fechter

Hi there,
Bit of a new problem for me - I'm returning from the US at BCN at around lunchtime on the 25th on Ibera, and had a (positioning, return) flight from BCN-STN booked with Ryanair at 6:40pm. Due to a 'cabin crew strike' my Ryanair flight was just cancelled, and I'm given the options to cancel, change or reroute. What's my best course of action?

- I'd prefer to land in Stansted or Luton to avoid an endless transfer from LHR/LGW late at night. I'd prefer to arrive on the 25th, but could also manage if I arrive early on the 26th.I'm supposed to land at BCN at around 1:40pm.

Options:
- 7 days left to go, could just ignore it for now and hope that the strike is called off, and the Ryanair flights become available again.
-rebook with Ryanair. They'd have a flight on the 26th at 10am, but the online rebooking system would charge me 298 pounds. And I assume I'd have an uphill battle with Ryanair to get them to pay for the hotel for the night?
-cancel & rebook a flight with easyjet to Luton on the 25h. Slightly risky one at 4:35pm (2h after landing, with hold luggage), or a 7h+ wait for the 9:40pm one. More expensive than the Ryanair flight & longer transfer once in the UK, plus I assume that would mean that Ryanair weasels out of the EC261 compensation?
-pick one of the other options that would get my to LGW and put up with the transwer. What are the chances of getting Ryanair to rebook me on another carrier?

thanks,
fechter

ft101

You should be able to switch to the next flight free of charge. I'm surprised the website doesn't let you do this so may need a phone call. Keep receipts for overnight accommodation and meals and you can claim it back.

No EU261 compensation due if strike action is the cause of the cancellation.

LapLap

I found the rebooking system confusing when I used it to rebook a cancelled STN-ALC on the same day you were supposed to travel. It suggested, as you saw, that I would have to pay the difference in fare for a flight leaving the day before. But that proved not to be the case. Also, I did not have to pay anything extra to choose “premium” seats in the front (had originally got the ordinary seats in the back as it is my daughter and my parents who are travelling together).

——
As an aside. I bought Stansted Express tickets from Tottenham Hale to Stansted with my kid and a return just for me. But these were a super advance fare and are only supposed to be valid for the Wednesday.
I/we need to do the trip on Tuesday now.
Anyone know if they can be changed? Can show proof that the flights were cancelled.
Since this is a Stansted Express service my argument would be that my destination is the time slot for a plane, not the airport itself, and that this destination has moved in time.

WorldLux

Not according to a recent ruling of the ECJ. You'd have to check whether that case law applies to the Ryanair strike, but industrial action by airline staff is no longer automatically considered an extraordinary circumstance.

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel...-a8309971.html

rcspeirs

ft101

Wildcat strikes only so far as opposed to planned and publicly announced action, but it's a good point and I'm sure we'll soon see a test case for this too.

irishguy28

You are almost guaranteed NOT to be able to get Ryanair to book you onto any other carrier.

The regulation does not require that customers must be booked onto other carriers; that other airlines might do so in the same circumstances won't help you to persuade Ryanair to do the same.

irishguy28

For what it's worth, Dutch-language media in Belgium and the Netherlands are reporting that a Belgian consumer rights organisation has stated that Ryanair customers on cancelled flights are entitled to EC261/2004 compensation:

https://www.hln.be/reizen/gedupeerde...rapt~a3d56a7a/

Note, however, that taking the matter into your own hands and booking your own replacement flight will allow them off the hook and they only have to refund you the flight(s) you couldn't take.

LapLap

And you were right. I did, however, get a goodwill refund.

fechter

I booked myself onto a Norwegian fligth for now, but haven't canceled the Ryanair one yet. Just never seem to be able to catch anyone at the hotline / chat to see what they would suggest.

The Ryanair strike happens in Belgium as well, wonder if the consumer groups are just trying to create some goodwill with the affected passengers.

[edit] looks like more recommendations coming in: https://www.independent.co.uk/travel...-a8456721.html

fechter

WorldLux

The CAA has been doing the same. I think they are overstating the scope of recent ECJ cases, but FR isn't doing itself favors by threatening to terminate crew members and reducing their base in Dublin.

The regulation does however imply that by stating that passenger should be booked onto the next available flight. That gives room for interpretation as it is ambiguous as to whether this should include only the airline's flights or flights operated by the competition. I do think that Ryanair will have a hard time explaining rebooking someone onto the same flight 24hrs later, when other airlines had seats available on flights that would incur less delay.

irishguy28

And the Daily Mail has a headline SCREAMING that Ryanair have announced they will not pay for any strike compensation. You can see it here, via MSN.

The regulation doesn't stipulate that the "next available seat" can be on a competitor/partner, so airlines that only rebook onto their own services are not breaking the law. As it stands, whether you are delayed by 6 hours, or 6 days, the amount of compensation to be paid out is the same - so there is little incentive for an airline with no partners (and hence no such agreements with others, which would also see other airlines rebooking pax onto their flights in similar circumstances) to pay the competition to fly these disrupted customers.

You could argue that the ongoing "duty of care" the airline has towards the passengers is what encourages the airline to carry the passenger with the least amount of delay. The airline has to pay meals and accommodation until the passenger gets to depart (though, perhaps, this is not so clearcut if the passenger is at "home" when the delay/strike/cancellation happens).

PxC

fechter

The only update I have is that the flight was refunded prompty, but there has been no response whatsoever regarding the EC261 claim.

Often1

The Regulation does not "imply" any such thing. It says what it says and there is no precedential case suggesting otherwise.

I suppose anything is possible.

But, advising people that they may be entitled to rebooking on another carrier is asking them to take on a risk that some may find quite costly.