Your airBaltic compensation claim is denied.
You’ve sought compensation, but your claim has been rejected.
This can indeed be exasperating, particularly when you’ve attempted to make an airBaltic compensation claim independently, and when you’re unsure if you’re even eligible for compensation. What’s the next step? Is it even worth the hassle? The answer is, it most certainly is. Pass the process over to a professional flight compensation company if you want the least stress. However, that’s not your only choice.
You can continue to advocate for your rights independently.
Your airBaltic Compensation Claim Is Denied. Now What?
Your airBaltic compensation claim is denied. Now what?
There are alternative routes to achieving compensation from airBaltic.
Before you escalate matters, however, it’s advisable to revisit the legislation and reacquaint yourself with your entitlements.
1. Collaborating With Flight Compensation Companies
The simplest solution is to engage a flight compensation company.
Your role is simply to complete an online form, supply them with a copy of your boarding pass and passport, and sign the claim. Generally, you don’t have to concern yourself with anything else. The company manages everything else. You’re no longer required to communicate with airBaltic.
The flight compensation company get in touch with you if they need answers to any additional questions. The only downside is the service charges. Most flight compensation businesses demand a fee of around 25-45% of the compensation.
Our partners provide 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.
What are the fees for the service?
Usually, the fee equates to about 25 to 45 percent of the compensation amount. The remainder is transferred to you. You won’t be charged if you don’t secure compensation. However, make sure to check the fees before agreeing to anything, as they may also differ.
Read more:
- How to Claim airBaltic Compensation?
- Your airBaltic Refund Is Taking Forever. What Can You Do About It?
2. Approaching the NEB of the Country of Your Flight’s Origin
Collaborating with a flight compensation company is not your only option.
Making contact with the NEB (National Enforcement Bodies) is your next move after you’ve tried getting in touch with the airline directly and received either a rejection or no response at all. This service is free. However, it’s not as straightforward as using a flight compensation company and could eat into your time. Typically, it takes a minimum of 2 months for them to process your compensation claim.
The major disadvantage — a favourable response to your claim doesn’t guarantee that you’ll receive compensation. airBaltic may still reject the claim.
You can find a list of the National Enforcement Bodies here.
The National Enforcement Bodies assist passengers in the event of denied boarding, flight delay or cancellation, as well as enforces the regulation Regulation (EC) 261/2004 and makes sure passengers are treated according to these rules.
3. Escalating the Matter to Court
If your airBaltic compensation claim is denied, you can take legal action.
It’s recommended to wait until the NEB has made a positive ruling in your favour before proceeding with this. Because having this will be hugely beneficial to your case against the airline (airBaltic in this instance).
This is the most complicated alternative, but it can also be highly effective. Prior to escalating your complaint to court, verify the legitimacy of your claim. Review your rights and compile your argument. Only then can you be confident that it’s worth going to court. If you have a verdict from the NEB stating that you’re eligible for compensation, include it in your court documents.
Remember, court proceedings will incur costs.
Extraordinary Circumstances
Airlines routinely avoid providing the correct reason for denying your claim.
They give you a generic explanation, without any further detail.
They are fond of attributing “everything” to exceptional circumstances.
The reasoning behind this is straightforward — compensating passengers is not a profitable endeavour for airlines. Consequently, airlines strive to avoid having to pay out compensation. Airlines are fully aware that the majority of passengers are not thoroughly informed about their rights. And they exploit this to their advantage. Exercise a degree of skepticism when you encounter this term in future.
Under EU regulation 261/2004, airlines are not obliged to pay flight compensation when the disruption is due to exceptional circumstances. Exceptional circumstances encompass severe weather conditions, civil and political unrest, pandemics, and concealed manufacturing faults. Correct, only concealed manufacturing faults are deemed exceptional circumstances. Most technical difficulties, same like staff strikes, are regarded as the airline’s fault (the airline’s responsibility).
Moreover, adverse weather isn’t always an exceptional circumstance. Sometimes the weather is entirely predictable. For instance — snow during the winter months (unless snow is rare in that location). In scenarios such as these, the airline is expected to take suitable steps to ensure the flight departs on time.
Find the true reason for the delay or cancellation.
It’s important.
When Can You Get Flight Compensation From airBaltic?
There exist several scenarios where you stand eligible to demand flight compensation.
These comprise delays in flights, abrupt cancellations, and situations where passengers are denied boarding due to overfilled flights.
1. Flight Delays
Under the guidelines of EU regulation 261/2004, you possess the right to seek compensation if your flight is delayed by three or more hours. The length of the delay is calculated once you arrive at your destination.
The extent of compensation is dependent on the duration of the delay as well as the distance of the flight. To illustrate, if your flight from London to Paris, a short journey less than 1,500km, is delayed for a period of four hours, you stand to receive €250 as compensation.
Read more: airBaltic Flight Delay Compensation
2. Flight Cancellations
You are entitled to compensation in the event your flight is cancelled without a minimum notice of 14 days.
The compensation amount is dictated by factors such as the distance of the flight and the delay endured in reaching your ultimate destination. To put it into perspective, if your flight from Rome to New York, a considerable distance exceeding 3,500km, is cancelled without a suitable notice and you reach your final stop more than four hours late on a substitute flight, you may claim €600 as compensation.
You may also opt for a full airBaltic refund, instead of an alternative flight.
Read more: airBaltic Flight Cancellation Compensation
3. Denied Boarding Due to Overbooking
Occasionally, airlines tend to overbook flights in anticipation of some passengers not turning up. If you are denied boarding as a consequence of overbooking and you do not voluntarily surrender your seat, you qualify for compensation.
The compensation value depends on the length of the flight. Let’s say you are flying from Berlin to Madrid, a medium distance ranging between 1,500km and 3,500km, and you are denied boarding due to overbooking. If you reach your destination 3+ hours late, you can claim €400 as compensation.
Read more: airBaltic Denied Boarding Compensation
What is your experience with airBaltic compensation claims? Do you have a first-hand experience of denied airBaltic compensation claim? Did you take the case to NEB or court?
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