What’s the true cost of a flight delay?

We know flight delays and cancellations are a pain. They upend plans, waste time, cause stress, and they're expensive. How expensive? Well, it turns out lengthy delays and cancellations cost each affected passenger an average of €362.50! That's a lot of money to drop in one go, and could completely upend your travel budget.

Where does the money go?

So why do passengers with flight disruptions end up spending so much for a flight delay? Where does it all go?

To find out, AirHelp surveyed over 1,300 passengers from across 60 countries who’ve experienced significant flight disruptions. The survey included passengers who’ve had flight delays of 2 hours or more, experienced cancellations, missed connections, or diversions, or were denied boarding due to overbooking. The costs usually fall under two main categories: unexpected expenses, and money lost.

Unplanned spending

72% of passengers spent money they weren’t planning to. Most of this went on replacement travel — new flights, train tickets, or taxis — as well as booking new accommodation, and of course, purchasing food and drink.

There were also other unexpected costs, such as needing to purchase extra clothes, medicines, or other necessities, as well as paying extra for the likes of books or films to pass the time until their replacement flight.

Lost opportunities

Another 46% of passengers lost money because of the disruption. This includes lost earnings due to missing gigs, conventions, or other work-related events, or losing non-refundable costs, such as hotel bookings, concert tickets, or tours. Sometimes, there’s also a non-financial but emotional toll as passengers miss out on important personal events such as weddings and funerals.

How airlines fail their customers

Flight disruptions create a great deal of stress and are a massive financial burden on customers. That’s why regulations such EC 261 in Europe and ANAC 400 in Brazil were created — to make sure that passengers are properly cared for during a flight delay and are financially compensated for lost time and money.

However, even though these laws exist, the truth is that airlines often fail to abide by them, leaving passengers to fend for themselves during a disruption.

Passengers don’t get the care they deserve

While some airlines do provide some care, many more passengers go without. The survey reveals that only 37% of passengers were provided with basic care such as food and drink during their disruption, and that about 15% of them only got it after they asked.

With such low percentages, it’s no wonder that passengers only scored airlines a 3.13 out of 10 when asked to rate their satisfaction with the care they received.

Regardless of the reason behind a delay, airlines are required to provide their customers with food and drink after a 2-hour wait, as well as access to communication. For longer delays, airlines must also provide customers with accommodation and transport to and from the airport, completely free of charge. This is because airlines are responsible for the wellbeing of their passengers while they wait.

Airlines don’t inform passengers of their rights

Airlines also do a poor job of providing customers with adequate information on their rights. As many as 82% of passengers were not informed of their rights during a significant disruption, which means that the vast majority of travelers were not aware that they should be provided with care and that they could be owed compensation.

In Europe, for example, passengers can get up to €600 in compensation following a flight delay. However, customers can only get this money if they start a claim, which many fail to do because they simply don’t know about it.

How airlines can do better

The simplest way for airlines to improve their services during a flight disruption is by going ahead and proactively providing passengers with information about the disruption. By doing this, they can raise customer satisfaction by as much as 60%.

Airlines should do more to make sure that their passengers know they will be properly cared for with free food, drink, and accommodation, and by letting them know that they have the right to compensation.

After all, the survey proves that delays go beyond just arriving at your destination late. Taking steps to inform passengers of their rights will help mitigate the massive burden placed on passengers — and also improve airline-passenger relationships. Passengers' needs and wellbeing should always take top priority.

Did you know that you can claim compensation for delayed, canceled, or overbooked flights from up to 3 years ago? AirHelp is here to help you check if your flight is eligible — it’s quick, easy, and totally risk-free!

Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay