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Long story short, I had to fly from A (in Spain) to C (in the UK) and I booked two separate flights with the same budget airline, so the actual route was A (Spain) -> B (UK) -> C (UK).

The first flight was delayed by 90 minutes, which means that I was unable to catch the second one (the layover time was around an hour and a half) and had to buy another ticket for the following day (with another airline).

I googled a lot and found mixed responses. Is there any chance I can get a refund for my second flight? I will obviously ask them but I'm unsure what my best course of action is.

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    Why did you not book it as a "single flight with layover"? Was there a cost reason?
    – Harper - Reinstate Monica
    Jul 23, 2018 at 5:32
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    @EBlake It's their fault the first flight was delayed, but they do not have any responsibility for connections they did not set up for you in the first place.
    – lambshaanxy
    Jul 23, 2018 at 7:12
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    @Harper this airline does not offer actual connections, I think the proper term is point-to-point, or something similar
    – bugs
    Jul 23, 2018 at 7:46
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    @Harper Budget airlines in Europe tend not to offer layovers - precisely so that they are not liable for the costs of any delays like this.
    – Martin Bonner supports Monica
    Jul 23, 2018 at 9:35
  • 2
    Did you take any travel insurance? This might cover you....
    – UKMonkey
    Jul 23, 2018 at 16:51

4 Answers 4

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No, you're not entitled to any compensation. You chose to book separate flights, so the airline did not guarantee your connection and the risk is fully on you.

In addition, because your flight was delayed by less than 3 hours, you're not entitled to EU's delay compensation either.

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    You are not entitled to compensation for your missed connection, because you didn't have a connection to miss.
    – Jörg W Mittag
    Jul 23, 2018 at 12:53
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    @JörgWMittag For a specific, limited definition of “connection”. From the traveller’s perspective (and in common parlance), there was definitely a connection (and it was missed). That this connection isn’t recognised by the airline is little solace. To claim that “[OP] didn’t have a connection” is pure newspeak.
    – Konrad Rudolph
    Jul 24, 2018 at 12:27
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    @KonradRudolph in oldspeak however, one could say that they have a connection since by definition of the word connection, it is one. In the airline's terms however, it isn't a connecting flight since it's not made in one booking
    – code ninja
    Jul 24, 2018 at 13:11
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    @codeninja Right, in the airline’s terms. And while this is relevant for the purpose of the compensation, it’s simply inaccurate to suggest that a connection in the context of travelling always (or even usually) refers to a contractually agreed connecting flight. On the contrary, if I need to catch a bus after a train, that’s a connection. If I catch a cab, that’s still a connection. This usage is ubiquitous. And Jörg’s comment pretends that this usage doesn’t exist, or is somehow less legitimate.
    – Konrad Rudolph
    Jul 24, 2018 at 13:16
  • IIUC, a flight booking is a connection if it's under a single reservation number. Which wasn't the case here. Why the OP didn't book under a single reservation, I don't understand.
    – smci
    Jul 30, 2018 at 2:36
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You might be entitled to a refund of the Air Passenger Duty. This won't be very much, and some airlines impose a fee or minimum amount for this refund that could make it completely pointless. Check your airline's policy to see what conditions apply.

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  • Did not know about this, interesting. I'll have a look
    – bugs
    Jul 23, 2018 at 7:47
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As jpatokal already said, you're out of luck.

Let me add a different perspective. It costs the airline money to guarantee that they will get you to the final destination. Some, such as Ryanair, have therefore decided not to offer tickets between destinations which are not directly connected. This helps them push the ticket prices very low, but you risk experiencing issues with (not really) connecting flights in case of a delay.

If you want to have a "guaranteed" connection with this airline, you can try booking with Kiwi, who take care of getting you on another flight instead of the airline which is unwilling to do so. They accept the risk of losing money if there is a delay and they have to pay for another ticket out of their pocket, so their tickets won't be as cheap as the ones you get when booking directly with the budget airline. In a sense, they are not only a booking agency, but an insurance company as well.

That being said, they do not really guarantee that they will get you to the final destination, but they have a very good incentive to do so if it's possible.

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Jpatokal's answer is fairly definitive and correct. I'm sure the answer is no. A UK internal flight (2nd leg) is also of a short distance, so for any similar situation the compensation is limited.

A site I've used for advise in the past, details the rules around compensation and offers guidance on how to obtain it (usually at no cost), just in case anyone sees a similar situation:

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/flight-delays/

PS: I've no affiliation to the site, it's associated with Martin Lewis, whom is a financial expert whom has his own TV show on ITV (in the UK). I thought it to be useful in case someone wants to read more regarding the rules regarding compensation or have a very similar issue.

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    Welcome to TSE. If jpatokal's answer is good, you should upvote it rather than posting an endorsement as a separate answer. Also, a new member posting a short answer with a link tends to raise spam flags, so I would edit the post to indicate if you have any affiliation with it. I strongly encourage you to take the site tour and review the help center for additional guidance.
    – choster
    Jul 24, 2018 at 15:52

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