FlightRepay

ANSWER · UK 261 AND EC 261

What am I entitled to if the airline downgrades me?

Art. 10(2) requires the carrier to reimburse part of the ticket price within seven days: 30 percent on flights of 1,500 km or less, 50 percent on intra Community flights above 1,500 km and other flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km, and 75 percent on all other flights. An upgrade, by contrast, cannot be charged for under Art. 10(1).

REVIEWED AGAINST RULE SET V6 AND THE CITED PRIMARY SOURCES · UPDATED 7 AUGUST 2026

The reimbursement scale

ART. 10(2) DOWNGRADE REIMBURSEMENT
FLIGHT DISTANCESHARE OF THE TICKET PRICE REIMBURSED
1,500 km or less30 percent
Intra Community above 1,500 km, and other flights 1,500 to 3,500 km50 percent
All other flights75 percent
Art. 10(2)(a) to (c), payable within seven days by the means set out in Art. 7(3). The percentage attaches to the price of the ticket, not to the fare difference between the two cabins.

Downgrading is a separate right from compensation

Art. 10 sits outside Articles 4, 5 and 6, so a downgrade on a flight that also ran 3 hours late can carry both the reimbursement and the Art. 7 sum. They answer different questions.

What the reimbursement is calculated on

The price of the ticket, which for a return usually means the relevant leg. Airlines sometimes offer the cabin fare difference instead, which on a discounted business fare can be considerably less than the statutory percentage.

SOURCES

  1. Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Art. 10 · EUR-Lex · checked 7 August 2026
  2. Regulation (EC) No 261/2004, Art. 7(3) · EUR-Lex · checked 7 August 2026

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