Ryan Air are cowboys

[Immigrantsong]

I have flights to Spain booked for end of August with Ryan Air, booked well before the pandemic.

Ryan Air seems to be pushing for all flights to happen irrelevant of FCO guidance.

Have contacted them to ask for options available and refund but no reply.

AIBU to think that they are cowboys?

Anyone with any suggestions please let me know. Thank you.

@heartsonacake

You posted in AIBU, asking if YABU. I thought you were, so I posted accordingly. My tone was fine, you just didn’t agree.

I don’t work for Ryanair, so no, I don’t have any suggestions or advice. Nobody here can give you anything accurate; your only hope is to talk to them.

My post is about if IABU that Ryan Air are cowboys. You never before now stated you thought IABU, just that Ryan Air are flying and have the right to do so irrespective of FCO guidance.

I also asked for suggestions on things I can do several times and not until now have you bothered to answer.

Yes this is AIBU. I posted a more thorough thread under travel with no answers a while back. The fact it is AIBU does not mean people have to show no empathy or understanding on how things can affect others. I have also disclosed I am disabled and not had a holiday for years. So your tone to me was not fine, it came across indifferent and patronising.

I still thank you for your answers.

Yep the pilots don’t need a uniform - they wear spurs and stetsons.

Sadly I was stupid even to fly with them twice. There won’t be a third time. Good luck getting your money back.

@Orchidflower1

Yep the pilots don’t need a uniform - they wear spurs and stetsons.

Sadly I was stupid even to fly with them twice. There won’t be a third time. Good luck getting your money back.

I would be happy with transfers free of charge or a voucher or any other option tbh.

I am sorry you too had a negative experience.

The fact it is AIBU does not mean people have to show no empathy or understanding on how things can affect others.

I haven’t shown a lack of empathy or understanding. I simply disagreed with you. No aggression, no malice, just pointing out the simple fact why you aren’t entitled to a refund.

Your personal circumstances don’t come into it as it’s the same for everyone: if the flight is still going and you’re choosing not to fly, they are still upholding their end of the bargain.

I have also disclosed I am disabled and not had a holiday for years.

These two points are irrelevant to your situation and you’re only making them to provoke an emotive response. They don’t change the facts.

@heartsonacake

The fact it is AIBU does not mean people have to show no empathy or understanding on how things can affect others.

I haven’t shown a lack of empathy or understanding. I simply disagreed with you. No aggression, no malice, just pointing out the simple fact why you aren’t entitled to a refund.

Your personal circumstances don’t come into it as it’s the same for everyone: if the flight is still going and you’re choosing not to fly, they are still upholding their end of the bargain.

I have also disclosed I am disabled and not had a holiday for years.

These two points are irrelevant to your situation and you’re only making them to provoke an emotive response. They don’t change the facts.

I am trying to explain empathy to someone with no emotional intelligence by the looks of it.

We will have to agree to disagree about things I guess as this isn't going anywhere.

@Immigrantsong

I have flights to Spain booked for end of August with Ryan Air, booked well before the pandemic.

Ryan Air seems to be pushing for all flights to happen irrelevant of FCO guidance.

Have contacted them to ask for options available and refund but no reply.

AIBU to think that they are cowboys?

Anyone with any suggestions please let me know. Thank you.

They cancelled my flight for next week back in the first week of July.

That's actually a blessing in disguise as it was to Majorca!

I'm still awaiting for a refund!

Same issue here. Flights going ahead next week which they will charge £280 plus any extra fare to move dates. No cancellation option. Similar to you but booked with love holidays so getting a refund for the hotel but they won’t deal with Ryanair. I also believe it’s a package holiday so it’s their responsibility but they dispute that. For now I am taking the hotel refund and will see how much energy I have to fight the flights amount when that has come through.

Sorry but I can’t think of anything you can do. Would Love to hear if you get any success though, good luck!

Bloody Hell OP. You've got 90%+ of the thread agreeing with you in RyanAir bashing but want to snipe at the one person who didn't emotionally support you. Sheesh.

The pandemic sucks. It sucks for you losing money & it sucks for businesses losing money. It sucks that none of us feels safe right now - financially or physically. Take it up with your MP if you think there should be a law against RyanAir's refund policies. In meantime, RyanAir are acting lawfully and probably quite hoping to not have to make most their workforce redundant. I can't agree with calling them cowboys for not being a charity.

@itsgettingweird

I am happy for you. At least you should definitely get your money, even though they seem to be taking their time with the refund.

Could your bank help?

I'm also booked through On the beach. Is only paid flights as cancelled 3-4 weeks before balance due.

But OTB still haven't refunded me the £2 I had paid towards rest and said they'd give me rest when Ryanair gives it to them. Which legally isn't the system anyway and also flights hours be refunded in a timescale of (14 days? I think)

I've always used jet2 and OTB.

From now on I'll be using jet2.

OTB and Ryanair have lost my custom.

I am trying to explain empathy to someone with no emotional intelligence by the looks of it.

It’s a business transaction; empathy, emotion, personal circumstances are wholly irrelevant.

Facts are facts, and the fact is you are choosing not to get on the flight you paid them for. Whatever the reason, that’s the choice you’re making.

There’s nothing more to say on the subject so we’ll leave it there.

There used to be a notorious private car park in Haworth which was set up for the driver to get fines for any number of small intrangencies.
I realised, once when we had the info they wanted but presented in the incorrect format that Ryan Air was the same.

Cost us ££and very very rude staff, never flew with them again.

@101namesforme

Same issue here. Flights going ahead next week which they will charge £280 plus any extra fare to move dates. No cancellation option. Similar to you but booked with love holidays so getting a refund for the hotel but they won’t deal with Ryanair. I also believe it’s a package holiday so it’s their responsibility but they dispute that. For now I am taking the hotel refund and will see how much energy I have to fight the flights amount when that has come through.

Sorry but I can’t think of anything you can do. Would Love to hear if you get any success though, good luck!

I am really sorry to hear you are also stuck in the same position.

Yes, I do think it's a package holiday even though they seem to disagree.

I am going to be contacting Abta for clarity, maybe do the same if you feel like it.

Hope you get a resolution.
This really sucks.

@itsgettingweird

I'm also booked through On the beach. Is only paid flights as cancelled 3-4 weeks before balance due.

But OTB still haven't refunded me the £2 I had paid towards rest and said they'd give me rest when Ryanair gives it to them. Which legally isn't the system anyway and also flights hours be refunded in a timescale of (14 days? I think)

I've always used jet2 and OTB.

From now on I'll be using jet2.

OTB and Ryanair have lost my custom.

I am sorry to hear that.

Yes, I am planning to avoid OTB and Ryan Air if I get a chance to travel again.

Hope you get this sorted, it's so upsetting.

Whilst a huge part of me gets why they refuse refunds and are willing to fly - because people are still willing to go.

The other half of me thinks it shows exactly how bad they are when they can't fathom fucking 10's of thousands of current customers and therefore possible potential customers over is good business.

I think their future finances will be a worse projection than their Covid ones.

@itsgettingweird

Whilst a huge part of me gets why they refuse refunds and are willing to fly - because people are still willing to go.

The other half of me thinks it shows exactly how bad they are when they can't fathom fucking 10's of thousands of current customers and therefore possible potential customers over is good business.

I think their future finances will be a worse projection than their Covid ones.

Valid points here.

I don't mind companies flying if it's legal, just wish that they could offer options to customers as not everyone wants to travel.

I mentioned before some information from money saving expert that shows how different companies have chosen to deal with the pandemic.

As a disabled person that was shielding I am not comfortable travelling just yet. Would love to have been given some options, but neither OTB or Ryan Air seem to be willing to help much on that front.

I completely agree that customers will make or break any business that has dealt with the pandemic badly.

Oh yes and the travel insurance love holidays sold With the holiday (pre COVID) does not cover FCO advice!! So no option to claim there either.

Ryanair are what they are. I've used them loads and never had a problem. If I changed my mind about flying I would not expect a free transfer or refund unless they were forced to do so by law. Lots of people have reasons to call them cowboys and I understand they are not great on the customer service front when things go wrong. But like I say... It's a non flexible booking so don't expect flexibility.

If I made a package booking through an agent I would be checking for that ATOL certificate and following up through that channel. That's one possible way to get your money back.

@underneaththeash

Ryanair were cowboys way before COVID - fly at our own peril!

exactly

Malmi Ive never had any issues with them. Except them not issuing refund for flight they cancelled! But even then it's actually OTB responsibility as they are my agent.

But I've been disappointed in their slow refunds and even more disappointed in the media interviews Leary has done. He's come across as an arrogant twat who basically said no one will wife time anyway so why bother stopping flights.

I think that's a terrible attitude from a huge business.

I won't travel with them again because what I've seen more than what's I've experienced makes me very wary.

@Ylvamoon

Don't book with them again ! I have 2 bad experiences with them... 1st was flight booked well in advance, out Thursday & return on a Sunday- was dead chep! Days booked off work all other arrangements done. 1 week before departure told Sunday return is cancelled, I can fly back on the Friday (day after arrival) or following Wednesday or pay extra £30 or £ 40 per person to fly home on Monday. Didn't book with them for years but got stucked in again on low prices... this time outbound flight got cancelled when they had the "pilot shortage" got a refund but had to book more expensive flights with different airline. Sad thing is, they can change your flight/ schedule in certain circumstances- it's in the small print!

I had flights booked for September. A week ago, I received an email about a change of schedule and was asked to accept the change to schedule or take a refund for the flights. The outbound flight was scheduled to leave 12 hours later than the time we had booked.

Thank you OP, we're having a nice time in Spain. We would have preferred to cancel the trip and waited until the very last minute to decide whether to go in the hope that ryanair would do the right thing and cancel. They didn't. To change the flight costs £450 plus new flight costs. So we decided to use the flights and have a low key holiday which we enjoying. I don't hold out much hope for you I'm afraid but have heard of OTB refunding customers from their own pocket and taking it up with ryanair later

18y Dd has this issue. Should have been going to France on Monday. Or can't go due to the FO advice. But not worth claiming for in travel insurance as flights less than the insurance excess. Flights will go ahead regardless as RA aren't cancelling despite the FO changes.

They can't even claim the tax part back by the looks of it as Ryanair are one of the very few companies who have a fee for you to do so. The fee is so high it wipes out the tax.

They flight change is rubbish too as it has to be the same route and same names, and almost all the future flights are dearer so that costs them even more.

So the group of 18y lose their money. £100 might not be much for some adults but it's a whole lot for an 18y a level student. And they found out the same day as the whole a level farce too so was the final straw for some of them.

The holiday was DD's 18th birthday money from family so she lost her birthday celebrations and now her birthday present. Well she won't as will have said we will give her the money and we will take the hit for her, but even so. It's been a rubbish year all round for us as a family and this was just the last nail really.

Have you read Martin Lewis’ web site advice? www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2020/02/coronavirus-travel-help-and-your-rights/

To be fair his bastard business model must work as other cheap airlines have gone to the wall. Luckily the airports they fly from are miles away from me so I never consider them. Otherwise I know I’d regret using the dreadful shark of a company,

I won't be using them again that's for sure. I understand them running the flight against advice (sort of) and I understand no refunds for flights that are running (sort of) but to make it so difficult and expensive to transfer flights to another date/location is just terrible especially for families who bought their flights well before the pandemic