Ditto

But that doesn't answer my question, does it?
Say you have 2 options:
1. re-route to a flight arriving 1h later with a different carrier
2. re-route to a flight arriving 1h10m later with the same carrier

Would in this scenario, the carrier have to re-route the passenger on option 1?

This is even more so in favour of the airline, with the "subject to availability of seats." clause.


They might, and they might not, even FR might not change their re-booking policies for flights not departing from/arriving into the UK, assuming this will be a UK court ruling.

shorthauldad

The regulation is anything but clear for flights cancelled / rescheduled more than 14 days out.

Every (re)booking is subject to availability of seats, even if the regulation doesn't specifically say so. Something to do with the shape of an aircraft and the laws of physics...

Scrooge McDuck

Sorry, but I did not claim that the regulation itself is clear. I stated that the intention of the regulation is clear: to make it expensive for airlines to cancel flights (and let the customers be stranded without help). This are two different things.

shorthauldad

No, I think this regulation - as so many before it - is very deliberately vague.

irishguy28

I can only agree completely with the previous poster.

The wording could have been "re-routing on any carrier at the first available opportunity" - but it doesn't say that.

"At the earliest opportunity" also is vague enough to allow the airline to NOT have to book on the first available flight - if, for example, a competitor decided to jack-up the prices in response to their competitor's woes. In general, most airlines will try to accommodate pax on their own or their partners/alliance flights - rather than immediately booking on a competitor airline that may only gain the pax a 5 or 10 minute advantage!

The fact of the matter is - when this article is being invoked, it means that the passenger won't be arriving at the time they were booked. They are already going to be delayed - but there is no requirement for the airline doing the rebooking to always and unavoidable choose the very first option that gets the pax there with the minimum amount of delay.

The only clear intention is that regulators intend for the passenger to reach their destination without having to pay extra or to arrange for that replacement ticket themselves.

strichener

The quote that you queried stated "only viable option". In this hypothetical situation, I would say that both of these were viable options and only a very narrow reading of the regulation would deem option 1 to be the only viable option. However, the wording is clear and if the only reason that a passenger was not rebooked on option 1 was commercial then it does ultimately fall foul of the regulations.

No, the seat availability is public knowledge and it is easy for a passenger to prove availability. An airline could not claim with impunity that there were no available seats if that was not honest.


That maybe the case but I would suspect not.

Ditto

The definition of "only viable option" depends on what is defined as a viable option.
So if 10 minutes still makes an option viable, where is the line drawn? is it 1 hour? 4 hours? 1 day? 1 week? when does an option can be deemed as "not viable" any more?

Most PAX haven't got the slightest clue about availability, and even PAX with deep knowledge about EF and the likes can't prove an airplane had actual seats available, they can only prove that an airline is still willing to sell seats for that flight, but by how much it is already overbooked is a different story.

LHKE

Friend of mine received an SMS yesterday at 8 PM FR9325 PSA-VLC flight cancelled on today. What compesation is she entitled? Hungarian citizen. Where she should claim?
She managed to book on BLQ-BCN IB flight, without FR help to reroute her.
Thank you for your help and support!

irishguy28

The cancellation was due to a strike of the ground handling company at Pisa airport. (See this post also). As such, your friend is not entitled to any compensation.

If she had followed the instructions received, she could instead have had Ryanair book her on an alternate flight - but given that you paid for a replacement flight, you won't now be able to claim for the cost of the new flight.

Apply on the Ryanair website for a refund of the cancelled flight.

strichener

I don't know what point you are trying to make but your arguments are getting more and more pedantic. I will leave you to take a guess in this computer age how a passenger could check availability of seats on existing flights.

Ditto

I would very much appreciate if you can explain this further, how can a passenger know the amount of physical seats available on a given flight.

Gallivanter

Ryanair remains one of the worst carriers on the planet with a certifiably insane boss, O'Leary. Every day I meet people who tell me their horror stories and how they will never fly them again. I hope the cancellation crisis finishes them and causes them to go under the way it has already knocked any shreds of credibility they may have once had for a loop.

strichener

This is published information and seat maps show the number of physically available seats, it is extremely unlikely that the number of physical seats will change on a flight by flight basis!

Now if by available you mean "available for sale" and not physically available by design (sorry other posters for taking the pedantry to this level) then I refer back to my previous postings. In most cases a passenger can walk up to a desk and ask for the price of a ticket on a specific flight, call a travel agent or check a website. If they are quoted a price then this clearly falls into the regulations wording of "subject to availability of seats".

I am actually amazed that you are able to travel given that you think it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to determine if you can be accommodated on a specific flight.

Anyway, good luck in finding the answers that you so desperately seek.

Ditto

But there are so many reasons why what you describe here is wrong:
1. Airlines overbook and oversell flights, the fact that I can still buy a ticket 3 or 4 hours before a flight does not mean I will eventually get a seat on that flight.
2. Seat maps are not always an indication of anything until check-in closes (at which point, you are unlikely to be able to access it), you will always have "late" passengers who does not pre-select their seat, will not OLCI and show up at the airport just 2 minutes before check-in closes.

So if you want to rely on any 'published information' by all means be my guest, as frequent travellers I think we all know that airlines bump people from flights, and that is the last thing I would want to happen to me after my original flight have already been cancelled.

Granted, it's mostly relevant for IRROPS rather than for a flight that is still more than 2 weeks out, but the regulation doesn't really differentiate between them for rerouting purposes.

irishguy28

Yes, because the connectivity and competition they offer, which mobilises hundreds of millions of people each year, should all end because of the few sob stories.

No-one is forced to fly Ryanair, so anyone with a grievance is more than welcome to nurse it (there isn't an airline, or any other business, out there without its share of "never again" stories). But that doesn't mean that they get to spoil everyone else's fun!