Easyjet vs Ryanair: flight delay compensation

jjlothin

In the great snows of early March, Bristol Airport was shut down, my Ryanair flight home from Malaga to Bristol was cancelled and I was stranded for 3 days in Spain. Whilst that portion of the flight cost was refunded by Ryanair, I had to pay out several hundred pounds more to find my way back home (Ryanair themselves couldn’t offer a replacement flight for several days).


I tried, of course, to claim for this via my travel insurance: I now know that very few companies actually cover 'extreme weather events'! Then a friend suggested that I could try to make a claim from Ryanair under EU Regulation 261/2004. After repeated attempts to get them to even acknowledge receipt of the claim, I’ve just been informed that “as this cancellation was for safety reasons and therefore outside Ryanair’s control we regret to advise that no monetary compensation is due under EU Regulation 261/2004”.


However: on the very same day that I was trying to travel back to Bristol, my boss was booked on an EasyJet day return from Bristol to Belfast which, again, was cancelled when the airport was closed. Not only did he get the flight costs refunded by Easyjet, but when we put in a claim for expenses (travel to and from his home, travel to and from his destination in Belfast), Easyjet agreed.


Having already spent many hours working on this claim (and, in any case, secretly sympathizing with Ryanair’s position!), I was wondering whether anyone has had experiences that could make me think it was worthwhile pursuing things further.

Caz3121

EU261 Duty if Care applies whether the reason for the cancellation is within the airline's control. It is different from the monetary compensation
Your boss will not receive EU261 compensation either
If you have expenses you would be best to post on the Ryanair thread (further down the page) re claiming

jjlothin

Caz3121 wrote: »

EU261 Duty if Care applies whether the reason for the cancellation is within the airline's control. It is different from the monetary compensation
Your boss will not receive EU261 compensation either
If you have expenses you would be best to post on the Ryanair thread (further down the page) re claiming

I've just checked my boss's claim with Easyjet - and it IS E261 (though for expenses incurred, as opposed to cancellation) ... We've just received an email from Easyjet asking for confirmation of the bank account that the money should be paid to.

Caz3121

have you submitted your expenses claim (under EU261 duty of care) to Ryanair?

peachyprice

jjlothin wrote: »

I've just checked my boss's claim with Easyjet - and it IS E261 (though for expenses incurred, as opposed to cancellation) ... We've just received an email from Easyjet as king for confirmation of the bank account that the money should be paid to.

OP, you seem to be getting confused, due in no small part to Ryanair's wording

There are two elements of EU261, duty of care expenses and delay compensation.

Expenses are claimable regardless of whether or not the delay was the airlines fault, compensation is only payable if the delay is the airline's fault.

You need to reply to RA's comment of 'as this cancellation was for safety reasons and therefore outside Ryanair;s control we regret to advise that no monetary compensation is due under EU Regulation 261/2004' with the fact that you are claiming allowable expenses NOT compensation.

This is why your boss is able to claim for expenses, and so can you. But neither of you will be able to claim compensation.

jjlothin

Caz3121 wrote: »

have you submitted your expenses claim (under EU261 duty of care) to Ryanair?

I have indeed!

jjlothin

peachyprice wrote: »

OP, you seem to be getting confused, due in no small part to Ryanair's wording

There are two elements of EU261, duty of care expenses and delay compensation.

Expenses are claimable regardless of whether or not the delay was the airlines fault, compensation is only payable if the delay is the airline's fault.

You need to reply to RA's comment of 'as this cancellation was for safety reasons and therefore outside Ryanair;s control we regret to advise that no monetary compensation is due under EU Regulation 261/2004' with the fact that you are claiming allowable expenses NOT compensation.

This is why your boss is able to claim for expenses, and so can you. But neither of you will be able to claim compensation.

I sort of knew (in a rather confused kind of way!) that there was a difference - but I really appreciate you spelling it out so clearly, @peachyprice! I will get back to Ryanair and see what they say ...