I could pick a million examples. OK. Maybe only 2000 or so. So, I’ll pick one.

My son and I were off to visit the college of his choice. We had a tight window- we were leaving in the morning, to return that evening. He had a track meet the next day.

So, we went to the airport, and dealt with the inane rules (you know- arriving 2 hours early to clear the BS security lines). And, now it’s 8:25 and we are supposed to be leaving for Ann Arbor. But, the plane has not yet arrived to the airport.

My son and I went to the airline club (I had membershuhips in about four of them back then; only one lifetime membership now). I had coffee, a bagel, and read the paper. My son had juice, a bagel, and watched TV. The plane finally arrived at 9:12 and we boarded. Only to get airborne- and be forced to land at an unscheduled destination because of problems with the airplane.

And, now, if we are lucky, we will get to Detroit at 3 PM, Ann Arbor at 4 PM. And, the office we were visiting closes at 4 PM. Which meant we lost our opportunity. Oh, it also meant we were wasting some $ 800 bucks for those flights to nowhere.

But, if we lived in Europe, that would not be the case. Because the EU (European Union) has a rule that passengers must be compensated when flights are overbooked or canceled. (This rule has been in existence for a decade now.) The refund (compensation) ranges from $ 300 to $ 700- as long as there were no bomb threats, strikes (note to self- avoid Paris airports), or bad weather. These three events are considered beyond the control of the carrier.

Of course that refund process takes time. Which means entrepreneurs smell opportunity and offer to help passengers recover their losses. And, they are trying to communicate this rule to passengers, since only 1% of those affected seem to file for compensation.

So, companies like AirHelp, AirRefund, RefundMe, FairPlane, and FlightRight are working hard to make their presence known. I, for one, would probably do the deed myself, since I am too cheap to give away 15 to 25% of the potential compensation to any of these vendors.

Except they all claim their success rate is close to 100%. And, while I did recover my lost funds from the carrier in the above scenario (I had a clear case and was- until that trip-  a VERY frequent flier on the carrier), I’ve had no success in a handful of cases.

Maybe I would hire one of these folks AFTER I failed to receive my compensation? But, that’s a fantasy, because the American regulations only guarantee compensation if we are bumped. (And, those “fines” can be as high as $ 1300.)

Which is why a slew of European airlines are lobbying to change this pro-consumer regulation. They want the same rules that apply in America. (Why NOT screw their customers if they can?)

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