Collect what they owe you
Complete toolkit — refunds, EU261 & baggage claims

The airline broke the trip.
The law makes them pay for it.

Since 2024, US law requires airlines to give automatic cash refunds — not vouchers — for cancelled or significantly changed flights. EU law pays €250–€600 for delays on covered flights. Lost bags carry liability up to $4,700 domestic. Airlines count on you not knowing any of this. Answer 7 quick questions and get the exact claim letters, with the rules cited.

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Step 1The refund demand citing the DOT automatic-refund rule.
Step 2The EU261/UK261 claim — up to €600 per passenger.
Step 3The baggage claim and the escalation that actually works.

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Part 1 — The Refund Demand (DOT Rules)

For cancelled/changed flights — cash, not vouchers, is the law

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The refund demand is step one. Parts 2–4 collect everything else they owe.

  • Part 2: the EU261/UK261 claim letter with the exact compensation bands and when US travelers qualify
  • Part 3: the baggage claim letter with the current liability caps ($4,700 domestic / ~1,519 SDR international) and the bag-fee refund rule
  • Part 4: the DOT complaint that airlines actually answer, the chargeback play, and hotel/cruise escalation
  • The deadlines table — which claims die in 7 days and which last years
  • What airlines owe during delays (meals, hotels) by policy — and how to find it
  • Print / save as PDF, unlimited edits, lifetime access on this device
$29

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Part 2 — The EU261 / UK261 Compensation Claim

€250–€600 per passenger when it applies

🔒 Unlock to see your EU261/UK261 claim letter.

Part 3 — The Baggage Claim

Deadlines are days, not weeks — act fast

🔒 Unlock to see your baggage claim letter.

Part 4 — Escalation, Chargebacks & the Playbook

DOT complaints, chargebacks, hotels & cruises

🔒 Included in the $29 kit.

The travel money most people never collect

Airlines refund about as enthusiastically as they board — which is why the rules now force it. Under the US DOT's automatic-refund rule (in force since 2024 and backed by federal statute), when your flight is cancelled or "significantly changed" — three hours domestic, six international — and you don't accept the alternative, the airline owes you a cash refund, automatically, within 7 business days for card purchases. Vouchers only count if you affirmatively choose one. Separately, EU rules pay €250–€600 compensation for qualifying delays and cancellations, UK rules mirror them in pounds, and checked-bag liability runs to $4,700 domestic and about 1,519 SDR (roughly $2,000) internationally. The kit turns each rule into a claim letter with the citations attached.

  1. Know which rule owns your problem. Cancelled US flight → DOT refund rule. Delayed arrival into/out of Europe → EU261 (any airline departing the EU; EU airlines flying in). Bags → the DOT (domestic) or Montreal Convention (international). Hotels/cruises → contract, chargeback, and state AG.
  2. Claim in writing, cite the rule. Phone agents are trained to offer miles. A written claim citing the specific regulation goes to a different queue — the one with lawyers reviewing it.
  3. Escalate cheaply. A DOT complaint (free, 2 minutes) obligates the airline to respond within 30 days with a copy to the government — resolution rates jump. Chargebacks recover payments for services never delivered.

Does the US pay delay compensation like Europe?

No — as of mid-2026 there's no US cash-compensation rule for delays (a proposed rule was withdrawn in late 2025). What US law does require: full cash refunds for cancellations/significant changes, bag-fee refunds for substantially delayed bags, and whatever the airline's own customer service plan promises for controllable delays (meals, hotels) — enforceable because they published it. The kit shows where to find each airline's plan.

Golden rule of baggage: report the problem at the airport, before you leave, and get a written report number (PIR). Damaged-bag claims can die in as little as 7 days internationally; delayed-bag claims in 21. The clock starts at the carousel.

Flight & Travel Compensation Kit provides self-help document templates and general information, not legal advice, and is not a law firm. Aviation rules and liability caps change (figures verified July 2026 against DOT, EU, and ICAO sources) — verify current rules for your itinerary.

Built by John R. Detty — 22 years as a U.S. Navy Legalman, retired. Two decades in Navy legal offices taught me one thing: the right paper, sent the right way, gets results. Not a lawyer, and this isn't legal advice — just paperwork that means business.