The laws surrounding flight delay compensation are increasingly becoming more concrete and more refined. Before the tightening of the European Regulation 261/2004 in 2012 the rules were very unclear, flight delay compensation was a very grey area and passengers were unsure of their rights. Now, the circumstances have improved drastically and passenger rights are much more clear-cut with regards to claims against flight delay. The amount of claims going through the courts have rocketed due to the fact that before, passengers would shy away from litigating their claims due to fear of the unknown. Court can be a very daunting and scary experience for some people, considering the costs involved as well as the mental anguish. Even though the regulations have been tightened clearly defining passenger rights to compensation, airlines are extremely stubborn to cooperate. Airlines are fully aware that passengers are entitled to compensation, whether it be 250, 300, 400 or 600 Euros, and airlines will dig their heels in and kick up an unnecessary fuss to avoid paying out.Several flight delay refunds companies have been established over the past few years in order to assist passengers with airlines claiming problems and with the exhausting claims process. These companies have mastered how to effectively deal with flight delay compensation claims, in exchange for a small commission. These companies have taken the stress out of claiming compensation, as they will manage the claim from start to finish. Blueway Limited (www.flightdelayrefunds.com) is an example of a booming flight delay refunds company based in the UK that have won claims for passengers across Europe, America and China, not just in the UK! In order for a claim to be valid, the flight delay would have had to be a minimum of 3 hours long. Compensation is granted to any flight departing the European Union (including Iceland, Norway and Switzerland) regardless of the airline. If a flight arrives at an airport situated within the EU the claim would only be valid if a European Airline operated the flight. Examples of European airlines include EasyJet, Ryanair, Thomas Cook, Virgin, British Airways, Lufthansa, Thomson etc. The quantity of compensation granted is calculated based on the flight length (in kilometres) and the length of the delay itself. This is a fixed amount that follows the guidelines of the European Regulation 261/2004. The quantity of compensation does not depend on the flight cost or does not increase per hour of delay. For a delay between 3-4 hours a passenger could be entitled to claim 250 Euros (for a flight up to 1500km), 300Euros (if the delay was 3500 km or more between any EU and non-EU airport) or 400 Euros (if the flight was between 1500 km and 3500 km). A delay 4 hours or more escalates the compensation to 600 Euros if the flight was over 3500 km between any EU and non-EU airport.