Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Ryanair ONLY

TonsOfPhun

Hi,

This is my first serious delay with Ryanair (since then, another one followed).
Long story short, I was in Lanzarote (ACE) returning to Birmingham. The weather was bad in Dublin (but not BHX or ACE) and my understanding is that as always, Ryanair messed up their plane routing. We got delayed by approximately 3 and a half hours, no Ryanair representative came to offer drinks, explanations or food vouchers. Once boarded, the crew started going on with various excuses about strong winds, that it wasn't safe to take off and so on.
The reality of course is very different; all other flights from ACE left on time, some of which were from Ryanair planes! It was somewhat windy, but not strong enough for the airport to close, for a weather warning to be issued. Furthermore, I have the weather historical reports, showing that when we did eventually take off, the winds were stronger than they were during the scheduled departure.
I made a claim directly with Ryanair, and they rejected my claim, stating that due to "adverse weather conditions" I am not entitled to compensation.
I have since then made a European small claims application with the small claims district court in Dublin, and I'm currently waiting to hear back from Ryanair.

Funnily enough, I was on a business trip a few days back in Italy (**not when there was a strike!***) and guess what? Ryanair again messed up! This time we got an SMS saying at first that the flight was going to be delayed, then that it was going to be cancelled.

The airport personnel told us that the Ryanair crew had been working for 9 hours straight, and that when they arrived in Bari they were not allowed to take off. Ryanair of course, said in their apologetic email that they had taken every precaution to avoid this, which is quite obviously a big fat lie. Eventually another crew was found, and we took off.
I have made another claim with Ryanair, and I am certain they will reject it again (seems to be their approach). I am thinking that instead of taking them to court again, I'd like to either try ADR or some other approach, so what other options do I have, other than starting a new claim for this delay?

jpsartre

I don't know what the real story is but be aware that strong winds may cause a reduction in the number of aircrafts allowed to depart. So the fact that some aircrafts took of doesn't necessarily mean that others weren't delayed due to winds. May be worth digging a bit to see if you can rule out this possibility before going to court. E.g. if the aircraft arrived 3h30m late into ACE then it seems less likely that the weather in ACE was causing the delay.

TonsOfPhun

Hi jpsartre,

At first I assumed something similar, that they did indeed have a problem. Later I discovered that they were simply rerouting the planes, due to a previous issue with bad weather in Ireland. Also, the historical weather document shows that the winds were not that strong to ground airplanes, other airplanes left on time or slightly delayed, and most importantly, the airport is built the same direction as the winds (SW) which AFAI is commonly done in order to reduce issues with winds (headwinds and tailwinds).
But I think the important things to note here are:
a) it finally took off with 3 and a half hours delay (even though the wind dropped within those 3 hours)
b) it took off with stronger winds than the ones scheduled
c) the "adverse weather conditions" are certainly not winds stronger than average? Otherwise nothing would fly?

Also, if the weather was bad in Dublin, this isn't our problem is it? We weren't flying to Dublin, but ACE to BHX.

agrinnall

You should ask a board guide to move this to the Ryanair thread in the Flight Delays sub board


https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4384705/flight-delay-and-cancellation-compensation-ryanair-only

silvercar

I've moved this thread to the correct board.

agrinnal is correct in that it should be merged into the Ryanair thread running on this new board; I'm not sure that OP will find it in the merged thread if the redirect disappears on merging, so will leave it a day before merging, at least it's on the right board for now.

JPears

Yet again another cluttering personal thread. Please repost on the Ryanair thread.

agrinnall

JPears wrote: »

Yet again another cluttering personal thread. Please repost on the Ryanair thread.

Why not just read the previous two posts before adding nothing to the thread?

TonsOfPhun

Hello,

I made the mistake and posted elsewhere but this thread here seems perfect. Thanks for all the info!

Keeping it short: my flight from ACE to BHX on 28th February 2018 was delayed for more than 3 hours. Weather was bad in Dublin, but not ACE or BHX. There was a knock effect everywhere, but I am assuming this isn't my problem. Made the EU261 claim on Ryanair's form and they refused claiming "adverse weather conditions".
I have proof that the weather was actually worse when we took off than when it was scheduled to do so.

Because I googled around and found a few posts claiming that I should try Irish courts and not UK courts, I made an ESCP at Dublin Courts. Still awaiting Ryanair's reply.

Now I have had another 3+ hour delay, from Bari to STN; I assume they will also claim non-fault although the delay is probably a knock effect from France's flight controller strike (note our flight did not go over France, nor was the flight the same day!). In fact the flight was delayed because the crew was overworked and not allowed to work any more. This time should I try an ESCP with a UK court?

TonsOfPhun

Feel free to delete it or move it, I've asked under the one for Ryanair claims.

JPears

Eire courts run the risk of high costs.
UK courts much much lower risk of having costs against you if you lose (I don't think we have heard any such decision by a judge in the many years of this forum)
Dr Watson's very useful guidance for using the ESCP is contained in this thread somewhere.