Travelore Tips: Spend $25 To Stop Worrying About Flight Delays Or Cancellations With A Flight Protection Plan Called AirCare

© STEVE PREZANT/CORBIS

Few travelers would want to relive last winter’s record level of flight cancellations and delays—by all accounts, it was a nightmare season for frequent fliers. But if future seasons are as turbulent, there’ll be at least another form of protection: A new type of travel insurance launching today is designed to ensure that put-upon fliers can get relief without having to depend on an airline to deliver it.

The flight protection plan, called AirCare, is a novel take on conventional travel insurance policies, which typically are designed to cover individuals who might have to cancel big ticket trips, like tour packages or cruises, for medical or other emergencies. But AirCare’s protection is designed exclusively for airline-related snafus. For a fee of only $25 per trip (payable up to an hour before departure), the traveler qualifies for an immediate payment for an array of flight horrors, starting with $50 for a delay of more than two hours. The payment rises in proportion to the inconvenience: For a missed connection caused by a flight delay, you get $500; ditto for luggage that’s delayed for more than 12 hours. For fliers stuck on the tarmac for more than two hours (one hour less than the federally mandated trigger for penalties on the airlines), you get $1,000. While some airlines do offer partial refunds or vouchers for some of these circumstances, the AirCare protections are in addition to whatever the airline eventually ponies up—assuming they do at all.

The plan is offered by Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection, part of a larger insurance company under billionaire Warren Buffett’s vast umbrella of investments. The travel insurer is headed by John Noel, who founded Travel Guard and is a well-known figure in the field. In an interview, Noel described the new venture as a “real game-changer,” saying that the goal is to keep it “simple and inexpensive,” offering protection for situations that rarely get covered. "We're starting a whole new industry," he notes. Although the program currently extends only to domestic travel, plans are afoot to offer protection for international flights; a more extensive suite of services are also available for an extra fee. You can also download a mobile app (for iOS and Android devices) for easy access when you’re inevitably stuck at the airport.

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Contributed by Barbara Peterson, www.cntraveler.com

Refund.me Expands To India, France And Poland Lowering It's Fees To Better Defend Air Passenger Rights Worldwide

The ‘no win, no fee’ online platform and mobile app announces it is reducing its commission to only 15% of successful claims as it celebrates its first anniversary

In just 1 year since its launch, the worldwide service provider has already processed claims from 73 countries and 153 airlines

refund.me, recently recognized for its innovative design by the Sabre Travel Network, takes another important step in its mission to defend passenger rights worldwide

 refund.me, the international service provider which helps passengers claim their right to compensation for flight delays, cancellations, missed connections and diversions, has announced its newest international expansion to India, France and Poland. With an estimated combined annual traffic of 300 million passengers[1], these three markets represent a significant milestone in refund.me’s mission to defend passenger rights worldwide.

refund.me’s website, widget and mobile app are now offered in five languages: English, German, Spanish, French and Polish. The cloud-based, largely automated and specially developed system provides passengers a real-time assessment of their claim based on refund.me’s worldwide flight monitoring. The system also relies on an algorithm which takes into account the complex EU regulation which defines compensations of up to € 600 ($800) for flight delays, cancellations, missed connections and diversions.

In light of its success in its first year of operation, refund.me has lowered its commission to only 15% (plus VAT) of successful claims. This comes as refund.me continues to strive to become the traveller’s best friend and to make passenger rights more accessible worldwide. The company will continue to operate on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis which includes going to court at no extra cost to enforce valid claims.

Eve Buechner, founder and CEO of refund.me, underlined: “We are pleased to announce our expansion to India, France and Poland and the reduction of our commission to 15% as these are important steps forward in our mission to defend passenger rights worldwide. Our presence in these markets means hundreds of millions of passengers will have convenient access to their rightful compensation. Clearly a worldwide platform and mobile app like ours is a hassle-free solution that passengers accept to effectively claim their right.”

In April of this year, refund.me also launched in the UK, US, Spain, Argentina and Mexico in its push to become the international traveler's best friend.

This international expansion to three rapidly growing travel markets comes as refund.me is celebrating its one-year anniversary today, July 24th. After its launch last year, refund.me received its very first claim the following day and has gone on to process claims from 73 countries, 153 airlines and over 260 airports, winning passengers’ trust across the planet. Likewise, it has been recognized by the Sabre Travel Network for its innovative business model and its utility for travel agents and travelers alike.  

Moreover, refund.me has rolled out its brand new 2.0 widget, offering affected passengers a more user-friendly and accurate service. Indeed, since its birth a year ago, refund.me has consistently worked to improve its product and is proud to unveil this new widget which will help passengers effectively claim their right.

Despite a recently proposed revision to EU Regulation EC 261/2004 which could increase the threshold for compensation to 5, 9 or even 12 hours, passengers can continue to conveniently claim their right thanks to refund.me.

The process is simple: To file a complaint, the affected passenger quickly fills out an online form, and refund.me handles the process from there. The customer is only required to pay a now reduced 15% commission (plus statutory VAT) only if the claim is settled successfully. This allows passengers to avoid the complicated and time-consuming bureaucratic process and claim up to € 600 ($800) simply by entering their flight and other data in the Advanced Business Logic (ABL) of the cloud-based refund.me system. 

About refund.me

refund.me is an international service provider that helps passengers enforce their claims to compensation for flight delays, cancellations and missed connections quickly and easily. Thanks to its specially developed, high-precision Advanced Business Logic (ABL) system, claims can be submitted through the website or the free mobile app. refund.me can quickly enforce claims of up to €600 according to EU Regulation 261/2004.

This start-up created in July 2012 has made it its mission to make passenger rights worldwide transparent and attainable. Under its current services, refund.me also helps bus, ship and rail passengers file and enforce their claims under the relevant EU regulations (EU 181/11, EU 1177/10, EC 1371/07). With regard to air travel, passenger rights have been enforced for hundreds of customers in 73 countries from 5 continents and 153 airlines.

The corporate headquarters of refund.me are located in Potsdam.

Www.Refund.me Reveals Top 10 Airports For Delays And Cancellations

refund.me flight compensation statistics show passengers have suffered the most delays and cancellations in Frankfurt Airport

In just 9 months, refund.me has already served claims in over 50 countries from 5 continents and 122 airlines

New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport ranks 10^th worldwide in terms of claims for delayed arrivals processed by refund.me

 refund.me, the international service provider which helps passengers claim their right to monetary compensation for flight delays, cancellations, diversions and missed connections, has revealed a list of the airports where users of its online widget and mobile app have suffered the most inconveniences. In only 9 months since its birth, the German start-up has served claims for passengers in over 50 countries from 5 continents and 122 airlines.

The breakthrough online system was recently awarded the Top Sabre Red Appy Award which recognizes the innovative business idea and its design for the Sabre Red Workspace, used by travel agents to shop for and book travel, and the efforts of refund.me in making passenger rights more transparent and accessible.

According to refund.me statistics^[*], Frankfurt Airport has generated the most claims for delayed arrivals, followed by three British airports, Manchester, Stansted and Gatwick. Dusseldorf’s Airport slots in at 5^th, followed by Tegel (Berlin), Antalya (Turkey), Barajas and Birmingham. New York’s JFK closes out the Top 10. 

Passengers have also suffered the most flight cancellations in Frankfurt Airport^[†], followed by Franz Joseph Strauss Airport (Munich) and Charles de Gaulle (Paris). Gatwick follows close behind in 4^th, followed in turn by Schiphol (Amsterdam), Copenhagen and Dusseldorf airports. Heathrow slots in at 8^th, with Barajas (Madrid) holding the down the 9^th position and Manchester Airport rounding out the Top 10. 

World’s most on-time airports

Major airports in the US are among the best in the world in terms of on-time performance, according to the April on-time report published by flightstats.com. Indeed, 5 of the Top 10 airports are in the US, including Seattle (3^rd), Minneapolis (7^th), Charlotte Douglas (8^th), Phoenix (9^th) and Boston (10^th).

About refund.me

refund.me is an international service provider that helps passengers enforce their claims to compensation for flight delays, cancellations and missed connections quickly and easily. Thanks to its specially developed, high-precision Advanced Business Logic System (ABL) system, claims can be submitted through the website or the free mobile app. refund.me can quickly enforce claims of up to €600 according to EU Regulation 261/2004.

This start-up created in August 2012 has made it its mission to make passenger rights worldwide transparent and attainable. Under its current services, refund.me also helps bus, ship and rail passengers file and enforce their claims under the relevant EU regulations (EU 181/11, EU 1177/10, EU 1371/07), and in the future will provide service for mishandled luggage according to the principles of the Montreal Convention. With regard to air travel, passenger rights have been enforced for hundreds of customers in over 50 countries from 5 continents and 122 airlines and 215 airports. The corporate headquarters of refund.me are located in Potsdam.