Which Is the Best Company to Claim Compensation From British Airways? Six Companies That Name BA, Beside BA's Own Free Route and CEDR

By Richard Jasinski·Updated 15 October 2026

Six flight compensation companies name British Airways on their own websites as an airline they claim from: AirHelp, AirAdvisor, Flight-Delayed, Skycop and SkyRefund each keep a British Airways page, and Bott and Co, the only UK-regulated law firm of the six, cites a British Airways case. None of them is needed to start. British Airways has its own online claim form and states the amounts it pays; if it refuses or has not replied within eight weeks, the Civil Aviation Authority's route is CEDR, the free dispute scheme British Airways belongs to, with an average procedure of 90 days. The six companies charge between 30% and 50% of the award to do those steps for you, and only one, Bott and Co, puts a number on how long it takes. This page gives no score. Each company is shown with what is public about it, read on 14 October 2026, and the line that says who it is not the fit for comes only from limits the company itself publishes.

British Airways' own route: form, amounts, CEDR

British Airways states on its own site that it pays €250 or £220, €400 or £350, and €600 or £520 a person, by flight distance, for an arrival delay of more than three hours or a cancellation notified less than 14 days out where the cause was within its control, and it takes claims through an online form or by post. The form asks for your name, contact details and booking reference, the flight, the names and contact details of the other passengers, and a signed letter of authority for anyone you claim for. The postal address is British Airways Customer Relations, EU Compensation Claims, PO Box 1126, Uxbridge, UB8 9XS. British Airways gives no response time, only that it will "respond as soon as possible" and that postal claims need longer. The amount is halved if it offers a rerouting that arrives within two, three or four hours of the original time, depending on distance.

If British Airways refuses, or has not responded within eight weeks of a written complaint, the Civil Aviation Authority says you can go to the airline's approved dispute scheme. For British Airways that scheme is CEDR, which the CAA also lists for BA CityFlyer, Cathay Pacific and SAS. British Airways' own pages say the referral must be made "within 12 months". The Trading Standards listing for the scheme gives an average procedure of 90 days; a £25 payment is authorised when you apply and is not taken if the claim succeeds, so a winning passenger keeps the whole award. The last resort is the small claims court, within six years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and five in Scotland. The airline's route in detail, including how it handles connections, is on British Airways delay and cancellation compensation.

The route a British Airways compensation claim takes, drawn by Uncompromised Travel from British Airways' delayed or cancelled flights page, its complaints and claims page, the Civil Aviation Authority's pages on alternative dispute resolution and delays, and the Trading Standards listing for CEDR, all read 14 October 2026.

The departures hall of Heathrow Terminal 5 seen from above, with shops, cafés and seated passengers under a curved white roof — Heathrow Terminal 5, British Airways' main terminal, in August 2012. Photo: Citizen59, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Who is on this page, and why

A company is on this page if its own website names British Airways as an airline it claims compensation from, on a page we could open on 14 October 2026. We looked for a British Airways page at twelve flight compensation companies. Five have one: AirHelp, AirAdvisor, Flight-Delayed, Skycop and SkyRefund. Bott and Co has no airline page but cites a British Airways case on its flight delay page, and as the only UK-regulated law firm in the group it is included on that basis. Six are left off: Flightright's airline page could not be accessed that day, and no page naming British Airways was found at EUclaim, MYFLYRIGHT, ClaimFlights, Compensair or Click2Refund.

How to read a card. "Not stated on their website" means we read the company's pages and the fact is not there. "Could not access" means we could not open the page that would hold it. Fees are the company's own figures from its fee page or terms. Reviews are shown per platform and never added together; Google ratings were not read for this page. Nothing here is a recommendation: the right company, if any, depends on the three questions at the foot of the page.

The six companies, one card each

Alphabetical. Every link is to a page we opened on 14 October 2026.

AirAdvisorAirAdvisor International Inc., Delaware, United States

Its British Airways page says: "British Airways has struggled with their on-time performance in the last few years", and that the airline "might try to reduce this amount by as much as 50%", a reference to the rerouting rule above.
States UK261: Yes: "UK261 regulations mirror EU261".
Fee: 30% of the sum collected, VAT included, before trial; 50% "if your case requires legal action with external lawyers". AirAdvisor pays the court fees; you bear the bank transfer cost.
Payout timing: "ASAP", and the claim itself "can take a few months or several years".
Names CEDR, the CAA or a UK court: The CAA only as a source of statistics. CEDR and UK courts are not named.
Reviews: Trustpilot: 4.3 from about 2,600 reviews (airadvisor.com, read 14 Oct 2026). Google: Could not access.
Not the fit if: Your flight was more than three years ago: its FAQ says "passengers have three years to make claims", three years short of the UK limit. Its terms also send disputes to Delaware or Polish courts.

Sources: British Airways page, price list, terms, Trustpilot. Read 14 October 2026.

AirHelpAirHelp Germany GmbH, Berlin

Its British Airways page says: "Up to £520 compensation per person" for British Airways flights. It shows its own snapshot of British Airways' punctuality: 68.59% of 5,998 departures on time, 21 delays over three hours and 30 cancellations in the period shown. That is AirHelp's figure, not the CAA's.
States UK261: Yes: the regulation is "now known as UK 261".
Fee: "Our commission is 35% of your compensation", VAT included per its fee page, plus a 15% legal action fee, VAT included, in the cases that go to legal action, "statistically 3%" by its own count.
Payout timing: Not stated on its British Airways page; its terms say "a few weeks, a few months, or sometimes longer".
Names CEDR, the CAA or a UK court: Court, in general terms: "even if we have to go to court on your behalf". CEDR and the CAA are not named.
Reviews: Trustpilot: 4.5 from 245,026 reviews (airhelp.com, read 14 Oct 2026). Google: Could not access.
Not the fit if: Your flight was more than three years ago: the page says claims "can generally be made within six years (five in Scotland)" but that "AirHelp checks flights from the last 3 years". The terms also route all contact through AirHelp once a claim is submitted.

Sources: British Airways page, our fees, terms, Trustpilot. Read 14 October 2026.

Bott and CoBott and Co Solicitors Ltd, England and Wales, SRA 605593

Its British Airways page says: No airline page. Its flight delay page cites a British Airways case: a family's £2,080 claim for a missed connection after a British Airways delay at New York JFK.
States UK261: Yes; it keeps a UK261 guide.
Fee: 42% of the compensation plus VAT, shown in its terms as £112 on a £220 award and £270 on £520, VAT included, so you keep £108 or £250. No further charge for court: "we will pay for all court fees, and any costs relating to your claim".
Payout timing: "Many of our flight compensation claims are settled within 60 days." It issues court proceedings within 30 days of taking a claim and pays you within 14 days of receiving the money from the airline.
Names CEDR, the CAA or a UK court: UK courts, yes: it names the Supreme Court cases Huzar v Jet2 and Dawson v Thomson and says it issues proceedings on every claim. CEDR and the CAA are not named; it does not use the ADR schemes.
Reviews: Trustpilot: 4.7 from 2,881 reviews (bottonline.co.uk, read 14 Oct 2026). Google: Could not access.
Not the fit if: You would rather use the free CEDR scheme first, which the firm bypasses, or your flight neither left nor arrived in England or Wales: the firm says such cases "may not be handled in court". At 42% plus VAT it is also the highest standard fee of the six.

Sources: flight delay compensation, fees, terms of business, Trustpilot. Read 14 October 2026.

Flight-DelayedYource B.V., Amsterdam

Its British Airways page says: "British Airways flight cancelled? You can ask for flight compensation and a monetary refund of your ticket."
States UK261: Yes: "compensation according to UK261".
Fee: 35% of the compensation, VAT included, plus a 15% legal fee, VAT included, if legal action is needed. Its own example: from £520 you keep £338, or £260 with the legal fee.
Payout timing: Passengers "typically receive their money within a few weeks or months"; a court case extends that "by several months or even years".
Names CEDR, the CAA or a UK court: Court, in general terms. CEDR and the CAA are not named.
Reviews: Trustpilot: 4.4 from 37,055 reviews (flight-delayed.com, listed under Yource, read 14 Oct 2026). Google: Could not access.
Not the fit if: You might change your mind: its price list charges the full 35% if you cancel after 14 days once work has started, and 50% if you cancel during the legal phase.

Sources: British Airways page, price list, Trustpilot. Read 14 October 2026.

SkycopUAB Skycop.com, Vilnius

Its British Airways page says: "We specialise in British Airways compensation claims and can help passengers secure payouts of up to £520."
States UK261: Yes: "UK/EU Regulation 261".
Fee: Not stated on the British Airways page beyond "no win, no fee". Its price list: flat fees of €110, €176 or €264 by award band, VAT included, rising to €125, €200 or €300 with legal proceedings. No schedule in pounds.
Payout timing: Not stated on their website; its terms say "no guaranteed payment date".
Names CEDR, the CAA or a UK court: None on the British Airways page. Its UK261 page describes the CAA and ADR route as something the passenger can do.
Reviews: Trustpilot: 2.8 from 8,641 reviews (skycop.com, read 14 Oct 2026). Google: Could not access.
Not the fit if: Your flight was more than three years ago, as it takes "disrupted flights that occurred within the last three years", or you want to be paid in pounds: fees and payment are in euros to a SEPA account.

Sources: British Airways page, price list, terms, Trustpilot. Read 14 October 2026.

SkyRefundSky Refund OOD, Sofia

Its British Airways page says: "Claim up to €600 compensation per passenger" in the body and "up to £520" in the banner, the two currencies of the same award.
States UK261: Yes: "The UK applies this regulation even after Brexit".
Fee: "Our standard fee is 35% from the total compensation amount", VAT included per its price policy, plus a 15% legal action fee, VAT included, where a case goes to legal action.
Payout timing: Not stated on the British Airways page; its terms say "without unreasonable delay" once the airline pays.
Names CEDR, the CAA or a UK court: None.
Reviews: Trustpilot: 4.5 from 4,172 reviews (skyrefund.com, read 14 Oct 2026). Google: Could not access.
Not the fit if: You want to be paid in pounds: "all transfers are made in EUR", at your cost, with a €25 charge if the money has to be resent, and disputes go to the courts in Sofia.

Sources: British Airways page, price policy, terms, Trustpilot. Read 14 October 2026.

What each says about timing

British Airways publishes no response time, the CAA treats eight weeks as the point to escalate, CEDR averages 90 days, and of the six companies only Bott and Co puts a number on its own process: many claims settled within 60 days, proceedings issued within 30 days, payment within 14 days of receiving the money. Flight-Delayed says a few weeks or months, AirAdvisor a few months or several years, and AirHelp, Skycop and SkyRefund give no figure on their British Airways pages. Whether a company can be faster than the free route depends on what British Airways does with the first letter, which none of the six publishes for this airline. The published promises across the whole market are compared on which flight compensation company pays out fastest.

What British Airways states it pays a person by flight distance, €250 or £220, €400 or £350 and €600 or £520, with the lighter band on each bar showing the half-rate amount that applies when BA offers a rerouting arriving within two, three or four hours of the original time. Chart drawn by Uncompromised Travel from British Airways' flight cancellation compensation page, read 14 October 2026.

Three ways to choose

1. Have you written to British Airways yourself? If not, that is the first step on every route, including the companies' own: the CAA warns that some airlines will not deal with a complaint sent through a claims management company because their terms require you to claim directly first. The form takes minutes and costs nothing.

2. Has British Airways refused, or gone quiet for eight weeks? Then CEDR is open to you for 12 months, free if you win, with an average procedure of 90 days. None of the six companies says it uses CEDR; Bott and Co goes to court instead, and the other five do not say what they do after a refusal beyond "legal action". A company only earns its fee here if you would rather not file the CEDR case yourself.

3. What do you keep from £520? Bott and Co £250, VAT included. Flight-Delayed £338, or £260 with legal action. AirHelp and SkyRefund 65% without legal action and 50% with it. AirAdvisor 70% or 50%. Skycop about 56% at today's exchange rate, in euros. Every one of those figures is lower than the £520 you keep through British Airways' form or CEDR.

Claim once yourself before you sign. If your flight was to or from the UK, which company is best for a UK261 claim compares the eight that state UK261, and which companies are no win no fee with no extra legal fee sets out every published fee schedule. If British Airways has already said no, what to do when an airline rejects your claim gives the steps.

British Airways compensation claims: the questions people ask

Which is the best company to claim compensation from British Airways?

Six flight compensation companies name British Airways on their own websites as an airline they claim from: AirHelp, AirAdvisor, Flight-Delayed, Skycop and SkyRefund each have a British Airways page, and Bott and Co, the only UK-regulated law firm among them, cites a British Airways case. None of them is needed to start: British Airways has its own online claim form, and if it refuses or does not answer within eight weeks the free CEDR scheme adjudicates, with an average procedure of 90 days. The companies charge between 30% and 50% of the award for doing the same steps. This page gives no score; the facts were read on 14 October 2026.

How do I claim compensation from British Airways myself?

Use the claim form at britishairways.com under Delayed or cancelled flights, or write to British Airways Customer Relations, EU Compensation Claims, PO Box 1126, Uxbridge, UB8 9XS. The form asks for your name, contact details and booking reference, the flight, the names of the other passengers and a signed letter of authority for anyone you claim for. British Airways gives no fixed response time. If it refuses, or has not responded within eight weeks, you can refer the case to CEDR within 12 months of its final answer, at no cost to you if the claim succeeds.

How much compensation does British Airways pay?

British Airways states the amounts on its own site: €250 or £220 for flights up to 1,500 km, €400 or £350 for 1,500 to 3,500 km, and €600 or £520 for other flights, a person. It pays for an arrival delay of more than three hours at your final destination, or a cancellation notified less than 14 days before departure, where the cause was within its control. The amount is halved if British Airways offers a rerouting that arrives within two, three or four hours of the original time, depending on distance.

What is CEDR and how do I use it for a British Airways claim?

CEDR is the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution, the alternative dispute resolution scheme the Civil Aviation Authority lists for British Airways, BA CityFlyer, Cathay Pacific and SAS. You can use it once British Airways has given a final answer or has not replied within eight weeks of your written complaint, and British Airways says the referral must be made within 12 months. The Trading Standards listing for the scheme gives an average procedure of 90 days; a £25 payment is authorised when you apply and is not taken if your claim succeeds, so you keep the whole award.

How long does British Airways take to pay compensation?

British Airways publishes no timescale: its site says it will respond as soon as possible and that postal claims need extra time. The Civil Aviation Authority treats eight weeks without a response as the point at which you can escalate. Of the companies on this page, only Bott and Co gives a number, saying many of its claims settle within 60 days; AirAdvisor says a few months or several years, and Flight-Delayed a few weeks or months, with court cases taking months or years.

Does UK261 apply to British Airways flights?

Yes. UK261 covers every flight departing a UK airport and every flight arriving in the UK on a UK or EU airline, so all British Airways flights to or from the UK fall under it, and EU261 also applies to British Airways flights departing an EU airport. All six companies on this page state that they take UK261 claims. The time limit to bring a claim is six years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and five years in Scotland.

What do claims companies charge for a British Airways claim?

As published on 14 October 2026: AirHelp 35% including VAT, plus 15% if legal action is needed. Flight-Delayed 35% plus 15% for legal action, VAT included. SkyRefund 35% plus 15%. AirAdvisor 30%, or 50% with external lawyers. Skycop flat fees of €110, €176 or €264 by award band, higher with court proceedings. Bott and Co 42% plus VAT, which its terms show as £270 on a £520 award, with no further charge for court. All six charge nothing if the claim fails.

How long do I have to claim from British Airways?

Six years from the flight in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and five years in Scotland, the limits the Civil Aviation Authority and Bott and Co both state. Three companies on this page work to a shorter window of their own: AirAdvisor says passengers have three years to make claims, Skycop takes flights from the last three years, and AirHelp says claims can generally be made within six years but that it checks flights from the last three. CEDR must be used within 12 months of British Airways' final response.

Which companies were left off this page, and why?

Flightright, EUclaim, MYFLYRIGHT, ClaimFlights, Compensair and Click2Refund, because on 14 October 2026 we could not open a page on their own websites that names British Airways; Flightright's airline page could not be accessed that day. A company is on the page because its own website names British Airways as an airline it claims from, and for no other reason. There are no affiliate links and no paid placements.