Wednesday 24 December 2008 - Wall Street Journal

Fliers Win In EU Airline Payout Ruling

Wall Street Journal

By DANIEL MICHAELS and ADAM COHEN

A simmering fight over airline-passenger rights in Europe threatens to flare up in the wake of a European Union court ruling that pushes carriers to compensate travelers when flights are canceled because of technical problems.

The ruling strengthens the EU's Passenger Bill of Rights, which requires airlines to pay compensation when they bump passengers or cancel flights for other than "exceptional circumstances." The European Court of Justice on Monday said those rules apply when flights are canceled because of technical or mechanical defects.

"It is now going to be difficult for airlines to keep hiding behind 'exceptional circumstances,'" says Hendrik Noorderhaven, chief executive of EUclaim, a Netherlands-based company that files compensation claims with airlines in exchange for 27% of any payout to passengers.

Mr. Noorderhaven's company filed about 10,000 claims with airlines last year, mostly for Dutch and British ...