Flight from EU rescheduled 2 days prior to departure. Am I entitled for EC261?

Question

We have booked a FlyOne Armenia flight 3F 928 from Paris (CDG) to Yerevan. It was originally scheduled to depart at 16:50 on Aug 19, and arrive at 23:10. However, today (Aug 17) at 10:39 (Paris time) I received an email that the flight has been rescheduled to depart at 20:00, and arrive at 02:20 the next day.

Firstly, am I entitled for compensation according to EC261?

I understand that, because it is a flight from EU by a non-EU arline, the EC261 should apply. However, it is not clear whether this reschedule constitutes a delay. Technically, it is not a delay, they have warned me in advance. At the same time, 2 days notice is obviously not enough (I would not choose a flight that arrives after midnight in the first place), and if rescheduling was a EC261 loophole, then the airlines would never delay, just reschedule, — so I hope that it counts as a delay. Also, the text of EC261 specifies that to claim the compensation we should arrive to the airport at proper check-in time, and it would be strange to arrive at the original check-in time (although we can do this...).

Secondly, if I am entitled, then how should I apply for it? Obviously I will start by emailing the airline, but the airline is notorious by not replying to emails. Should I file a complaint with some French authority?..

Answer 1

Yes, since it’s a flight departing from the EU, it is covered by EC261.

The EU Commission’s Air Passenger Rights website tells us:

According to EU rules, a flight which has been postponed by three hours or more is to be considered as cancelled. You have the same rights as in case of a flight cancellation.

So you have the choice between rerouting at the earliest opportunity, re-booking at a later date or refund.

Since you were only notified 2 days before the flight and you will arrive late, you are also entitled to compensation, in this case 400 euros (CDG-EVN is 3418 km).

You should always start by making a request to the airline, using their designated channel for this if there is one. You will probably need to repeat your request, and they will probably also try to push back. Only if they do not respond timely (we’re talking weeks here) or refuse your request can you start escalating.

Answer 2

To add to jcaron's answer: you claim here and give them 6 weeks to respond. If no response, or rejected without proof of extraordinary circumstances, go to EU Small Claims Court if you're an EU resident (LINK) or to the French Civil Aviation Directorate (free of charge and available even to non-EU residents, but only in French - LINK)

Answer 3

Were you offered any alternate transport?

According to the ruling itself:

Article 5

Cancellation

1. In case of cancellation of a flight, the passengers concerned shall:

[...]

(c) have the right to compensation by the operating air carrier in accordance with Article 7, unless:

[...]

(iii) they are informed of the cancellation less than seven days before the scheduled time of departure and are offered re-routing, allowing them to depart no more than one hour before the scheduled time of departure and to reach their final destination less than two hours after the scheduled time of arrival.

For the airline to avoid having to compensate you for the cancellation, they would've needed to offer an alternative route that departed from Paris no sooner than 15:51 and arrived at Yerevan no later than 01:09.
Note that the regulation says "offer": it doesn't matter if you decided not to take the (hypothetic) alternate flight because it arrived after midnight; as long as they offered you such a flight, they would be covered.

BUT, from the body of your question, that doesn't seem to be the case, so... yes, you are entitled to 400€ compensation.