travelling-blogger

comments

A majority of air travellers who have experienced flight delays of more than three hours are not claiming the compensation they entitled to, new research has revealed.

A survey conducted by Which? Travel found that in the last two years more than a fifth of UK air travellers have experienced flight delays that qualify for compensation under EU rules.

But only 38 per cent of them have claimed compensation to which they were entitled to, according to the poll of more than 7,729 people.

Scroll down for video 

More than a fifth of UK air travellers in the last two years have been delayed by at least three hours

Thomson lays claim to the worst-delayed route – Orlando's Sanford Airport to London Gatwick Airport

Passengers hit by delays of at least three hours while flying with an EU-based airline or from an EU airport can claim between €250 and €600 compensation (approximately £200 to £450), unless it was due to an 'extraordinary circumstance' – such as severe weather or a security risk – beyond the airline's control.

Which? Travel editor Jill Starley-Grainger said: 'Nobody wants to be held up by flight delays so airlines must do everything in their power to ensure they fly on time.

'If you've suffered a flight delay of more than three hours you could be entitled to compensation.'

Only 38 per cent of those who qualified have applied for compensation, according to a poll by Which? Travel

The research showed that 37 per cent of Which? members had suffered a flight delay in the last two years, with 21 per cent being held up for more than three hours.

Of those polled, as many as 44 per cent said they would be happy to pay up to £50 more for a £250 flight if the airline had an excellent rather than average punctuality record.

Gill Coombes, 40, who left Edinburgh to go skiing in Austria, said she believes busier skies translate into longer delays.

She said: 'It's inevitable that as air travel grows, so too will the delays.

'I'm sceptical about compensation. Airline companies will just inflate their prices elsewhere to make sure they're not left out of pocket.'

The study found that 20 per cent of flights failed to arrive within the industry standard of 'on time'

A separate Which? Travel study analysed Civil Aviation Authority data on flight delays for nine of the busiest UK-operating airlines for the 12 months ending August 2014.

The figures revealed flights to major cities including Glasgow, Edinburgh, London, Manchester and Newcastle were routinely affected by hold-ups.

Based on arrivals at UK airports, the study found that 20 per cent of flights failed to arrive within the industry standard of 'on time', which is defined as early to 15 minutes late.

Thomas Cook and Monarch Airlines were the only two that failed to meet the on-time standard, with average delays of 18 minutes and 17 minutes, respectively.

Passengers hit by delays of at least three hours can claim between €250 and €600 compensation

Refund.me is a flight delay compensation app

A spokesman for Thomas Cook said: 'While there any many factors that can delay flights - such as weather and strikes - we work hard to ensure our customers depart for their holiday, and return home, on time.

'Unlike some airlines, we never cancel flights and this can skew such figures, but we always ensure our customers reach their holiday destination and look after them during any delays.'

A spokeswoman for Thomson said: 'The vast majority of our flights depart on or very close to the scheduled time, but on rare occasions circumstances outside our control can cause delays.

'We'd like to reassure customers that in the event of a delay we do everything we can to minimise the disruption, as well as providing assistance and updates.'

Ryanair flew seven of the ten least-delayed routes to the UK while Flybe was the least delayed overall

Surveyor James MacBryde, 54, of Keswick, Cumbria, flew to the Canary Islands last week for a Christmas holiday.

He said: 'I'm travelling with two teenagers and my wife and there's nothing worse than having to hang around an airport waiting for a flight.

'The CAA should come down harder on airlines who routinely operate delayed flights.'

Flybe was the least delayed of the airlines looked at, with average postponements of 10 minutes.

Thomson Airways' average delay was 14 minutes, but the airline was responsible for flying seven of the ten most-delayed routes to the UK.

Thomson lays claim to the worst-delayed route – Orlando, Florida's Sanford Airport to London Gatwick Airport – which had an average delay of 68 minutes.

Compensation cannot be claimed if a delay was due to 'extraordinary circumstances' such as severe weather

Next was a Jet2 route, from Chambery, France to Manchester, which was delayed on average 67 minutes, followed by a Thomson route from Montego Bay in Jamaica to Gatwick (65 minutes).

Europe's largest budget airline, Dublin-based Ryanair, flew seven of the ten least-delayed routes to the UK, all of which were from European destinations.

Least delayed were a Thomson flight from Marrakesh in Morocco to Birmingham (average delay of less than one minute), a Ryanair service from Sandefjord in Norway to Edinburgh (less than one minute) and a Birmingham-bound service by Monarch from Split in Croatia (one minute on average).

In an additional survey based on the experiences of 11,396 Which? members flying in economy class, Swiss was voted the best short-haul airline with a customer score of 82 per cent, while Thomas Cook came last with a score of 38 per cent.

Singapore Airlines topped the table for best long-haul carrier with a customer score of 87 per cent, while American Airlines appeared at the bottom of the table with a score of 37 per cent.

This survey covered flights in the 12 months ending October 2014.