Effect of Ryan flight cancellations. Please help!
 

I am wondering if any of you had similar experiences with flight cancellations.
Based on the EU rules, is there something we can do.

Here is my situation:

I had a confirmed reservation with Ryan Air from Venice to London Stansted on Dec 28th 9:50 AM flight. I was going to catch my return flight to San Francisco from London Heathrow on Dec 29th.
However Ryan air after checking in all our baggages, cancelled the flight citing bad weather conditions. After making us stand in line for over 4 hours, they said their earliest availability was on 1st Jan and they refunded my ticket price.
I had to rebook my flight from Venice (since
it was too late to try any other option to go to London) and I had to spend over $3500 (for 4 tickets). What recourse I have against Ryan air according to EU rules?
Thanks!

I'd suggest posting at FlyerTalk and see if you can get some tips. I know that it's very difficult to get money out of Ryanair, to say the least. In addition, the EU airline rules are ambiguous and if a flight is cancelled for a safety reason, it may be impossible to get compensation. That's not to say you shouldn't try, of course.

That's a very stressful situation you must have been in, and it's very hard to figure out the best option on the spot. If anyone is thinking of doing this, and does not have changeable return tickets, I would advise considering travel insurance that would cover this scenario.

See if anything helps on this site:
http://tinyurl.com/agbab

Good luck, but unfortunately I don't think you have any recourse.

From the website WillTravel provided it says the airline is not obliged to pay compensation if the cancellation or re-routing is due to &quot;<i>meteorological conditions incompatible with the operation of the flight concerned</i>&quot;

In other words weather delays/cancellations are not compensated - just as usually happens in the States.

I doubt if you have any recourse to Ryanair for the cost of your transatlantic tickets only (possibly) in additional costs incurred in Venice. Your contract with them is to get you from Venice to Stansted and if Ryanair offers to do that then their contract is fulfilled even if they get you there several days late and by bus.

It's a warning to folk to not to rely on ANY airline to make an important connection if you aren't through ticketed and the importance of travel insurance

That is the risk you take by flying low cost carriers like ryanair. If everything goes fine, it is cheap. If something goes wrong you don't have to expect much help from them. Since the reason for the cancellation was fog in London, you can forget any compensation. They refunded your tickets, and you don't have to expect more.

Compensation from RyanAir??

Fat chance!

Given how conditions were in Britain this past week, I'm not sure it would have made any difference who these tickets were booked with if the flight indeed had to be cancelled. Many people took days to be rebooked to various destinations on British Airways.

But is there any suspicion that Ryanair invented this excuse on Dec. 28 (many people have suspected them of shading the truth in the past)?

Based on this blog report that might be for the same flight, it appears Ryanair did not invent the excuse.
http://acrix.blogspot.com/

&quot;But is there any suspicion that Ryanair invented this excuse on Dec. 28?&quot;

Racing bleeding certainty.

The only fog in the British Isles on Dec 28 was in most of our brains. There were some very high winds, but mostly in the extremities planes rarely get to (Yes, there are strips of concrete in Britain and Ireland Ryanair haven't started flights from yet, however unlikely that might sound).

But round most airports, wet gusty gloom that everyone else flew through happily. If gopinathpc wants a bit of fun, s/he might try demanding their &euro;250 a head compensation, and see Ryanair's evidence of bad weather.

If nothing else, the reply might qualify for a &quot;cheekiest excuse of the year&quot; award

WillTravel

I hadn't seen your post when I wrote mine. So I take it back.

Ryanair were telling the truth for once.
Miracles do happen at Christmas.

No, Flanner..the only &quot;miracle&quot; here is that you finally admitted to a mistake!!!!

Try this site -

http://www.ryanaircampaign.org/

It may not do you any good but it will make you feel better. And you can bet your bottom dollar that the company reads it as they've tries to shut it doen twice but the UN's World Intellectual Property Organisation last week dismissed claims that the website contained &quot;unture, misleading and defamatory remarks&quot;.

A number of years ago we needed to return from Milan to Paris a day before our return flight from Paris to the States. When we got up that morning there was an unscheduled train strike in France and there was no way to get to Paris by train. We finally managed to get a flight late that afternoon (fighting with the thousands of others who were trying to do the same thing) and I nearly developed an ulcer worrying about missing our flight the next day. At least we had a one day cushion.

What that taught me was to never schedule less than a one day delay between some distant city and our departure point for an international flight -- it's just too risky.

Given the flight delays and cancellations because of fog, wouldn't any separate bookings have created the same problem for gopinathpc? This may be one instance where Ryanair or any other cut-rate airline would have been no different from major carriers. I am assuming that the $3500 also represents a change in the trans-Atlantic flight.

I don't agree with that, but I don't know how long the bad weather held. If the reason they couldn't rebook someone for a couple days was because of the weather, maybe, but I suspect it was just because that was the next time they had a flight with available seats. Really, you get what you pay for, if people want to book real cheap flights on airlines like Ryanair, they can't expect &quot;compensation&quot; when flights are cancelled due to the weather and they can't get on another one within a day or so. If they had booked a major carrier and the entire route was on one ticket, I imagine they would have gotten rerouted sooner and wouldn't have had to buy their own ticket. I don't understand why anyone would expect compensation or recourse for flights cancelled due to the weather and they choose to spend thousands on other tickets because they decide to fly to different cities on other airlines, which is what happened here. Ryanair doesn't create the weather.

Fair enough Christina, particularly in your indication that it is wise to book one carrier all the way through. But you seem to suggest that this problem would not happen if the poster had booked a flight on more expensive airlines, BA or Alitalia, for example. If those airlines had full flights also (which is likely considering the dates) why would they be any more likely to offer anything better? I don't see that the problem is unique to Ryan Air or any other &quot;budget&quot; airline. Why would people be any more likely to expect compensation if they had booked a different airline, which seems to be what you suggest?

Christina: I agree w/ NeoPatrick. Booking on a single ticket certainly would help.

But whether a budget ot &quot;legacy&quot; airline would make no difference - since weather delay/cancellations are compensated by neither.

oops - meant to say &quot;. . . .in general weather delays/cancellations are compensated by neither.&quot;

Even a one-day delay wasn't enough in this case. Either a single ticket itinerary or travel insurance probably would have worked (although you can still get delayed for several days on a single ticket itinerary if the weather is bad enough, although you won't have to pay for the rescheduled flights generally).

If the flight was cancelled for weather conditions - and they don;t have another flight - or room - until after you need it - all you're entitled to is your money back.

This is the risk you take when you book tickets separately - YOU are responsible for solving any weather or mechanical problems that arise - not either of the airlines.

Very sorry to hear of your situation gopinathpc.

Unfortunately my impression is also that the most you could get would be a refund on the ryanair flights. I had a budget airline flight cancelled due to fog last year and briefly looked into this as we had to pay for a night in an airport hotel and wasted opera tickets. Certainly our travel insurance had a disclaimer about bad weather that meant they wouldn't pay anything.

-----But you seem to suggest that this problem would not happen if the poster had booked a flight on more expensive airlines, BA or Alitalia, for example. If those airlines had full flights also (which is likely considering the dates) why would they be any more likely to offer anything better? I don't see that the problem is unique to Ryan Air or any other &quot;budget&quot; airline.-----

BA or other standard price carriers have many many more flights than discount carriers. Typically they can reroute you and get you to your destination with no more than a few hours or at worst a day delay. They can also allow you to fly standby on upcoming flights. Major carriers have alliances with other airlines and can place you on those carriers if they choose to. Its simply much more flexible.

Ryanair told them they were out of luck for the next 4 days! Something a major carrier would never do. Discount carriers have their place and I have flown easyjet in the past and was pleased. However, I would never stack a flight with a discount carrier to that of a major carrier, even less so when it includes major international legs.

Ask the folks in Denver if a major carrier is better at getting them re-routed. Nope . . . .

I think the real solution (after the fact) would have been to book a open-jaw ticket through British Airways... with your outbound SFO flight through LHR to wherever your first European destination was ... and your return flight from Venice, connecting in LHR, and onto SFO.

While there may have been a small price differential, I think this experience demonstrates it would have been a small price to pay. Combine that with the cost and hassle of transporting yourself and your luggage from STN to LHR, RyanAir represents a false economy.

More significantly, if you had been on a VCE-LHR-SFO itinerary on British Airways, and if BA had cancelled the flight to London causing you to misconnect with your flight onto San Francisco ... they would have protected you.

----Ask the folks in Denver if a major carrier is better at getting them re-routed. Nope . . . .----

Apples and Oranges. Denver had a major snow storm and people that were originating there had the problem. As the OP started out in Venice, BA could have easily rerouted them to avoid London by using AA for example or Iberia via Spain. Both of which are in the oneworld alliance.

Clearly if no planes are flying out of an airport, it really doesnt matter what carrier you are on. Major carriers can reroute and put you on other airlines. And they arent going to tell you to come back in 4 days.

BA canceled my flight out of Dallas to LGW and offered to put me on AA to London or on AA to houston then onwards on BA. I also had the choice to wait till the next day which is what I did. Much better than &quot;check back with us in 4 days&quot; dont you think?

I'm not sure we're all on the same page here. There are two different issues. One is the idea that it would have been better to book a flight with one airline that started in Venice and continued back to the states. I don't know that anyone is denying that, other than possible costs. But certainly it puts such issues as weather and missed connections directly into the hands of the airline you've booked your total &quot;package&quot; with.

But the other issue is the statement about simply taking a budget airline from Venice to London is somehow much inferior to taking a major airline from Venice to London (leaving the connection issues on to the states out of it).
Ryan Air has two daily flights to London from Venice. BA has two daily flights to London (not &quot;many more&quot; as suggested). And I'm curious what partner airlines BA could put a passenger on from Venice to London. There may be some, as I say I'm just curious. Does anyone have any hard evidence that this problem would have been avoided if an independent flight with a &quot;major&quot; airline had been booked Venice to London instead of with a budget one?

I din't mean to say Denver snow and London fog are the same thing - just that weather delays/cancellations strand one whether she is on a biggie or on a budget carrier.

And I don't think there is one whit of difference if the OPs flight out of Venice was on Ryan Air, EasyJet, Alitalia, AA or anyone else - weather is weather and they have no responsibility other than to refund the ticket amt.

---But the other issue is the statement about simply taking a budget airline from Venice to London is somehow much inferior to taking a major airline from Venice to London (leaving the connection issues on to the states out of it)----

I tend to agree with you. I dont think there is much difference between taking a budget airlines or a large carrier for point to point short haul trips. I do think a larger carrier would have been able to find an earlier flight for the OP as opposed to Ryanairs first of January. I doubt if BA would have put them on another carrier because I suspect the only other major carrier would be Alitalia and they dont code share with them.

What i meant by &quot;many more flights&quot; is that a mainline carrier has the option of many more flights and different routing on flights that involve transatlantic travel and various connections.

----weather is weather and they have no responsibility other than to refund the ticket amt.----

A major carrier would not strand you somewhere for 4 days. Period. BA would not say , heres your cash, good luck. The cancellation of the Ryanair flight was due to weather, the fact that they offered a seat 4 days later had nothing to do with weather at all. It had to do with the type of service they choose to provide.

&lt;&lt;&lt; A major carrier would not strand you somewhere for 4 days. &gt;&gt;&gt;

Ask the folk in the fog at Heathrow - and many of them were through ticketed

&quot;<i>A major carrier would not strand you somewhere for 4 days. Period. BA would not say , heres your cash, good luck</i>&quot;

What dream world do you live in? That is exactly what BA did (not picking on BA - any airline would have done about the same)

BA used 777s and 747s on short haul european routes to clear out the backlog. Something a discount carrier couldnt dream of doing. They also continued their long haul flights. BA was at the mercy of BAA which limited the number and landings and take offs based on the fog for safety reasons of course.

I dont live in a dream world, I live in the reality that major carriers have many more options than discount carriers when it comes to taking care of their clients.

The original poster was definitely more unlucky than most. In the blog link that I posted, the writer indicated he got a rebooked Ryanair flight the next day to Liverpool and the took the train (this probably would have still been too late for the original poster, though). Perhaps the original poster was further back in the line, or perhaps it was harder to place four people instead of one. I did a bit more research on this and found several references to these Treviso-Stansted flights being cancelled in the winter, in different years, due to fog. So I definitely know not to use this route in the winter now, particularly if I have very time-sensitive plans.