Flight change and alternatives have doubled in price...

Westin

Voyager2002 said:

dlevene said:

Just to spoke to their customer service (after a 40 minute wait - I do love these companies).

The rep advised me that my best option would be to get a refund for the rescheduled flight, book another one, and then I can make a claim for the difference using their EU261 form. He was unable to confirm that I would definitely be entitled to being paid the difference, which is fair enough I suppose, but obviously I run the risk of being out of pocket if they decline...

Bad advice from the rep.

Once you have accepted a refund the airline has no further liability.
What SHOULD have happened was the rep making the booking for you. If you make it yourself and keep the original flight (while making it clear that you do not accept the change) then you can try to get the additional costs refunded...

Wishful thinking for a Ryanair call centre agent to book new tickets on an alternative airline for a 6-hour rescheduling. 

dlevene

So I should book a new flight, then claim for the whole cost of the new flight as "expenses" using their EU261 form?

Westin

dlevene said:

So I should book a new flight, then claim for the whole cost of the new flight as "expenses" using their EU261 form?

If I were in your shoes, especially given this is Ryanair, I would not be taking that action. I can’t see Ryanair paying up for new flights.  I would either adapt to the new rescheduled times with FR or accept that I would be taking a refund and paying again for flights with timings that better suited me.

Voyager2002

Westin said:

dlevene said:

So I should book a new flight, then claim for the whole cost of the new flight as "expenses" using their EU261 form?

If I were in your shoes, especially given this is Ryanair, I would not be taking that action. I can’t see Ryanair paying up for new flights.  I would either adapt to the new rescheduled times with FR or accept that I would be taking a refund and paying again for flights with timings that better suited me.

Or be prepared for a fight. You have a legal right to rerouting, and Ryanair does make payments like this when ordered to do so by a court. Just be very sure that you are willing to take the matter to court, and that you satisfy all legal requirements so that you would actually win the court case. Is it really worth it for six hours?

eskbanker

Voyager2002 said:

Westin said:

dlevene said:

So I should book a new flight, then claim for the whole cost of the new flight as "expenses" using their EU261 form?

If I were in your shoes, especially given this is Ryanair, I would not be taking that action. I can’t see Ryanair paying up for new flights.  I would either adapt to the new rescheduled times with FR or accept that I would be taking a refund and paying again for flights with timings that better suited me.

Or be prepared for a fight. You have a legal right to rerouting, and Ryanair does make payments like this when ordered to do so by a court. Just be very sure that you are willing to take the matter to court, and that you satisfy all legal requirements so that you would actually win the court case. Is it really worth it for six hours?

Ryanair have offered rerouting, on a flight of their own six hours later than the original, so the issue comes down to interpretation of how reasonable that is as an alternative, bearing in mind article 8's reference to "at the earliest opportunity", if there is availability with a competitor about two hours earlier than the original flight.

The CAA is ambivalent but ultimately implies that being rerouted on a Ryanair flight the same day is acceptable, rather than an expectation of being rerouted on another airline, but it's just guidance and a court may view the matter differently:

The CAA recognises that a literal interpretation of Article 8(1)(b), as outlined in the previous paragraph, could, in some scenarios, lead to outcomes where the benefit to consumers of being re-routed on the next available flight is significantly outweighed by the cost incurred by the airline in re-routing them.

[...]

The CAA accepts that, when offering the choice between the three options under Article 8(1)(a), (b) and (c), airlines will normally prefer to offer affected passengers a re-routing option on their own services or, where applicable, those of their partner airlines. In many cases, this will also be the best outcome for affected passengers. However, in circumstances where there is no re-routing option under Article 8(1)(b) on its own services or, where applicable, on the services of its partner airlines, on the same day as the original flight and via the same route, the CAA’s view is that the airline should next seek to identify rerouting options on the services of alternative airlines on the same day as the original flight and via the same route.

https://www.caa.co.uk/publication/download/18744

dlevene

Okay that's helpful, thanks everyone.

The 6 hours later really is a bad option given I have onward travel by train etc.

What I think I'm going to do is:

1) Book the new, earlier flight
2) Apply for expenses on the basis of the whole cost of the new flight
3) If they say no, just take the refund and accept I'm out of pocket for the difference

Voyager2002

dlevene said:

Okay that's helpful, thanks everyone.

The 6 hours later really is a bad option given I have onward travel by train etc.

What I think I'm going to do is:

1) Book the new, earlier flight
2) Apply for expenses on the basis of the whole cost of the new flight
3) If they say no, just take the refund and accept I'm out of pocket for the difference

Be very clear that you are asking them for REROUTING. 

If you call it expenses they will refuse.

(In practice they will refuse anyway, but if you push it they might pay.)