Ryanair

[Trixiebell06]

We had booked Gran Canaria for Xmas 21 sadly we can’t travel as dd of 15 has only had one jab
The travel company will pay the hotel , transfers and admin but Ryan air won’t budge with a refund which I know that some airlines have
We have been told that we can reschedule fit next year but Ryanair will charge £330 to change the flight . I’m sorry but I find this scandalous we have no way of getting our teen double jabbed

exactly same position here.

Can you claim on insurance?

If flight is going, no refunds....but seems a lot to change flights....am sure they state they will change for free and you pay the extra if the new flights are dearer....could this be it..??

You need to find similarly-priced flights so you’re not charged £330 for a change of date. Play around with different days of the week, or consider going during a different time of the year, if that’s an option?

Also, Ryanair lets you amend the route as well as the dates. So you could use the flights for a different trip with similarly-priced flights.

At the end of the day, it’s not Ryanair’s fault that the UK government aren’t fully vaccinating teenagers. The flight is going and it’s not their fault that you can’t get on it. No airline is giving refunds to people who simply don’t take a flight that departs as planned. Regardless of who’s at fault.

@EileenGC you are completely wrong. I got a full refund from EasyJet due to the Spain's rule change and I know Jet2 are giving full refunds too. My flight is still going there; it's advertised on their website.

@Trixiebell06 sorry Ryanair are not playing ball for you. I know it's no consolation for you but in future you may be better off booking a package holiday. It may be more expensive but less faff getting your money back. In the meantime try some Facebook Ryanair complaints pages you may get somewhere with perseverance.

Would your holiday insurance not cover this?

I agree that booking a package is a safer option these days.

This is exactly why we booked a package holiday earlier this year. Ryanair are cheap for a reason and far less accommodating than other low cost airlines. That's no consolation I know, however see if you can find other dates, etc that will work to change to instead.

@Lykia you got a full refund - as in money is back in your bank account - for a flight-only booking? Because that’s not what’s stated on the website and I’ve dealt with easyJet dozens of times since the pandemic started, I know their policies in and out.

Unless you’re talking about a holiday booking, and/or the policy was updated in the last few days, and/or you got this full flight refund at the discretion of easyJet themselves.

PS or you mean a voucher for the full value of the flight-only booking.

easyJet did give a choice of full refund /voucher or change at various points over the last 18mths (I know because I've done all 3 options at various times!)

Initially when all flights were grounded you were given all 3 options iirc. I went for vouchers at that point (my outward was cancelled by them, my inbound by me iirc) (I'm talking maybe June 2020) Then I changed a couple of flights free of charge to this year, but easyJet cancelled them. I opted for the refund (in money) at that point. (Just checked and that was made in December last year for a moved flight from Aug 20 to Aug 21)

However, Ryanair isn't easyJet and I also changed flight dates/destination with them and had to pay a huge whack for doing so to the point when I had another one, I just cut my losses and did a no show.

When a flight is cancelled they must, by law, offer a full (cash) refund. I’ve had them from various airlines, including Ryanair. If you quote the law to them and remind them about EU261, they have no other choice but to give you a refund, if that’s what you want.

There’s a difference between that, and not using the flights because either country has introduced new rules that make it impossible to travel (eg teenagers needing two jabs).

This is all for flight bookings like I mentioned. A holiday booking with an airline is something different. The OP specifically asked about Ryanair flights, so it wouldn’t be useful to quote experiences witj holiday bookings.

Dd was meant to go to Austria but they locked down, Ryan air won't refund or vouchers. It's a risk you take with them

In their defence (I know) the flight is going and there's no legal reason why you can't travel, it's not their fault your dd hasn't had 2 jabs yet, Spain changed their rules not Ryan air - whereas where cruise companies decided nobody unless double jabbed they refunded those who couldn't be due to age because it was their policy

They usually offer a free flight change-I’ve shifted dates within the last year. Are you certain there’s not a move option..?

Ryan air, conned us on flights, we were due to travel to Spain the weekend Spain locked down completely, they said the flight left, but then cancelled the return flight! obviously we didn’t travel. Never got a return, would never ever book with them again.

We are losing our money on Ryanair flights this weekend. We paid for flexible tickets but it turns out that simply gives you the right to be charged for them making the changes (so paying twice for the privilege!). I wanted to move ours, the flights either cost the same or less but they charge a fee of £45 per person per flight so £360 for us. This is more than the original flights cost and more than if we just book from scratch. Utterly infuriating when they sold us the concept of flexibility in the first place.

The change is free if done 7 days before the departure date. So of course it won’t be free for this weekend. Do people not read the terms and conditions of what they book? They don’t ‘sell’ the concept of flexibility - they have T&C’s clearly stated on their website.

Also @Roselilly36 if they cancelled the flight they are mandated by law to offer a refund. Those middle weeks in March are a grey area since it was still legal to travel as no mandates or regulations had been issued. But if a the return flight was cancelled, by law they had to refund it and you would’ve been within your rights to escalate it.

I’m not blindly defending Ryanair or any other company for that matter, but people have to know exactly what the law says to ‘negotiate’ with airlines. It’s a pain, I agree.

@EileenGC - I did look to changing them more than seven days in advance - I am not stupid. I am merely recounting where we are now and the flights would have been this weekend. Don't make assumptions. The change would not be free even more than seven days in advance - it would be £45 per person per flight because we wanted to change them for flights after 31 December (given that it was the new travel rules preventing us from going in the first place).

I agree that Easyjet have been fantastic about changing flights and Ryanair isn't, but net result of that is that Easyjet flights are all ridiculously expensive as so many people have moved their bookings to 2022, and Easyjet is not doing well financially as a company- suspiciously have not released 2022 flights past September yet.

We flew to Barcelona in November with Ryanair, £134 return including Cabin bags. Easyjet doesn't offer fares like that any more unfortunately.

I also fell into the flexible ticket/change your flight narrative. When I came to do it the admin charges were so much it was ridiculous. I have also decided to never book with them again. As others have said there is a reason they are 'cheap'.

We eventually booked a package, it worked out cheaper actually and with Tui had all the testing sorted.

Another warning to people, you lose the whole flight including any luggage you have paid extra for.

1. insurance
2. just because you can’t travel doesn’t mean the flight can’t go.

That’s the reason you should book a package through a Travel Agent

I'd check your holiday insurance. Mine states that if you cannot travel because of covid reasons I.e vaccinations, as long as you have followed procedure within reason I.e booked the first vaccination you could for your child / didn't hold off etc then you will be covered because they do not fall within the 2nd vaccination bracket. However If you decided you didn't want the vaccine but wanted to fly and then the restrictions changed then that's not covered.

Ryanair are awful. When the first lockdown happened it took us a year to get our money back from them, they use any excuse. I'd try through other means first like your travel insurance.