On one booking, EU261 measures your delay at the final destination — the last flight on the ticket — so a missed connection that lands you three or more hours late is worth €250, €400 or €600. On two separate tickets there is no shared final destination, and the fixed-sum right disappears.
Why one booking is the whole protection
Article 2(h) defines final destination as “the destination on the ticket presented at the check-in counter or, in the case of directly connecting flights, the destination of the last flight”. That single definition turns a two- or three-leg journey into one thing the Regulation can measure.
The Court applied it in Folkerts (C-11/11, 26 February 2013). A Bremen–Paris–São Paulo–Asunción journey left only about two and a half hours late — under the Article 6 thresholds — but the missed connections meant an eleven-hour late arrival. The Court held compensation was payable to a passenger on directly connecting flights “who has been delayed at departure for a period below the limits specified in Article 6 of that regulation, but has arrived at the final destination at least three hours later than the scheduled arrival time”.
Two separate tickets have two separate final destinations. Leg one arrived on time at its own final destination; the airline that flew it did nothing wrong under Article 7, and the second airline sold you a flight you failed to show up for.
What the first airline still owes you
Losing the fixed sum does not mean losing everything. Judge the first flight on its own terms:
- If that flight itself arrived three or more hours late at its own final destination, it owes the Article 7 amount for that flight — usually the shorter, cheaper band, but real money. Check the amounts table.
- If it was cancelled or delayed long enough, Article 9 care is owed while you wait — meals, and a hotel if you are there overnight — and Article 8 gives you a refund or re-routing on that ticket.
- If it was cancelled with under 14 days’ notice, the fixed sum for that flight is due whether or not you had another ticket afterwards.
None of that depends on your onward plans. Claim it on the first flight’s own facts and say nothing about the second ticket.
The exception that catches people out: one booking, foreign partner
If it is one booking, the protection reaches further than most passengers expect. In České aerolinie (C-502/18, 11 July 2019), eleven passengers flew Prague–Abu Dhabi–Bangkok on a single reservation. The Czech carrier flew the first leg on time; Etihad flew the second and arrived over eight hours late, entirely outside the EU. The Court held the passengers could bring the claim against the Community carrier that performed the first flight.
So on one ticket, a delay on a non-EU partner’s leg on the far side of the world can still be claimed from the EU airline whose flight started the journey. That is exactly the claim airlines refuse first. Name the case in your reply and see which airline actually owes you.
Check the ticket, not the booking site. One itinerary can hide two tickets. If your confirmation carries two different booking references, or two different e-ticket numbers issued by two airlines, it is two contracts — even if you bought them in one transaction on one screen. That single detail decides whether the fixed sum is available at all.
What a self-transfer guarantee is actually worth
Booking sites that sell self-transfer itineraries usually attach a guarantee: miss the connection and they will rebook you or refund you. That is a contractual promise from the seller, not a right under the Regulation. It is worth reading closely and worth claiming — but the airline has no part in it, the enforcement body has no power over it, and the remedy is whatever the terms say, not €250, €400 or €600.
If a guarantee like that is what you are relying on, claim under it first, in writing, and treat any airline claim as separate.
What to do at the airport
- Go to the first airline’s desk before you leave the airside area and ask it, in those words, to endorse you onto the next available flight.
- Get the reason for the first flight’s delay in writing, or a screenshot of the app showing it.
- Photograph the departure board with the times visible.
- Keep every receipt from the moment you are stuck — food, hotel, the replacement ticket.
- Do not accept a voucher marked as full and final settlement while you are still tired and at a desk.
Does travel on one booking with two airlines still count?
Yes. One reservation covering directly connecting flights is one journey under Article 2(h) whichever airlines operate the legs, and České aerolinie confirms the first operating Community carrier can be liable for a delay caused later. What matters is one booking, not one airline.
What if I bought the second ticket to save money?
Then you carry the connection risk yourself, and that is the trade. The saving is real and so is the exposure: no fixed sum, no re-routing right, and a replacement ticket at walk-up price. If the layover is short, the saving is often smaller than the risk.
Ready to claim on a single booking? Use the missed connection letter, and read how the final destination rule works.