Lufthansa compensation calculator: route, delay and amount

Use the result as a legal estimate, not an automatic promise. A qualifying amount can still fail where Lufthansa proves extraordinary circumstances and reasonable measures, while refund and care may remain due.

Step 1: choose EUR or GBP

A flight between the UK and EU can potentially touch both retained UK law and EU law. Compensation cannot be collected twice for the same disruption. Using the departure regime is often the cleanest starting point, subject to the complete itinerary and any prior payment.

The Lufthansa UK261 and EU261 guide addresses overlap before calculation.

Step 2: use the final destination

For a through booking, measure the great-circle distance from first departure to the final destination at which disruption caused late arrival. Do not add sector mileage and do not stop at Frankfurt or Munich merely because the problem happened there.

Example: Dublin to Frankfurt to Tokyo is one Lufthansa booking. The Frankfurt connection is missed and Tokyo is reached 18 hours late. EU261 applies from Dublin, and the distance is Dublin to Tokyo. The route clears 3,500 km and ends outside the EU, so the top EUR band is the starting point.

Separate tickets are different. If Dublin to Frankfurt and Frankfurt to Tokyo are independent contracts, Frankfurt is normally the final destination of the first one. A 70-minute arrival delay there does not become 18 hours merely because the separate Tokyo ticket was lost.

Step 3: find the distance band

EU261 amounts

The intra-EU rule matters. A very long journey to an EU territory does not automatically earn EUR 600 if both endpoints are inside the EU. Distance alone is not enough; geography and legal territory matter too.

UK261 amounts

For a delay on the longest band, arrival between three and four hours late produces GBP 260. From four hours it is GBP 520. Cancellation and denied-boarding reductions follow their own rerouting timing test.

Step 4: classify the event

Delay

Arrival must normally be at least three hours late. Legal arrival is when at least one aircraft door opens and passengers can leave. On a long EU261 flight over 3,500 km, an arrival under four hours late may reduce EUR 600 to EUR 300.

Cancellation

The normal band applies when notice and alternative-flight timings do not protect Lufthansa and no proven extraordinary defence succeeds. Rerouting that arrives within two, three or four hours, depending on distance, can reduce payment by 50 percent.

Denied boarding

An involuntarily bumped passenger usually receives the distance amount, subject to the same rerouting reduction. A volunteer negotiates benefits instead and should not assume the statutory amount remains.

Downgrade

Do not use this calculator. A cabin downgrade is 30, 50 or 75 percent of the affected flight price under Article 10. It can exist alongside fixed compensation.

Worked Lufthansa examples

London to Frankfurt

The journey is under 1,500 km and departs the UK. It arrives 3 hours 25 minutes late for an airline-controlled reason. Estimate: GBP 220 per passenger.

Frankfurt to Istanbul

The journey is outside the intra-EU category and falls between 1,500 and 3,500 km. Lufthansa cancels two days before departure and the replacement arrives five hours late. Estimate before cause analysis: EUR 400 per passenger.

New York to Frankfurt

Lufthansa operates the inbound service, which is over 3,500 km and arrives 5 hours late after an ordinary technical fault. EU261 can cover the route because Lufthansa is an EU carrier. Estimate: EUR 600 per passenger.

Munich to Singapore, 3 hours 35 minutes late

The route exceeds 3,500 km and ends outside the EU. Under EU261 the long-delay reduction can make the estimate EUR 300, not EUR 600, when final arrival remains under four hours.

Family of four to Toronto

Frankfurt to Toronto is cancelled on short notice for an airline-controlled reason. The replacement arrives seven hours late. Four eligible passengers at EUR 600 produce EUR 2,400. One shared hotel receipt is added once, not four times.

Operator and codeshare correction

A ticket displaying LH can be flown by Lufthansa City Airlines, Discover Airlines, Air Dolomiti, United, Air Canada or another partner. Fixed liability normally follows the operating carrier. This can change inbound EU coverage.

New York to Frankfurt operated by Lufthansa can be EU261-covered. The same direction operated by United is generally outside Article 3(1)(b), although US rights may apply. Do not calculate before reading the "operated by" line.

Add separate remedies after the fixed amount

The calculation should have separate rows for:

• reasonable meals, hotel and airport transport;
• unused ticket refund or rerouting cost;
• downgrade reimbursement;
• baggage damages under the Montreal Convention;
• any distinct US DOT or Canadian APPR remedy.

Care expenses are not deducted from fixed compensation. Nor does a ticket refund automatically replace compensation. Avoid double recovery where two legal regimes address the same harm.

For a full eligibility check, start with the Lufthansa compensation pillar.

FAQ

Is Lufthansa compensation based on ticket price?

No. Fixed compensation uses route distance and legal category. Ticket price matters for refunds and cabin downgrades, not Article 7 bands.

Do I add the distances of connecting flights?

No. Use great-circle distance from first departure to the final destination on one protected booking.

Can EUR 600 become EUR 300?

Yes. A qualifying non-EU long-haul delay between three and four hours can attract the 50 percent reduction.

Does Business Class receive more fixed compensation?

No. Economy, Premium Economy, Business and First passengers receive the same fixed amount for the same eligible disruption.

Are Miles & More award passengers included?

Yes, public frequent-flyer tickets are included by EU261. The award fare does not reduce the fixed amount.

Official sources

• EU261 Article 7: euro distance bands.
• UK CAA delay amounts: sterling calculation.
• Lufthansa passenger rights: carrier payment table.
• Folkerts C-11/11: final destination.
• Commission interpretive guidelines: reduction and distance guidance.