Flight delayed by United Airlines: Find out your rights

If you fly with United Airlines and the plane doesn’t take off on time, it’s always annoying, and sometimes it leads to a whole host of problems. Plus, the extra hours of waiting at the airport aren’t the most enjoyable pastime. What are passengers on delayed flights entitled to?

Overall, flights may be delayed due to reasons related to the airline or beyond its control. Aircraft technical issues: These include any malfunction that to one degree or another may affect the safety of the flight, even hypothetically. The start can be postponed both by several minutes and by several hours, depending on the time for correcting faults or preparing a spare board.

The weather: Here it is almost impossible to predict the waiting time.

Airport employees do not have time to complete their tasks on time: There is no free tractor, the loss of luggage, already discovered by the stewardesses, the queue on takeoff, a problematic place in the car park, misunderstandings with the meals on board. As a rule, solving such problems rarely takes more than an hour.

What to do if the United Airlines flight is delayed?

As soon as the flight delay was officially announced, you should contact the United Airlines representative to find out the reason and put a note on the itinerary about the departure change. This will be necessary to find you an alternative solution: either place you on another scheduled flight to your destination, or refund the amount of your plane ticket.

Passenger rights in case of flight delay

Whether an airline ticket was purchased for business class or economy class seats, all passengers have the same rights when rescheduling a departure.

If the United Airlines flight was delayed even by half an hour, passengers can check their baggage for free, and parents with children under the age of seven are offered to go to the mother and child room. The rest of the rights depend on the postponement of departure.

For two hours: free water and non-alcoholic drinks, two free calls anywhere in the world to inform relatives of problems with a theft (similarly, sending two e-mails).

For four hours: free hot meals. The classic option is when an airline representative issues meal vouchers for a certain amount, valid in one or more airport restaurants. It is better to cash such a coupon as soon as possible, especially if the departure of a large plane is delayed.

For eight hours or six hours overnight: Free hotel accommodation, plus round-trip transfer.

Usually, the place of deployment of an airline representative, where he issues vouchers for meals and is ready to speak with passengers, is announced in English.

The rights of air passengers in the United States are provided for by the following documents:

– Airside flight delay and overbooking compensation services are covered by the FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act. In the United States, there is no law requiring carriers to take certain actions in the event of a flight delay or cancellation. However, when purchasing a ticket from a US airline, the consumer enters into a contract of carriage, which clearly sets out the rights of an air passenger if the flight is canceled or delayed.

– US regulations apply to all flights within the US and flights originating from the US, unless flown on European carriers serving the EU.

Delays of United Airlines flights departing from the European Union open access to compensation
US law does not require airlines to pay compensation for schedule disruptions. But you can count on a substantial amount of up to 600 euros if you leave from an airport located in Europe.

According to Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 of the European Parliament, in the event of delay or cancellation of a flight due to the fault of the air carrier, monetary compensation is required.

The payment amount depends on the distance of the flight and the waiting time for the alternative flight.

If the flight is delayed for more than 3 hours when flying within the EU:

– 250 euros for a range of up to 1500 km;
– 400 euros with a range of more than 1500 km.
– When flights are delayed between an EU airport and an airport outside the EU (range greater than 3500 km): from 3 to 4 hours – 300 euros; from 4 to 12 hours – from 600 euros.

In addition, you can obtain a refund in the event of overbooking (denied boarding).