Wizz Air : Flight delay, cancel, compensation, claim… What to do ?
Retard de vol avec Wizz Air Comment obtenir une indémnisation ?
So, it happened thus that I was on my way to the airport very early in the morning to make sure I arrive early enough to prevent rushing and the stress accompanied with it.
This was to preserve my mental strength for my forthcoming business meeting. On my arrival at the airport, I discovered that my flight has been canceled with no explanation given to passengers.
I was mad because my whole point of arriving early became useless and I would be arriving late or even outrightly miss the business meeting. Regardless, I went further to demand a complete refund of all the expenses I had incurred due to the cancelation.
It should be noteworthy that if the airline doesn’t publicize information on refunds or reimbursements every passenger has the right to claim back up to €600 for a canceled or delayed trip.
But, only about 2-3% of air passengers get to effectively receive their reimbursement each year. This just implies that the larger percentage of 98-97% do not get to collect theirs.
As a famous beauty of the Hungarian skies, Wizz Air functions in about forty-two countries. And, it gets to reach roughly one hundred and forty-four airports all over the globe.
This airline actively provides an affordable flying experience to its passengers that are across Europe. Similar to the majority of the budget airlines, issues of cancellations and delays are quite inevitable.
In a circumstance where you get to experience a delay or cancellation with Wizz Air, Indemniflight can assist you in asserting your rights to fair compensation. This can be roughly €600.
Are you an air passenger that has traveled by Wizz air? Have you had a delayed flight, or you have booked with this airline, and it got canceled?
If the flight cancellations or delays had no prior notice or happened for some reason, there is a regulation in charge. It is the EC Regulation 261/2004
Passenger Rights And EU Legislation
So many people have asked to know the conditions in which they are eligible for compensation due to a delay with Wizz air.
However, Wizz Air passengers are actually entitled to compensation in circumstances such as:
- Flight Delay
If your Wizz Air flight got to your actual destination roughly three hours on ETA.
- Flight Cancellation
If you were never informed of cancellations or if you were informed less than fourteen days before your departure day.
- Overbooking
It has to deal with a passenger suffering a denied boarding as a result of overbooking.
- A missed connecting flight
A compensation can occur here when you missed a connecting flight as a result of the delay in any of the legs. And, you got to your destination over three hours later than anticipated
Indemniflight will surely provide you with the details on delayed flight compensation. However, this is based on the actual distance of that flight of yours. They include:
- Short distance flight delays
It is below 1500KM. Also, passengers can get €250 compensation from Wizz Air.
- Medium distance flight delays
This is between 1500km and 3500km. The passengers there are due about €400
- Long-distance flight delay
The distance here is over 3500km. However, passengers are due to the sum of €600 Wizz air compensation.
The overall compensation that has been paid out must be determined through the flight’s distance. It is not on the price of your tickets.
Also, if the delay goes on for more than three hours, and further falls under the recent EU regulation, you can make your claims. Note that claims are valid for six years.
When the delay actually takes more than five hours, passengers have the right to cancel their flight. Also, the airline is further obliged to carry out reimbursement for the costs. Or, they can find an optional transportation method.
Furthermore, should the delay move steadily into the next day, the airline is obligated to search for hotel accommodation. They will also cover the entire costs of getting to the hotel and back to the airport.
You must contact the airline’s customer service and ask them to ensure they confirm this in writing. It could be via a letter or email.
How To Make A Wizz Air Claim ?
Indemniflight provides passengers with a swift and simple way to get a claim. Moreover, the first step to take in getting compensated is to determine if you are actually entitled to the claim.
Once Indemniflight is capable of determining your eligibility for the Wizz air delay compensation, the company will take up your case.
Also, bear in mind that Wizz air is under obligations to offer customers with adequate care should their flight be delayed or cancelled. This entails:
- Drinks and meals
- Two separate occasions wherein you are enabled to establish an interaction with any individual of your choice.
- Hotel accommodation and transport from the airport to the hotel
Bear in mind that, in a case whereby you do not get to receive any assistance or even care, and you incur additional expenses, you will be reimbursed. Ensure that you keep all your itemized receipts and invoices.
Also, your request for reimbursement may be attached to your compensation claims.
When you are set on getting your claims from an airline operator, the EU regulation 261/2004 has all that passengers are entitled to. However, so many people are lost on how to get their entitlement.
Note that you can get your compensation through your lawyer or a third party company.
In case you want to get it on your own, you can contact the airline.
Although some airlines will demand you fill a form online, others will make you contact them via their postal address.
This means you will be sending an email. However, when contacting the airline operator, you will be giving a detailed description of all that transpired. In cases wherein you are not satisfied with the airline operator, you can take further steps
These steps include contacting an ADR; Alternative Dispute Resolution or NEB; National Enforcement Body. Bear in mind that a favored ruling from ADR will have the airline bound to the terms of the judgment.
You can also go through a lawyer, though it has been stated severally that it is time-consuming. However, they will demand a forum to meet up and talk about the disrupted flight.
Most people prefer passing through third party companies like Indemniflight. With a third party company like Indemniflight, the entire process will be carried out by the professionals there. They also have their very own lawyers
How Much Can You Receive As Compensation For A Wizz Air Flight Delay, overbooking or cancellation ?
Because it has been defined by EC Regulation 261/2004, the overall amount you may get to receive will be determined by the itinerary of the flight, as well as the distance between arrival and airport departure.
Furthermore, taken into account is the fact that connecting flights will be used in assessing the situation. In simpler terms, the entire booking will be covered by this regulation.
Subsequently, it is also the distance between your first airport of departure and the final destination that will determine the overall amount of money you will get to receive.
It is this money that you will get as compensation for a delayed, canceled, or overbooked flight.
Also, the connecting flights are covered so far they are booked under the same reference. You can keep them differently if they are part of a similar ticket or itinerary.
Do not forget that if your flight made its journey over a distance greater than 3500km and it was further delayed for over roughly three hours but lesser than four; the total compensation will be decreased by fifty percent.
The regulation has defined the overall amount in euros, and they are:
- €250
- €400
- €600
Preventive Measures To Delays And Cancellations
Although tackling a delay or cancellation can never be taken as fun, there are some few tips you can use in a bid to make them much more easier to manage. They include:
- Do not check a bag
Imagine if you can get rebooked on a different flight, but you have to run down to the gate all at once. At the checker, no checked bag will be waiting for you if such should take place.
So, you must pack carry-on only in your travel backpack. This will give you the freedom to run towards the next flight, rather than to run away from your luggage.
- You should rebook soon enough and not later
If you got prior notice of a cancellation likely to take place, you should contact the customer service of the airline to reschedule now and not later. Most times they will do this freely, and you can get a much better optional flight.
- Make your bookings through the airlines
When a flight cancellation or delay occurs, the customer service of the airline must be capable of taking care of all your reservations. It does not matter if you have made your bookings via an OTA.
Nonetheless, if you want to carry out changes to your ticket or you want to ask for favors, you will go through the OTA you used in booking.
- Schedule your flights when you are traveling for significant events
Do not let a delay which aren’t worth it to keep you from events like your best friend’s wedding. This is because your flight may have you landing roughly two hours before the service begins.
Whenever time and prices tend to permit, ensure you give yourself buffer time in a bid to avoid stressing out more than you need to.
- The flight delay is important
Everyone knows bad weather is not to be joked with and can never be a friend of anyone traveling. Some airlines offer to pay for the hotel meals during overnight delays, especially when the flight delay is their fault.
It is most likely a mechanical issue. We arrived at this conclusion because an airline will not do so should the reason be related to weather. Also, get prepared to cater to yourself.
You can make use of the airline’s app or call the customer service number to speak to a gate agent in a bid to figure out the options you have available.
- Know both the rules and your rights
Note that flight schedules cannot be assured. And, under the laws in the US, airlines are not obligated to offer any form of compensation for delayed or canceled flights. Also, it can always get worse than the usual weather delay.
However, there are some exceptions to this no-compensation rule. If your US-based carrier is actually flying from Europe, you can follow the European Union rules. This is because they are way user-friendly.
What this means is that, if your flight from a place like Dublin to New York is delayed or for over three hours, you are entitled to a six-hundred-euro =payout from that airline.
Another exception has to do with being denied boarding involuntarily. This is also known as getting bumped from a flight. And, it may be as a result of airline overbooking.
If this happens and the airline is not arranged to get you to your desired destination in an hour, it will compensate you in cash.
Furthermore, when the gate agent asks for volunteers to take on a later flight in exchange for a voucher and you get to accept, you will not be entitled to extra compensation.
Also, keep in mind that the amount of involuntarily bumped passengers has risen since a certain David Dao was removed from a flight in the year 2018.
Between the periods of January and March 2017, over nine hundred passengers were denied boarding on United flights involuntarily.
- Ensure you check in twenty-four hours before the time
An exception to the bumped passenger compensation rule is that you do not check into your flight early enough. You are meant to get into the habit of cross-checking during the day before the flight.
You can get email notifications from the airline as they prompt you to do so.
- You can download the app
Whenever you get wind of a delay or cancellation that will be long, the first move you make is to speak with a person. It could either be face to face, at the gate or over the phone.
However, the phone waits can be quite epic as a result of the bad weather, which can strike a whole geographic region. Although it is not foolproof, it is, however, not much of a bad idea to actually download the app of the carrier you are meant to travel with.
Furthermore, you can check on the departure statuses and switch itineraries in the app itself.
Wrapping It Up
It is worthy to note that there are credit cards such as Chase Sapphire Reserve as well as the United Explorer Card, which provides a trip delay benefit for the common carrier travel.
It is going to exclude taxi, rental vehicle travels, etc. that are bought with the card. The delay threshold is twelve hours for some of these cards, and it is six for some others.
What it does is that it will be providing reimbursement of up to $500 for the reasonable expenses incurred as a result of the delay.