The Top 6 Flight Delay Compensation Claim Companies – An In-Depth Comparison

Written By Amy Lancelotte

Last Updated: October 03, 2024

Did you know that less than 20% of passengers actually take the time to file flight delay claims and receive compensation? Whether it’s about the lack of information, hassle, or the fear of rejection, the ideal solution is to partner with the best flight delay compensation claim company.

To narrow down your search, this in-depth review will help you find the best airline compensation experts for flight compensation. We’ll look at 6 main categories:

• Customer reviews from Trustpilot, Reviews.io and other platforms.
• Fees on a successful claim.
• The number of years the company has been in business.
• Win rate.
• Available languages, either on the company’s website or for customer service.
• Whether the company offers a no-win, no-fee guarantee (hint: they all do).

AirAdvisor - Best Overall Airline Compensation Experts

AirAdvisor takes the top spot as the overall winner for the best flight delay compensation company for consistency. In business since 2017, founder Anton Radchenko, a US-licensed attorney specializing in aviation and international law, stated,

I started AirAdvisor because Lufthansa horribly mistreated my family and myself, and we missed our wedding anniversary arrangements. [Now,] we wake up to assist passengers in the same circumstances, and we do it cheaper than others.

Aside from extensive legal expertise and a passion for air passengers’ rights, AirAdvisor offers support in 13 languages and has a solid 98% win rate in court. With AirAdvisor, customers can claim flight compensation in the EU, UK, US, and Canada.

The AirAdvisor customer reviews speak for themselves. Using over 20,000 reviews across all platforms, the average score is 4.6.

If you’re looking for the best flight compensation company that also gives back, AirAdvisor fits the bill. The company regularly makes donations to charities.

The AirAdvisor fee on successful flight delay claims is 30%, including VAT, one of the lowest in the market. Plus, there is a standard addition of 20% should the claim require legal action against the airline.

Cooling Off and Grace Periods

In the EU, all companies offering a digital service must allow customers a cooling-off period. This is the right to withdraw from the service within 14 days without justification.

Grace periods are different and only offered by AirAdvisor.

Let’s look more closely.

Airlines are enormous companies and sometimes they move very slowly with claims. If legal action is initiated and the airline pays compensation shortly afterward, all other companies will charge you the Legal Action Fee, so your total fee would be approximately 50% and sometimes more.

By contrast, AirAdvisor has a grace period meaning that if legal action is initiated and the airline pays compensation within 7 to 14 days, we will review your case to see if payment is a result of earlier submission or legal action. If earlier we will try to work with our legal partners to keep your base fee at 30%. In most cases when the airline just pays late, we are able to keep the base fee of 30%. We do it with the aim to deliver the best value on the market with the hope of you becoming a repeat customer.

AirAdvisor is committed to getting you as much compensation in your bank account as possible.

Overall, AirAdvisor is the best value flight compensation company with excellent reputation and success rate:

1. Lowest pricing saving our clients up to €150.
2. 98% success rate serving clients for 7+ years in the UK, EU, US, and Canada
3. Grace period to keep rates low
4. Rated 4.6 / 5 based on 18,456+ AirAdvisor reviews.
5. Quick turnaround times (1-3 months). Legal action takes longer, in case of uncooperative airline
6. Excellent user interface.

It only takes as little as 3 minutes to file a claim, and 92% of clients recommend the service.

Save up to €150 per family

AirAdvisor’s prices have often been 5% lower than competitors.

Claim Compensation

AirHelp - Strong Contender, But Not Budget-Friendly With an Outdated Success Rate

It’s challenging for other flight compensation companies to compete with AirHelp, which has been around since 2013. Likely the most recognized name in the category of flight compensation companies, AirHelp has a solid review score of 4.6 on Trustpilot, with a staggering 185,000+ reviews, by far most of any company we reviewed. Their only published win rate is from 2016 and was 95%, which is the lowest of the bunch.

AirHelp offers support in 18 languages, and like all the companies in our research, they work on a no-win, no-fee basis. The 2.2 million passengers they’ve helped to date are generally very pleased with the service they receive, although the average claim resolution time is on the high end at 3 months on average.

While AirHelp appears to be a solid company, it falls short as it’s one of the most expensive providers and doesn’t offer a grace period. AirAdvisor is significantly cheaper, meaning more money for you, and offers generous grace periods. Additionally, AirHelp’s outdated win rate, which was among the lowest in 2016, is another strike against the company. You don’t get anything if your claim is denied!

Check AirHelp vs AirAdvisor In-depth Comparison below to see why AirAdvisor might be a better choice for your budget:

SkyRefund - Small Company with a Good Reputation, but a Shorter Track Record, High Fees, and an Undisclosed Success Rate

With a Trustpilot review score of 4.5 based on 1,164 reviews, SkyRefund is worthy of mention as the best flight delay compensation company. They offer good customer service, as evidenced by their excellent rating on Trustpilot.

The SkyRefund fees are on the higher side but still within the industry standard. The general fee for successful flight disruption claims is 35%, including VAT, and if your claim requires official legal proceedings, you can add 15% to that. 

The SkyRefund website is available in 12 languages, and they have been helping passengers claim their rights since 2017. They do not publish their win rate, which negatively impacts their overall score.

Check SkyRefund vs AirAdvisor In-depth Comparison:

Flightright - Solid Win Rate, but Higher Fees and Low Reputation Score

Helping passengers as far back as 2010, Flightright is in contention as the best flight delay compensation company for the most staying-power.

As far as fees go, Flightright is on the higher end at 36% (including tax), and they add an extra 14% for legal action fees.

Flightright has a good win rate of 99%, and their website is available in 7 languages. The weighted average of the company’s reviews from Trustpilot is 4.37 - one of the lower ones on our list. This is a combination of Flightright.com and Flightright.co.uk and is a total of more than 4,000 reviews.

Check Flightright vs AirAdvisor In-depth Comparison:

Refundmore - Reliable but High Fees, Fewest Customer Reviews, and Low Success Rate

Refundmore, which actually merged with Flightright in 2021, still operates as its own entity and, therefore, deserves consideration as the best flight delay compensation company. With a fee on successful claims of 30% plus VAT, Refundmore’s fee is actually 37.5%. For legal action, the base fee is 45% plus VAT, which amounts to 56.25%. As a result, Refundmore is one of the pricier options.

The company scores an average of 4.3 on Trustpilot, but this is only based on 225 reviews. This is the lowest number of our reviewed flight delay compensation companies, so it may not be all that accurate. Refundmore also has the fewest website languages of 5.

This company has been operating since 2014 and has a lower success rate of 95%.

Check Refundmore vs AirAdvisor In-depth Comparison:

Skycop - Expensive Alternative With Worst Reputation Score and Low Review Count

Skycop, founded in 2017, has by far the most languages available on its website - 35 in total. Unfortunately, they don’t publish their win rate, so they lose points there, and they are the most poorly rated of our companies at 3.4 on Trustpilot from over 3,700 reviews.

Comparatively, Skycop is also the most expensive flight delay compensation company on our list. They charge 44%, including VAT, which rounds up to 50% if you need legal proceedings. But, if you like to file a claim in your native language, the extra fees may be worth it.

Check Skycop vs AirAdvisor In-depth Comparison:

Comparison Table of the Best Flight Compensation Companies

The below rates are for the average claim of €600 for delays with a total distance of over 3,500km.

* Subject to grace period.

How to Choose the Best Flight Delay Compensation Company

1. VAT. Since VAT is only payable by EU passengers, if you’re in the US or other international locations, you are not subject to this tax. When you eliminate this amount, the compensation that ends up in your account starts to look even better.
2. Reputation. It’s important to read reviews to see how the flight compensation company is rated and also whether or not they respond to new reviews.
3. Experience. It’s better to go with a flight delay compensation company with experience rather than focusing on the costs. Experience and expert knowledge from legal professionals is more likely to result in compensation. If the company you choose isn’t successful, the fees don’t matter.
4. Affordability. Compensation company fees are deducted directly from the airline compensation you receive, so it makes sense that lower fees are better. The result will be more cash for you.
5. User interface. Choose a company that has an easy-to-navigate website and a quick claims submission process. You can also read reviews to make sure there is sufficient follow-up.
6. No hidden fees. Some companies may say nothing about taxes or additional fees applied. Keep in mind that all companies are taxed according to the current legislation of the country of business registration.

Ideally, you want a company (like AirAdvisor) that ticks all these boxes.

Expected Payouts for the Best Flight Delay Compensation Companies

To put things in perspective, for passengers who receive the maximum flight delay compensation according to Regulation EU261/2004 of €600, here are the expected final payouts for a family of 4. This is provided your claim does not require legal action, which most don’t.

Sometimes passengers can claim additional compensation such as meals and hotel stays. The same fee is applied to this as well. Let’s assume that a family of 4 is eligible for €600 per person (€2,400) for a delay on a flight exceeding 3,500km, but they also need to claim €600 for additional delay-related expenses.

In this case, the total compensation paid by the airline is €3,000. With AirHelp, the client would receive €1,950. On the other hand, using AirAdvisor would net the same family €2,100. This is an extra €150 that would go straight into your pocket, so the choice should be obvious!

Why Passengers Should Use Flight Compensation Companies

You may see the fee structure and wonder why you should bother using even the best flight delay compensation claim company. Well, for a few reasons:

• To save time. When you return from a trip, there’s lots to catch up around the house and at work. The last thing you want to worry about is figuring out how to go about filing a claim and then endlessly following up with the airline. In the case of AirAdvisor, you can have a claim submitted in well under 5 minutes, allowing you to move on to more important things.
• Faster resolution. Airline compensation experts like AirAdvisor know the ins and outs of every airline’s claims process. So they don’t waste time with unnecessary things. Airlines also know that these companies are in business to resolve claims and tend to take flight compensation companies more seriously than individuals. 
• To save on legal costs. Although most flight compensation companies add an extra 15% or so to their fees, this is likely substantially less than you would pay to navigate the legal system on your own.
• Companies know your rights. Airlines like to deny claims whenever possible, so a flight compensation company will hold them accountable. They know the regulations backward and forward and have the confidence to challenge unfair or incorrect denials.

Have we convinced you that partnering with a flight delay compensation company is a good idea?

If so, click here to start your quick and easy claim.

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Final Thoughts

When you need assistance with a flight delay claim, your top choice should be the airline compensation experts at AirAdvisor. First and foremost, AirAdvisor has the lowest fees, which always means more net compensation. The company also has an easy-to-use website, good reviews, and impressive legal expertise. So, just because you want to keep the most money for yourself doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice in other areas.

Choose your flight delay compensation company wisely, and you’re more likely to have a positive result!

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