Enligt EU-FCR 261/2004 och efterföljande rättspraxis beräknas rätten till ersättning på grund av försenade flygningar uteslutande på den "förlorade tiden" vid slutdestinationen. Från s. 17-18 i den här PDF-filen (bolding min):
vi. ‘Long delays’ at arrival
As regards ‘long delays’, the Court has ruled that passengers, including delayed passengers, may suffer from a similar inconvenience as passengers whose flight is cancelled, consisting in a certain loss of time. Based on the principle of equal treatment, passengers reaching their final destination with a delay of three hours or more are entitled to the same compensation (Article 7) as passengers whose flight is cancelled.
...
The Court takes the view that a delay must be assessed for the purposes of the compensation provided for in Article 7 of the Regulation, in relation to the scheduled time of arrival at the passenger's final destination as defined in Article 2(h) of the Regulation, which in the case of directly connecting flights must be understood as the destination of the last flight taken by the passenger.
Med andra ord kommer du inte att bli berättigad till ersättning om du anländer till ditt slutdestination mindre än tre timmar sen.
Du är dock fortfarande berättigad till "vård" (måltider, förfriskningar, etc.), eftersom dessa uppgifter utlöses av försenad avgång , inte försenad ankomst.
3.3.1. Delay at departure
Under Article 6(1) of the Regulation, where the departure of a flight is delayed, passengers affected by this delay have the right to ‘care’ according to Article 9, and to reimbursement and a return flight according to Article 8(1)(a).