Kayak now notifies delayed air travelers of compensation with the Service app

Airlines are willing to pay travelers for wasted time after a delay or cancellation but only if you’re willing to waste more time by filing a claim. Now, travel platform Kayak has partnered with a startup that streamlines the claims process to help travelers get automatic compensation for that delay. Service announced a partnership and integration with Kayak on Wednesday, May 23.

Users link the Service app with their email account and the app then automatically scans emails for flight delays and cancellations. The app will notify travelers, who can then file a quick claim using the app. The app can also automatically file claims and also searches for eligible claims from the last year for new users. The startup says the average user saves $300 a year using those claims.

With the new integration with Kayak, travelers booking from Kayak have access to the flight monitoring from Service. If a flight is cancelled or delayed, Service alerts Kayak. Then Kayak will send the alerts to the user, leaving travelers the option to use Service to file that claim. Kayak only shares anonymous flight data with Service for privacy, the startup says, and Service sends the alert to Kayak, not the traveler directly.

“We are always looking for ways to help our users plan a trip with confidence. Offering our users the opportunity to easily get compensated for flight delays or cancellations is a great benefit,” Debby Soo, chief commercial officer of Kayak, said in a statement. “Kayak has already taken the friction out of travel search, and now with Service, the same is true for the aftermath of flight-related hassles.” 

The companies said the partnership is the first time a third-party compensation platform has partnered with a large travel booking platform. Service takes a 30 percent fee on the claim, or paying an annual subscription allows users to keep the entirety of that claim.

Founded in 2015, Service also recently expanded to use the same email integration to automatically scan for lower rates on reserved hotel rooms, automatically rebooking at the lower rate without changing rooms.

“Putting the customer first is just good business sense,” Michael Schneider, CEO and founder of Service, said in a press release. “Most travelers don’t want to take the time to complain following flight issues, but that doesn’t mean they don’t want compensation for their inconvenience. Kayak shares our mission of putting the customer first, and getting them compensation they deserve in the most effortless way possible.”