European Court determines role of Charter Company in case of flight delays

Suppose you book a trip with a charter flight and this flight is delayed for a long time. Who do you go to for financial compensation: the airline that carried out the flight or the charter company with which you booked the flight?

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Wet lease

Passengers book a flight ticket with TUlfly, to fly from Hamburg (Germany) to Cancún (Mexico). The booking confirmation says that the airline that will operate the flight is not TUIfly but Thomson Airways. The wet lease that TUlfly GmbH entered into with Thomson Airways makes this outsourcing possible.

Taking it to court

The flight to Cancún was delayed considerably and the passengers contacted the operating airline Thomson Airways for the financial compensation that they were entitled to as specified in Regulation No 261/2004.

Thomson Airways refused to pay this compensation. The airline was of the opinion that the wet lease agreement meant that – despite the outsourcing – not Thomson Airways, but TUIfly GmbH was the “operating party”; and that the latter was as such responsible for the complete and proper performance of the flight.

In that context the Regional Court in Hamburg has requested the Court of Justice to clarify the concept of “operating air carrier”.

Statement of the European Court of Justice

The European Court of Justice ruled that the concept of an “operating air carrier” within the meaning of Regulation No 261/2004, does not apply to a wet lease agreement. Thomson Airways merely leased the airplane and the crew that performed the flight. TUlfly fixed the itinerary and operated the flight. For this reason TUlfly was the “operating air carrier” in this specific case, and can thus be held accountable for the delay.

Calculate compensation

Have you dealt with flight delays or cancellations? With the help of our flight calculator you can calculate, in a few simple steps, whether or not you are entitled to compensation and if yes, which type.