Hey guys! So, I wanted to tell you about this crazy experience I had that ended up getting me a sweet refund of 600€ on a super long flight from Madrid to Brazil. I bet most of you are familiar with EU Regulation No 261/2004, which basically says that if your flight gets delayed leaving the EU, you might be entitled to some cash.
So, here’s the deal – my flight had some tire trouble or something like that right when we were taking off. We had to stop, get off the plane, and wait for over 5 freaking hours. That’s like the maximum distance and delay combo, so I was eligible for the highest compensation level. I contacted Air Europa, and boy, did they hit me with some corporate mumbo jumbo about how they weren’t responsible for compensating me because the delay was due to reasons beyond their control. Yeah, right. The tire issue was totally on them, but they weren’t having any of it.
So, I decided to take matters into my own hands and reached out to Spain’s aviation authority. Let me tell you, that website was a nightmare. It took me months to finally submit my complaint, but I did it. Then, they hit me with a curveball and told me to contact the Portuguese aviation authority since that’s where my journey started. Pro tip: if your flight gets messed up during a layover, you still complain where your trip began. And guess what? You can claim compensation no matter where you’re headed as long as your flight starts in the EU. So, going to Brazil didn’t change a thing – EU rules still apply.
The Portuguese site was thankfully more user-friendly, and I managed to file my complaint easily. They shot a request for clarification over to Air Europa, and surprise, surprise, the airline suddenly remembered they owed me some cash after stonewalling me for a week. I’ve heard some airlines like Wizz Air are pretty good at coughing up the compensation right away, but some others might try to make you jump through hoops in the hopes that you’ll just give up. But hey, stick to your guns because in the end, they won’t face any consequences as long as they eventually pay up.
And just like that, my nearly year-long battle came to an end. So, if you ever find yourself in a similar situation, don’t hesitate to file a complaint. You could end up with a nice chunk of change