How to Get the Airline to Pay You Back Without Spending an Afternoon on Hold
Tell a chatbot what happened. It looks up what you're owed and writes the letter. You press send.
What happened
A traveler whose flight was delayed and then cancelled asked Claude to collect the facts, research the airline's obligations and draft the refund email. Another, flying in Europe, had an AI assistant check the flight data and argue that a crew shortage didn't count as the "extraordinary circumstances" airlines use to avoid paying. That one reportedly won €400 before the plane landed.
Most people never claim what they're owed because the rules are confusing and the forms are tedious. Those are exactly the two things AI is good at.
What to do
- Gather the facts: airline, flight number, date, scheduled and actual arrival times, what reason the airline gave, and any receipts for meals or hotels.
- Paste them in with the prompt below. Mention whether the flight started or ended in Europe; different rules apply.
- Check the rules it cites. Ask it to link the official source, such as the U.S. Department of Transportation or the EU, and open the link yourself.
- Send it through the airline's own refund form or customer-relations email, and keep a copy.
- If they refuse, paste the refusal back in and ask for a follow-up that answers their specific reason.
The prompt
My flight was delayed or cancelled. Here are the details: [airline, flight number, date, route, scheduled vs. actual arrival, reason the airline gave, expenses with receipts]. Explain what refund or compensation I'm likely entitled to under the current rules that apply to this flight, and link the official source for each rule. Then draft a short, firm, polite refund request I can send to the airline.
If the airline replies with a denial, paste it in and ask: "Write a response to this specific reason."
Where it still needs a grown-up
- Refund and compensation rules change and depend on the route. Verify on the official government page before you quote a rule to an airline.
- Weather and air-traffic-control delays usually don't qualify for compensation, though you may still be owed a refund for a cancelled flight.
- Keep it polite. A letter that reads like a lawsuit tends to get a lawyer's reply.
The verdict
Ten minutes for a letter you would otherwise never get around to sending.