To be annoyed at Ryanair screwing people over

[YeahWhatevver]

Booked a week in Spain at New year, long before COVID. Ryanair flights and a villa, booked separately.

Have travel insurance which we took out at the same time.

Government puts Spain on the "no non essential travel" list and introduces 14 days quarantine.

Travel insurance is no longer valid as they won't cover any travel against the Government's FCO advice.

Manage to cancel the villa, full refund minus a small admin fee.

Ryanair saying they're running flights regardless, and if we choose not to go then it's our decision to not travel and we won't be refunded. "Use it or lose it" seems to be the stance

I know ryanair have a very poor reputation around customer service but this feels like new levels of contempt for their customers.

Asked if they realise that they will be taking passengers with invalid insurance to be told it's not their problem.

We've decided not to travel, and will speak to our insurer about claiming for lost flights but I wonder how much money Ryanair will keep back from customers.

This is an airline company that plays a celebratory trumpet every time it successfully lands a plane. Which is surely the very minimum we want from an air carrier? Ryanair make no bones about being shit. If anything, they actually lean into it which is why they give you a trumpet and want a congratulations for not killing you. It’s also a company known for the over sell of products and not having refundable tickets. I’ve always said we should carry our credit card with us on Ryanair flights because if they don’t have a successful landing and we land in the sea, you would need to swipe the credit card before you can release the life vest.

This is different to the height of lockdown when most flights were grounded. That Ryanair flight will still be going to Spin even though current advice is to not visit Spain, not to stop all non essential travel. Travel to other countries is still permitted. So after that plane has been to Spain it might then be flying to Italy, then Italy to France, France back to Spain, before Spain back to the UK. That flight needs to go to make sure all the other flights still happen. If they cancel this flight, they are impacting many other flight routes and will have to refund all those customers. For all Ryanair’s faults, they are trying to survive and can’t afford to run a free flight to Spain for it to then continue on the rest of the run. This isn’t so much about encouraging people to travel against FCO advice but trying to keep their other routes open and their head above water. Like any most other airline carriers will also be doing. I think Ryanair are spectacularly shit but I don’t think they’re in the wrong on this one. Although, as a customer I get why it’s really frustrating to you to lose that money.

If Ryanair went bankrupt I would fear for the spread of Covid 19 because of the lack of social distancing at the many celebrations there would be.

Ryanair are the absolute pits IMHO, I will never book with them again, I never got a refund for a flight they cancelled, can’t be bothered to waste my time chasing them, life’s too short.

@afternoon22

If Ryanair went bankrupt I would fear for the spread of Covid 19 because of the lack of social distancing at the many celebrations there would be.

Why? If they're so shit just don't travel with them 🤷🏻‍♀️ They don't have the monopoly on air travel.

I have no problem with Ryan air.
They provide an excellent service: getting me and the family to foreign parts at modest cost.
Anybody booking a holiday must realise that there is a risk of the plague coming back.
Your choice, your risk.

My Ryanair flights for the end of June were cancelled and I've had my refund. Contact them using their making a complain form on line and mention the European directive that says they have to issue refunds within 7 days - worked like a charm for me.

I'll happily use them again and would be sad if they went out of business.

Thisismytimetoshine I don't travel with them, millions don't but still hate them.

Ryanair are very very good at what they do, which is moving people from one place to another at the lowest possible cost. And they do that by stripping out everything that adds cost. Customer care is expensive. It requires training, staffing and time. That’s not what they do.
Ryanair have always been very upfront about their model - they will sacrifice comfort and service for cost savings every time.
If you book with them and it all goes to plan (and it usually does) you’ve got a bargain. If it all goes wrong you’re on your own. They’ve never hidden that they will do no more than they are legally obliged to. So when you book that’s the risk you take.

@afternoon22

Thisismytimetoshine I don't travel with them, millions don't but still hate them.

Odd. What a waste of energy.

The problem @maggiecate is they are often unwilling to do what they are legally obliged to do.

Who are all these people who get flights for a £10? 9/10 I've found BA & EJ the same price or a fraction more once you factor in travel to & from the airports. The last time I flew Ryanair it was with work & it was £350.

The problem @maggiecate is they are often unwilling to do what they are legally obliged to do.

Yeah that's my issue. No frills is fine.

Has anyone actually managed to get a “no show” letter from Ryanair - and if so, how did you do it?

I need one for my travel insurance claim, but their wild goose chase website is a joke.
Keeps directing me to the chatbot which attempts to sell me an insurance policy

Yes I just received mine today.
I waited 6 hours on live chat on Monday. Tuesday logged on at 11 and got straight through. Email came today

6 hours. That must be a record!

Sorry, when you mean live chat what is that? I thought the only options were chatbot or phone line..

My friend booked a holiday to the Canaries this month with Love Holidays. She has managed to change the hotel but the bulk of the cost was the RyanAir flights, around £1200. She has insurance but because Love Holidays is seen as a package company her insurance won’t cover the Ryan air flights as they say it is covered by ABTA but the flights are not. To change the flights to next year at the same time with Ryan Air it will cost a further £1200. It’s £850 to go in the May half term. She has chosen that but obviously cost her £850 extra still so not great.

@CodenameVillanelle

Reschedule the flights for next summer. I don't think Ryanair or any airline can be expected to refund flights that are still travelling. They will entirely go out of business if they do. They have pissed me off making me wait months and ask several times for my refund but it's an unprecedented global crisis. They don't want to go bankrupt. You can change your flights.

My friend has had to do that with her Ryanair flights but still charged her £850 to do so, as explained in my previous post.

@Whosthebestbabainalltheworld

Sorry, when you mean live chat what is that? I thought the only options were chatbot or phone line..

Yes after chat bot click. I want to speak to support

Unbelievably, I got through today after a 2 minute wait (1hr yesterday with no joy).....

Letter on the way, apparently.

I fucking despise Ryanair but they're in the right here.
They are cheap for a reason cause they're scum

This is why I don't use Ryanair. One experience was enough so said never again but O'Leary doesn't care as he runs the worlds most profitable airline by fucking people over. Until people vote with their feet he will,continue

I couldn't believe my eyes this morning, got an email from Ryanair stating that they have issued a refund for my cancelled July flights. Some good news at last.