In the event of a delay of more than three hours, airline passengers are entitled to compensation when the delay upon arrival concerns a journey of more than one leg operated by different airlines, the Advocate General states in conclusions returned on Wednesday 6 June (case C-186/17).
Two passengers booked a flight with Air Berlin from Berlin to San Salvador via Madrid and San José, via a travel agency. The flight from Berlin to Madrid was operated by Iberia Express and was 59 minutes late when it arrived in Madrid. This delay prevented the passengers from joining their flight to San José operated by Iberia, with the final San José - San Salvador leg to be operated by Avianca. The passengers finally reached San Salvador, their final destination, more than 49 hours after the scheduled arrival time.
A company to which the passengers transferred their rights brought a case against Iberia Express before a German court. The German court in question asked the Court of Justice of the EU whether, given the fact that the different legs were operated by three different airlines and that the whole flight had been booked via a travel agency from a fourth airline (Air Berlin), the passengers were entitled to compensation for being unable to join their flight in Madrid due to a small delay in the first flight from Berlin, which caused a considerable delay at the final destination.
In his conclusions, Advocate General Evgeni Tanchev finds in favour of the plaintiff. He considers that the delay of relevance in this case is that of 49 hours on arrival in San Salvador.
According to the Advocate General, there is no objective justification for a difference in treatment between a multi-leg flight operated by a single airline and a multi-leg flight operated by a number of different airlines. If there was, airlines could be tempted to divide up their flights - between their subsidiaries, for instance - in order to avoid having to pay compensation to passengers in the event of a considerable delay.
The Advocate General clarifies that in such a case, the compensation obligation is borne by the actual airline, in this case Iberia Express, that delayed the multi-leg flight and caused a delay at the final destination, rather than the contractual airline, in this case Air Berlin, if it was not responsible for operating any of the legs of the flight. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)