Flight delay and cancellation compensation, Ryanair ONLY

Dr_Watson

Mildmanneredman,
As others have pointed out, probably no compensation due under ESCP due to the nature of what caused your original delay.
The treatment after from RA however is just not right and I along with others on here sympathise with the lack of care you received which RA are duty bound to provide.
It doesn't sound like they want to cooperate regarding you trying to claim back your reasonable costs, so do start an ESCP claim against them for these.
Get to know the regulation and what should have happened by downloading the excellent Vaubans guide. Once armed with this stipulate the facts in your claim, and describe the treatment you received.
If you need any help, post back on here.
Plenty of knowledgeable people will gladly help.
Good luck and keep going.

Leothecat

Hello,

My oh, dd and I we’re due to fly Belfast to Lon stansted in June.
Ryanair have now changed the number of flights per week on this route from daily to twice per week.

They have cancelled our flights.

On the cancellation email it stated 3 options.
1. Change flights with Ryanair.
2. Accept a refund.
3. Rerouting via alternative carrier or transport.

I phoned Ryanair to arrange for them to book alternative flights with easyJet. I was informed that I needed to do this via live chat.

I went on live chat and asked them reroute us on easyJet on the same dates of travel. The agent informed me they could not do this, I would have to do it myself and claim the expenses back.
They sent me the link to the EU claim form.

I followed the agents instructions, booked new flights at an extra cost of £35 per person, filled out the form, attached the easyJet invoice and sent it to Ryanair.

This evening I have received an email from Ryanair stating that as I am being refunded and they informed me more than 14 days before travel, is have no claim to the extra I’ve paid to rebook using easyJet.

At no point during any conversation with Ryanair did I request a refund. In fact, I explicitly told them I was not requesting a refund. (as I had heard that this can cause them to refuse your claim)

So, my question is this. Can they refuse the extra charges? Are they not obliged to reroute me under EU regulations? If not, why is this stated in their email?

Thanks for any advice.

JPears

Hi and welcome, please repost on the dedicated Ryanair thread.
But in brief. You are entitled to the additional costs incurred in arranging your flights plus a refund. Ryanair like most airlines are quite frankly dishonest and don't adhere to the law.
Find and read the good Dr Watson's notes on the ESCP process which is probably the route you will need to follow.

Leothecat

Hello,

My oh, dd and I we’re due to fly Belfast to Lon stansted in June.
Ryanair have now changed the number of flights per week on this route from daily to twice per week.

They have cancelled our flights.

On the cancellation email it stated 3 options.
1. Change flights with Ryanair.
2. Accept a refund.
3. Rerouting via alternative carrier or transport.

I phoned Ryanair to arrange for them to book alternative flights with easyJet. I was informed that I needed to do this via live chat.

I went on live chat and asked them reroute us on easyJet on the same dates of travel. The agent informed me they could not do this, I would have to do it myself and claim the expenses back.
They sent me the link to the EU claim form.

I followed the agents instructions, booked new flights at an extra cost of £35 per person, filled out the form, attached the easyJet invoice and sent it to Ryanair.

This evening I have received an email from Ryanair stating that as I am being refunded and they informed me more than 14 days before travel, is have no claim to the extra I’ve paid to rebook using easyJet.

At no point during any conversation with Ryanair did I request a refund. In fact, I explicitly told them I was not requesting a refund. (as I had heard that this can cause them to refuse your claim)

So, my question is this. Can they refuse the extra charges? Are they not obliged to reroute me under EU regulations? If not, why is this stated in their email?

Thanks for any advice.

Hoover

I hope someone on here can help me!

Wed 25th July of last year (2018) I was due to fly to Pisa from Stansted with Ryanair. 8.45am flight, flying back 7.25pm on the Monday, I was reuniting with my best friend who I hadn't seen for 10yrs. Arrived at the airport to see on the board the flight was cancelled, (it was the day of the strikes). Queued for 2 hrs at customer services to be eventually put on next available flight which was 3 days later on the sat, 8.45am. Arrive again on the sat to then be delayed for a further 3 hrs basically leaving my friend and I 48hrs to catch up! On my return I put in a compensation claim and heard nothing. I then put a complaint in around Christmas time and again heard nothing. I put I another complaint 2 days ago, this time threatening getting in touch with the aviation authority and low and behold I have had a reply apologising for me not receiving any correspondence and resending the reply i should have got in Sept. Basically the reply said that as it was due to circumstances beyond their control Ryanair did not consider that any compensation was payable.
I am sure that since the date the reply should have been sent the AA have insisted that Ryanair are responsible for paying compensation.
What do I do and where do I go from here please? I am disgusted their treatment and will never ever fly with them again!

JPears

You are probably due 2 amounts of compensation if

a) your first flight was cancelled.
b) your second flight's arrival (not departure) was delayed by more than 3 hours.
Did Ryanair make you aware at the time that they should re-route you, with an alternative airliine if required? No, I suspect not. Take note of this for future reference.
The crew strike is NOT an EC, Ryanair are playing hardball every step of the way.
Download Vauban's superb guide for some background to your claims and a link to Dr Watson's exccellent notes on taking Ryanair to court through the ESCP system, which is ythe most likely next step. Or you could refer your claims to the CAA as Ryanair have now withdrawn form the ADR system.

Kew73

3hr 7mins delay from Liverpool to Milan (FR1433) on 4th April 19 (3 people).

Completed online form for compensation and expenses. Ryanair have said they'll pay the £20.30 expenses 'in full and final settlement of the claim' but no compensation as delay was due to adverse weather which was outside of their control.

Having read a bit about this, believe this was a 'knock on' due to earlier weather problems in Milan. Is there a way of double checking this? (weather in Liverpool was rainy!)
If correct (ie: it is a 'knock on') assume I continue to progress (Finnair judgement)?

In terms of next steps, plan to;
1) Respond to the email saying that since the adverse weather did not relate directly to our flight this is not a satisfactory reason not to pay compensation (Finnair judgement)
2) If they stick to their defence (as is likely) then i issue an NBA?

Any pointers on weather issue and thoughts on approach / suitable wording much appreciated!

Thanks so much for your help!

Tyzap

Hi Kew73,

You seem to have got to grips with the regulations pretty quickly and you are doing well so far.

The aircraft that operated your flight was EI-FZT.

The previous flight, that you suspected may have been delayed to weather, was a return flight from Barcelona, arriving at Liverpool (LPL) at 21.53 on the 3/4/19. As it was on the ground for about 19hrs prior to your delayed flight I would strongly suspect that this is where there was a problem of some sort, probably a technical fault or crew shortage.

The airport in Milan (MXP) was operating normally throughout the afternoon and early evening with no problems what-so-ever.

I would present this information to them and ask them to reconsider their decision or issue you with a 'final position' or 'deadlock' letter.

See what happens and come back to us when you have more info. We can then explore alternative ways forwards if required.

Good luck.

Kew73

Thanks so much for the quick response and very helpful information! Followed your advice and unfortunately they are sticking to their guns;

The safety of our customers and crew is paramount to Ryanair and this will not be compromised. As such, the decision was made to delay the flight until the weather improved.

We wish to reconfirm that the flight in question was disrupted due to reasons outside of our control (adverse weather conditions - strong winds in Malpensa), and as such monetary compensation is not applicable under EU Reg. 261/2004.

If you remain dissatisfied with the final decision made from our customer services team, you may contact the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and their Passenger Advice and Complaints Team (PACT) Please follow the link: https://www.caa.co.uk/Passengers/Resolving-travel-problems/How-the-CAA-can-help/How-to-make-a-complaint/

We are sorry that we cannot be of further assistance with regards to this matter.

Have checked the weather on 4/4/19 and for Milan it's showing 5-19mph winds. Can't imagine it being that different at Malpensa airport and, as you say, the airport was operating normally.

Would appreciate your view on way forward from here!

Tyzap wrote: »

Hi Kew73,

You seem to have got to grips with the regulations pretty quickly and you are doing well so far.

The aircraft that operated your flight was EI-FZT.

The previous flight, that you suspected may have been delayed to weather, was a return flight from Barcelona, arriving at Liverpool (LPL) at 21.53 on the 3/4/19. As it was on the ground for about 19hrs prior to your delayed flight I would strongly suspect that this is where there was a problem of some sort, probably a technical fault or crew shortage.

The airport in Milan (MXP) was operating normally throughout the afternoon and early evening with no problems what-so-ever.

I would present this information to them and ask them to reconsider their decision or issue you with a 'final position' or 'deadlock' letter.

See what happens and come back to us when you have more info. We can then explore alternative ways forwards if required.

Good luck.

Tyzap

Kew73 wrote: »

Thanks so much for the quick response and very helpful information! Followed your advice and unfortunately they are sticking to their guns;

The safety of our customers and crew is paramount to Ryanair and this will not be compromised. As such, the decision was made to delay the flight until the weather improved.

We wish to reconfirm that the flight in question was disrupted due to reasons outside of our control (adverse weather conditions - strong winds in Malpensa), and as such monetary compensation is not applicable under EU Reg. 261/2004.

If you remain dissatisfied with the final decision made from our customer services team, you may contact the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and their Passenger Advice and Complaints Team (PACT) Please follow the link: https://www.caa.co.uk/Passengers/Resolving-travel-problems/How-the-CAA-can-help/How-to-make-a-complaint/

We are sorry that we cannot be of further assistance with regards to this matter.

Have checked the weather on 4/4/19 and for Milan it's showing 5-19mph winds. Can't imagine it being that different at Malpensa airport and, as you say, the airport was operating normally.

Would appreciate your view on way forward from here!

Hi Kew73,

Well that is not entirely unexpected, Ryanair and Jet2 both like to push you all the way, just because they can!

Their letter will suffice as a deadlock letter so you can now move on to the next step.

It is important to raise a complaint with the CAA, they will give you their opinion on whether you have a valid claim, but just as importantly, it will raise a red flag against Ryanair. The CAA are already doing battle with Ryanair over a different issue so reporting unjustified refusals is important.

You could use a NWNF solicitor, such as Botts, or you could go down the DIY route, not an easy option, but doable with help from our own expert, Dr Watson.

Use the following delay calculator at Botts to get their opinion on your claim. Phone them if necessary, very friendly.

https://www.bottonline.co.uk/flight-delay-compensation

The following is from Dr Watsons signature...

Successfully sued Ryanair in 2013/14...and have been 'helping' litigants since then.

Current known score:-
Dr Watson 35 - 0 Ryanair / Ince and Co

Go to post 622 on the Ryanair thread to read how to sue them safely.

Have a read of the links to see what is involved in DIY

Good luck.