Connecting flights on one booking vs separate tickets: what changes

One booking: the journey is the unit

The Court of Justice settled three points. In Folkerts (C-11/11) the delay is assessed at the final destination: a small delay on the first leg that causes a missed connection and a 3-hour late arrival is compensable. In Wegener (C-537/17) a journey with a stopover outside the EU — Berlin–Casablanca–Agadir on one booking — remains one flight departing the EU, so the Regulation applies to the whole of it. In České aerolinie (C-502/18) the EU carrier that sold the booking is liable for compensation even when the delayed leg was flown by a non-EU partner outside the EU.

The distance band uses the great-circle distance between the first departure airport and the final destination (Bossen, C-559/16), not the sum of the legs.

Separate tickets: each flight stands alone

If you bought two tickets — even with the same airline — the Regulation looks at each flight separately. A 1-hour delay on the first flight that makes you miss the second is not compensable, and the second airline owes you nothing for a no-show. Travel insurance or the airline’s own connection guarantee may help; the Regulation does not.

How to tell which you have

One booking reference covering both flights on a single confirmation, with the airline responsible for the connection, means one booking. Two references, or a “virtual interlining” product from an online travel agent, means separate contracts — read the confirmation carefully.

Rebooked onto a later connection

When the airline rebooks you after a missed connection, the delay is still measured against the original scheduled arrival at the final destination. Keep the original itinerary and the new boarding passes.

Where to claim

From the operating carrier of the disrupted leg or, on a single booking, from the carrier that sold the ticket; both can be liable. Use the airline page for the claim channel.