Getting compensation out of Ryanair

Jolly_Roger

Have any Forum readers EVER successfully got compensation out of Ryanair for a cancelled flight? If so, how difficult did this prove to be?
A friend of mine had a flight cancelled for mechanical reasons. Ryanair suggested either money back or rebooking as the only form of compensation. My friend took the latter option, but also incurred hotel, food and travel expenses, not to mention having to stay a further 24 hours in a foreign city awaiting the following day's flight. EU rules clearly state that Ryanair is liable for some cancellations, while others are not its fault. However, in this case, the flight was cancelled for mechanical reasons, which I believe are the responsibility of Ryanair. They emailed her to say they were not liable and had the cheek to point out that if she had taken out their travel insurance policy then she would have been able to claim on that!!! However, I think they absolutely and utterly must pay up. What do you think?
(Please please please please DO NOT point out that you get what you pay for etc and that Ryanair's fares imply that this sort of thing might happen. They don't. My friend had to make quite a complex business trip, which was ONLY possible if she paid reasonably low fares throughout.)

deva

Ryanair have offered two options for compensation which is what theu state in their terms. they are responsible for the flights and any travel insurance- or possibly credit card- needs to be claimed on for other monies.

Jolly_Roger

No, Deva, you are wrong.
There is an EU directive covering this area. I know, because I work in the sector and have got a two-page list of terms and conditions covering cancellations issued by Ryanair itself. This states quite clearly that Ryanair MUST pay each passenger 250 euros plus care costs in the event of a cancellation that is within the control of the company. Bad weather, ATC strikes in France and terrorist attacks are things they cannot control and which an insurance policy would cover, inadequate maintenance of an aircraft is not covered, not is the cancellation of a flight for commerical reasons (not enough passengers, for example).
This directive was brought in because, under existing legislation, airlines are liable to provide you with absolutely nothing whatsoever. Even if you have a ticket, they don't have to provide a plane. This goes back to the very start of aviation when aircraft were unreliable and a passenger's right to compensation might very well have bankrupted start up companies. The low cost carriers, however, began to abuse this, hence the EU rulling.
What interests me is whether Ryanair are paying compensation due to passengers, or whether they are flauting the law.

budgetflyer

The relevent rules regarding your friend are here on the air users council website.

It is interesting to note the instances, which could exempt compensation include the following

The airline is not obliged to pay compensation if it can prove that the cancellation was caused by "extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable measures had been taken". Such extraordinary circumstances might occur "in cases of political instability, meteorological conditions incompatible with the operation of the flight concerned, security risks, unexpected flight safety shortcomings and strikes that affect the operation of an operating air carrier"

Sentence in red,could be used imo for all kinds of situations where a fault occurs with the aircraft

Ryanair arent going to volunteer to pay compensation, however a letter, with the relevent facts , quoting the law should be enough to persuade them to pay out, I reckon.