It's in the news tonight that Ryanair have said that they will not be compensating passengers who have been stuck abroad for the cost of hotel and food, only paying anything up to the value of the flight. This is despite the law stating that it is up to the airlines to meet this cost, and all other airlines seem to be happily paying up. Lots of people on the news saying just how bad this is of them and what evil people they are.
The thing is - don't Ryanair have a point? And more importantly, don't people have travel insurance that should cover things like this? I know Ryanair have a bit of a bad name for their customer service, but should people really be expecting anything more of what is essentially the Tesco Value of air travel?
The argument being put forward by them is that somebody who has paid £40 for a flights should not then be entitled to food and accommodation paid for in a situation like this. Why is it deemed to be Ryanair that should foot the cost arising from something they haven't caused and not the passengers?
Would love to hear any thoughts on Ryanair in general as well!
Ryanair's refusal to compensate passengers
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martindtanderson
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Grubby Man in charge of this Grubby company, and I would never fly with them.
Fuck RyanAir!
Fuck RyanAir!
Used to fly with them, fly with Monarch now. They provide a meal on-flight unlike other budget airlines.
Ryan Air is too much of a budget airline for my tastes. They'd be a last minute resort in any case for me. And in the case of them not covering expenses, I think it's scandalous. If I'd be on holiday I'd of course travel with my holiday organiser, if it was on buisness, then I'd probably use BA.
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DVB Cornwall
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If this bankrupts Ryanair then fine, they've been 'asking' for a bruising for years.
I agree. I have nothing more to add really, you've said it well - but just to add my voice to the so far zero amount of people agreeing with yourself.all new Phil wrote:The thing is - don't Ryanair have a point? And more importantly, don't people have travel insurance that should cover things like this? I know Ryanair have a bit of a bad name for their customer service, but should people really be expecting anything more of what is essentially the Tesco Value of air travel?
The argument being put forward by them is that somebody who has paid £40 for a flights should not then be entitled to food and accommodation paid for in a situation like this. Why is it deemed to be Ryanair that should foot the cost arising from something they haven't caused and not the passengers?
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Gavin Scott
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Michael O'Leary solicits an eye roll from most people at any given moment, but I can't argue with the logic that when you've paid £40 a ticket you can't expect to gain hundreds in compo.
If your own insurance won't pick up a force majeure, how can you expect airlines to? Airlines who are all on the verge of bankruptcy anyway.
I've been through the phone line rigmarole to get colleagues home (29th is the earliest flight) from the Emirates - some business class tariffs, others economy. In both cases they can only tell you to submit receipts after you get home and they will examine your claim.
I get the sense that Mr O'Leary has just blundered in and said out loud what the rest of the carriers are intending to do too - reject 90% of the claims.
Not sure I've ever been on a RyanAir plane, but it can't be that different from any budget airline; in which case, even if he's a wide boy and a big mouth - thank goodness for his service.
If your own insurance won't pick up a force majeure, how can you expect airlines to? Airlines who are all on the verge of bankruptcy anyway.
I've been through the phone line rigmarole to get colleagues home (29th is the earliest flight) from the Emirates - some business class tariffs, others economy. In both cases they can only tell you to submit receipts after you get home and they will examine your claim.
I get the sense that Mr O'Leary has just blundered in and said out loud what the rest of the carriers are intending to do too - reject 90% of the claims.
Not sure I've ever been on a RyanAir plane, but it can't be that different from any budget airline; in which case, even if he's a wide boy and a big mouth - thank goodness for his service.
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DVB Cornwall
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I know the eruption of a volcano really was a bit unexpected, but there are other reasons why flights could be grounded for a considerable time, terrorism or some form or pandemic being examples of those causes.
The contract is to get the passenger from A to B, the new EU rules impose conditions which should be reflected in the pricing of the initial ticket and the operators insurance needs. If by doing this Ryanair and the other budget carriers lose their alleged competitive advantage so be it. As they appeared to have neglected this in their charging structure then they and not the passenger should take the hit.
Personal insurance policies in no way should be used as a cover for the neglect of the operator in the first instance. If recompense cannot be reached they should be a long stop. I would expect the Insurance industry enbloc to sue any operator for losses incurred so, in addition to any intergovernmental action the defaulting airline would face.
The contract is to get the passenger from A to B, the new EU rules impose conditions which should be reflected in the pricing of the initial ticket and the operators insurance needs. If by doing this Ryanair and the other budget carriers lose their alleged competitive advantage so be it. As they appeared to have neglected this in their charging structure then they and not the passenger should take the hit.
Personal insurance policies in no way should be used as a cover for the neglect of the operator in the first instance. If recompense cannot be reached they should be a long stop. I would expect the Insurance industry enbloc to sue any operator for losses incurred so, in addition to any intergovernmental action the defaulting airline would face.
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Dr Lobster*
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if ryanair are legally required to cover this cost, could you not take them to court, and if they refused to pay out (assuming you won), go through the legal process to issue ryanair with a winding up petition?
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Surely if insurance companies can't get away with the 'Act of God' thing, he can't?
Supposing he can, when other airlines and travel companies have been able to get flights operational today, shouldn't Dreary compensate them for the extra one (EU) or two (UK/IE) nights they may have had to stay as a result of his airline not pulling their fingers out of their bumholes?
Supposing he can, when other airlines and travel companies have been able to get flights operational today, shouldn't Dreary compensate them for the extra one (EU) or two (UK/IE) nights they may have had to stay as a result of his airline not pulling their fingers out of their bumholes?
But isn't that the choice the consumer makes? If you go for the cheapest of the cheap, in doing so you cut costs by not having the 'extras' (the things other than the actual flight).DVB Cornwall wrote:If by doing this Ryanair and the other budget carriers lose their alleged competitive advantage so be it.