I'm posting this after our flight got cancelled due to the snow last Monday. What is interesting is that even if the cause is out of the airline's control e.g. bad weather, you are still entitled to transfer or refund & airport assistance. This wasn't made clear at the time.
If your flight is cancelled you are entitled (under Regulation (EC) 261/2004) to the following;
1. Refund or re-routing
1. If you decide not to travel you are entitled to a refund, within seven days, of the parts of the tickets not used. If it is a connecting flight and you have already made part of the journey and do not want to continue with it, reimbursement of the total price of the ticket (including parts of the journey not made if the flight is no longer serving any purpose in relation to your original travel plan) within seven days and a free flight back to point of departure.
You are not entitled (under Regulation (EC) 261/2004) to reimbursement of any other components of your trip such as
hotel and transfer costs
or
Re-routing to your final destination as soon as possible or, if you agree, at a later date. (If the airline flies you to another airport in your destination city then they must pay for the transfer to the airport you were booked for or to another close-by point of your choice)
2. Compensation
(The airline is not obliged to pay compensation if it can prove that the cancellation was caused by "extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken". Such extraordinary circumstances might occur "in cases of political instability, meteorological conditions incompatible with the operation of the flight concerned, security risks, unexpected flight safety shortcomings and strikes that affect the operation of an operating air carrier".)
Length of flight Delay to destination Compensation due
Up to 1500km Up to 2 hours €125
Up to 1500km More than 2 hours €250
1500km to 3500km Up to 3 Hours €200
1500km to 3500km More than 3 hours €400
More than 3500km Up to 4 hours €300
More than 3500km More than 4 hours €600
3. Assistance at the airport
Meals and refreshments in reasonable relation to waiting time
Two free telephone calls, emails, telexes or faxes
Overnight hotel accommodation and transfers
See
The UK's Consumer Watchdog for the Aviation Industry | AUC Home
and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europea...ation_261/2004
Link to info from Ryanair
http://www.ryanair.com/doc/faqs/EU261_EN.pdf
Link to info from Easyjet
http://www.easyjet.com/EN/Book/regulations.html#delays