Data Shows Most Delays Occur During Family Vacation Season

Figures released by the Civil Aviation Authority reveal that on time performance for all scheduled flights operating from the UK's ten main airports in 2014 dipped to 79%. This is one percentage point down from 2013 figures. The overall on time percentage of charter flights dipped four percentage points to a low of 73% with an average delay of 18 minutes, up from 17 minutes in 2013.

Research by refund.me, a passenger rights service provider, confirms that passengers are increasingly experiencing disrupted travel from flight delays, cancellations and re-routings, with peak holiday season travelers experiencing the worst in airline punctuality.

The company reports a spike in claims during busy holiday seasons with data from Easter 2014 alone showing a rise of 35 percent in passenger compensation claims from airlines compared to data outside the holiday period that same year. Peak travel days saw a rise of 45 percent, with claims most often filed due to flight delays in excess of three hours.

Of the over 30,000 flights that travel across European airspace on a typical July day, approximately a quarter of those flights occur within UK controlled airspace, (NATS) and this figure is set to rise in line with recent trends.

"With our skies becoming increasingly crowded, many UK passengers travelling in the summer peak travel season of mid-June through August are likely to experience sub-standard on time performance," said Eve Büchner, refund.me Founder and CEO.

"Unfortunately many consumers are unaware of their rights to compensation. Across Europe alone passengers are entitled to an estimated £665 million - which largely remains unclaimed."

Refund.me, which assists affected passengers with claiming compensation for disrupted travel under European Union regulation (EC) 261/2004 aims to make the claims process easier and more transparent. Its proprietary Advanced Business Logic (ABL) technology enables passengers to file claims directly from the refund.me website or via a free app. Depending on the nature and duration of the delay, cancellation or re-routing passengers can claim up to €600 per flight.

refund.me also provides an app for travel agents via the Sabre Red App Centre which automatically monitors thousands of bookings, detecting delays and cancellations eligible for compensation. When a qualifying reservation is detected, the travel agent is notified and can then efficiently pass on this information and a claim form to the passenger with just a few clicks.

In the three years since its launch, refund.me says it has secured over $12.4 million in claims for its customers.

FMI: www.refund.me/en