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.

Their business model works because of their inflexibility and customer service being woeful - if it wasn’t they would have gone to the wall like so many other cheap airlines who couldn’t get rid of the idea of putting consumer contentment aside. I’ve never flown with them and I am happy to pay extra to get customer service as I know they will go to the line of the law and over it to get their way. Unless it is a route you really need to take (and some of them are incredibly useful) I don’t know why people use them unless they accept this risk, how they operate has been publicised for years.

If you use them you know they will take the cheapest option for them and you will have to fight for anything else - if they didn’t they would fail. I don’t understand why people are surprised by this?

Also they treat their staff like shit as well

I mean, this is a company who can and will charge for every single little extra.

He would charge for the air you breathe if he could.

To be honest OP you may be on to a loser. OTB have offered alternative accommodation and the flights are still going. Is there "do not travel advice" ? or is it just if you do you will have to quarantine?

It sucks, but if they have been seen to keep their sides of the deal then there is probably little comeback.

I work in travel and Ryanair do not have a good reputation right not. That said, it well take them much longer to respond to any queries- do not be surprised if it takes about a week to get a reply, they will be receiving lots of queries and I know from our company that even with extra staff there is a much longer wait than usual.

Also, they will still be running flights as the FCO advice is generally only essential travel. Those who do need to travel for an essential reason still need a way of getting there, so flights will still be available. They can't vet whether everyone booked on the flight is traveling for an essential reason, and equally if someone decides to ignore FCO advice then that's their decision- just means any insurance they have will be invalid.
That all said, if the country you're visiting is classed as only essential travel by the FCO, Ryanair should be offering to transfer your flight to a later date, or a refund, most likely a credit note for now that can be exchanged for a cash refund further down there line when they are able to recoup their costs.

Didn't they give people the option to change flights free of charge?

I had a flight booked in March with Easyhet the weekend before lockdown and the free of charge changes came in the day before I was due to fly. So I changed my flight to May, which was cancelled and i was refunded about 4 weeks ago. I was sure this was still an option?

If the flight is cancelled it can take anything up to 3 months for a refund but if it goes ahead and YOU choose not to fly they still keep the money. If you didn't get travel insurancd pre-covid, I dont think it will be covered now.

....sorry should have also stated I am aware your flight is with Ryanair not easyjet but sure they operated the same policy as my sister did the same on her flights for Easter holiday.

...in answer to my own question yes they do!

www.ryanair.com/gb/en/useful-info/no-change-fee

I should say, that the offer of refund/transfer will only be valid of the FCO essential travel advice was not in place when you booked. If you booked knowing this was the case, but hoping that it would change by the time of your flight, then you haven't a leg to stand on and won't (and shouldn't) receive a refund.

It does suck, OP.

I'm sorry that your long-planned holiday can't go ahead 😢

Ryan Air notoriously have never even pretended to care - their model is to offer cheap flights, get your money by offering extras, cross sell hire cars and services, get you to your destination with as little interaction as possible and repeat.

• HOWEVER.... they too are in a really shit situation now (like all airlines). They've lost zillions in revenue and will be desperate to cling on to any cash in their coffers.

It's really crap, of course, but we will be lucky if numerous airlines (and airports) still exist this time next year.

To answer some of the questions here (I did state this earlier on the thread but happy to reiterate).

Flights and hotels were booked via OTB beginning of December, so well before the pandemic.

I am disabled and had to shield as lads if my disabilities fall under the shielding purposes. I appreciate the guidelines say shielding is no longer needed, but I feel it is important to state to explain the reasons I am worried.

OTB notified hotel booked would be closed for the summer and offered an alternative hotel. New hotel was for over 13 year olds, we were supposed to travel with friends and all our children so not appropriate as no kids facilities and not fit for disabled travellers. OTB refunded hotel on that basis.

They stated they cannot help with the flights as that is up to Ryan Air to sort.

I emailed Ryan Air to ask for options available based on the fact that this is a non essential travel and I have disabilities I was shielding for. I asked for any suggestions, leaving it open for them to offer potential alternatives.

I did try to play with their website to see about transferring the flights, this always came up with a big cost due to fees. The cost was such that it doesn't make sense as we could buy the flights for that amount and they do NOT seem to offer free from fees changes for customers that booked so early.

So as it stands we don't intend to travel against FCO guidance but feel Ryan Air should offer something for customers in our position. I feel they should include changes or transfers to other dates or locations for free to enable people to travel.

To give you an idea our original booking has 3 bags and we would need to pay extra for us to book 3 bags in any new booking even though this is already part of it. We also have to pay for any new changes irrelevant of location or date. Nothing already paid is factored and no consideration given that the original booking was made before pandemic in the UK and lockdown and that for us this is non essential travel just holiday. And like I said, we are happy to travel but later on when Spain is not having such high numbers and a quarantine.

I’m one of the % you are puzzled about who don’t think they are cowboys. I’m sorry for you for the situation you find yourself in, these are difficult times.
I don’t think they are cowboys because:

• they are safe
• they are punctual
• their special assistance booking experience is actually better than other budget airlines, DD2 travels with a wheelchair, needs the ambilift and has to travel with liquid feed and continence products. These go free with all airlines with a doctor’s letter, Ryanair is the least hassle.
• they are normally reliable - this is an exceptional time for the travel industry.
• for the last decade or more they have been very transparent about their charging structure, I remember threads popping up here for months after they changed their hand luggage policy so only a small bag that fits under the seat can be taken on board free of charge. People complaining they’d had to pay extra the airport. I was flying with them around that time: you got a pop up warning when booking, at two separate points in the booking process I think. Then more than one email in the run up to the flight reminding you that as of November the whatever, their bag policy had changed etc. etc.
• they are cheap, and a passenger only pays for the services they want or value. You could turn a lot of people’s moans on their head: Why should people who don’t need to fly with a big suitcase, cabin bag and handbag, subsidise the seat costs of passengers who do want to take that luggage, - increasing the weight and fuel costs? At Ryanair I pay for what is important, desirable or necessary for my trip and nothing more.
• they are honest about what they are; a very low cost, no frills, budget airline. They are motivated by profit, all airlines are motivated by profit. Ryanair just don’t spend a fortune on marketing to soften the reality. BA have been guilty of some pretty heavy handed dealings in the past, as Private Eye readers will recall.

They don’t have a monopoly, there many other carriers to choose from, lots of people posting here have said they will never use Ryanair. That’s what we all do with goods and services we don’t like for whatever reason.
I had flights cancelled by Ryanair at the very beginning of flight restrictions, so at the most frantic time for the industry. It took about five weeks to get the refund. It took longer to get refunds from BA for our Easter trip to Florida and they were a nightmare to deal with. Their website just kept directing you towards accepting a credit against future flights and it was quite deceptive I think, as it happened when you clicked on the “refund” option.

Even Ryanair must be on the bones of their arse at the moment. It is tough that they are not refunding on flights unless they themselves have cancelled them, but it is consistent with their approach and not necessarily unfair. You are unlucky.

That all said, if the country you're visiting is classed as only essential travel by the FCO, Ryanair should be offering to transfer your flight to a later date, or a refund, most likely a credit note for now that can be exchanged for a cash refund further down there line when they are able to recoup their costs.

If only they were doing this.
18y Dd and her boyfriend would even be prepared to accept a voucher.
To be fair they were accepting that they'd only be able to get tax back - not happy but at least it was something. But due to RA's charge they can't even do that.

At least if they had a voucher they'd use the service later in.

Or if they could do a flight change - if they could change the route and not be charged a fortune would be something.

@Aragog

That all said, if the country you're visiting is classed as only essential travel by the FCO, Ryanair should be offering to transfer your flight to a later date, or a refund, most likely a credit note for now that can be exchanged for a cash refund further down there line when they are able to recoup their costs.

If only they were doing this.
18y Dd and her boyfriend would even be prepared to accept a voucher.
To be fair they were accepting that they'd only be able to get tax back - not happy but at least it was something. But due to RA's charge they can't even do that.

At least if they had a voucher they'd use the service later in.

Or if they could do a flight change - if they could change the route and not be charged a fortune would be something.

Exactly. I fully empathise. It sucks.

@Aragog That is shit if they're not even offering a credit note, and will likely get them in trouble.

However, I can understand why they won't let your DD transfer their flight to a different route- any free transfers should be on a like for like basis, and if people wish to change their route then a transfer fee is fair enough IMO.

Wow, having checked I've just realised that Ryanair are not bonded with ATOL so there's actually no protection, and they can pretty much do what they like in regards to refunds, because as long as the flight goes ahead there's no case for a customer getting a refund - members of ATOL follow the FCO guidelines and so would get in trouble with them for not refunding bookings.

I always tried to avoid book with them anyway even before covid, but definitely will never get a flight through them now I know they're not ATOL protected.

I did NOT realise that Ryanair are not ATOL protected!

This will affect my future booking too.

In response to your thread title, the saying No Shit, Sherlock springs to mind. I have never once flown Ryanair for this reason. I'm not having a dig at you at all, OP. I mean that. But honestly, you get what you pay for and Ryan Air is an example of that.

Total bastards.

We were due to fly to Spain at end of June. Spain weren't even letting in tourists at that time, however because the flight wasn't cancelled there was nothing I could do. I've paid £130 extra to change my flights to a date next year. I don't know how they justify the charge... I did it all myself on the website...

[quote HM1984]...in answer to my own question yes they do!

www.ryanair.com/gb/en/useful-info/no-change-fee[/quote]
@HM1984
But that only applies to new bookings, not ones that were made many many months ago. For us it is £280 (for two people) to change the date of the flights plus any extra fares.

@Aragog That is shit if they're not even offering a credit note, and will likely get them in trouble

They get offered nothing because the flight will still go, regardless of FO advise and regardless of how many passengers will be on the plane.

If it's a package holiday then your contract is with on the beach not Ryan air so you won't get a refund from them anyway. If it's a case if they booked two elements separately for you abta can't help and I suspect you will loose you're money as legally they can fly

@minnieok

If it's a package holiday then your contract is with on the beach not Ryan air so you won't get a refund from them anyway. If it's a case if they booked two elements separately for you abta can't help and I suspect you will loose you're money as legally they can fly

I’ve recently booked a trip with LastMinute who are saying I need to deal with the airlines direct. I agree with you that the contract is with the tour operator, but they don’t seem to honour that always, unfortunately.