[FaroFlyer]

Hi SimonS1,

I never intended to try it, but I am annoyed that Ryanair are attempting to take money to turn into vouchers. No other airline is selling tickets to ALC at this time from UK airports.

Ryanair are still selling flights for Friday 8 May, same day, to ALC from other countries: DE 4; FR 3; IT 3; IE 2; NL 2; DK 1. Yesterday, also a Friday, none of these flights operated.

It is really their dishonesty that I was trying to highlight.

[SimonS1]

Indeed, however hasn’t it always been that way. O’Leary was trying to bluff it off yesterday, saying 25% of staff are working and handling 10x the work.

The difference is at present the cards are stacked in airlines favour, they only need to mention coronavirus and compo claims are dead in the water, even though the law hasn’t changed and we all know they are taking advantage.

[ASK1945]

“Indeed, however hasn’t it always been that way. O’Leary was trying to bluff it off yesterday, etc etc ……………….”.

The first and only time I used Ryanair, about 13 years ago (before the EU Directive) I was totally screwed by them. I started legal action, but had to abandon when they threatened to have the case transferred to a Dublin court.

I vowed never, ever to use them again – whatever the need, and haven’t. I have no sympathy for anyone who does use them (yes, I do know that for many Irish PAX, they don’t have an alternative – but I do).

[FaroFlyer]

SimonS1,

His calculation was wrong. It is actually 1,000x not 10,000x. Still a challenge.

ASK1945,

I use them often. If you play by their rules you get exactly what you pay for. I accept that current times are not normal. When was your bad experience? They have changed a lot in recent years. I used to fly frequently between FAO & MAD and often sat next to a Ryanair pilot who had a girlfriend working as a Ryanair pilot out of MAD. One day, when the klaxon did the “On time arrival” noise, and we were 10 minutes late, I asked how this could be. He told me that changes were coming and that MO’L had been advised to tone it down, and, in general, he has. Would I call Ryanair a favourite airline? No, way, but all of my old favourites have gone, on the routes that I use.

[ASK1945]

FaroFlyer asked: “I use them often. If you play by their rules you get exactly what you pay for. I accept that current times are not normal. When was your bad experience?”

It was around 2007/8. I won’t use them as long as M O’L is still in charge.

[FaroFlyer]

A new question. I have a round trip booking with Ryanair FAO > BHX 13 May return BHX > FAO 18 May. It is 2 PAX on one PNR / reservation number, and was booked on 30 January, so not an opportunist booking:-)

Only the outbound 13 May has been cancelled, the inbound is still on sale. Their website is offering a refund for the cancelled flight only. Any idea how I stand?

[capetonianm]

Any idea how I stand?

You stand right where you are, as you can’t get out!

Seriously, I would suggest that if they can’t get you there they can hardly penalize you for not being able to get back. I don’t think it’s reasonable for them to expect you to fly out with another airline, you could always claim you couldn’t afford to pay for two more tickets until you got the money back for the cancelled ones.

EZY don’t start flights to FAO until the 18th so even if you wanted to buy another ticket I don’t think you could get there on a direct flight.

[PhilipHart]

The trip might be under the same booking ref. But do the tickets have both sectors under the same ticket number?

It’s just that I finally cancelled my mid-May flights on Cathay Pacific to Auckland, and the refund process asked for the Ticket Number, which encompassed all the flight sectors. My wife was also on the same Booking Ref, but had a completely separate Ticket Number.

Anyway the reason I mention this is because Cathay cancelled the first sector of my trip, and under IATA rules, they were apparently obliged (if any sector is cancelled) to refund the whole trip if requested by the PAX.

[capetonianm]

Previous reply disappeared and when I try to post again it says it’s a dupe!

Trying again :

Most LCCs, including Ryanair, are ‘ticketless’ carriers, as opposed to legacy carriers which are e-ticketed.

With an LCC there is only the reference (locator) which will cover all segments for all passengers provided that the booking is homogenous.

With a legacy (e-ticket) carrier, there will be at least one ticket number, depending on the number of segments, per passenger. Ticket numbers are 13 digits, with the first 3 digits being the IATA code of the airline, for example 220 for LH, 125 for BA, and so on.

The ticket numbers on the individual coupons will usually show 14 digits as the last one is a check digit. It is a bit confusing as it makes two tickets on the same booking look as if they are completely different but they are usually consecutive, as below where the ticket numbers are 125-1234567890 and 91
125-1234567890 +(check digit) 3
125-1234567891 +(check digit) 7

[ASK1945]

capetonianm wrote: “Previous reply disappeared and when I try to post again it says it’s a dupe!”

This happened to me twice earlier today. I thought it was something I did wrong. It seems it was not.

[K1ngston]

Before I get jumped upon for being elitist, most of you know the company that I work for has a Y policy only so I dont travel in the front of the plane, but I would never in a million years get on a RyanAir flight as I wouldnt an AisAsia flight, surely you know that giving your money to these odious airlines is bound to not end well and I am sure they will wriggle and try to get out of any official commitment they can before the global situation we are facing… I would rather walk!!!

2 users thanked author for this post.

MartynSinclair, ASK1945

[capetonianm]

Before I get jumped upon for being elitist ………. I would never in a million years get on a RyanAir flight …….. surely you know that giving your money to these odious airlines is bound to not end well. I would rather walk!!!

You and me too. A friend of mine who is also ex-airline industry says he would rather crawl over broken bottles than fly Ryanair. I’d add Wizz to that too. easyJet is an entirely different operation which treats its customers professionally and respectfully. I have been flying with them since they started in 1996, and I have only seen improvements. I can count on my two thumbs the number of problems I’ve had that have been their fault, and whenever there’s been any delay or disruption outside their control, they’ve handled it well.

In fairness to Ryanair, it seems to me that as MoL says, if you stick to the rules and read the terms and conditions you will get what you’ve paid for, rock bottom service at a basic price. 150 million people a year are happy with that, and it keeps them off the airlines I use, which makes me happy too.

2 users thanked author for this post.

K1ngston, ASK1945

[FaroFlyer]

Capetonian,
thanks. As I thought, LCCs are ticketless so nor rules about using sectors sequentially

PhilipHart, thanks re IATA rules advice. I’ll bear that in mind

K1ngston, Not elitist, just wholly impractical. I have elderly friends who say similar things. After the 3rd flight on the only alternative airline on the route was delayed or cancelled, twice for aircraft going tech. They now don’t like Ryanair, but accept that they are reliable and give exactly what they say.
I looked into your helpful suggestion about walking and used a route planner to calculate the journey. It is 2,534 km including a lot of motorway, so I don’t think it practical.

I guess it will be another claim on Amex when Ryanair insist on a voucher, not refund.

2 users thanked author for this post.

K1ngston, ASK1945

[FaroFlyer]

Just a quick update as I had sought advice on the forum before “clicking the link” on Ryanair.

Pleasingly easy. Link asked: Do you want to cancel all flights in this booking? Do you want to cancel for all passengers in this booking? Yes, to all, and Send. Immediate confirmation that a refund will be processed within 20 days.

Of course, the refund will not happen within 20 days, and at that time they will send me a voucher. At that point I contact Amex and claim a refund from them.

[ASK1945]

[postquote quote=996961][/postquote]

FaroFlyer – in an earlier post, I described my only experience with Ryanair, following which I vowed never to use them again. The vow wasn’t just from my own experience: I was travelling with 4 colleagues from Dublin, who flew Dublin-Stansted-Trieste return, all on Ryanair (I was only on the Stansted part of the route). They were issued with separate tickets for Dublin-Stansted and Stansted-Trieste (return), as if flying on two separate airlines.

Our return flight from Trieste to Stansted was 12 hours late into Stansted (aircraft problem, requiring a replacement plane sent out to Trieste – a whole story in itself). They missed their Stansted to Dublin flight, obviously, but were refused any refund or compensation because they were told “these were separate flights”, not on one ticket. They were not offere any hospitality at Stansted and they were forced to pay again – at last minute (increased) prices for the next available plane – which was not the next flight for two of them, as only two were allowed on to it.

They took Ryanair to the Dublin court – and Ryanair settled just before the case was heard (after two of my colleagues lost a day’s pay for turning up at court).

PS: these were pre-EU Directive times.

[Author]

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