Flight Cancelled, airline's fault, not giving compensation

budgetflyer

lijaloo wrote: »

Ryanair's first letter said the flight was cancelled for reasons outside their control.

EU 262/2004 Article 5 paragraph 3 states

"An operating air carrier shall not be obliged to pay
compensation in accordance with Article 7, if it can prove that
the cancellation is caused by extraordinary circumstances
which could not have been avoided even if all reasonable
measures had been taken."

So I asked for details of the circumstances which led to the cancellation, why they were extraordinary, why couldn't they be avoided, what steps were taken to avoid the extraordinary circumstances. I didn't get an answer just the offer to consider repayment of receipted expenses.

Ryanair have missed the point, at no time was I given information about the cancellation or my rights. They failed in their duty of care leaving all the passengers with no option but to spend an uncomfortable night at Reus airport. In any case the burden of proof is with them.

I should add that I have flown this route with Ryanair at least every six weeks for the last two years and this is the first and only time I have had cause to complain.

They now say (in their response to my claim to the small claims court) that it was due to unforeseen flight safety shortcomings. I did manage to get home the next day on the same plane which had suffered unforeseen safety shortcomings and had sat on the tarmac at Reus airport all night.

So they have agreed to out of pocket expenses . havent they ? So you will have lost nothing, but a day of your life.
In this compensation culture, why can people not see ,they are often biting the hand that feeds them.
The more 250 euro they pay out, it is offset elswhere. IE fares !
My attitude is why entice them to fly with unsafe aircraft ? Imagine 200 people all claiming 250 euro off you ? Would you maybe just risk flying to save the money. A business would need to asses this risk. They make decisions every day just like this. Fortunately they ((usually) er on the safety side, but if they were financially strained, its just another burden.

Sensible people will allow Ryanair to continue to flourish and we all will benefit. The 1 hit free loaders will take every penny comp they can, blow it today ,without a care for their next flight tommorrow.

lijaloo

budgetflyer wrote: »

So they have agreed to out of pocket expenses . havent they ? So you will have lost nothing, but a day of your life.


No they haven't agreed to pay out of pocket expenses, they will CONSIDER payment of receipted expenses for accomodation/meals and refreshments. They claim that this is accordance with the terms and conditions which are available at the time of booking. Well I've read, re-read and double checked them and there is no mention at all of such a requirement. As well as the cost of refreshements (breakfast) and phone calls, I am also claiming loss of earnings which is covered by the Montreal convention and not EU regulations. Ryanair will not consider this at all.

Ryanair failed in their duty of care at the time of the cancellation, passengers should have been afforded their rights under EU regulations. In fact Ryanair didn't even follow their own terms and conditions

Your rights under EU Regulation 261/2004 are unaffected, so in the case of denied boarding, flight cancellation or a delay in excess of two hours you will be provided with a written notice setting out the rules for compensation and assistance in line with such Regulation.

No written notice was given to passengers at the time, in fact passengers were not even told that the flight had been cancelled. No-one from Ryanair was available to offer assistance and the Dublin offices had closed, so we were left stranded at Reus airport which had actually closed for the night.

I am not jumping on the compensation bandwagon, that is not the point in all this and before anyone says its what should be expected from a no-frills airline, lets remember that Ryanair is not beyond the law even if they would like to think they are.

lexie188

lijaloo wrote: »

Was this flight FR3845 on 21st May. If so I was also booked on that cancelled flight. I have now lodged a claim through the Irish small claims court.

It was FR 3845 on the 22nd June. I am still awaiting a response from the AUTC and will take further action should nothing arise from that. Our plane never even made it to Reus airport from Stanstead!

Although I understand and on a basic level agree with budgetflyer, but my primary concern is a reimbursement of my expenses, not the compensation. My point is that no-one would be happy about having to fork out more money off their own back without any assistance from Ryanair.

Is there any other way to contact them other than by post as they appear to be ignoring/ not receiving my letters now.?

Crabman

If you used registered post and can prove that it was received then provided it's still the compensation case then I'd take it to the AUTC as the airline can be fined per passenger they don't compensate under EU Law...

If you want to try phoning, type "ryanair" into SayNoTo0870 - you'll need to phone via an Irish (+353) number but use the International CallChecker to find the cheapest way of doing that, either way it's better than phoning their 0871 number