AirHelp vs. Flightright: Which flight compensation service wins?

Canceled flight, eligible compensation claim, two companies happy to file it for you. You’re standing at the gate with a coffee going cold, scrolling between two browser tabs, trying to decide which company deserves a portion of the compensation you’re about to fight for.

That’s the AirHelp vs. Flightright dilemma in a nutshell. 

We put AirHelp and Flightright head-to-head on fees, coverage, customer satisfaction, and more. We’ll also show you how Settlemate stacks up against the two, with a model that skips the percentage cut altogether.

AirHelp vs. Flightright at a glance

AirHelp and Flightright are both German companies founded in 2013 and 2010, respectively. They also originally focused on claims under EU261, a regulation that entitles passengers to compensation for delays, cancellations, and denied boarding within Europe. From there, they went in different directions. 

AirHelp used EU261 regulations as a launchpad. Over the years, the company:

• Expanded its coverage to include US, Canadian, and Brazilian regulations
• Became a household name through aggressive marketing and an automated app
• Acquired ClaimCompass, a fellow EU261 specialist, folding its customer base directly into the AirHelp platform

The result is a bigger player in the flight compensation space, with broader coverage.

Flightright stayed closer to home. It describes itself as a legal-tech company first: rather than expanding into new regulatory territories, it invested in legal infrastructure to fight wrongful rejections of EU261 claims in court.

Today, Flightright has a reputation for outlasting airlines when other services give up. 

Before we go into a more detailed comparison, here’s a quick overview of how AirHelp and Flightright stack up:

Flightright vs. AirHelp fees and subscription options

The headline numbers look close enough that fees alone might not be a dealbreaker:

1. AirHelp takes a flat 35% of whatever it recovers, with VAT already factored in.
2. Flightright quotes a lower range, 20% to 30%, with VAT charged separately.

It’s not clear what factors into the fee amount with Flightright, but we can assume it is determined by claim complexity or the compensation amount. 

The real difference shows up when the claim escalates to court:

1. AirHelp adds another 15% on top of its base fee, resulting in a 50% cut.
2. Flightright adds a 14% legal fee, bringing the total to 34–44%.

As an example, here’s how much you get to keep of a €600-worth claim:

Flightright might seem slightly in the lead on this aspect, but AirHelp offers a way to sidestep per-claim fees by signing up for AirHelp+ membership.

With a monthly subscription, your compensation claims are filed without the standard commission or legal fees. You also get other perks, including:

• Free lounge pass
• Quick cash payouts 
• Travel perks like accommodation and car rental discounts

Note that the AirHelp+ subscription is billed annually and pays off only if you travel often. The fees may be difficult to justify for occasional travels:

Jurisdiction coverage

This is where Flightright and AirHelp differ the most, and it’s probably the single biggest factor on which to base your choice. 

Flightright only covers flights that fall under the EU261 Regulation and the UK version of this framework (UK261), more specifically:

• Flights departing from an airport within the EU, on any airline
• Flights landing in the EU, but only on an EU-based carrier
• Flights departing from or arriving in Switzerland, Iceland, and Norway
• Flights departing from a UK airport on any airline
• Flights arriving in the UK on a UK-based carrier

AirHelp covers flights under a wider set of frameworks. In addition to EU261 and UK261, it covers flights:

• From and within the US
• To, from, and within Brazil
• To, from, and within Canada
• To, from, and within Oman
• To, from, and within Turkey
• To, from, and within Saudi Arabia
• To, from, and within Thailand
• To, from, and within India

If your travel itineraries cross multiple jurisdictions or you fly in and out of the US regularly, the breadth of flight coverage matters more than a slightly lower fee. 

Worth knowing: The US DOT’s automatic refund rule is now fully in force, meaning airlines must issue a cash refund automatically when a flight is canceled or significantly delayed. This protection exists regardless of the service you use, though it only covers your ticket cost, unlike the fixed compensation provided by EU261. 

Claim types covered

Both Flightright and AirHelp handle the usual flight disruption cases under the EU261 regulation:

• Delays
• Cancellations
• Denied boarding due to overbooking
• Missed connections on a single booking

However, Flightrights' scope ends there. The company won’t pursue any disruption that falls under a separate framework, such as the Montreal Convention. For example, if your luggage is delayed, lost, or damaged, you’d have to file a claim directly with the airline. 

AirHelp goes further by also handling claims under the Montreal Convention, which mandates reimbursement of documented, out-of-pocket expenses caused by the flight disruption, including:

• Costs from lost, delayed, or damaged baggage claims, such as replacement items bought while waiting for a bag, or the value of the bag and its contents if declared lost
• Reasonable extra expenses caused by the delay or cancellation, such as unplanned hotel stays, meals and refreshments, and ground transport
• Documented losses directly tied to the disruptions, such as missed prepaid hotel nights, prepaid activities, and lost wages

Tools and user experience

AirHelp offers two ways to file a claim:

1. Via the AirHelp free app: Once you sync your inbox, it’ll surface eligible flights on its own, without manual entry required. You can track a claim’s status from your phone. 
2. Through a web portal: If you don’t want to install the app, eligibility checker, claim submission, and tracking are available from a browser. 

The app may be a better choice as it provides a more hands-off experience.

Flightright only runs a web portal. You don’t get automatic inbox scanning, but you can register upcoming flights for monitoring and track active cases. It’s a manual but simple web setup, and it might appeal to you if you prefer not to download another app.

Both flight compensation companies also feature airline and airport ranking tools, and they’re genuinely useful for a quick gut-check before booking. AirHelp Score covers airports and airlines globally, while Flightright Index sticks to the 20 largest European airlines. 

Both tools are worth considering before booking a trip. It’s good to know which airline pays compensation faster when things go wrong.

User reviews

Sentiment toward both companies is similar: positive reviews mostly praise successful payouts, while negative impressions typically complain about the steep fees. Generally, both AirHelp reviews and Flightright reviews are predominantly positive, with both companies sitting at a 4.5+ star rating on Trustpilot across hundreds of thousands of reviews combined. 

Here’s what comes up most often on both sides:

AirHelp vs. Flightright: Which should you choose? 

If you fly almost entirely within Europe and you want to keep more of your compensation, Flightright’s lower base fee and litigation track record make it the stronger pick, especially for claims an airline has already rejected. 

However, if you fly internationally, connect through the US or Canada, or want a single app that catches disrupted flights with zero effort on your part, AirHelp’s broader reach justifies its higher fee. 

Still, you’re handing over a meaningful slice of your compensation to these companies.

Plus, both AirHelp and Flightright only manage flight disruption claims. But what about other compensation opportunities that happen every day? It can be a car rental company that quietly added a fee nobody mentioned at pickup, or treating yourself to a new item only for the price to drop a few days later. What if a company you dealt with settles a class action lawsuit, and you're entitled to a share of the payout?

If you’re paying for a subscription, it should do more than recover flight compensation. It should find multiple ways to put money back into your pocket. Furthermore, it should ensure the majority of the compensation ends up in your account.

That’s exactly what Settlemate can do for you. 

Settlemate: One subscription, multiple ways to recover your money

Settlemate automatically looks for money you may be entitled to across travel, shopping, and everyday purchases.

It works quietly in the background, automatically prepares and files claims, and notifies you when the status changes. When your input is necessary, it’ll prompt you with clear instructions, so you always know exactly what’s needed from you.

Here’s all Settlemate can help you claim:

Checks retailers’ policies and files a refund claim when a package never shows up or arrives past its promised date.

It’s all included under one subscription, with no per-claim commission anywhere in the mix. And there’s no real risk in trying it. 

Settlemate users are backed by a Value Guarantee. If you don’t recover your membership fee through verified value in the first 12 months, we’ll extend your membership for another year at no additional cost. We’ll continue extending your access until the cumulative value you receive matches your original subscription fee, provided you continue to meet the eligibility requirements.

Download Settlemate from the App Store or Google Play and start recovering money that’s already yours.