EU Consumer Centre outlines rights for package, flex and airline overbooking bookings

The European Consumer Centre (EVZ) in Germany explains the different rights and risks that apply to various travel booking types. For package tours the organiser is liable for the full package and must provide the agreed itinerary. If a substantive part of the trip is changed or omitted without extraordinary circumstances, it is classified as a travel defect and the traveller may be offered an equivalent replacement, a price reduction of up to 20 % or even contract termination. A price reduction of 5 % per hour is permitted once a flight is delayed more than four hours. Flex‑booking options give travelers more choice but do not automatically guarantee free cancellation; exact terms must be examined.

A separate case involving Lufthansa shows how voluntary rebooking after an overbooked flight is handled. Passengers who give up their seat were initially offered €250, later reduced to €125, and received no further compensation even though the replacement flight departed more than two hours late. Lufthansa stresses that statutory compensation applies only to involuntary denied boarding, while voluntary changes are settled individually between the airline and the passenger. A legal expert notes that a public announcement is not a binding offer; a contract is formed only when the traveller expressly accepts the revised terms at the check‑in desk.