Compensation for a cancelled flight on your own or through a portal: how much money you lose

Your flight was canceled, or the plane landed three and a half hours late. A couple of days later, ads appear in your feeds: "we'll get you compensation, pay only if we succeed." Behind that ad lies a question people rarely ask out loud: how much will you keep if you handle it yourself, and how much will the middleman take?

Under Regulation (EC) 261/2004, compensation for a canceled flight from Munich to Athens is €400 per person. A portal takes a cut of that amount, and the cut is rarely symbolic. With four passengers on one booking, you're talking about several hundred euros that you either keep for yourself or hand over for someone else's correspondence.

Below we break down both paths: what the portal takes, what a direct claim costs, and when a middleman is actually justified.

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What you're entitled to under the regulation

💡 In short:

• You have a right to payment in the event of cancellation, a delay in arrival of three hours or more, and denied boarding due to overbooking.
• The amount depends only on distance: from €250 to €600 per seat (Article 7 of the regulation).
• The ticket price doesn't matter: a cheap fare gets you the same amount as business class.
• Amounts and thresholds: 09/2026, verified on the official European Union rights portal.

There's a single legal basis here: Regulation (EC) 261/2004. It applies to all flights departing from the European Union and to flights into the EU if they're operated by a carrier with a European license. Through bilateral agreements, Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland are included in the system, so the rules work the same way from Zurich or Oslo.

The amounts are fixed and tied to distance under Article 7 of the regulation: €250 up to 1,500 km, €400 for distances between 1,500 and 3,500 km and for intra-European routes longer than 1,500 km, €600 for long-haul flights beyond the EU over 3,500 km.

Source: Article 7 of Regulation 261/2004, as of 09/2026.

The delay clock starts when the first door of the aircraft is opened at the arrival airport, not when the wheels touch the runway. The right to payment arises in three cases: a delay in arrival of three hours or more, cancellation with less than 14 days' notice, and denied boarding due to overbooking (regulation conditions). The ticket price is irrelevant: for a €39 fare you'll get the same €250 as a business-class passenger.

A separate topic: extraordinary circumstances. Compensation is not paid if the disruption was caused by weather, airspace closure, an air traffic controller strike, or a bird strike. Technical faults with the aircraft itself and strikes by the airline's own staff are generally not treated as such circumstances by the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg. This is exactly where carriers most often claim the opposite, and it's easy to lose money here if you take them at their word.

The rules shifted in 2026. The European Parliament confirmed the agreed text on July 7, 2026, with 646 votes in favor and 12 against (parliament press release). The amounts of €250, €400, and €600 and the three-hour threshold remain unchanged, and the new version won't take effect immediately but roughly a year after publication in the official journal. Until that day, you calculate under the previous version, so nothing changes for 2026 flights.

The portal route: what the commission takes

Portals operate on a "no win, no fee" model. You don't pay upfront, and the service takes a cut of the payout. The size of the cut depends on the model, and the range here is wide.

Classic collection works like this: the portal demands payment on your behalf, handles the correspondence, and goes to court if necessary. The payout arrives when the airline pays, meaning six to twelve weeks, or considerably longer if it goes to court. The commission in this model is usually between a quarter and a third of the amount and most often already includes VAT. The catch: some providers show the rate without tax, and the final cut ends up roughly a fifth higher than the displayed figure.

Instant payout works differently. The portal buys the claim and transfers the money within days, sometimes within 24 hours. The cut here is higher: it starts at around a third of the amount and with some providers reaches nearly half. Here you're trading time for money, and the procedural risk is removed entirely: the claim transfers to the service.

What middlemen genuinely do well: they know current practice, they have data on the real causes of delays, they don't back down after a standard rejection, and they litigate at their own expense. If an airline from a third country ignores letters, portal support saves you months of correspondence in a foreign language.

You can assess your own case in advance and with no obligation: check your eligibility for compensation on AirHelp. The service reviews the flight, shows the odds, and charges a fee only on success, so you can compare options without risking any money.

On your own: documents and the first letter

Filing a claim yourself looks unglamorous and in most cases ends with a payout. The process is as follows.

Step 1. Gather your documents. You need your booking confirmation, boarding passes, and receipts for meals and a hotel. The most important thing is proof of the actual arrival time: a photo of the arrivals board or a screenshot of the flight status will work.

Step 2. Calculate the amount. Determine the route distance, match it to the compensation amount, and measure the delay from the moment the doors open at the arrival airport. After that, the amount is known in advance: 250, 400, or 600 € (as of 09/2026, text of the regulation).

Step 3. Send a written claim. A standard letter is enough: flight number, date, route, length of delay, legal basis (Regulation 261/2004), amount, bank details, and a two-week deadline for a response. Free templates are available from consumer protection centers and the European Commission. Many airlines have an online form that goes into the same system and counts as an official claim.

Step 4. If rejected, go to conciliation. In Germany, söp, Schlichtungsstelle für den öffentlichen Personenverkehr, handles most airlines; for other carriers there is the Schlichtungsstelle Luftverkehr at the Bundesamt für Justiz (conciliation information on the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt website). The procedure is free for the passenger, takes anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, and ends with a proposal that airlines in practice often accept. In Austria, apf, Agentur für Passagier- und Fahrgastrechte, performs the same role free of charge (agency website).

Escalation: lawyer, court, and timelines

It only makes sense to involve a lawyer after your deadline has passed. The airline is required to reimburse legal fees only once it is already in default (Verzug). If the case goes straight to a lawyer, those costs, around a hundred euros for a 400 € claim, stay with the passenger.

In the local court (Amtsgericht), a lawyer is not required at all. As of 01/01/2026, claims up to 10,000 € fall under its jurisdiction (rules on jurisdiction). If you have legal expenses insurance, check the coverage in advance: your own deductible is usually substantial and, with the minimum compensation, eats up almost the entire payout.

Time-wise, the first letter takes under an hour, and about another hour is added if the case reaches conciliation. Costs are nearly zero: postage for a registered letter and a few euros for printing.

Example calculation: €400 per seat

Let's take a canceled Munich-Athens flight with compensation of €400 per person and see what you keep in each option.

Calculation source: regulation amounts, as of 09/2026. Intermediary rates are shown as typical for the market and depend on the plan you choose.

With four passengers on one booking, the difference multiplies. Between filing on your own and a portal with a quarter commission, you lose several hundred euros per family. Your own time for four claims is almost the same as for one, because they go out in a single letter.

When a portal is actually worth it

Honest answer: in four situations.

• The airline doesn't respond. Some carriers, especially from third countries, systematically ignore letters from individual passengers. Collection with a threat of legal action works differently.
• The carrier claims extraordinary circumstances, and you can't verify them. Portals have access to weather data, aircraft movements, and fleet information, and they know how to refute such claims.
• The case is legally tangled: a missed connection on separate bookings, code-sharing, rerouting to a different airport, a strike with unclear responsibility.
• You simply don't want to deal with it. That's a valid reason. You can pay for peace of mind if you understand exactly how much you're paying.

The reverse is also true. If the case is straightforward, the airline confirmed the cancellation in writing, weather played no role, and the carrier is European with a presence in Germany, an intermediary will cost you more than necessary.

Mistakes that cost money

• Voucher instead of cash. After a cancellation, airlines readily offer a travel voucher, often with a bonus on top of the face value. By accepting it, depending on the wording, you give up your claim. Under EU rules, compensation is paid in cash.
• Mixing up two claims. Compensation under Article 7 and ticket refund under Article 8 are governed by different rules and can apply at the same time (regulation text). Services under Article 9 are separate: drinks, meals, hotel, transfer. Keep your receipts.
• Double assignment. If you write on your own first and then bring in a portal in parallel, the commission may still be yours to pay even if the airline paid based on your letter. Service terms vary, so read them before signing.
• Deadlines. In Germany, claims expire after three years (§ 195 of the Civil Code), and the clock starts at the end of the year in which the claim arose. A July 2026 flight can be claimed until December 31, 2029. In other countries the deadlines are shorter, so don't delay with foreign carriers.
• Package tour. If the trip was a package, you also have claims against the tour operator for deficiencies in the tour. These are separate, and passenger rights portals usually don't handle them.

⁉️🤔 Frequently asked questions

Can I claim compensation if only the second leg of a connecting flight was delayed?

Yes, on a single booking the arrival time at the final destination counts, not at the intermediate airport. If you reached your destination three hours or more late, the claim arises in full, even if the first flight arrived on time. Separate bookings on two carriers break this logic: each leg is considered on its own.

How much exactly does a portal take?

In the classic collection model, the commission is usually between a quarter and a third of the amount and most often includes VAT. With instant payout, the share is higher and can reach nearly half. Exact rates depend on the plan and on whether the provider sees a legal path forward in your case.

How long does filing on your own take?

The first letter takes under an hour if you have your boarding passes and booking confirmation on hand. About another hour goes to the conciliation procedure if the airline refuses. After that, all that's left is waiting for a response: the correspondence proceeds without the passenger's involvement.

What if the airline offers a voucher instead of a payout?

As long as you haven't accepted the voucher, you have the right to demand compensation in cash. A voucher can be attractive by face value, but by accepting it you may lose the right to a cash payout. If you don't want the voucher, write directly: you demand compensation in cash and provide your bank details.

Is a lawyer required to get compensation?

No. Most cases are resolved through correspondence and the free conciliation procedure, where no lawyer is needed. In district court, a lawyer is also not mandatory.

In short: what's worth booking

The sequence is simple. You gather proof of arrival and receipts, calculate the amount based on distance, and send a written claim with a two-week deadline. Then you wait for a response, go to the free conciliation procedure if refused, and bring in a lawyer only as a last resort.

Decision matrix:

• If the carrier is European and the case is straightforward: file on your own, you'll get the full amount.
• If an airline from a third country stays silent: collection or a portal saves you months of correspondence.
• If they claim extraordinary circumstances: you need access to weather and aircraft data, which means an intermediary.
• If you don't want any correspondence at all: compare terms in advance, evaluate your case on AirHelp and see what's left after the commission.

Don't take a voucher instead of cash, don't drag out deadlines, and don't assign the case twice.