Bit of advice with when to claim

freejack2k

My daughter had a flight with Aer Lingus yesterday Manchester to JFK with a connecting flight in Dublin. Her Manchester flight was supposed to leave at 8.10am then her connecting flight was to leave Dublin at 11.05am. What actually happened was her Manchester flight left late at 10.16am and arrived in Dublin at 11.07am and the Dublin to JFK flight left Dublin 12 minutes late at 11.17am. As she had to do US customs pre clearance in Dublin it was impossible for her to make the connecting flight. Aer Lingus then moved her to a flight that departed Dublin at 17.25 and arrived in JFK  for 19.12. Her initial Dublin flight that was missed was scheduled to arrive at 13.29 so obviously she was more than 5 hours late. I am assuming she can get compensation for this as it was Airlines fault not hers?
The other question is she is doing Camp America so is in the US until September which is when her return ticket is booked. Should she claim now for yesterdays flight or wait until September when she has used the return portion of the trip? Dont want her to end up losing her return ticket if she claims too early. 
Thanks in advance  

Westin

Do you know WHY the MAN DUB flight was late?  Not all reasons qualify for compensation.

It shouldn’t really matter when she makes a claim (if she has a valid claim). It certainly won’t impact on he booked return segment of the ticket.

freejack2k

Thanks for reply
all they say was technical issues

Westin

No harm in putting in a claim then. No rush to do this either. Instructions on making a EU261 claim from the Aer Lingus website.

freejack2k

Thanks for the advice, got the below this morning 

Thank you for providing the information.

In this instance, you are entitled to GBP520.00 in accordance with Regulation EC 261/2004. I have authorised a bank transfer made payable to you, in full and final settlement of this claim. This bank transfer will be completed shortly.

We hope despite the difficulties encountered on this occasion, you will afford us the opportunity to welcome you on board our services for a more enjoyable experience in the future.

Please do not reply directly to this email as it will delay handling of your case. To send us a reply or to update your case please click here. Please include your case number, *********, on all correspondence. Thank you.