Ryanair Flight Compensation

j.i.p

Hi,

Can anyone tell me if I have a claim against Ryanair under the REGULATION (EC) No 261/2004 Article 5/7.

I was due to fly on Thursday 15th March at 18.35. I revived an email on Friday 2nd March 2012 at 16:31 advising the flight has been cancelled.

Article 5 says compensation is payable if the flight is cancelled and the passenger is not advised at least 2 weeks before. Does anyone know how they define this? Is it complete days from the email notification or from the time of notification to flight time, if it is this then I calculate they have told me only 13 days 2 hours and 4 minutes before the flight and this is not 2 weeks.

Any help on this would be appreciated so i don't waste my time with Ryanair.

richardw

What extraordinary circumstances are they blaming the cancellation on?

ian41

j.i.p wrote: »

Hi,

Can anyone tell me if I have a claim against Ryanair under the REGULATION (EC) No 261/2004 Article 5/7.

I was due to fly on Thursday 15th March at 18.35. I revived an email on Friday 2nd March 2012 at 16:31 advising the flight has been cancelled.

Article 5 says compensation is payable if the flight is cancelled and the passenger is not advised at least 2 weeks before. Does anyone know how they define this? Is it complete days from the email notification or from the time of notification to flight time, if it is this then I calculate they have told me only 13 days 2 hours and 4 minutes before the flight and this is not 2 weeks.

Any help on this would be appreciated so i don't waste my time with Ryanair.

Yes that is the correct way of calculating it. The cancellation falls between two weeks and 7 days so Article 5.1.c (ii) is the relevant section.

Did Ryanair offer you alternative flights as stipulated below?

Passengers have the right to compensation by the operating air carrier in accordance with Article 7, unless:
(ii) they are informed of the cancellation between two weeks and seven days before the scheduled time of departure and are offered re-routing, allowing them to depart no more than two hours before the scheduled time of departure and to reach their final destination less than four hours after the scheduled time of arrival; or

If yes, what are the details? If not, as richardw has alluded to the compensation payment is still subject to a defence of extraordinary circumstances by Ryanair.

j.i.p

No explanation given in the initial email. This is a new route only set up a couple of weeks ago, so I suspect they have not sold many seats and don't want to send a half empty plane. If that is the case then its not extraordinary and they should be held to account for the inconvenience and extra expense I have now incurred.

j.i.p

They have offered the next available flight and this leaves 48 hours after my cancelled flight. So as the re-route does not arrive in time as stipulated in the article and they have not given 2 weeks notice I should be entitled to the compensation then ? Is compensation in addition to a refund of the fare paid or should I just pursue the compensation ?

ian41

OK but before you do anything please read Article 8 because in this situation Ryanair are responsible for your re-routing costs or a refund.

In your situation if the replacement flights are more expensive, it's a no brainer so do not ask for a refund because you then lose your rights for re-routing.

The cancellation compensation would be payable in addition.

j.i.p

Thanks Ian41

My only option is to fly with Jet2 5 hours and 30 minutes before my cancelled fight. The additional cost for this is £72 more then I paid with Ryanair. So am I correct I should claim the re-rote costs of £72 and then claim the cancellation compensation of 400 Euro ?

ian41

j.i.p wrote: »

Thanks Ian41

My only option is to fly with Jet2 5 hours and 30 minutes before my cancelled fight. The additional cost for this is £72 more then I paid with Ryanair. So am I correct I should claim the re-rote costs of £72 and then claim the cancellation compensation of 400 Euro ?

If it was me, this is what I would be doing.

To do it the right way, I would be asking Ryanair to re-route me under the provisions of EC Reg 261/2004 Article 8. The re-route they offered (48 hours later) is unsatisfactory but a flight has been identified with jet2 which would be acceptable in the circumstances. If they refuse to do this, then the re-route can be booked and the additional cost claimed from Ryanair. Getting money out of Ryanair is never easy!

As you failed to give the flight distance, I do not know whether you would be entitled to Euro 250, 400 or 600. Euro 250 is for a flight under 1500 kms and Euro 400 is for other intra Europe flights below 3,500 kms.

To repeat, getting any money out of Ryanair is difficult but perhaps they will play ball on this occasion.

Good luck and tell us what happens.

j.i.p

Thanks Ian41.

The flight is Manchester - Budapest so 1638 KM.

I had to book the flight with Jet2 as the flights were going up every hour, probably all the passengers on the cancelled Ryanair flight. Should I ask them to agree to the re-rote and pay up as this is the only other airline who fly's the route and has a flight on the same day, or should I just tell them this is the extra expense incurred and to pay up.

I do appreciate it will be hard getting compensation out of Ryanair, but I am prepared to work and stick at it as they are happy to penalise passengers with the rules of check-in, boarding passes and luggage weight ect ect, so why should the tables not be turned on them because they are not going to make money on a half empty plane.

Should I do the claim for reroute costs at the same time of the cancellation compensation or as two separate ?

j.i.p

Ryanair & EC 261/2004 state -

If we are able to offer you re-routing on an alternative flight and the arrival time of the re-routed flight does not exceed the scheduled arrival time of the flight booked:
(a)by two hours, in respect of all flights of 1,500km or less; or
(b)by three hours, in respect of all intra-EU flights of more than 1,500km, and for all other flights between 1,500km and 3,500km.
(c) by four hours, in respect of all flights not falling under (a) or (b),
The compensation set out above will be reduced by 50%.

As my Jet2 flight arrives 5 hours and 30 minutes before the cancelled Ryanair flight, would they reduce my compensation by 50% (200 Euro) ? Should I just take the refund and claim the 400 Euro compensation ?

j.i.p

Ok so I have found this press release as the reason for the cancelled flight, do you think this will come under the extraordinary circumstances ? If so and they don't have to pay out the 400 Euro compensation, do they still have to pay my re-route costs ?

RYANAIR TO CANCEL 13 BUDAPEST FLIGHTS OVER THE NEXT TWO WEEKS, AS BUDAPEST BORDER CONTROL REFUSE PERMISSION FOR FLIGHTS TO DEPART
Ryanair, Hungary's favourite airline, today (Fri 2nd Mar) announced that it would cancel 13 return flights to/from Budapest over the next two weeks (see below), as the Border Control Police at Budapest Airport insist that some Ryanair pilots and cabin crew get off the aircraft and clear through immigration on 25 minute turnarounds, despite the fact that these crews live and work in Budapest. There is no EU requirement for such immigration clearance for pilots and cabin crew on turnaround and this stupid procedure is not required or implemented at any of Ryanair's 170 other EU airports.
Since Ryanair's Budapest base opened on 17th February last, Ryanair has learned that the Border Control Police at Budapest require Ryanair's Budapest based crews on 25 minute turnarounds (on flights that have arrived from Ireland or the UK) to get off the aircraft with their passengers, clear through immigration, so that they can get back on the aircraft and operate their flight departures. This idiotic procedure has caused a series of flight delays and considerable inconvenience to thousands of Ryanair passengers, both in Budapest and elsewhere.
Ryanair has written to Budapest Airport explaining that there is no legal requirement for this procedure, and that this procedure does not apply to non Schengen routes at any of Ryanair's 170 other EU airports. Ryanair has also provided Budapest Airport with written confirmation from Border Police in other EU countries that there is no such immigration requirement. Ryanair notified Budapest Airport that its Budapest based crews would no longer comply with this unique immigration requirement on 25 minute flight tunarounds from Ireland or the UK from 1st March 2012. Ryanair's flight to Manchester on 1st March and our flight from Budapest to Baden Baden on 2nd March, were denied permission to depart by Budapest Airport. These flights were cancelled and the passengers are being reaccommodated.
Despite further high level contacts today with Budapest Airport and the Border Police, there has been no change in this unique and bizarre procedure at Budapest. Since Ryanair is unwilling to delay or cancel any further flights that might be affected by this arbitrary immigration procedure, Ryanair has no alternative other than to cancel these 13 return flights over the next two weeks, which results in the disruption of some 4,000 passengers. Until such time as the Border Police in Budapest Airport comply with the same rules and regulations which apply at Ryanair's 170 other EU airports, then these flight turnarounds after non Schengen flights will continue to be cancelled. Bizarrely flights to non Schengen destinations from Budapest which are operated by non Budapest based crews, do not have to undergo this unique immigration procedure, which serves to highlight how bizarre, unnecessary and ineffective this local Budapest regulation is.
Ryanair's Michael O'Leary said:
"We call upon Budapest Airport and the Border Control Authorities to remove this bizarre and unique procedure at Budapest. There is clearly no immigration issue at work here, since these flights are operated by Budapest based pilots and cabin crew who clear through Budapest Airport security at the start of their day and clear through Budapest immigration and airport security at the end of their day. We cannot tolerate a situation where these crews are required to get off the aircraft and clear through immigration during a 25 minute turnaround, which delays and disrupts our passengers, and which is not required at any of our 170 other EU airports.
We have repeatedly asked for an explanation of this procedure, but have been unable to obtain one. We have also asked the Budapest authorities to explain why non-based pilots and cabin crew who fly into Budapest from non Schengen airports are not required to clear through immigration, yet Ryanair's crews simply because they live and work in Budapest are required to submit this unique and utterly stupid procedure. We hope that common sense will apply and this ineffective restriction will be removed, which will allow our flight departures from Budapest after non Schengen flights (which are operated by Budapest crews) can now operate with 25 minute turnarounds without requiring our crews to get off and delay the aircraft. We apologise sincerely to passengers affected by one of these 14 cancellations over the next two weeks, and we will be contacting them to re-accommodate them.
Sat 3 March
FR
8355 / 8356
Budapest-Memmingen-Budapest
Sun 4 March
FR
8513 / 8514
Budapest-Thessaloniki-Budapest
Mon 5 March
FR
8553 / 8554
Budapest-Baden-Budapest
Tue 6 March
FR
8355 / 8356
Budapest-Memmingen-Budapest
Wed 7 March
FR
8513 / 8514
Budapest-Thessaloniki-Budapest
Thur 8 March
FR
8357 / 8358
Budapest-Manchester-Budapest
Fri 9 March
FR
8553 / 8554
Budapest-Memmingen-Budapest
Sun 11 March
FR
8513 / 8514
Budapest-Thessaloniki-Budapest
Mon 12 March
FR
8553 / 8554
Budapest-Baden-Budapest
Tue 13 March
FR
8355 / 8356
Budapest-Memmingen-Budapest
Wed 14 March
FR
8513 / 8514
Budapest-Thessaloniki-Budapest
Thur 15 March
FR
8357 / 8358
Budapest-Manchester-Budapest
Fri 16 March
FR
8553 / 8554
Budapest-Baden-Budapest