What is the obligation of an airline if the partner airline operating the flight goes bankrupt?

Question

Specifically, if I buy tickets from Lufthansa, but United is the flight operator, and United goes belly up, what is Lufthansa's obligation?

thanks!

Answer 1

I would agree with the above with the following caveat:

If your ticket number starts with 016 then it is a United ticket and Lufthansa was simply acting as an agent.  In this case Lufthansa would not have responsibility for anything.

The difference here is if you are on a codeshare (Lufthansa flight number operated by United) or if you are on the United flight directly.  If you're on the United flight directly marketed as a United flight, the chances are greater that you have a 016 ticket.  Your ticket number should be a part of your e-ticket confirmation.

If you have any concerns at all about the viability of your air carrier your best bet is to buy trip insurance to cover any losses.  Most companies will cover carrier bankruptcy if you buy the policy within 15 days of buying your ticket.

Good luck!

Answer 2

You contract is with Lufthansa, not with United, and Lufthansa have an obligation to you from A to B. If Lufthansa's chosen operator goes **** up then it's up to Lufthansa to make alternative arrangements for you. It's probably more complicated than that but that's the gist of it.

If you're leaving the EU and they delay you by several hours or more, you'd also be entitled to compensation under EU law. Mind you, if you leave the continent within a couple of hours of the original, but the journey itself takes many hours longer (eg a stopover or change of planes) then you wouldn't be entitled to compensation!