AirHelp
 | |
| Private | |
| Industry | Airline, Legal, Travel |
| Founded | 2013 |
| Founder | Henrik Zillmer, Nicolas Michaelsen, Greg Roodt |
| Headquarters | London, Hong Kong, New York City, Gdańsk, United States |
Area served | EU, US |
Number of employees | 200 |
| Website | airhelp.com |
| Original author(s) | Greg Roodt |
|---|---|
| Initial release | January 2013 |
| Written in | Python, Java |
| Operating system | Android, iOS |
| Available in | 14 languages |
| Type | Legal, Flight cancellation and delay, App |
AirHelp is a technology company that provides legal services to airline passengers who have experienced a flight cancelation, delay or overbooking when traveling into or out of the European Union. Under EU Regulation 261/2004, airline passengers could be entitled to compensation if their flight was disrupted while departing from or arriving to an EU member state with an EU-registered airline.[1]
The company's services are meant to educate and empower travelers to make full use of their consumer rights, and in turn raise the level of customer care provided by airlines. The legislation does not apply to flights that were disrupted by extraordinary circumstances beyond the airline's control such as weather-related reasons or airport strikes. However, the law's jurisdiction includes flights dating back as far as five years.
Airline passengers can use the AirHelp website or smartphone app to check their flight eligibility at no cost. After determining eligibility, the passenger can choose to enlist AirHelp to handle their claim against the airline. Compensation amounts and eligibility are determined by numerous factors including flight origin and destination, flight distance and the number of total hours delayed before arriving at its final destination. The company is compensated by a contingent fee based on the final compensation payout.
AirHelp seeks to simplify the claims process on behalf of airline passengers who may not otherwise seek recourse for disrupted travel, of which there are many. The Manchester Evening News reported that travelers through Manchester Airport were entitled to tens of millions of pounds that are so far unclaimed.[2]
The service is available in the United States, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, UK/Ireland, France/Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany/Switzerland/Austria, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece, and claims to have helped more than 550,000 passengers in 35 countries.
History
AirHelp was founded in January 2013 by CEO Henrik Zillmer, Nicolas Michaelsen (CMO) and Greg Roodt (CTO), formerly of Moshi Monsters. The founders were later joined by Poul Oddershede (CFO)[3] and early Skype investor and serial entrepreneur Morten Lund.[4]
AirHelp was introduced by TechCrunch as an inductee of the Winter 2014 class of world-renowned Silicon Valley incubator YCombinator.[5] The company launched its services in the United States in March 2014.[6] In May, its Gmail integration services were announced at the annual Tech Crunch Disrupt NY event. The integration enables AirHelp to search Gmail accounts to find flight itineraries that may be eligible under the law.[7]
AirHelp was the recipient of the 2014 Spark award at the inaugural Collision Conference held in Las Vegas in May 2014. The company was awarded the prize over a pool of 30 technology startups from a total of 500 applicants.[8] Also in May 2014, AirHelp was named the best Danish startup of the year in the Nordic Startup Awards.
In October 2015, the company released an airline ranking system, AirHelp Score, that measures airlines based on several factors including amenities and on-time departures.[9][10]
See also
References
- ↑ Europa (European Union website). Passenger rights. Brussels. Retrieved 18 January 2014
- ↑ Cox, Charlotte. "Manchester Airport passengers could have claimed £63m over delayed flights, but only applied for £1m", Manchester Evening News, Manchester, 4 January 2014
- ↑ O'Hear, Steve. "AirHelp Wants To Put The Fear Into European Airlines With Its Flight Compensation App", Tech Crunch, London, 28 October 2013.
- ↑ Day, Peter (producer). "Entrepreneuring through boom and bust", Global Business, BBC World Service, London, 17 August 2010.
- ↑ Kumparak, Greg. "When Airlines Screw Up Your Flight, AirHelp Gets You Paid", Tech Crunch, San Francisco, 5 March 2014.
- ↑ Swan, Rachel. "AirHelp: Silicon Valley StartUp Helps Passenger Recoup Cash for Canceled Flights (Update)", San Francisco Weekly, San Francisco, 6 March 2014.
- ↑ Dillet, Romain. "AirHelp Lets You Claim Money For Messed Up Flights", Tech Crunch, San Francisco, 6 May 2014.
- ↑ Jensen, Jackie. "Inaugural Spark powered by Rackspace winner announced", Vegas Tech, Las Vegas, 14 May 2014.
- ↑ Morris. Hugh "Revealed: the worst airlines for handling flight delay compensation", Telegraph Travel, 21 October 2015
- ↑ Rizzo, Cailey. "How airlines rank when it comes to making up for bad service", Mashable, 20 October 2015.