Flight Compensation · How Hard Is It
How Easy Is It to Claim Flight Compensation?
Easier than its reputation, and much easier if you let someone else do it. Starting a claim takes minutes. The difficulty only appears if the airline fights back — and that is precisely the part you can hand off entirely. Here's the honest effort gauge.
Bottom line: submitting a claim is a five-minute job either way. The effort divides sharply after that — a smooth claim is effortless, a contested one is genuinely tedious to fight alone, and a no-win-no-fee service reduces both to near-zero for a fee.
The effort gauge
Starting the claim VERY EASY
Enter flight details, attach your booking confirmation. Minutes, whether you go direct or via a service.
A claim the airline accepts EASY
You wait, then you're paid. Almost no effort beyond the initial submission.
A claim the airline disputes (DIY) TEDIOUS
Rebuttals, evidence, chasing silence, possibly a regulator or small claim. Doable, but this is the real work.
The same disputed claim, via a service NEAR-ZERO
You forward the rejection and they take it from there. The hard part becomes their problem, for a fee.
Knowing if you even qualify ONE CHECK
The one genuinely fiddly bit — distance, delay length, cause — is settled instantly by a free eligibility check.
Skip the hard part entirely.
AirHelp turns "how do I even start" into a two-minute form, checks eligibility free, and handles any airline pushback for you. You only pay if it wins.
Start the easy way →Want to do it yourself for free? Our step-by-step makes the DIY route as painless as possible.
Why it feels harder than it is
Most of the perceived difficulty is manufactured. Airlines make the direct channel slow and discouraging — templated refusals, requests to resend documents, long silences — because friction persuades people to give up. None of that changes the underlying simplicity: if your flight qualifies, the claim is valid, and the only question is who has the patience to see it through. Understanding whether you qualify is genuinely the fiddliest part, and even that is a single free check against EU261's scope and the three-hour arrival threshold.
The honest split, then, is this: doing it yourself is easy when the airline plays fair and tedious when it doesn't. A claim company flattens that difference — you pay a slice of the payout to make the hard scenario as easy as the simple one. Our DIY vs service comparison is the place to decide which suits your patience and your case.
If you'd rather keep the whole amount and don't mind a little admin, our step-by-step guide walks the DIY path; if you'd rather it simply be handled, the companies comparison ranks who does it best.
Straight answers
Is claiming flight compensation actually difficult?
Starting is easy — a few minutes to submit your flight and booking reference. It only becomes difficult if the airline disputes the claim, which means rebuttals and chasing. That harder scenario is exactly what a no-win-no-fee service exists to take off your hands.
What's the hardest part of doing it myself?
Handling a rejection. Airlines often refuse first — commonly citing "extraordinary circumstances" — and pushing back with the right legal points, then escalating to a regulator or court, is the tedious part. If you're comfortable with that, DIY keeps you the full amount; if not, a service is worth its fee.
How long does it take to submit a claim?
Usually under five minutes, whether you claim directly or through a company. You need your flight details and booking confirmation; the eligibility check itself is instant. The time cost is in any dispute afterwards, not the submission.
Do I need any special documents or knowledge?
No specialist knowledge — just your booking reference, the flight details, and ideally your boarding passes. Knowing the basic rules (three-hour arrival delay, distance bands, cause) helps, but a free eligibility check does that assessment for you.
Is it easier to use a claim company?
Considerably, especially for contested claims — you forward the details and they handle the airline, the evidence and any escalation. The trade-off is their fee, commonly around a third plus VAT. For a simple, accepted claim the DIY route is nearly as easy and keeps you the full amount.
What if I'm not sure my flight qualifies?
That's the one genuinely fiddly judgement, and it's solved in seconds by a free eligibility check that weighs the distance, the length of your delay and the cause. It tells you whether it's worth claiming before you spend any effort at all.
Disclosure. Uncompromised Travel earns a commission if you start a claim through the AirHelp link on this page, at no extra cost to you. You can always claim for free directly with the airline. General information, not legal advice.