Terms And Conditions
Please note, if your claim falls under Brazilian laws you are subject to our Brazilian T&Cs.
§1 Definitions
In these terms and conditions (the “Terms”), the defined terms below shall have the following meaning:
“Agreement”: an agreement between a Customer and AirHelp for delivery of Justice as a Service.
“AirHelp”: AirHelp Germany GmbH, a company incorporated in Germany with its registered office at WeWork Warschauer Platz 11-13, 10245 Berlin, Germany (HRB 196015 B).
“AirHelp Plus Membership”: Membership, which can be purchased as a single booking or as a yearly subscription.
“Air Passenger Rights Regulation”: any law, regulation, directive, international convention, or similar, whether issued on state, federal, EU, national, international or regional level, and case law, that establishes rules on monetary compensation, damages, or refund to passengers in the event of overbooked, delayed, canceled, or otherwise disrupted flights or luggage claims.
“Assignment Form”: the electronic document, whereby the Customer and AirHelp agree that AirHelp shall become owner of the Claim, subject to the terms and conditions of the document, in order to collect and receive payments.
“Authority Document”: a document which authorizes AirHelp and/or one of AirHelp’s affiliates or partners to act on behalf of the Customer. The document may be in many shapes and forms, due to various jurisdictional requirements, including, but not limited to, a Power of Attorney, Certificate of Authorization, or a Customer Care Agreement.
“Claim”: any claim against an airline for monetary compensation, damages, or refund pursuant to Air Passenger Rights Regulations or an airline’s goodwill compensation.
“Customer(s)”: person(s) that has accepted these Terms. May also be referred to as “Client” on some documents.
“Eligibility Service”: is AirHelp’s delivery of its state-of-the-art claim eligibility determination through software. The Eligibility Service is conducted on a Claim by Claim basis in AirHelp’s web form. The Eligibility Service will inform the Customer of the likelihood of having an eligible Claim. An eligible Claim will have a high likelihood of getting paid and AirHelp will provide its Justice as a Service for such Claims if requested by the Customer. Claims that are not eligible will have a low likelihood of getting paid and AirHelp will not provide its Justice as Service for such Claims.
“Flight Compensation”: total amount of money paid by an airline in relation to a Claim as compensation, refund, damages, settlement, a gesture of goodwill, or otherwise, to the Customer or AirHelp after the Customer has accepted these Terms. For the avoidance of doubt, Flight Compensation does not include any payments or reimbursements of attorney’s fees, cost of legal advice, court fees, collection cost, interest, or similar, which have been pre-financed by AirHelp or result from AirHelp's intervention.
“Information Service”: is AirHelp’s provision of flight information, airline information, airport information, other travel-related information, information about air passenger rights, and consumer protection laws. The information will both be specifically relevant to the Customer’s travels and of a more generic context, such as ranking of airports or airlines, or news about changes in air passenger rights. The information will be delivered through electronic communication, including email, a personalized dashboard, or AirHelp controlled websites.
“Justice as a Service”: is AirHelp’s pursuit of a Claim, including, if necessary, by Legal Action.
“Legal Action”: filing a Claim with a court or a government body, such as a national enforcement body (NEB), or handing over a Claim to a contracted legal representative, such as an attorney or law firm.
“Member(s)”: person(s) that has purchased an AirHelp Plus Membership.
“Price List”: appendix attached to this Terms specifying accepted currencies, methods of payment and all fees charged by AirHelp aside from the reimbursement of court fees and attorney’s fees, which will be offset by AirHelp where applicable.
“EC 261”: Regulation (EC) No. 261/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council dated 11 February 2004, establishing common rules on compensation and assistance to passengers in the event of denied boarding and of cancellation or long delays of flights.
“AH Signature”: A ‘signature’ delivered by the Customer electronically via the online AirHelp signing tool. This AH Signature may be used on the Assignment Form, for the purpose of proving the assignment of the claim in communication with the airline and/or in court procedures, and/or on the Authority Document or other documents.
§2 Agreement
After the Customer has accepted these Terms, AirHelp agrees to deliver and the Client agrees to receive Eligibility Service and Information Service.
After the Customer has accepted these Terms and submitted (with AH Signature) either the Assignment Form or Authority Document, the Agreement shall be in place, and the Customer agrees to receive Justice as a Service and AirHelp agrees to deliver Justice as a Service.
By entering into an Agreement with AirHelp, the Customer affirms that they are authorized and have the legal capacity to enter into the Agreement on their own behalf and, where applicable, on behalf of their fellow passengers.
By submitting the Assignment Form or an Authority Document, the Customer affirms that they are authorized and have the legal capacity to sign the Assignment Form or an Authority Document on their own behalf and, where applicable, on behalf of their minor fellow passengers.
The Customer acknowledges that AirHelp only seeks Flight Compensation. The Customer agrees that AirHelp will not accept travel vouchers and/or other services as Flight Compensation and that such an offer from airlines will be considered as refusal of payment, unless AirHelp determines that the likelihood of a more favorable outcome for the Customer is low and under the circumstances it would be the best choice to accept such offer.
The Customer affirms that the Claim has not been assigned to third parties and no legal dispute is pending or expected between the Customer and the airline in the same matter.
After submitting the Assignment Form, the Customer may not assign the Claim to any other party as the legal title to the claim has been assigned to AirHelp. After submitting the Authority Document, the Customer may not mandate another third party to act on behalf of the Customer concerning the same Claim.
Any existing engagements or assignments, if any, must be canceled before submitting the Assignment Form or an Authority Document. For the avoidance of doubt, in the event that the Customer has signed an Authority Document, the Customer can withdraw the authority given in the Authority Document by giving written notice to AirHelp. This withdrawal does not affect the Agreement itself.If the Customer receives any direct payments or any other compensation from the airline concerned after entering into the Agreement, the Customer shall be obliged to advise AirHelp without delay. Such payments shall be considered Flight Compensation and entitle AirHelp to its Service Fee and Legal Action Fee if Legal Action was taken by AirHelp prior to the Customer receiving payment from the airline. For the avoidance of doubt, Flight Compensation does not include any payments or reimbursements of attorney’s fees, cost of legal advice, court fees, collection cost, interest, or similar, which payments shall belong solely to AirHelp.
After submitting the Assignment Form or an Authority Document, the Customer shall be obliged to cease negotiations with the airline concerned and direct any contact made by the airline to AirHelp in order to ensure that AirHelp achieves the best result possible.
§3 Description of Justice as a Service
AirHelp asserts the Customer’s Claim for Flight Compensation from the operating airline on the basis of EC 261 or any other Air Passenger Rights Regulation in force applicable to the Customer’s particular air travel.
Flight data and information may be submitted to AirHelp via the website, email, other electronic or software solutions supported by AirHelp, or phone.
To pursue the Claim successfully, AirHelp needs the Customer’s submitted Assignment Form or Authority Document, which they can send to AirHelp via the web form or using email, or postal service. On receiving a Customer’s submitted Assignment Form or Authority Document, AirHelp prepares a request for payment and sends it to the operating airline without unreasonable delay and handles all further correspondence. For this part of Justice as a Service, if Flight Compensation is paid, AirHelp charges its Service Fee (see Price List).
If the operating airline fails to pay Flight Compensation within a reasonable period after being notified by AirHelp and provided the case may be asserted with adequate certainty, AirHelp may propose and initiate Legal Action to pursue the Claim. In the event that Legal Action is undertaken as advised and Flight Compensation is paid, AirHelp charges the Legal Action Fee in addition to the Service Fee, see Price List).
In the event that a contracted legal representative is used for Legal Action, the Customer will allow AirHelp to grant the contracted legal representative access to all of the data communicated to AirHelp and allow the legal representative to transfer information concerning the proceedings to AirHelp. Where a separate Authority Document, Assignment Form, or other additional documents are required by the relevant court, the Customer undertakes to sign such additional documents. In cases where the Customer has signed an Assignment Form, and later signs an Authority Document (or similar), the Customer accepts that the Authority Document assigns the Claim back to the Customer.
If the contracted legal representative comes to the conclusion that there are insufficient prospects of success, the Customer will be advised about this and the Claim will not be actively pursued any further. In the event of changes affecting the Claim's prospects of success, AirHelp reserves the right to contact the Customer and actively pursue the Claim again.
If AirHelp or the contracted legal representative institutes legal proceedings to pursue a Claim, AirHelp will cover any costs incurred in the event the lawsuit is lost. In the event the lawsuit is won, or a settlement has been reached between the airline and AirHelp, AirHelp will cover any costs incurred that are not covered by the airline. If a lawsuit is won, a claim for reimbursement of court fees will be put forward on behalf of the Customer. The same applies for the cost of legal advice and attorney’s fees regardless of whether the legal proceedings are performed by AirHelp or a contracted legal representative.
The Customer acknowledges that it is the sole decision of AirHelp to accept any settlement offer since the Customer has assigned the Claim to AirHelp. In case AirHelp acts on behalf of the Customer pursuant to an Authority Document, the Customer authorizes AirHelp to accept or reject settlement offers based on AirHelp’s experience with the airline and the advice from external legal representatives.
AirHelp may pursue the Claim in its own name with the assigned Claim, with or without the help of a legal representative. Where appropriate and/or legally necessary, AirHelp may reassign the Claim to the Customer and the Customer agrees to grant AirHelp with an Authority Document to deliver Justice as a Service and collect and/or receive payments.
§4 Description of AirHelp Plus Membership
A Customer can join the Membership by purchasing an AirHelp Plus Membership.
The AirHelp Plus Membership fee will be advised to the Customer at the time of the purchase, which the Customer has to pay in order to become a Member and enjoy the benefits specified herein.
AirHelp offers the AirHelp Plus Membership either as:
i) a single booking, or ii) a yearly subscription:The AirHelp Plus Membership as a single booking will cover Claims that originate from the flight booking for which the Customer purchased the Membership or originate from a flight booking the Customer added manually before any disruption occurred.
The AirHelp Plus Membership as a yearly subscription will cover Claims that originate from flight bookings within the given time period. The fee for the AirHelp Plus Membership will be billed yearly.
Both AirHelp Plus Memberships are available as either a Complete plan or as an Essential plan. Only Members who have booked the Complete plan will have access to the additional benefits outlined in 4.7.
The AirHelp Plus Membership commences on the day of purchase.
Upon the acceptance of the purchase the Member will receive a confirmation.
For AirHelp Plus Members, AirHelp will waive its Service Fee and Legal Action Fee, if applicable, for AirHelp’s delivery of Justice as a Service for the Claims for bookings that are covered by the AirHelp Plus Membership.
AirHelp Plus Complete plan is distributed in various versions and may include some or all these benefits:
Lounge access
AirHelp is providing Lounge access through a cooperation with COLLINSON SERVICE SOLUTIONS LIMITED (“Collinson”), a company registered in England and Wales with company number 02474708, Registered office address: Cutlers Exchange, 123 Houndsditch, London, EC3A 7BU, England for selected Lounges. The Privacy Policy and the Terms of Use of Collinson will apply for the use of this service.
Members, who purchased AirHelp Plus Complete plan as a single booking, can enjoy Lounge access for their registered delayed flights upon their eligibility:
Members will become eligible for this service, if the flight is registered at least 6 hours prior to the scheduled departure. The departure of the flight will be monitored by Collinson’s flight tracking system. Subject to successful prior registration, Collinson will provide Members with a lounge access voucher via email and SMS in the event that Collinson’s flight tracking system identifies that the Member’s flight is delayed by more than 60 minutes (the “Delay Threshold”), is cancelled less than 6 hours before the scheduled departure time, or is cancelled after the scheduled departure time. Access to the email address or mobile number Members provided at registration and the ability to display the lounge access voucher is a condition of use of the Service. A delay which meets or exceeds the Delay Threshold can be announced either as one single period of delay or as a result of a consequence of multiple incremental shorter delays totaling the Delay Threshold. Collinson will rely solely on their flight tracking system to determine if Members become eligible for lounge access. Members accept that Collinson does not warrant the accuracy of the flight tracking system and Members will not rely on it to track their flight departure time. In the event of a qualifying travel delay, a lounge access voucher will be provided to Members via email and SMS on the day of their flight. It cannot be used on any other day of their travel. Only the named individuals in the email confirmation will be eligible to receive the Service. The Service is provided to the Members on a non-transferable, non-refundable, and non-changeable basis. No cash or credit alternatives will be offered. Where applicable, by accessing the airport lounge, Members agree to abide by the rules and policies of the lounge.
AirHelp Plus Members, who purchased AirHelp Plus Complete plan as a yearly subscription, can enjoy Lounge access for their registered delayed flights upon the same eligibility as Members, who have purchased AirHelp Plus Complete as a single booking.
Flight status
Members will have free access to flight status, which will be presented for their flights in the personal dashboard and/or via mail.
AirHelp is not liable for the correctness of this data. The flight status presented is directly obtained by a 3rd party and is not binding. Members must still follow the agreed times and airline instructions.
Benefits are personal and apply only to the Member, which means the Member has to be named as a passenger in the booking, and to a certain number of passengers (as set out in the confirmation email), if they are included in the same booking as the Member.
The Service Fee and Legal Action Fee will not be refunded to the Member for flights that were disrupted prior to the commencement of the Membership.
The Membership is non-transferable. The Member must promptly notify AirHelp upon becoming aware of any unauthorized use of the Membership.
For the Membership as a yearly subscription, the Membership shall be automatically renewed for one year thereafter until and unless the Member chooses to cancel the Membership, which can be done i) by the Member, when logged into their account and choosing “Manage Membership” in the dashboard and clicking “Cancel Membership”, or ii) by the Member providing AirHelp with a written notice of their desire not to automatically renew the Membership, sent to: [email protected]
Members, who qualify as consumers pursuant to EU-consumer regulations, can withdraw their Membership within 14 days from the purchase without the need to specify any reasons. To exercise the right to withdrawal and receive a full refund, the withdrawal must be communicated within a 14-day period from the purchase and it must clearly state that the Member wishes to withdraw from the Membership. Due to the nature of the service provided to the Member, the Member cannot withdraw from the Membership if the Member has been traveling on any flights covered by the Membership. The withdrawal can be sent to: [email protected]
If the cancellation is received by AirHelp 14 days after the conclusion of the initial or renewed Membership, the Member will not be entitled to any refund of the Membership fee.
Once the Membership is terminated, canceled, or expired, the Member loses all AirHelp Plus benefits and AirHelp will no longer waive its Service Fee and Legal Action Fee, if applicable, for AirHelp’s delivery of Justice as a Service.
Former Members who have chosen not to renew their Membership, have to file their claim originating from the Membership period, no longer than 60 (sixty) days after the Membership has expired, to receive the benefits of the AirHelp Plus Membership.
AirHelp reserves the right to refuse the Membership to any person and, in case of breach of the Terms by the Member, terminate the Membership at any time.
The Member will not be entitled to any refund of the Membership fee upon termination of the Membership by AirHelp.
§5 Fees and Payments
AirHelp provides Eligibility Service and Information Service free of charge.
AirHelp provides Justice as a Service free of charge unless AirHelp is successful in collecting Flight Compensation (“no win no fee”).
If AirHelp is successful, AirHelp will transfer the Flight Compensation to the Customer, subject only to fees that may apply in accordance with the Price List. Pre-financed court fees and attorney’s fees will be offset from any payments transferred to AirHelp in the name of the Customer.
If AirHelp is successful, but the Flight Compensation and/or attorney’s fees, court fees, interest or similar has been transferred directly from the airline to the Customer, the Customer will be invoiced and commits to transfer AirHelp’s fees without unreasonable delay in accordance with the Price List and the pre-financed received attorney’s fees, court fees, interest or similar, if any, to AirHelp.
Payment of the agreed part of the Flight Compensation to the Customer will be done as agreed in the Price List by AirHelp.
If the Customer has provided wrong or insufficient information to pay the Flight Compensation and it is returned to AirHelp, AirHelp will make reasonable endeavors to contact the Customer, including email reminders and other means of communication provided by the Customer to AirHelp. If the Customer does not respond to provide correct payment information, AirHelp shall be entitled to keep the part of the Flight Compensation that otherwise should have been transferred to the Customer.
When AirHelp has paid the agreed Flight Compensation in accordance with the instruction of and method selected by the Customer, AirHelp shall not be liable for:
checks, prepaid debit cards, credit cards, and similar lost in transit to the Customer;
any effect of the Customer giving wrong bank account information, wrong address, or similar, including, but not limited to, the Flight Compensation being paid to the wrong receiver. If Flight Compensation has been paid to a wrong receiver at the fault of the Customer, AirHelp shall not be obligated to actively reclaim it.
No interest may be claimed for the period between the incoming and outgoing payments. AirHelp reserves the right to retain any interest that has been recovered from the airline.
AirHelp shall not be liable for any amount of compensation, damages or similar, if AirHelp is prevented from transferring the payment to the Customer by an event beyond its reasonable control, including but not limited to, strike, lock-out, labor dispute, act of God, war, riot, civil commotion, malicious damage, compliance with a law or governmental order, rule, regulation or direction, accident, breakdown of plant or machinery, fire, flood, and storm.
§6 Data Protection
AirHelp will primarily use the personal data provided by the Customer for the purpose of delivering Eligibility Service, AirHelp Plus Membership, Information Service, and Justice as a Service in accordance with the Agreement. AirHelp may also collect personal data for other purposes such as statistics, administration, and communication, IT and security administration, physical security, authentication and authorization systems, support systems, a collaboration of internal projects, and organizational teams and activities. All personal data is collected in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation, Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (see Privacy Statement) or other data protection laws that may be applicable.
The Customer provides AirHelp with personal data under the General Data Protection Regulation or other data protection laws that may be applicable, with the explicit permission to process the personal data given by the Customer and, where applicable, given on behalf of or by their fellow passengers for the use thereof in the context of the Agreement. AirHelp will only transfer the personal data to third parties under the conditions as listed below:
if the Customer has given consent;
if it is for a purpose directly related to the original purpose for which the personal data was collected;
if it is necessary for the preparation, negotiation, and fulfilling the Agreement with the Customer;
if it is required due to a legal obligation, administrative, or court order;
if it is required for the establishment or protection of legal claims or in defense of court actions;
if it serves the prevention of misuse or other illegal activities, such as deliberate attacks, to ensure data security.
§7 Data and information from the Client
On request by AirHelp, the Customer or their fellow passengers will provide AirHelp with all data or information that is required for the execution of the Agreement. The Customer warrants that the data and information provided is correct, complete and true, and where applicable, given with the consent of the fellow passengers.
The Customer agrees to fully indemnify AirHelp in all respects for all third-party claims including, but not limited to, incorrect Customer communications, provision of incorrect data/information, and fraudulent conduct.
In case of incorrect data/information and fraudulent conduct, AirHelp reserves the right to terminate the Agreement with immediate effect. If the Agreement is terminated in accordance with this paragraph, the Customer will not have any right to compensation of any kind.
§8 Right of withdrawal
If the Customer qualifies as a consumer in accordance with EU consumer regulations i.e. they are a person who enters into a legal transaction for a purpose that is neither their commercial nor their independent vocational activity, they have a statutory right of withdrawal.
The Customer can withdraw their acceptance of the Agreement within 14 days from the conclusion of the Agreement (e.g., letter, email) without the need to specify any reasons. To exercise their right to withdrawal, the withdrawal must be communicated within the 14-day period mentioned above and it must clearly state their wish to withdraw from the Agreement. Due to the nature of the service provided to the Customer, they cannot withdraw from our Agreement, if we have informed the Customer that the airline has accepted the Claim, as in such an event we have completed the service they requested. The withdrawal can be sent to:
AirHelp Germany GmbH
c/o WeWorkWarschauer Platz 11-13
10245 Berlin
Germanyor
e-mail: [email protected]
§9 Final Provisions
AirHelp is authorized to alter these Terms and the Price List and to set forth additional conditions at any time and without notice. However, changes with a negative effect on the Customer will not apply to the Customer, unless the Customer agrees to new changes.
The laws of Germany apply to these Terms, the Assignment Form, and the Agreement between AirHelp and the Customer, without regard to conflict of laws principle.
Should any provision of these Terms be or become void, illegal, or unenforceable, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions in any way whatsoever.
Rights and obligations fully or partially related to any submitted Claim may be transferred without restrictions by AirHelp to any entity within the corporate group of AirHelp and by AirHelp to third parties.
The English version of these Terms shall prevail in case of inconsistency to any other language version.
Updated: December 04, 2022.
Version 3.22