Travel agents booking clients via the Sabre global distribution system (GDS) could help air travellers recoup compensation for airline delays via a new app.
Refund.me seeks delay compensation claims via agents
Travel agents booking clients via the Sabre global distribution system (GDS) could help air travellers recoup compensation for airline delays via a new app.
Consumer compensation specialist Refund.me targets passengers entitled to claim compensation under European regulations on air passengers’ rights.
The company monitors flight delays and cancellations and its app flags up those on which passengers could be eligible to cash back.
Refund.me believes the app could be useful to travel management companies (TMCs) and other agents.
Eve Buechner, refund.me chief executive, said: “This app is designed to ensure passengers are given the opportunity to claim their compensation.
“The monitoring and alert system we are offering travel agents will go a long way to increasing awareness of passenger rights.
“It is the first step in simplifying what is often an unnecessarily difficult process.”?
European rules set air passenger compensation rates at €250, €300, €400 or €600 (£200, £240, £320 and £475) depending on the length of a flight which is delayed.
The regulation, EC 261, did not originally extend to compensation for delays. But it has been extended by a series of court rulings, most recently in June. Compensation rules apply to delays of three hours or more.
The app automatically alerts agents when a flight they have booked becomes eligible for a compensation claim. The information can then be passed to passengers to make a claim.
Refund.me operates on a no win, no fee basis. It earns 15% commission on all successful claims, but does not charge for a failed claim.
