WOW Air, where’s my compensation for delay?

I recently flew from Los Angeles to Reykjavik, Iceland, on WOW Air, a discount airline. WOW told me to arrive at 4:30 p.m., but the flight was delayed more than 14 hours.

The reason: The aircraft we were using had left Iceland late. WOW knew this, but still told me to get to the airport at 4:30.

I missed an entire day of my vacation by arriving in the middle of the night instead of at lunchtime. I paid for parking, a car rental and a hotel night that I didn’t use.

I’d like WOW to refund the ticket and pay me $670, the amount I’m owed under EU 261, the European consumer protection regulation. I’ve asked the airline, but it refuses to refund the ticket or pay any compensation. Can you help me?

It just didn’t do it when it promised, and that means it ran afoul of EU 261. Under that rule, you were entitled to real money for the delay — unless WOW could prove that there were “extraordinary” circumstances that led to the delay. And that, it could not.

The next time you have a lengthy delay, make sure you ask the airline immediately if it can authorize meal vouchers, hotel vouchers or phone cards. Don’t wait for it to offer you overnight accommodations, which seems to be what happened to you. Ask. Most airlines include provisions for food and accommodations in their contracts of carriage, which can be found online.

I list the names, numbers and email addresses of the WOW Air customer-service managers on my consumer-advocacy site: www.elliott.org/ company-contacts/ wow-air. After your first “no,” I would have appealed to one of these executives in writing.

I contacted WOW on your behalf. You also contacted the executives, and eventually the airline paid you the $670 owed under EU 261.