BRA / Braathens Flight Compensation — How to Claim EU 261 Against Braathens Regional

A delayed or cancelled flight with BRA gives the same right to compensation as any other airline — EUR 250 to 600 (roughly SEK 2,800 to 6,800) depending on the length of the flight, for a delay of more than three hours to the final destination. BRA is no exception to EU Regulation 261/2004. This page sorts out two things: how you claim compensation for a BRA flight in practice, and what applies if Braathens Regional runs into financial trouble — because that is a question many people ask specifically about this airline.

BRA and Braathens — the same airline, two names

First, a point that causes confusion, because you will come across both names. BRA stands for Braathens Regional Airlines. The brand on the ticket and in the app is BRA; the legal airline is called Braathens Regional Airlines. BRA is a Swedish domestic carrier. When you claim compensation, it is Braathens Regional Airlines that is the operating carrier — that is, the party the claim should be directed at.

BRA flies mainly Swedish domestic routes: Stockholm Bromma to Visby, Malmö, Halmstad, Ängelholm, Umeå and a range of other places, with Bromma as its hub. That means the vast majority of BRA journeys are shorter than 1,500 km. This has a concrete consequence for your wallet, which we will come to shortly.

The claim is submitted via BRA's passenger rights form.

How much compensation a BRA flight is worth

EU 261 splits flights into three distance tiers. Because BRA flies almost exclusively short domestic routes, you will in practice most often land in the lowest one:

For a typical BRA journey, then, it is EUR 250, around SEK 2,800 per passenger, that applies. The euro amount is the legally binding one — the SEK amount is approximate and varies with the exchange rate.

Two conditions must be met. The delay must be at least three hours measured on arrival at the final destination, not on departure. And the cause must have been within BRA's control. If you want to see exactly what your journey can be worth, work out your flight compensation with the distance and delay length.

Compensation is not a refund

If your BRA flight is cancelled, two rights are easily confused. Compensation is the flat-rate amount of EUR 250–600 for the disruption itself. A refund is the money back for a ticket you no longer intend to use. They are separate things. Read more in passenger rights under EU 261 .

If a flight is cancelled, you have the right to choose between re-routing to the next available departure and a refund of the ticket — and on top of that you may be entitled to compensation. The fact that BRA pays back the ticket price does not automatically close the compensation question. More on the distinction in our overview of passenger rights under EU 261.

How to claim compensation against BRA — step by step

BRA's claim process follows the same pattern as that of other Swedish airlines.

1. Gather the documentation. Booking reference, flight number, date, the airports involved, and receipts for expenses you incurred during the wait — food, taxi, hotel.
2. Submit the claim to BRA's customer service. This is normally done via a passenger rights form on BRA's website. Write explicitly that you are requesting compensation under EU Regulation 261/2004, state the length of the delay on arrival and the amount you believe you are entitled to.
3. Request a statement of the cause. Ask BRA to state in writing what the disruption was caused by. You will need it if the airline later cites an extraordinary circumstance.
4. Wait for the reply — and do not give up at the first no. Airlines often say no in their first response. A no is a decision to respond to, not an endpoint.
5. Escalate if needed. If you get a no or no reply, you can turn to ARN, the Swedish National Board for Consumer Disputes, which examines the dispute free of charge. We walk through this whole route in the guide on claiming flight compensation yourself.

What BRA tends to fall back on to say no

Like most airlines, BRA sometimes invokes extraordinary circumstances — events beyond its control — to avoid paying. On short Nordic domestic routes this usually concerns weather and air traffic control conditions. Extreme weather and an air traffic controllers' strike do indeed count as extraordinary and remove the right to compensation.

But a technical fault on the aircraft normally does not. Routine maintenance-related trouble is part of running an airline and is generally not counted as a circumstance beyond its control — even if the airline phrases it that way. So the fact that BRA calls a cause extraordinary does not settle the matter. Read what actually applies on the page about extraordinary circumstances before you drop a claim. Read more in compensation for a cancelled flight .

And regardless of the cause: the right to care remains. Even when the compensation falls away, BRA must cover meals, drinks and, if needed, a hotel during the wait. The details are on the page about cancelled flights and compensation and in the guide on flight delays and compensation.

Braathens' financial situation — and what it means for your claim

Here comes the question that makes BRA a special case. Braathens Regional Airlines has had a strained financial position in recent years, and the company's ownership structure has changed — its links to the SAS sphere have been a recurring point in Swedish aviation coverage. We do not state any current bankruptcy status here, because the situation can change quickly and a page that pretends to know more than it does is no help to anyone. Check the company's current status before relying on an old report.

The important thing to understand is the principle: what happens to an EU 261 claim if an airline becomes insolvent?

Your right to compensation does not disappear. But the route to the money changes. In a bankruptcy, the claim becomes a debt in the bankruptcy estate, and you become one creditor among many others. In practice this means that, at best, you receive a share of what is left to distribute — often little, sometimes nothing. Konsumentverket, the Swedish Consumer Agency, sets out in its guidance for airline bankruptcies that passengers should then register their claim and look into other routes.

And there are other routes:

• If you paid for the ticket by credit card, you may be entitled to direct a claim at the card issuer under the Swedish Consumer Credit Act, if the service was not delivered.
• If you bought a package holiday — a flight plus a hotel from the same organiser — you are protected by the Swedish Package Travel Act, and the tour operator or its insolvency protection steps in.
• If you bought only the flight ticket directly from the airline, the protection is weakest. There, registering your claim in the bankruptcy is often the only route.

The honest conclusion: as long as BRA is a functioning company, you claim compensation in the normal way according to the steps above. If the company were to enter bankruptcy, the right remains but payment is uncertain — and then the payment method on the ticket and any package travel protection become decisive. We do not promise the money will come; we describe how it actually works.

SAS, Braathens and the carrier relationship

The Braathens name has historic ties to the Scandinavian aviation market, and over various periods BRA has cooperated with larger players in the SAS sphere on the Swedish domestic network. For you as a passenger, the ownership relationships matter less — the claim is always directed at the operating carrier, that is, the airline whose flight number you actually flew on. If you flew BRA, Braathens Regional Airlines is the counterparty. If you flew SAS, it is SAS, and then our page on SAS and flight compensation applies instead.

This is not legal advice

This page is based on EU Regulation 261/2004 and institutional sources. It is general information, not an assessment of your individual case — expert review has not yet been carried out. For advice on your specific case, and in particular on questions around an airline bankruptcy, contact Allmänna reklamationsnämnden / ARN (the Swedish National Board for Consumer Disputes), Konsumentverket (the Swedish Consumer Agency) or Transportstyrelsen (the Swedish Transport Agency), the supervisory authority for air passenger rights in Sweden.

Want to avoid pursuing the claim yourself?

Claiming compensation against BRA is free if you do it yourself according to the steps above, and the guide on claiming flight compensation yourself takes you all the way. If you would rather hand the case over, a claim service can handle the contact, the paperwork and any dispute for a commission on the compensation paid out.

<div class="seomatrix-info-box">
<p>You can let AirHelp check your BRA flight and pursue the claim for you: <a href="/go/airhelp" rel="nofollow sponsored noopener">check your flight with AirHelp</a>. The service works on commission — you only pay if the claim goes through — and you can always pursue the case free of charge yourself instead. Note that a claim service cannot conjure money out of an insolvent company; in a bankruptcy the same uncertainty applies whoever pursues the claim.</p>
</div>

<p class="seomatrix-disclaimer">Disclosure: the link to AirHelp above is an advertising link. If you proceed via it, Kravflyg may receive compensation, at no extra cost to you and with no effect on your commission rate. We explain how this works on the <a href="/en/affiliate-disclosure/">affiliate disclosure</a> page.</p>

The five-step process for a BRA compensation claim, from documentation to escalation at ARN.

Frequently asked questions

Am I entitled to compensation if my BRA flight was delayed?

Yes, if the delay was at least three hours to the final destination and the cause was within BRA's control. BRA is covered by EU 261/2004 just like any other airline departing from an EU airport. The amount is EUR 250 for BRA's typical shorter domestic routes — roughly SEK 2,800.

How much compensation can I get for a BRA flight?

BRA flies almost exclusively Swedish domestic routes under 1,500 km, so the compensation is normally EUR 250 (roughly SEK 2,800). On any longer route the amount can be EUR 400. The euro amount is the legally binding one; the SEK amount is approximate and moves with the exchange rate.

What happens to my claim if Braathens goes bankrupt?

The right to compensation under EU 261 remains, but a bankruptcy makes payment uncertain. In a bankruptcy you become one creditor among many and, at best, receive a share of what is left in the estate. Konsumentverket, the Swedish Consumer Agency, advises that you should then register your claim. If you paid for the ticket by credit card or bought a package holiday, there may be a separate route to getting money back.

What is the difference between BRA and Braathens?

It is the same airline. BRA stands for Braathens Regional Airlines — the brand is BRA, but the legal company is called Braathens Regional Airlines. When you claim compensation, you direct the claim at Braathens Regional Airlines as the operating carrier.

How do I contact BRA to claim compensation?

You submit the claim via BRA's customer service, normally through a passenger rights form on the airline's website. State the flight number, date, booking reference and an explicit reference to EU 261/2004. If you get a no or no reply, you can take the matter further free of charge to ARN, the Swedish National Board for Consumer Disputes. Read more in compensation for a delayed Norwegian flight .

Does compensation apply to a cancelled BRA flight due to weather?

No, not if weather was the real cause. Extreme weather counts as an extraordinary circumstance beyond the airline's control and removes the right to compensation. BRA's right to care — meals, drinks and, if needed, a hotel — still applies. However, the fact that BRA cites weather does not automatically make the cause extraordinary; where there is doubt, the matter is not settled.

Sources and further reading

• EUR-Lex — Regulation (EC) No 261/2004
• Court of Justice of the EU — Sturgeon and Others, joined cases C-402/07 and C-432/07 (the three-hour rule)
• Transportstyrelsen — Passenger rights (the supervisory authority in Sweden)
• Konsumentverket — If the airline goes bankrupt (the Swedish Consumer Agency — bankruptcy FAQ and guidance on cancelled flights)
• Allmänna reklamationsnämnden / ARN — the Swedish National Board for Consumer Disputes, which examines disputes free of charge for the consumer

Last reviewed: 17 May 2026.