In the case of delayed or canceled flights, Internet portals can continue to claim damages from Ryanair for passengers, the Frankfurt district court ruled. The Frankfurt competition center had sued the airline’s terms and conditions, which “unreasonably disadvantage consumers,” like the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reports.
Ryanair can appeal against the decision (Ref.
Long processing times
According to the judgment, Ryanair had given itself long processing times and, according to the FAZ, wanted to accept an assignment of rights only to “natural persons” and not to third parties and only to make payments directly to them. The clauses are not in conformity with the passenger law regulation (EC) No. 261/2004 of the EU – a “regulation for compensation and support services in the event of denied boarding and in the event of cancellation or long delay of flights”.
In the past, some airlines tried repeatedly to delay payments or not to make them. A way out for annoyed customers: They commission Internet service providers specializing in passengers – also companies known as legal tech startups such as Flightright, Fairplaine, Flug-Verspaetet.de or Refund.me – to claim damages on behalf of their customers. These take a commission of 20 to 50 percent to enforce compensation claims in the event of cancellation or flight delay.
The legal tech companies first spread to the aviation industry, but they also help their customers in other areas. For example, a tenant hired a company for a legal dispute to object to their excessive rent.
The service providers strengthen the normally bad position of the individuals compared to corporations. Therefore, in the past there have been repeated disputes about whether help with law enforcement is even allowed.
(mack)