Guides

Claim Flight Compensation Yourself or Use a Claim Company?

By Delay Payout · Published October 20, 2026

Claiming directly from the airline costs nothing, and you keep the whole amount. A claim company does the same steps — the letter, the chase, the regulator, sometimes a court — and keeps a share. The rules on this site are designed to be claimed by passengers on their own.

The free route, step by step

1. Write to the operating airline. Use its claim form or customer-relations address. Give the booking reference, flight number, date, scheduled and actual arrival times and everyone's names. Many airlines' claim pages are listed on the airlines page.
2. Wait for the answer. Canada's APPR gives the airline 30 days. Your Europe advises escalating after two months without a reply; the UK CAA says eight weeks.
3. Escalate for free. If the airline does not reply within two months, or the reply is unsatisfactory, complain to the national enforcement body of the country where the incident happened. Under UK261: if the airline's final answer is unsatisfactory, or it has not answered within eight weeks, go to the alternative dispute resolution (adr) body the airline belongs to, or to the caa's passenger advice and complaints team if it belongs to none. Under APPR: if the airline refuses or does not answer, file a complaint with the canadian transportation agency.
4. Court is the last step, and in the UK and many EU countries a small-claims procedure keeps it cheap.

What claim companies charge

Fees from each company's own published page, checked 2026-10-20. No affiliate relationship.

What you keep: worked examples

Using the EU261 amounts and the published percentages:

On a long-haul delay worth €600, the AirHelp service fee alone is €210. For a family of four on the same flight — four separate €600 entitlements — that is €840 handed over for a claim the family could file in one email.

The same arithmetic on a UK261 long-haul claim of £520: £338 kept with AirHelp, £364 with AirAdvisor, £520 on your own.

When a company can still make sense

If the airline has refused on grounds you think are wrong and you have no appetite for a regulator complaint or a court form, a company carries that work and the risk of losing. That is a service with a price. It does not change what the airline owes, and the free regulator routes remain open to you at every stage.

Before you sign anything

• Check whether the company takes an assignment of your claim — you may not be able to negotiate with the airline yourself afterwards.
• Do not accept travel vouchers from the airline in place of money without reading Article 7(3): cash is the default, and vouchers need your signed agreement.
• Do not file through two channels for the same flight.

Sources

• Your Europe: Air passenger rights (European Union)
• UK Civil Aviation Authority: Delays
• Canadian Transportation Agency: Flight delays, cancellations, rebooking, refunds and compensation
• AirHelp price list (version PL2.26, updated 11 Aug 2026)
• AirAdvisor: AirAdvisor vs AirHelp comparison page