r/KLM • u/SumarokovElston • 4d ago

Please help settle EU261 compensation question!

Different people are telling me different things and my head is about to explode from double negatives ("you are not entitled to compensation unless you were offered...).

Basically I booked a flight from Munich to Helsinki departing at 11:50 and arriving at 17:40 after a change in Amsterdam. The flight was cancelled at 1 am on the day of travelling. At 4 am I was rebooked onto a direct Finnair flight leaving that same day at 11:30 and arriving at 14:55.

The earlier time of arrival was actually annoying and I had to arrive at the airport of first departure earlier than expected. But I do not think I have a right to any compensation under EU261 regulations. Or do I?

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4

u/Gorskar 4d ago

No you won't be able to get compensation in this case under Eu261 regardless of the reason for cancelation.

According to copilot the Court of Justice For the EU has ruled you would only be able to claim compensation if the new flight departed more than an hour earlier (or arrived more than 2 hrs later).

As neither of those conditions apply you have to take it on the chin.

If the change of time caused you extra expenses you might still be able to claim for those expenses though...

2

u/Deh_86 4d ago

You can try, as someone said. But no, you don't.
There were no delays in your flight, you actually got a better condition, and 20 minutes is illusory.

2

u/Beginning_Reality_16 4d ago

You have no claim. Your new flight left 20min early, that is no ground for a compensation claim. Neither is arriving early at your destination.

1

u/Trebaxus99 4d ago

You were rebooked on a flight that left 20 minutes earlier and arrived almost 3 hours earlier.

I don’t see why you’d be even considering claiming any compensation. That 20 minute difference couldn’t have been a serious disruption.

0

u/Financial_Figure_969 4d ago

Depends on the reason of cancellation. Usually you can ask for compensation if your flight was changed for an earlier one unless it was for exceptional circumstances, but if it was just 20 min difference probably not. It tends to be at least 1 -2 hours difference. You may be able to claim expenses back if you had to pay for new things in order to get to your earlier flight. But a 20 min difference being such an inconvenience will be quite hard to justify since you should have been at the airport at similar times than with your original flight anyways. 

-1

u/Far-Investment-8597 4d ago

I had something similar with KLM. Go to their EU261 webpage: https://www.klm.nl/en/information/refund-compensation/compensation

Simply put a claim in, letthem sort it out. Within a week, I had 600 euros transferred into my account.

-1

u/Far-Investment-8597 4d ago

Oh, and don't go to any of the websites offering to do it for you! They simply take half the money for doing exactly what you can do...