AirHelp, the world’s largest air passenger rights organisation, today announces the launch of a new AirHelp Plus feature: AirPayout Insurance. Under this new scheme, members can receive a guaranteed sum of €100 (approximately £86), payable within a few days of any flight disruption, for delays of more than three hours, cancellations less than seven days before departure, as well as flight diversions.

Passengers will need to log their booked flights using the AirHelp dashboard prior to travelling in order to be covered for any disruptions. After this, eligible air travellers will still be able to claim full compensation from the airline as well as receive the full amount for successful claims through AirHelp.

Flight support when needed
AirHelp Plus is a subscription service providing members with 24/7 access to the company’s air passenger rights (APR) expertise, including live support for flight queries when faced with delays, disruptions and cancellations.

AirHelp Plus has two membership types: Essential and Complete.

The Essential package (€24.99, approximately £21) waives all fees when a claim is made through AirHelp, saving members on service costs while still enabling them to receive the full compensation amount – up to £520 for eligible flights under the UK’s air passenger rights laws. Members also get support for delayed, damaged or lost luggage.

The Complete package (€64.99, approximately £56) entitles passengers to additional benefits including access to over 1,100 premium airport lounges when a flight is disrupted. Both memberships now include AirPayout Insurance, backed by battleface travel insurance, with the Essential package covering the first three trips the customer registers, while the Complete package covers all trips.

Knowing your rights
AirHelp has one of the most accurate collections of flight data in the world, including the number of flights, passengers, disruptions, delays and cancellations from airports and airlines across the globe. In 2022, 37 million of 103 million UK air passengers faced delays and disruptions, with more than 2.5 million passengers eligible for compensation. Under UK261, the UK law for APR, air passengers are entitled to compensation for up to £520 per person for delays over three hours, cancellations less than 14 days before departure, and denied boarding due to overbooking – only in instances where the airline is at fault.

Tomasz Pawliszyn, CEO at AirHelp, comments: “So far this year, more than 750,000 UK passengers have been entitled to compensation due to flight delays and disruptions leaving UK airports. However, 85% of air passengers globally do not know their rights meaning many passengers will not make a claim. This is often due to the time and effort required throughout the claims process.

“The aim of combining our AirPayout Insurance with our AirHelp Plus scheme is to provide a faster, simpler solution for passengers to claim back some of the money they are entitled to, without any of the hassle. This offers short-term support for air passengers up until they receive their full compensation.”

Sasha Gainullin, CEO at battleface comments: “We’re excited to be working with AirHelp, the world’s largest air passenger rights organisation, to launch Airpayout Insurance ahead of the peak summer travel season.  At battleface, we’re great believers in unbundling travel insurance to give travellers the modular elements that they require. With Airpayout Insurance, passengers are guaranteed a seamless payout process for any flight disruption while still benefitting from Airhelp’s support in claiming full compensation for any disruption from the airline.”