AirHelp review: what it charges, how a claim works, and when to claim yourself

Checked 15 Sep 2026·10 min read · 5 tables

£0 is what a UK261 claim costs when you send it to the airline yourself and, if the airline refuses, to ADR. AirHelp’s fees page says it keeps 35% of each claim it wins, VAT included, and pays claims under European regulations in euros; its terms keep that fee due even if the airline pays you directly. This AirHelp review sets AirHelp’s own terms, fees and help pages, read on 14 October 2026, beside that free route.

Every statement about AirHelp comes from AirHelp’s own pages or an official register. Where AirHelp’s pages differ from each other or from UK legislation, both texts are printed side by side, with no conclusion beyond them.

#Who is AirHelp, and is it regulated?

AirHelp Germany GmbH (Local Court of Charlottenburg, HRB 196015 B) is the company AirHelp’s UK terms name as “AirHelp”. The terms call it a “Registered debt collection service provider according to §10 par. 1 No. 1 RDG Germany”, and the UK site names no UK company. Germany’s Federal Office of Justice lists it for debt-collection services.

Source: AirHelp, Terms and Imprint — airhelp.co.uk; Bundesamt für Justiz, Rechtsdienstleistungsregister, checked 2026-10-14.

AirHelp’s imprint names the Bundesamt für Justiz as supervisor and gives legal services register file 7525 G 1 KG. The register gives 2018 as its founding year. Both are German registrations. Neither is a UK authorisation. The terms say German law governs the contract, without affecting the mandatory consumer rules of the country where you live.

Great Britain’s claims-management rules cover six kinds of claim, listed in article 89G(2) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001: personal injury, financial services or products, housing disrepair, specified benefits, criminal injury and employment. A flight delay or cancellation claim is not one of them. Our reading of the Order: handling a UK261 or EU261 claim is not, by itself, an FCA-regulated claims management activity in Great Britain, so the absence of FCA authorisation is not, by itself, a sign of wrongdoing.

We could not read Companies House or the FCA Register, so this AirHelp review reports no entry from either.

Check that the agreement you are asked to sign names AirHelp Germany GmbH before you send any documents.

#What does AirHelp charge?

35% of the total compensation, including applicable VAT, is AirHelp’s service fee on each claim it wins, according to its fees page. A Legal Action Fee of 15%, also including VAT, is deducted on top where a claim goes to legal action. AirHelp’s help pages say it “will never charge you more than 50%” overall.

Source: AirHelp, Our fees (version PL2.26), Help, Fees and payout methods — airhelp.co.uk, checked 2026-10-14; AirHelp+ — airhelp.co.uk, checked 2026-09-29, prices re-checked 2026-10-14.

AirHelp’s fee wording, as published

Section 7 of the fees page says AirHelp will pay “Your Full Amount in EUR (€)” on claims under European regulations, and on other regimes in the regulation’s currency or the currency of your place of residence. The pound figures below are this site’s arithmetic on the three UK261 amounts. They show the share the fee takes, not the sum or the currency AirHelp transfers.

Each amount is owed only if the airline cannot show extraordinary circumstances. On court costs, the fees page says: “Win or lose, AirHelp will pay all legal costs, which can amount to €1,000”. The terms add that reimbursements, “including Legal Expenses and interest, shall belong to AirHelp”.

AirHelp+ is a separate yearly membership, £34.99 (Smart) or £84.99 (Pro) on AirHelp’s UK product page, with what AirHelp calls “Up to £520 compensation with no service fees”. It covers only flights added “at least 48 hours before departure”, so a membership bought after a disruption does not help with that flight.

Ask AirHelp which currency your payout will arrive in before you sign, if being paid in pounds matters to you.

#How does an AirHelp claim work?

Section 1 of AirHelp’s terms says it pursues claims “as assignee of your rights”, or in exceptional circumstances as your authorised representative. Once you sign the Assignment Agreement you must “cease negotiations with the Airline”, and the decision to accept a settlement “rests solely with AirHelp”, because the claim now belongs to AirHelp.

Source: AirHelp, Terms, sections 1, 4 and 5, and Help pages — airhelp.co.uk, checked 2026-10-14.

To start, AirHelp asks for passenger, flight and disruption details and a signature on the Assignment Agreement. You may not then “mandate or authorize another third party” for the same claim.

AirHelp describes its role in court in two ways, on two different pages:

The two pages differ. AirHelp does not say which wording applies to your claim. The service model in its terms is assignment, with legal representation excluded.

Ask AirHelp in writing who would act for you if your claim goes to court in the UK.

If AirHelp succeeds, the terms say it “will transfer the Flight Compensation to you, subject to Our Fees”, and you are not entitled to interest for the time between AirHelp receiving the money and paying you. AirHelp states no payout period. Its help pages say it emails you to pick a payout method once the airline has paid, and that airline response times, claim volumes, aviation authorities and legal proceedings can slow a claim down.

Decide before you sign whether you are content for AirHelp alone to accept or refuse the airline’s offer.

#Can you cancel, and what if the airline pays you directly?

14 days is the withdrawal window in AirHelp’s terms, counted “from the commencement of the respective Service”, free and without giving a reason. Withdrawal is not possible once AirHelp has completed the service. If the airline pays you directly, the terms say you will “be invoiced and liable to pay Our Fees”.

Source: AirHelp, Terms, sections 5 and 6; AirHelp, Withdraw from contract — airhelp.co.uk; Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regs 30 and 36 — legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-10-14.

When the 14 days start, as each text words it

Regulation 36 ends the right to cancel a service contract once it is fully performed, where performance began at your request and you acknowledged losing the right. Cancel after asking for work to begin and you pay “in proportion to what has been supplied”.

After a withdrawal or termination, AirHelp’s terms let it recover its Legal Expenses where it had started legal action. They also let it recover the Service Fee, plus the Legal Action Fee where there was legal action, if you “subsequently obtained Flight Compensation directly from the Airline”. So a payment into your own account does not end the debt.

Changed your mind? Withdraw within 14 days through AirHelp’s online form, and keep the confirmation email.

#Claiming yourself instead: what it costs and how long it takes

£0 is the cost of claiming from the airline yourself and, if it refuses, of taking the complaint to ADR. UK261 pays £220, £350 or £520 by distance, unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances. The CAA says you “do not need to use a third-party claims management company” to take a complaint to ADR.

Source: UK261 art. 7(1) — legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15; CAA, Alternative dispute resolution and How to make a complaint — caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-22; airlines' own terms, checked 2026-10-14.

The CAA recommends complaining to the airline first. If the airline refuses, or has not replied within eight weeks, ADR is free and in most cases decides within three months. Submit within 12 months of the airline’s final response, for an incident in the last six years (five if you live in Scotland). A decision you accept binds the airline; reject it and court stays open. The CAA warns that a claims agency’s fee “can often be a significant proportion of the compensation amount being sought”.

Each airline sets its own wait.

easyJet, TUI Airways, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic say they will not process a third-party claim if the passenger has not claimed directly first. Ryanair will then deal with a third party only if the claim carries the passenger’s own contact and payment details. If the airline says no, see what to do when an airline refuses compensation and airline ADR schemes.

Court comes last, and it charges fees. In England and Wales the small claims track takes claims up to £10,000, and the issue fee is £35 on a £220 claim, £50 on £350 and £70 on £520; if you win, the court can order the airline to repay court fees you paid. See small claims court for flight compensation, and check your amount with the compensation calculator.

Send your own claim to the airline first and keep its reply, because every later route starts from it.

#Is AirHelp worth it?

£122.50 of a £350 UK261 award is what AirHelp’s 35% fee takes, and £175 if the Legal Action Fee applies as well. Four checks decide whether that is worth paying, and you can run each one yourself: the fee against the amount, your effort, how far the claim has got, and who controls it.

Source: AirHelp, Our fees and Terms — airhelp.co.uk, checked 2026-10-14; this site’s arithmetic.

1. Fee against amount. 35% of £220 is £77 and of £520 is £182; with the Legal Action Fee the share reaches 50%, the cap AirHelp states. The direct route costs £0.
2. Effort. AirHelp asks for passenger and flight details and a signature. A direct claim asks for booking and flight details on the airline’s own form.
3. Refusal stage. If the airline has already refused, ADR is free, and a company that goes to ADR uses the same scheme.
4. Control. After assignment AirHelp alone accepts or refuses a settlement, you must stop dealing with the airline, and its fee is still due if the airline later pays you.

No source independent of AirHelp gives its success rate or payout times, so this AirHelp review uses neither.

Write down your answer to each check before you choose a route.

If the four checks and the free route still leave you wanting to hand the claim over, AirHelp’s eligibility check is at AirHelp (third-party service).

Do it yourself · freeClaim with the airline, then ADR

• Write to the airline and keep the reference
• Refused, or no answer in 8 weeks: its ADR scheme or the CAA, free
• You keep all of the compensation

Use the claim letter template →

Hand it overAirHelp takes the claim, no win no fee

• They deal with the airline for you
• AirHelp's fee is 35% of the compensation, VAT included, and nothing if the claim fails.

Start with AirHelp →Third-party claim service

This AirHelp review is general information, not legal or financial advice. Fees and terms are AirHelp’s own and can change; confirm them on AirHelp’s pages before you sign.

Compare: flight claim companies compared, Skycop review, Flightright review, Bott & Co review, AirHelp+ review.

#Sources

• AirHelp, Our fees (Updated August 11 2026, version PL2.26) — airhelp.co.uk, checked 2026-10-14.
• AirHelp, General Terms of Service (version GTU4.26) — airhelp.co.uk, checked 2026-10-14.
• AirHelp, AirHelp+ product page — airhelp.co.uk, checked 2026-09-29; prices re-checked 2026-10-14.
• AirHelp, Imprint, Withdraw from contract and Help pages — airhelp.co.uk, checked 2026-10-14.
• Bundesamt für Justiz, Rechtsdienstleistungsregister — bundesjustizamt.de, checked 2026-10-14.
• Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001, arts 89F-89N — legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-10-14.
• Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, regs 30 and 36 — legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-10-14.
• Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as it forms part of UK law, art. 7 — legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• Civil Aviation Authority, Alternative dispute resolution; How to make a complaint — caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-22.
• gov.uk, Make a court claim for money: court fees — gov.uk, checked 2026-10-12; Civil Procedure Rules, rr. 26.9 and 27.14 — justice.gov.uk, checked 2026-10-12.
• Airlines' own terms: easyJet 19.6, Ryanair UK 15.2, Jet2 26.5, TUI Airways 9.4, British Airways 18a, Virgin Atlantic 21.4, checked 2026-10-14.

#FAQ

How much does AirHelp charge?

35% of the total compensation, VAT included, is the service fee AirHelp’s fees page states for a claim it wins. A Legal Action Fee of 15%, also VAT included, is deducted on top where a claim goes to legal action, and AirHelp says it will never charge more than 50% in total. Claiming yourself costs nothing.

Is AirHelp regulated in the UK?

AirHelp’s UK terms name AirHelp Germany GmbH, a debt collection service provider registered under Germany’s RDG; its imprint names Germany’s Federal Office of Justice as supervisor. Article 89G(2) of the Regulated Activities Order lists 6 claim types for claims management in Great Britain. Flight compensation is not one, so on our reading handling it is not, by itself, FCA-regulated there.

Can I cancel an AirHelp claim?

AirHelp’s terms allow withdrawal within 14 days counted from the commencement of the service, without a reason, but not once AirHelp has completed it. The Consumer Contracts Regulations count from the day the contract is entered into. If the airline later pays you directly, AirHelp may still recover its fee.

What if the airline pays me directly after I sign with AirHelp?

AirHelp’s terms say you will "be invoiced and liable to pay Our Fees" if the airline pays you instead of AirHelp. After signing the Assignment Agreement you must also stop negotiating with the airline, and only AirHelp decides whether to accept a settlement, because the claim now belongs to AirHelp.

Can I claim flight compensation without AirHelp?

Yes. The CAA says a claims company that goes to ADR uses "the same services and processes that you are entitled to access yourself for free". Complain to the airline first; after a refusal or 8 weeks without a reply, ADR is open. A direct claim keeps the full £220, £350 or £520, provided no extraordinary circumstances caused the disruption.

Is AirHelp+ the same as an AirHelp claim?

No. AirHelp+ is a yearly membership, £34.99 for Smart or £84.99 for Pro on AirHelp’s UK product page, and it covers only trips added at least 48 hours before departure. The per-claim service reviewed here charges 35% of a claim it wins. Our AirHelp+ review covers the membership.