AirHelp, a company that assists passengers on Europe flights
in filing claims for flight delay compensation, has launched a global airline ranking based on
data it has gleaned from 235,000 claim filings.
The AirHelp Score ranks 27 airlines on the pace at which
they accept and pay claims, as well as on the frequency with which, at least in
AirHelp's view, they wrongfully reject claims.
The score also factors in airline on-time data maintained by
FlightStats and quality performance ratings developed by the Skytrax website.
On its own website, AirHelp breaks down how each airline has been judged in the
different categories.
AirBaltic topped AirHelp's initial ranking, followed by
Austrian Airlines. Delta and United are part of a four-airline tie for 10th, and
American is part of a two-way tie for 14th. Portugal-based carriers TAP and
Sata tied for last.
The ranking does not include Southwest or other U.S.-based
carriers that don't fly to Europe. Under European Union regulations, ticket
holders who are denied boarding, whose flights are canceled or whose flights
are more than three hours late on arrival are often entitled to compensation of
between 250 and 600 euros.