’t have to agree to anything less than that. The compensation amounts are regulated by the European Union and UK law.
There’s one exception. When the flight distance is 3500+ kilometres and you reach your destination 3 to 4 hours later than planned, you are entitled only to 50% of the compensation amount (that means €300, not €600).
3.1 EasyJet Voucher Code, Discounts or Cash?
According to the law, compensations have to be paid in cash or by bank transfer.
However, airlines do not always obey the law. Airlines take advantage of people’s lack of knowledge and offer their passengers coupons instead of money. It may sound like a great deal at first but not so much later when you realise you don’t really have a way to spend the voucher (you don’t have a time for travel, Wizz Air is offering a much better deal than easyJet, etc.)
EasyJet, just like most airlines, may initially offer you a voucher instead of money. Request a bank transfer instead. Airline compensation and refunds have to be paid in cash or by bank transfer.
EasyJet Flight Cancellation Compensation: FAQ
My flight was very cheap. Can I get compensation?
Yes. The price of your easyJet tickets doesn’t matter.
It also doesn’t affect the amount of the compensation you are entitled to. You may receive compensation of up to 600 euro even if your flight cost 5 euro. You are paid for the inconvenience you got to experience as a result of this particular easyJet flight disruption.
Do I need to have travel insurance for this?
No, you don’t need to have travel insurance.
According to Regulation EC 261/2004 (and Regulation UK261), every passenger whose flight has been heavily delayed can get compensation. As long as it’s a delay of at least 3 hours, and it’s due to the fault of the airline. You don’t need any insurance for that.
Can my child get compensation from easyJet?
Yes. In the EU, all travellers are protected under the law.
People of any age can get compensation if they are eligible for it. Even infants who have a special, infant ticket and don’t have a separate seat, are entitled to full EU flight delay compensation / flight cancellation compensation / denied boarding compensation of up to 600 euro for one flight. As of 2020 rules are the same also in the UK.
Can I claim compensation for another person?
Yes, you can. Even if you weren’t on that flight yourself.
You can file a compensation for your friend, family member or relative, as long as they provide you with a boarding pass and passport copy. They will also have to sign any documents easyJet may ask to sign. If you decide to work with a flight compensation company, in most cases there’s only one document to sign.
How far back can I claim flight compensation?
It varies from country to country.
But in most cases, you can claim compensation for flights that are up to 2-3 years old. And mostly it depends on the laws and regulation in the country your flight departed from. For the best result, the sooner you register your easyJet claims, the better.
Otherwise you may also completely forget about it.
What to do if easyJet is refusing my claim?
EasyJet is refusing to pay compensation even though you are clearly entitled to it. The easiest way to get easyJet flight delay compensation in a situation like this would be to work with a flight compensation company, to hand over your case and let professionals do the job.
Alternatively, you may contact the respective national enforcement body and ask them to help solve your case. There are national enforcement bodies in all the EU Member states. If your flight departed from a third country, contact the NEB of your destination country.
Problems With Visa or Passport
I was denied boarding due to visa / passport issues. Will I receive compensation for that?
If you are travelling with a passport that is about to expire, or has expired already, or you don’t have a valid visa, you will be denied boarding. In this case, you won’t be eligible for denied boarding compensation from the airline.
Keep in mind that budget airlines normally don’t sell connecting flights. If you are flying with easyJet or any other budget airline, your only option mostly is to book two or more consecutive flights separately (it’s called a self-transfer). If your flights are booked separately, you may face problems in case the country you are transiting through requires you to have a visa, or aren’t accepting incoming tourists from your country at the moment (a thing since 2020). Make sure you find out if you need a visa for your self-transfer, and always check the entry requirements of every country you will be travelling through.
If it is an airline-protected connecting flight, normally you won’t face such issues, as you will stay in the transit zone and won’t go through immigration control.
EU – Non-EU Flights, Regulation UK261, Tourists
I’m flying to the EU from a country outside the EU. Can I get compensation?
If you’re flying with easyJet then yes, you can.
Even though easyJet is a British airline. When your easyJet flight is departing from a country outside the EU (including the UK), you are protected under the UK Regulation UK261. Otherwise, you are protected by the EU law (EU Flight Compensation Regulation 261/2004).
I’m flying from the EU to a country outside the EU. Can I get compensation?
Yes, with easyJet you can.
I am not a European. Can I apply for compensation?
Yes, you can.
Travellers of any nationality can claim easyJet flight delay compensation. In the EU, all passengers are protected under the law, tourists from overseas and Europeans alike. Since Brexit the rules are the same also with all UK flights – you are the same as protected as you were before by the EU.
Other Situations
EasyJet provided me with a free hotel room and took me to my destination. Can I still get compensated for the delay?
Yes, you still can receive flight compensation, if you are eligible for it.
In the EU, passengers have a right to receive care from the airline no matter the reason for delay. And if you’re eligible for compensation, it doesn’t affect your chances of receiving this compensation. It’s the airline’s responsibility to take care of its passengers.
EasyJet took me to my destination. Can I still get compensation?
If you arrived at least 3 hours later than planned, then, yes.
There are many situations when you are entitled to compensation. Depending on the distance of your flight, you may receive a compensation of up to €600 per passenger. Even if at the end you were successfully taken to your final destination.
Do you still have questions about easyJet compensation claim procedures and policies? Ask in the comments.
Featured photo by Wayne Jackson from Pexels
I’m I able to claim compensation being put on stand by as easyjet overbooked.
We was told we had to travel on different flights, there was 4 of us travelling and once checking was told there’s only 3 seats left.
This was very stressful who do we pick to be on stand by, we had to wait until everyone was broaded before we knew if the 4th person got a seat. They did get a seat on the same flight but this was very stressful so is their an compensation for this inconvenience and worry.
Regards
Mrs Deborah Picton
Comments are closed.