AirHelp vs Flightright: which is better for UK flight compensation?

If you’ve recently faced a delayed or cancelled flight, you’ll know how quickly travel plans can turn into stress. And if you’ve tried claiming flight delay or cancellation compensation directly from the airline, you’ve likely discovered how complicated, slow and frustrating the process can be. Airlines often rely on passengers giving up long before any money is paid.

That’s why many UK travellers turn to compensation specialists. Two of the biggest names in this space are AirHelp and Flightright. Both companies handle compensation claims under UK261 (similar to EC 261 in the EU), the post-Brexit regulation that protects air passenger rights in the UK. Both also have strong reputations and years of experience.

This guide provides a clear, fair comparison — with one important note. We believe AirHelp is the better option overall for UK passengers, and we’ll explain why. That said, we’ll stay balanced, avoid speculation, and focus on verifiable differences in scale, transparency, customer experience and overall support.

Whether you’re researching “AirHelp vs Flightright” or simply want your compensation sorted without the hassle, this comparison will help you make an informed choice.

Here’s a quick overview of how the two companies compare:

20% VAT applies to UK residents

Under UK261, passengers are entitled to compensation when:

• their flight is delayed and arrives more than three hours late

• their flight is cancelled at short notice

• they are denied boarding

The disruption must be the airline’s responsibility — not something unavoidable like extreme weather.

Compensation can reach up to £520 per passenger, but airlines frequently dispute claims or delay responses. They may argue “extraordinary circumstances”, or simply not reply at all. As a result, many passengers choose a compensation service to handle the process for them.

With that context in mind, here’s how AirHelp and Flightright compare.

One of the most meaningful differences for UK passengers is how each company charges its fees.

AirHelp’s transparent 35% fee (VAT included)

AirHelp uses a simple pricing model: 35% total, with VAT already included.

There are no hidden extras or additional charges.

Flightright’s fee structure (VAT added separately)

Flightright advertises a maximum fee of 30%, but VAT is added afterwards for UK customers. This means the final amount is higher than the headline percentage suggests.

Why this matters

For many passengers, clear pricing is essential. AirHelp’s all-in fee makes it easy to know exactly what you’ll pay if your claim succeeds, with no surprises later.

When handling claims against airlines with large legal teams, scale and expertise can make a difference.

AirHelp’s global reach

AirHelp has helped more than 3 million passengers worldwide win compensation — more than any other compensation service. Their team handles claims under:

• UK 261

• EU 261

• Brazilian ANAC 400

• SHY PASSENGER Turkey

• Saudi Arabian regulation

This gives AirHelp access to wider flight data, stronger legal presence and advanced case assessment tools.

Why AirHelp comes out ahead

AirHelp’s scale is objectively larger. More passengers supported and more jurisdictions covered means:

• data accuracy

• quicker case processing

• more experience building strong claims

• greater legal capacity

AirHelp’s global footprint offers advantages for UK travellers who fly domestically or abroad.

Both companies rely on airline response times, which vary widely. Typically, compensation takes 8–14 weeks, though this can extend during busy travel seasons.

AirHelp, however, uses automated claim analysis, AI-supported tools and large support teams designed to minimise internal delays.

Why this matters for UK passengers

Airlines often take weeks to respond, so a company with more automation and a bigger team can handle high volumes more efficiently. AirHelp’s technology-driven approach helps keep claims moving even when airlines are slow.

When choosing a delayed or cancelled flight compensation service, customer trust, reputation, and ease of use play a major role. While both AirHelp and Flightright are well-known in the industry, there are important differences in scale, transparency, and user experience.

AirHelp’s Trustpilot presence

AirHelp holds an “Excellent” rating from more than 225,000+ reviews. This is one of the largest feedback pools in the industry, offering strong reassurance about consistency, reliability, and service across a vast number of cases. A rating built on this volume of reviews provides a far clearer picture of overall customer satisfaction levels than with smaller sets of data.

Flightright’s reviews

Flightright also has an “Excellent” rating — however with only around 3,000 reviews, its reputation is based on a much smaller sample of customer experiences. The sentiment is positive, but the limited number of reviews makes it harder to gauge how consistently the service performs at scale.

User experience: where AirHelp stands out

Beyond ratings, the quality of the user experience is a key differentiator.

AirHelp is designed to be the fastest and most intuitive way to claim compensation:

• A modern, streamlined website built for clarity and speed

• A 2-minute eligibility check that instantly shows whether a claim is worth pursuing

• An award-winning all-in-one travel app with hundreds of thousands of downloads for claim monitoring, flight tracking, and travel insights

• A friction-free claim process requiring minimal effort from the passenger

• A design focused on transparency, guidance, and ease of navigation at every step

Flightright offers a functional claim process, but its interface and overall user journey are more traditional and less optimized for quick decisions or on-the-go use.

What this means

Both companies have solid reputations — but AirHelp’s far larger review base combined with its superior user experience, modern digital design, and advanced mobile app gives customers a clearer, more reliable, and significantly easier service from start to finish.

One of the clearer differences between the two companies lies in what they offer beyond the basic claim process.

AirHelp offers:

• AirHelp+ disruption insurance, providing protection for future delays and cancellations, fee-free compensation, and other premium perks

• A modern mobile app with real-time flight tracking and compensation alerts

• Global jurisdiction support, allowing AirHelp to pursue claims across multiple countries where many competitors cannot

• A vast, specialised in-house legal team with experience handling complex, cross-border cases

• Active legal representation when airlines refuse to cooperate — AirHelp routinely takes cases to court when needed, and has an excellent win-rate

• Tools for simplified claim monitoring and status updates

• Additional travel services designed around frequent flyers

Flightright offers:

• Legal support for flight compensation

Why AirHelp stands out

If you’re claiming for a delayed or cancelled flight, both companies can help. But when an airline resists or the case requires escalation, AirHelp’s broader capabilities make a real difference.

AirHelp pairs a large, trusted review base with deep legal expertise and international case-handling capacity. With a substantial in-house legal team and the ability to operate across multiple jurisdictions, AirHelp can escalate claims, issue legal challenges, and represent passengers in court where required — a strength often missing from automated comparisons.

Whether travelling with family, solo, or for business, and whether your flight’s short- or long-haul, passengers benefit from AirHelp’s real-time alerts, comprehensive travel protection, and strong legal backing, resulting in a more complete and proactive service from beginning to end.

Both companies handle UK261 cases, but their approach differs.

Flightright focuses mainly on EU and UK regulations.

AirHelp, however, handles UK, EU and global cases — which matters because:

• many UK travellers fly internationally

• disruptions happen both within Europe and beyond

• different regulations may apply depending on the route

• passengers often don’t know which law covers their situation

AirHelp’s ability to handle multiple regulations means UK travellers don’t have to figure out whether a disruption falls under UK261, EU261 or another system — the company does it for them.

Both AirHelp and Flightright are reputable, effective flight compensation companies. Neither is a risky choice, and both have solid histories of helping UK passengers.

But when we compare them directly, AirHelp clearly comes out on top for several reasons:

Why AirHelp leads overall:

• clear, transparent pricing for UK residents

• significantly larger global experience

• more passengers helped overall

• vast legal and technical resources

• additional services like insurance and flight alerts

• seamless customer experience across website and app

• wider jurisdiction coverage

• smoother, tech-driven customer experience

AirHelp’s scale and tools genuinely contribute to a more seamless experience for UK travellers.

When comparing AirHelp vs Flightright for UK flight compensation, the conclusion is straightforward: AirHelp is the stronger option for travellers.

While Flightright is a long-standing company with experience in EU and UK claims, AirHelp simply offers more — more transparency, more scale, more global coverage, more tools and more support throughout the entire compensation journey.

AirHelp’s all-inclusive pricing, larger legal and operations teams, advanced technology and global jurisdiction expertise create a smoother, more reliable experience for passengers who just want their compensation handled properly. Add to that the extensive customer feedback, industry-leading reach and additional services like AirHelp+ and real-time flight tracking, and the advantage becomes even clearer.

In short: AirHelp is the best overall choice for UK passengers seeking compensation for a delayed or cancelled flight — offering fairness, simplicity and support that go beyond the basics.

Now you know who’s best placed to handle your compensation, why not see how much you’re owed today. Feel free to share this page with anyone who might need a helping hand.