Who gets to keep the compensation?

@Memba 🤣🤣🤣

For people who are struggling to grasp that the compensation is for the passengers not those who paid for the flights (not you OP, I know you get it!), think of it like this- during a delay you get hungry so the airline give you a meal. They don’t send meal vouchers to your parents back in the UK who paid for the flight. And one person in the group would not eat all the meals for all the passengers.

Paying money for inconvenience is the same concept.

I would say deduct any out of pocket unexpected expenses you incurred due to the delay for each guest, then refund the rest to the parents.

@Memba then surely the sensible conclusion is everyone keeps the compensation they earn even if it means that other parents are in credit?!?!

@Memba
You got consent to fill in the form, but your initial post clearly indicated that you felt you should keep all the money without asking them for permission or offering it to them.
You asked permission to fill in the forms, but you weren’t even going to bother asking permission to keep their money until a bunch of strangers told you to.

@Thedm I don’t understand why she is applying for them, she doesn’t have parental or other legal responsibility does she? Bit silly really isn’t it. She should have handed details over to the parents to act as they so wished.

Likely if they agree to the compensation the money/cheque will be paid direct to each individual surely?

But you would have to commit fraud. You wouldn’t be filling in an application for yourself. You’re filling it in for other people and saying they gave you permission. It is the definition of fraud. To keep the money, without telling them first and asking/hoping they offer it, is theft. It isn’t your compensation.

The compensation fully covered the cost of the flights (paid for by DH) with enough left over to give our son and his mate £50 each. So our son’s mate paid nothing and got £50 too!
We were all happy with this.

I bet you were, and I don't blame you at all for claiming, it's your rights etc

That said unless your son's mate lost out financially due to the delay that's an example of exactly why there's more and more lobbying going on behind the scenes to reform the legislation, one change being proposed is that the compensation paid more accurately reflects the actual financial loss a passenger has suffered, rather than some arbitrary sum.

Talk to some still working for some airlines and they'll tell you on some flights the prospect of a lengthy delay is welcomed by many of those who are starting their holiday's in the manner of a lottery win, rather than being a cause for disappointment and/or annoyance.

We had a similar situation in August. We have a holiday home in Spain. Wd invited our adult son and a mate to stay with us for a few days in August. My DH booked the flights.

We were treating our son anyway but his mate was going to repay us later - when he had the money! That was fine with us.

Their return flight to UK was delayed by over 6 hours which meant compensation could be claimed. My DH made the claim - as he had paid for the flights. Amazingly it was paid within days.

The compensation fully covered the cost of the flights (paid for by DH) with enough left over to give our son and his mate £50 each. So our son’s mate paid nothing and got £50 too!
We were all happy with this.

I think if I was the parent of one of the kids and found out you'd applied for compensation in my child's name and then kept it, I'd be pretty annoyed. If you turn the situation on its head, ask how you'd feel if a parent used your child's name to do the same?

If you're struggling for cash then yes I can totally see why it's tempting! But equally I wouldn't see it as my money. I think my conscience would nag me too much.

If I was one of the parents who had paid for flights, I'd be over the moon with a refund, I'd refuse to take any extra you were the one delayed with 4 teenagers and had been so generous in covering all of the other holiday expenses. Depending on financial circs at the time I may well even have said for you to keep it all

I'd give them the cost of the flight £250, keep the rest, you covered all their costs for holiday. An extra night in a hotel wasn't a hardship, no way I'd be handing a teenager €600 euros when they had a free holiday

I think the parents would be absolute CF if they didn't insist on giving the compensation to you.

I wouldn't think much of someone who wanted to profit from this, especially as you've been so generous treating their child on holidays.

@Thedm get a grip, some people take themselves far too seriously

So you would steal? The compensation payment is from the airline to each individual traveller. You would actually have to commit fraud to get it, but claiming on their behalf and taking their permission.

Because it doesn’t. Law and regulations are clear. It goes to the traveller, each individual traveller. It does not go to whoever paid for the flights. Even if it did, it still wouldn’t go to the OP as she didn’t pay for their flights.

If my employer pays for the flight, but the delay affects me and my time, then I want the compensation. The employer still got their flight, just later.

It may be that in this case the teens weren't really inconvenienced but we shouldn't assume that you have to work to suffer losses.
They could miss an exam, a driving test, a concert, a family birthday a school production etc.

I wouldn’t give them anything