That's a useful cop-out to do nothing and screw the airline's customers.

Except that the something you're doing may not be the best idea either. These kind of broad knee jerk reaction laws to placate a few people who felt wronged often end up causing unintended consequences that inconvenience and even hurt many more.

It's not a knee-jerk reaction. The law was passed in 2004 and the airlines have done everything since to avoid paying compensation through both the national courts and the european courts and lost in every courts. All customers, even airline cusomers, are entitled to receive for they are entitled to.

Huh? Just because it's been hung up in legal battle doesn't mean it wasn't a knee jerk reaction when it was written in 2004.

 

Yes, everybody is entitled to something, especially in the EU. What I would like to see is a law that requires lawyers to pay back the fees and damages to their client if they lose a case for them. You hired this lawyer to win a trial and you didn't get what you paid for. You should get recompensation. Hah!

As Shakespeare said the "first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers" but it has to be understood in context. even so, I don't see that's got to do airline passenger rights.

Has nothing to do with airline passenger rights, but if we are going down this path for consumer rights, this ought to be done as well since it makes as much sense as fining airlines for being delayed.

Why does anyone think they have a right to be compensated for a 3 hour delay? How is it at all reasonable that if the service you are paying for to transport you from London to Paris does JUST THAT. You are still adding to the payload, which costs the airline fuel and you are still getting to your destination. The service is provided, albeit a little late. Is 0.3% not a reasonable margin for delays in the hectic operational environments the airlines are operating in ? Unless your arrival is 'time critical' with resulting costs to you, then compensation for compensation sake just for a three hour wait is bull - especially if you are a budget airline pax. If you are only willing to pay £20 for a flight then as far as I'm concerned you are buying into the 0.3% of risk from the get go. It comes with the territory.

 

I'm more partial to the airlines being fined for tripping thresholds over a given period (with that money being put to good use on infrustructure) than individual compensation payments being made to passengers for a service they actually did receive.

The problem is that we expect everything for nothing these days.