Should you use a claim company?
Sometimes — but know the price first. The large agencies take between 30% and 36% of your compensation, rising to about half if the case goes to court. On a €600 claim that is roughly €180 to €216 of your money for filing a letter you can send yourself.
Work out what your flight is owed →The published rates
These are the fees the companies themselves publish, as reported in September 2026. They change, so check before you sign anything.
| Company | Standard fee | If it goes to court |
|---|---|---|
| AirAdvisor | 30% | about 50% |
| AirHelp | 35% | up to 50% |
| Flightright | 36% | plus a 14% court surcharge |
| Sending it yourself | 0% | 0% |
VAT may apply on top of the fee depending on the company and your country, so the headline percentage is usually the floor rather than the ceiling.
What that means on a real claim
Take the top EU261 band — €600 for a long-haul cancellation.
| Route | You receive | They keep |
|---|---|---|
| Flightright | €384 | €216 |
| AirHelp (35%) | €390 | €210 |
| AirAdvisor (30%) | €420 | €180 |
| Direct to the airline | €600 | €0 |
The work being charged for is a letter citing a regulation, sent to an address the airline publishes. That is the entire service in the ordinary case.
When an agency is genuinely the right call
This is not an argument that they are worthless. Use one when:
- The airline has already refused and you are not willing to go to court yourself. Agencies litigate; that is a real service and a real cost to them.
- The airline is outside your jurisdiction and enforcement would be genuinely hard.
- The claim is old or complicated — multiple legs, a missed connection across two carriers, a disputed cause.
- You simply will not do it otherwise. Seventy per cent of something beats one hundred per cent of a claim you never file.
What is not a good reason is the belief that claiming is hard. In the ordinary case — one airline, one flight, a clear delay — it is a letter and a form.
The order that costs you least
- Claim direct first. It is free and most valid claims are simply paid. You lose nothing but the time it takes to send.
- If they refuse, answer the refusal. Most refusals are templates citing extraordinary circumstances, and most of those do not survive contact with the case law — the test is here.
- If they still refuse, escalate to the regulator. Free, and airlines treat their regulator differently from a passenger.
- Only then consider an agency or a lawyer, when the remaining question is whether someone will sue on your behalf.
Going in that order costs nothing and preserves every later option. Going to an agency first costs a third of the money for a step you had not yet tried.
Questions
How much does AirHelp take?
AirHelp's published fee is 35% of the compensation, rising to as much as 50% where legal action is required. On a €600 claim that is around €210 in the standard case. Figures as published in September 2026.
Is it hard to claim compensation yourself?
In the ordinary case, no. It is a dated letter citing the regulation by article, sent to the airline's own claim form. The calculator on this site writes that letter for you at no cost and takes no share of the result.
Do claim companies get more money than I would?
No. The statutory amount is fixed by distance and does not change according to who asks. An agency may be more persistent, but it cannot obtain a larger sum than the law provides.
What if the airline ignores me?
Escalate to the national enforcement body, which costs nothing. Each airline guide on this site names the right regulator, and the calculator writes the escalation letter.
Related
- “Extraordinary circumstances” — what actually counts
- Your flight was cancelled
- EU261 — the statute itself