Passengers can claim compensation even if a journey consists of several flights on different airlines, according to a ruling by the European Court of Justice.
The decision concerns a passenger who booked a flight from Stuttgart to Kansas City through a travel agency. The travel agency booked individual flights and issued the passenger a single reservation number for the entire route.
The traveler originally flew Swiss from Stuttgart to Zurich. From there, she flew with American Airlines to Philadelphia and then to Kansas City. But the flight from Philadelphia to Kansas was delayed, skyscanner which meant that the plaintiff arrived at her destination 4.5 hours late. The passenger asked for damages of 600 euros , but American Airlines refused to pay.
The Court ruled that there need not be a special legal relationship between the companies as long as a travel agency combines the flights, charges a total price and issues a single ticket.
"The Court points out that the concept of 'connecting flight' must be understood as referring to two or more flights that form a whole for the purposes of the passengers' right to compensation provided for in Regulation 261/2004. This occurs when two or more flights were booked as a single unit," the Court's statement said.