Need help claiming compensation - Denied boarding on Ryan Air Flight

deepak.venkatesh

Hi All,
This incident happened on the 4th Dec 09 at Luton Airport, my partner and I were denied the right to board the Ryan Air flight heading to Las Palmas Gran Canaria as we did not have our boarding passes sealed. We being of Non EU origin went to the check in desk to have our documents verified as stated on the boarding pass but the Ryan Air representative at the counter did not even bother to verify our travel documents though presented to her on the counter and said it is OK for us to move to the Security Check in as we did not have any luggage to check in. We did not think much about this at that time but when we approached the boarding gate we were denied the right to board the flight since we did not have our boarding passes sealed. When we insisted on having the lady at the check in counter to share an explanation she was totally unprofessional and falsely stating that we did not hand over the travel documents and hence she did not bother to verify them.

We were later sent back to the departure section stating that we would not be able to board the flight with out a seal and the manager would arrange an alternative flight for us. But when we went to discuss this incident with the manager the best he could offer is a next day flight that too with a 100GBP per person for the tickets. We had to cancel our whole trip as it did not make sense for us to pay so much.

I wanted to know as a consumer am I right in asking for a compensation. Though the terms and condition while booking the flight ticket over the internet does state clearly that all Non EU are expected to have their boarding passes validated / sealed but however the same is not mentioned on the actual boarding pass or the travel itinerary email for the flight bookings. Also this is a case where in we were mislead by their employee and we had to miss the flight and cancel our whole trip for no mistake of ours.

I have written to Ryan Air asking for compensation towards the entire trip and also to the company managing the operations for Ryan Air at the Luton airport complaining about the unprofessional behavior of their employee and awaiting a reply on this.

Are there any consumer forums with whom I can take up this dispute if Ryan Air dismisses my request for compensation? Your views and suggestions would be highly appreciated.

Thanks & Regards,
Deepak

dmg24

You have two issues here. The terms and conditions make it clear that your boarding pass needed to be sealed, and you knew that this had not happened yet proceeded to the gate. However, it is clear that you were misled by the agent, but proving this will be very difficult as it is your word against that of the agent.

By compensation, I assume you mean a refund of your tickets?

Hintza

I don't know about your particular case.

But we are talking Ryanair here. Your chances will be slim and to receive anything I suggest you will a long and hard fight.

deepak.venkatesh

Hintza , dmg24,
Thanks for your inputs. I know I have a hard chance here , it wasnt just our fault here I believe Ryan Air is also equally responsible for their representative failed to do her job on duty and also because there is a lack of clarity and the wordings on the Boarding pass is not accurate and doesnt state one needs to have the boadring passes sealed.

Wanted to know if there are any Consumer forums where I can take up my case and claim a refund for my flight tickets if not for the entire trip.

Wish me good luck :-)

Thanks & Regards,
D

Ivory_Tinkler

Assuming you have travelled by plane before, is this a procedure you have been familiar with when using other airlines? If so, you perhaps should have challenged the Ryanair rep at the time. But that said, one would assume that the rep at check in would be familiar with all their rules and regulations and really should have ensured that your paperwork/tickets were appropriately checked before allowing you to proceed. A difficult call and I wish you luck with trying to get compensation out of Ryanair - this is the airline that has been known to charge disabled people for being pushed to the plane in a wheelchair after all.

pinkshoes

You might be able to take this up with the CAA, but in the mean time, I would send a recorded delivery letter to Ryanair, detailing what happened, and asking them to refund you the flight cost, and any monies you had paid for the holiday. If you don't get any reply, then email the CAA. They'll usually help you with this sort of thing.

Gorgeous_George

You could try flightmole.com. I wish you luck and I think you'll need it.

GG