arbitration request Flight: What documents are required?

Traditionally, increased travel activity is to be expected around public vacations and during the vacation period. Many people use airplanes for family visits and vacation trips. Experience has shown that delays, cancellations and overbooking cannot be ruled out.

Agency for Passenger Rights (apf) is an independent arbitration body for air travel. Our aim is to reach agreement between passengers and airlines in the event of disputes. On the basis of the EU Air Passenger Rights Regulation, apf helps passengers free of charge and commission-free with their concerns:

Delay
(Delays of three hours or more at the destination. This also includes missed connecting flights)

Cancellation
(The flight was canceled at short notice and no timely information was provided)

Denied boarding
(Passengers were denied boarding despite having a valid ticket and being present at the airport in good time)

Downgrade/upgrade
(travelers are rebooked into a lower class of carriage; a surcharge was charged for an airline upgrade)

If you are affected by one of these four scenarios, we need the following documents in order to reach an agreement with the airline:

• Communication with the airline

E-mails, letters (preferably scanned or photographed)
These documents help apf employees to check claims for compensation. Without verifiable contact with an airline, no proceedings can be initiated on our part.

Tip: Please send us all your correspondence with the airline. If an airline does not reply to your e-mail or letter within six weeks, please send us a screenshot of the e-mails sent, including the date of dispatch and the address of receipt or the confirmation of posting and a copy or photo of the letter.

The apf only mediates directly with the airlines; correspondence with the organizing travel agency is generally not relevant for the review.

• Booking confirmation

Our team needs information about the flight and the booking in order to be able to conduct efficient root cause analysis with the airlines. The booking confirmation should contain the following data:

The specific flight number(s)
This is an airline abbreviation (e.g. OS for Austrian Airlines) and a number (three or four digits).

Examples:
Austrian Airlines: OS 123; OS 4567
Emirates: EK 123; EK 4567
Ethiopian Airlines: ET 123; ET 4567
Etihad Airways: EY 123; EY 4567
Eurowings: EW 123; EW 4567
KLM - Royal Dutch Airlines: KL 123; KL4567
Lufthansa: LH 123; LH 4567
Ryanair: FR 123; FR 456
Turkish Airlines: TK 123; TK 4567
Wizz Air: W6 123; W6 4567

the planned departure and arrival time at the destination airport and the booked connections (transfers for open jaw flights).

Names (first name and surname) and number of passengers booked

Here is an example of an Austrian Airlines booking confirmation (relevant information in yellow)

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• Invoices

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Please keep your invoices (for meals, drinks, care, telephone calls, etc.) as far as possible in the form of paper receipts. Bank and credit card statements cannot be clearly assigned to a specific date and are therefore not suitable evidence in an arbitration procedure.

With these three documents (communication with the airline, booking confirmation, invoices) you can contact the apf arbitration board free of charge and commission. And don't worry: if you forget one or two things, we will draw your attention to them without any disadvantage to you.

It is best to submit your arbitration request online via the apf website:
https://www.apf.gv.at/de/beschwerde-flug.html

Which claims are NOT the responsibility of the apf?

Based on the EU Passenger Rights Regulation, apf is not responsible for the following issues:

Loss of baggage
Loss of earnings due to delays, cancellations, etc.
Interest claims
Payment of the entire telephone bill by the airline
Payment of costs for travel to and/or from the airport (e.g. taxi home) Payment of services already provided at the destination (hotel, rental car, sightseeing tours, event tickets, etc.) In these and similar scenarios, the airline may be liable for the costs of travel to and/or from the airport.e.g. cab home)
Cover for services already booked at the destination (hotel, rental car, sightseeing tours, event tickets, etc.)

In these and similar scenarios, you can contact the European Consumer Center, for example:
https://europakonsument.at/

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