Business travellers are subject to the same EC261 rules as everyone else. The regulation does not distinguish between a consultant flying to a client meeting and a family heading to a beach holiday. If the flight qualifies, compensation is owed. The complication unique to business travel is not eligibility but ownership: who gets the money when the employer paid for the ticket?
The passenger is entitled
Under EC261, the right to compensation belongs to the person who experienced the disruption: the passenger. This is you, the individual who sat in the departure lounge for five extra hours, not the company that booked the ticket or the travel management firm that arranged the itinerary. The regulation makes no reference to who paid for the flight.
Check your employment contract
While the legal right belongs to you, your employment contract or company travel policy may require you to assign compensation claims to your employer. This is a contractual matter between you and your company, separate from the EC261 right itself. Some companies have explicit policies requiring employees to hand over compensation; many have no policy at all; and some actively encourage employees to keep it.
No company policy? The money is yours
If your employment contract and travel policy are silent on flight compensation, the money belongs to you as the affected passenger. Many companies do not have a specific policy covering EC261 payments, particularly smaller firms.
Practical approach
If your company does not have a policy, claim personally. Use your personal email address and bank details. If your company does have a policy requiring assignment, check whether it is actually enforced. In many organisations, the policy exists on paper but is never applied. If you are uncertain, a quick question to HR will clarify the position.
Regardless of who ultimately receives the compensation, someone should claim it. The worst outcome is when both the employee and the employer assume the other will handle it, and no one does. Set a personal reminder after any business travel disruption to ensure the claim is submitted.
Ticket class does not affect compensation
Business class tickets do not result in higher compensation. EC261 amounts are based entirely on flight distance, not ticket price or cabin class. A business class passenger and an economy passenger on the same delayed flight receive the same €250, €400, or €600. The higher ticket price may, however, increase the downgrade refund if you were involuntarily moved to a lower cabin class.