Is RyanAir keeping flights just to avoid refunds?

RedDwarf82

It would be... surprising. But I have already seen a few "surprising" things from RyanAir.

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/estonia says "Only citizens of Estonia, holders of an Estonian Residency Permit or foreign citizens whose family member lives in Estonia will be permitted to enter.". But my flight in two weeks has not yet been cancelled, yesterday's flight wasn't cancelled and I see you can still book flights on most days. Given that there is "a compulsory 14 day quarantine for those entering the country" even if you are allowed to enter, I don't believe there is so much people ready to flight.

Have other people notice something like this?

bradders1983

No, they are keeping flights operating so citizens of countries can actually get home.

If you are a British citizen and unable to go due to the FCO advice, claim on your travel insurance if they dont can the route beforehand.

bagand96

What bout the Estonian citizens in the UK that might want to get home?  What about the British citizens in Estonia who will be very grateful for the return leg to get them back to Blighty.

If the airlines operate they get accused of operating to avoid refunds.

If the airlines cancel they get accused of stranding people.

RedDwarf82

It's not "the airlines", It's RyanAir.

The RyanAir with a "Get Refund" button that doesn't work -> https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6115505/trouble-getting-the-ryanair-get-refund-button-to-work#latest

The RyanAir that has "removed" the flight change fee -> https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6116172/ryanair-flight-change-fee-waived-but-prices-hiked

The RyanAir with a live chat service that opens at 6am, I have been there since 6:01 and at 9:03 I'm still at a queue... without a queue position number or any indication I'm either still connected or disconnected.

I'm not asserting I have evidence RyanAir is doing anything here. But somebody (working in an airport?) may know more.

bradders1983

I can't think for one minute why you might be in a queue still, its as if the airlines are a bit busier than usual at the moment.

Your flight is in 2 weeks and I assume you are in your country of origin, therefore you are not currently a priority for any airline if you like to hear this or not.  In fact the reason why you are still in a queue for 3+ hours is probably because of people like yourself contacting them now when they dont need to yet.

RedDwarf82

What's the current status about the 80/20 rule? (https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/coronavirus-airlines-empty-flights-airport-slots-covid19-a9381006.html)

bagand96

RedDwarf82 said:

What's the current status about the 80/20 rule? (https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/coronavirus-airlines-empty-flights-airport-slots-covid19-a9381006.html)

That has been resolved and the "use it or lose it" regulations have been relaxed.  That said, very few of the airports Ryanair operate into are restricted in that way and it would not affect the majority of their flights anwyay.

There will be hundreds of thousands of passengers booked with Ryanair even in the next week.  That's why you can't get through to them.  And again Ryanair aren't alone in this, try contacting any airline/hotel/travel company right now and it's the same story.

Your flight is in two weeks.  You're going to have to wait it out.  They've come out and said they reckon they'll basically be shutting down the airline from early next week.  So sit tight and wait to see what happens.  It's all you can do. They will be working through their schedules and bookings in date order.

(FYI - I'm in the same boat - got a flight in 10 days - I know I'm not going, just hoping they do cancel it and I get the email)

RedDwarf82

bagand96 said:

That has been resolved and the "use it or lose it" regulations have been relaxed.  That said, very few of the airports Ryanair operate into are restricted in that way and it would not affect the majority of their flights anwyay.

There will be hundreds of thousands of passengers booked with Ryanair even in the next week.  That's why you can't get through to them.  And again Ryanair aren't alone in this, try contacting any airline/hotel/travel company right now and it's the same story.

I don't mind they being busy. But who has a queue system that doesn't show your position in the queue? There is a field for the booking number when requesting a live chat, they could well be prioritizing flights close in time... and if at 6am it would have told me I am in position 1,000, at 7am that I'm in position 2,000 and at 8 am that I'm in position 3,000 it would have been clear I'm in a too low priority to ever get to them, disconnected and reduced the load on their servers. But there is no feedback whatsoever. My comment about the chat was meant to mean "they are not only evil, also incompetent".

I would not even have a need to contact them if they would be honest with the flight change fees/prices. My only question is "!!!!!!?".

Your flight is in two weeks.  You're going to have to wait it out.  They've come out and said they reckon they'll basically be shutting down the airline from early next week.  So sit tight and wait to see what happens.  It's all you can do. They will be working through their schedules and bookings in date order.

(FYI - I'm in the same boat - got a flight in 10 days - I know I'm not going, just hoping they do cancel it and I get the email)

Yeah, makes sense. My main worry is: what are the incentives on airlines to cancel a flight? Incentives are a powerful force, and if you already have sold enough tickets to make a benefit on a flight, why would you cancel it? You are even going to benefit even a bit more by the reduced fuel consumption of an empty plane. It's not going to happen, but who could blame them if the alternative was saving the planet reducing emissions by cancelling a lot of flights... and the airline going bankrupt? At some point they will not have enough sold tickets, but people try to buy way in advance...

RedDwarf82

Nevermind, I just noticed what you meant by "They've come out and said they reckon they'll basically be shutting down the airline from early next week." -> https://www.ryanair.com/gb/en/travel-updates/articles/UPDATE-WED-18-MAR