Guide

Refund vs compensation — you can get both

Passengers lose money every day because they accept one and don't know about the other.

	Refund	Compensation
What it is	Money back for a flight you didn't take	A fixed payment for the disruption itself
Amount	What you paid	€250–€600 / £220–£520 per passenger
When	Cancellation, 5h+ delay, you decline rebooking	Cancellation <14 days' notice, 3h+ arrival delay, denied boarding
Where	Worldwide (US: DOT automatic refund rule)	EU261 / UK261 flights only
Who pays	Airline (or your agent, who must pass it on)	Operating airline
Airline's defence	None — it's your money	Extraordinary circumstances

Example

Your Lufthansa flight Frankfurt → New York is cancelled the night before. You decline the rebooking two days later. You're owed: the full fare refunded within 7 days and €600 compensation per passenger, because 6,200 km with under 14 days' notice is the top band — unless Lufthansa proves an extraordinary cause.

Booked through a travel agent or OTA?

Refunds flow through whoever sold the ticket, but the obligation is the airline's. Compensation is always claimed from the operating airline directly, never the agent.