I’m posting this as a reminder to NEVER take the first response from an airline as the final answer. They are banking on you giving up.
On June 12, my connecting flight (IB0244) from San José to Madrid got massively delayed, causing me to miss my connection home to Belgium. While stuck dealing with the mess at the airport, customer support let it slip that the delay was due to an operational issue where they had to pull a completely different plane to cover the route.
As soon as I filed my claim, I got the classic corporate brush-off email from Iberia. They used vague, misleading language to claim the delay was due to "circumstances beyond our control," completely ignoring the €600 statutory cash compensation mandated by EU261. (I'll put the screenshot of their rejection in the comments).
Instead of accepting their lie, I immediately replied and laid down the law:
I explicitly called them out on their own admission: they did an operational/technical aircraft swap.
I cited ECJ case law (Sturgeon and Wallentin-Hermann), reminding them that technical faults and swapping planes are an inherent part of running an airline and strictly do not count as extraordinary circumstances.
I attached my food receipts and demanded both my expense reimbursement AND the €600 cash payout.
The Result:
It is now June 22—exactly 10 days after the actual flight disruption. I just opened my inbox to a total capitulation from a different customer relations agent.
"We have studied your case and are going to pay you the sum of 600 euros CE261/2004 plus 41,05 euros... for the assistance."
Airlines deny claims by default because they know 90% of passengers will read the first rejection, assume the airline is telling the truth, and quit. If you know your rights, call them out on the exact cause of the delay, and throw the actual regulations back in their face, they will cave.
Don't let them pocket your money. Push back!
