Passenger rights

For a flight departing from an airport in the European Union, Iceland, Norway or Switzerland, or arriving there on a European airline, Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 gives you rights against the airline operating the flight:

• a choice between a refund of the ticket and rerouting to your destination;
• care while you wait: meals, refreshments and, if needed, a hotel stay;
• fixed compensation of €250 to €600 depending on the distance of the flight, when the flight is canceled at short notice, you are denied boarding against your will, or you reach your destination 3 hours or more late. No compensation is due in extraordinary circumstances (such as bad weather or an air traffic control strike), or when the cancellation was announced early enough, in general at least 14 days before departure.

These rules also apply to tickets issued under an airline’s frequent flyer program. The United Kingdom has kept equivalent rules for flights departing from the UK and for some flights arriving there.

Details are on the European Union’s official page on air passenger rights (new tab).

For flights to, from or within the United States, U.S. Department of Transportation rules give you a right to a refund when the airline cancels or significantly changes your flight and you do not accept the alternative offered. You can send a complaint to the U.S. Department of Transportation (new tab). Other countries have their own rules, and the airline’s conditions of carriage always apply.

Your concierge tells you as soon as a disruption is known, helps you claim your rights from the airline and passes on to you without delay any refund received. A voucher is offered to you only with your agreement.

On most international journeys, the Montreal Convention sets the airline’s liability for baggage. Report the problem at the airport, at the airline’s desk, then send a written claim to the airline: within 7 days for damaged baggage, and within 21 days of its delivery for delayed baggage.

Keep your boarding pass, your baggage tag and the receipts for any essential items you have to buy while you wait for delayed baggage.

Assistance is free at airports in the European Union (Regulation (EC) No 1107/2006). Tell us your needs when you book, or tell your concierge at least 48 hours before departure: the request is passed on to the airline and the airports at least 36 hours before departure.

For flights to, from or within the United States, the Air Carrier Access Act requires airlines to provide free assistance to passengers with disabilities.

Airlines banned or restricted from operating in the European Union are listed on the EU Air Safety List (new tab). The airline operating each of your flights is shown before you book, and any change we learn about is passed on to you as soon as possible.

If you do not use your ticket, the taxes and charges that are due only when the passenger boards are refunded to you on request, free of charge, no later than 30 days after your request. Make the request from your member account or by email to contact@example.com, once the flight has left without you or the ticket has been canceled.

Passport, visa, electronic travel authorization, health requirements: check the rules for your destination with its embassy or consulate, or on the U.S. Department of State travel advisories (new tab).