Who should receive the compensation?

[Olanabunny]

An extended family holiday booked to celebrate somebody's big birthday
Birthday person's cost for the holiday was spread between the rest of the people attending. 2 free child places were also applied
Flight was significantly delayed
Compensation was claimed by the lead of the booking and received today.
How should it be split?
Should the children with a free place be awarded it? Should the birthday person receive a share even though they didn't pay anything towards the holiday or should those who paid for their holiday receive a portion of it back?

Hmmm I dunno. The only reason the compensation is in the form of money is in recognition of the fact that money has been paid for a service and that service has been inadequate. The compensation directly relates to the expense, and that expense was not shared.

If you turned up for a free festival and it was cancelled, nobody would be 'compensating' you, even if it was bloody inconvenient, for example. The monetary compensation is because what you paid was supposed to provide something that then wasn't provided. It may not be a 'refund' exactly but it is money back for a paid-for service that didn't deliver.

While legally it may be that it's owed to each person, morally I think someone who didn't pay for the flight and then accepted compensation would be extremely cheeky.

Each person was inconvenienced so each person should get the compensation regardless of who paid and how old they are. If the lead passenger, who claimed the money, wasn’t going to share it out fairly then it should have been left to each family/couple to claim independently.

I would suggest that if it is more than the cost of the flights, pay back what was paid for the flights and split the rest between you. If it was less than the cost, split proportionally between whoever paid for flights.
Surely only a right arsehole would say they wanted some compensation if they hadn't paid for a flight even though it technically is compensation?

Legally it's supposed to go to each person in whose name it was claimed and there should be T&Cs on this. You'd have to get the consent of the non paying people to keep it from them.

Completely incorrect. You misunderstand the fundamental purpose of UK 261.

This document explains how it works.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/62068231e90e0710aa4b69c4/aviation-consumer-rights-consultation.pdf

(NB no changes have yet been implemented as a result of the consultation)

If this is compensation paid under UK261 then each person, qualifies for the £520.

Opinions have been very split so far in those I have asked which is why I wanted a 2 sided opinion before approaching the group. Only the lead passenger knows it has been paid.

OP that sounds like you are the lead passenger/booker and wondering what you should do.

£520 per person. Should this be distributed as such or as £693 per paying adult?

As it's compensation, per person. But I don't envy you. Family or not, there will be bound to be some people who think it should be given only to those who paid, while the parents of the children will no doubt want it to be everybody.

Hmmm I dunno. The only reason the compensation is in the form of money is in recognition of the fact that money has been paid for a service and that service has been inadequate. The compensation directly relates to the expense, and that expense was not shared.

No. In your interpretation, only the person that paid for the flight would ever get compensation, not the traveller. In which case nobody travelling for business would ever get compensated. But as his been pointed out further up thread by legal experts, it is the traveller that is entitled to the money, not their employer.

Because that’s how it’s worked out. If someone paid for me to go on holiday I’d be extremely grateful and if they then offered me compensation for the delay I’d tell them they should keep it. I’d feel ashamed accepting it when they paid. Yes I was inconvenienced but I didn’t pay for the holiday so it’s just one of those things. I was delayed once 18hrs, before all these compensation rules, it’s inconvenient yes, but I’d still offer the money to the person who paid for me to go on holiday everytime. The airline doesn’t care who paid etc, it’s just a policy to compensate every passenger, that doesn’t mean every passenger has to receive the money. I wouldn’t even offer it

Also if I travel with my job and my train is delayed and I’m compensated, the policy is that you should give that to the employer who paid for the ticket. Not the person inconvenienced as they didn’t pay for the service.

So what happens when you don’t offer it and then one of the group makes their own claim against the airline?

Whose policy? If it’s your employer’s policy then that is quite likely a breach of employment law as it is legally your money. If the employer tried to claim it themselves they would not be legally entitled to do so.

I’m impressed with the amount. About 20 years ago I went on a flight that was delayed by 15 hours. Our luggage was left outside on the tarmac and it was all soaking. We were taken to a hotel eventually, but by then we only had a couple of hours before we had to get back to the airport. We got no compensation at all, literally not a penny.

Each couple gets 20% would be the easiest split and they can then argue amongst themselves. The birthday person obviously gets a bit of a win as they didn’t pay but I really think the easiest split is just by couple.

That’s exactly why the legislation was introduced. In 2004, so exactly 20 years ago (though the right to compensation for delay only came in in 2009).

NB however that there is a separate right to claim for damage to baggage, independent of EC/UK 261 and that has been around since the 1920s.

If the insurance paid for all including the children, then they should have a share as they had to wait too, even when their place was for free.

Does the compensation cover the cost of each individual ticket and then some? If so, could you refund each person who paid for their ticket and then distribute the excess equally between all passengers?

The compensation should be distributed equally among everyone who travelled, regardless of whether they paid for their place. The compensation was awarded based on the inconvenience suffered by each traveller due to the delayed flight, not on how much they paid for the trip. Even though the birthday person and the children did not pay directly, they experienced the same delay as everyone else.

OP’s flight must have been long haul (over 3500km).

The amounts are smaller for shorter flights, it’s a sliding scale. Minimum is £220.

Why not the children? The compensation has been awarded per passenger, not by paying adult.

Everyone who is inconvenienced gets the compensation. Including the free children and birthday person, because they had to hang around as well.

The people who paid.

Compensation is a legal requirement by airlines and it is for individuals who have been inconvenienced. The leader claimed on behalf of the other passengers and therefore should be redistributing it to all other passengers, to keep it would be fraudulent. When my flight was delayed I was compensated £250 for me and £250 for my baby who was only a lap infant at the time. Personally I would give everyone, kids included, their compensation.

This, as everyone was inconvenienced, surely.

@Memba I just went back and looked again at your thread (I posted the same advice on it under a different username).

You asked the question before claiming. Did you actually get any compensation in the end? (You don’t need to say how it was shared out within the family!)