When it comes to airlines having to provide compensation and/or refunds to passengers, many carriers get creative in refusing or simply not paying. Sometimes they don't respond to requests at all. The Chamber of Labor has successfully claimed around 2020 euros for its members since 230.000. 

Again and again, ignorant passengers are fooled into believing that if they book a ticket with self-proclaimed “premium airlines”, that everything will be organized should the worst come to the worst and that any compensation will be paid without ifs or buts. Unfortunately, the opposite is often the case, because an Austrian company now regularly makes it into consumer protection programs on Austrian radio. A regular customer when it comes to problems during and/or after flight irregularities is Wizz Air. This carrier even got it so far that the UK Civil Aviation Authority had to threaten coercive measures. The right to substitute transport is particularly imprecise, because contrary to the rulings of the highest courts, the company refers to its own conditions of transport and only wants to rebook on its own flights. In Austria, the Chamber of Labor is currently conducting a process involving numerous Wizz Air clauses. 

In 2020, which was characterized by the fact that many tour operators and airlines delayed paying back canceled flights, the Chamber of Labor brought a cooperation partner on board in Fairplane. So far, about 230.000 euros have been won for affected passengers. 

The AK Vienna has numerous inquiries every year - in the previous year alone more than 1.800 inquiries only about flight trouble. Again and again the topic: flights are cancelled, the ticket costs are only refunded very slowly or too little has been paid back. The payment of the compensation payment in accordance with the Air Passenger Rights Ordinance is often tedious. In addition, there is often a lack of adequate support at the airport in the event of a delay, for example hotel and meals are not paid for. 

The AK Vienna cites this as an example of a thoroughly tedious case: “Ms G. wanted to fly back from Boston to Vienna in June 2022. Her flight was canceled at short notice - she only found out at the airport. The replacement flight was not scheduled to depart until the next day. There was no more information for them. She had to find food and accommodation for the extra night herself (total costs around 400 euros). The airline should have taken care of that. Back in Vienna, Ms G. confronted the airline. They were willing to pay for food and lodging. Due to the Air Passenger Rights Ordinance, Ms G. was also entitled to compensation of 600 euros for the canceled flight. This was denied without giving any reason. The AK took over the case. Together with FairPlane, the 600 euros were fought for Ms. G. and she was able to look forward to the full compensation”.