The reserved airline must pay compensation | TIME ONLINE

Luxembourg (dpa) – When delays of several hours impose on travelers a compensation from the reserved airline – even if it has rented a foreign plane and crew. This was decided by the European Court of Justice .

Financial responsibility in case of cancellation or significant delay is the responsibility of the company, which begins a flight, said the judges. (Case C-523/17)

In this particular case, Tui-Fly is obliged. The lawsuit concerns a delayed flight for which Tui-Fly had rented a machine with Thomson Airways' crew . The booking confirmation indicated that the bookings were made by Tui-Fly, but the flight was "executed" by Thomson Airways.

After the flight from Hamburg to Cancún, Mexico, arrived more than three hours late, several pbadengers applied for compensation under EU law. They first submitted their claims to Thomson Airways. However, the company refused the payment on the grounds that it was not the actual air carrier.

The complainants went to the Hamburg District Court. This now wanted to know from the ECJ, which Airline in such a case as "executive air carrier" within the meaning of EU rules – and therefore has to pay compensation.

Luxembourg judges have held that the airline that makes the decision to offer a given flight must be considered an effective air carrier. "Which airline is mentioned in the booking confirmation as an executive airline, it plays no role," commented lawyer Dirk Smielick of the CMS law firm in Cologne.

If a flight is canceled or delayed by more than three hours, pbadengers are entitled to compensation under EU law. The EU regulation on pbadenger rights provides for a flying distance of up to 1500 kilometers 250 euros per person. With distances of 1500 to 3500 kilometers it is 400 euros, with more than 3500 kilometers 600 euros.

Air pbadengers are also entitled to compensation for late correspondence outside Europe under certain conditions. If the starting point is in the EU and the flights were part of a reservation, stops outside of Europe will not alter the existing claims.

The British airline Thomson Airways and the German airline Tui-Fly are part of the Tui group. In 2017, the British subsidiary Thomson Airways was renamed Tui-Airways – to form a globally uniform brand, as Tui had announced at the time.