Ryanair cancellation costed me over £300. Can't I really get any compensation?
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2018
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 40
Ryanair cancellation costed me over £300. Can't I really get any compensation?
Sorry in advance for the long post!
Flight: Stansted - Gdansk, Friday 27th July, 18:50
We arrived at the airport and the flight (originally scheduled for 18:50), was delayed to 19:15. When we arrived at the gate the aircraft was there, but Ryanair said there were "operational issues" so we had to wait until they got resolved. They asked us to sit and wait, which we did for hours. Finally we boarded around 22:00. At 22:19 (3h29min after the original scheduled time), the pilot told us the only available take-off slot they were given was 1:20 and were going to try to improve it. Some minutes later they said the flight had to be cancelled as they could not bring the slot forward, as the airport was busy due to the "weather" (I have a picture from the plane where you can see it wasn't even raining...).
I claimed EU261 compensation to Ryanair, and they rejected it saying it was due to "weather conditions" whilst the Ryanair staff at the airport made it very clear during over 3h that the delay was due to "operational reasons", and even their staff were encouraging us to apply for compensation when we boarded the aircraft late. The likely reason is that they did not get a slot because they airport was busy and they had delayed the flight by a few hours, and used an earlier drizzle that evening to blame the weather.
The earliest they could rebook us was Monday 30th to Warsaw (Gdansk was sold out), so this incurred in not only extra transport to come back to London, but cancellation costs to pre-booked transport and accommodation in Poland. I talked to my travel insurance company, and they said that, as Ryanair rerouted us (even if it was days later and to a different destination), it was considered a "delay" and they could not refund the cancellation costs. They said I should claim these to Ryanair.
With the EU261 rejection letter they offered to pay the expenses caused by the cancellation. I sent them a document with the extra expenses:
- The new train tickets to go back to London and to the airport on Monday.
- Cancellation cost of my hotel in Gdansk, taxi and train to Warsaw
However they replied and also refused to pay any expenses. Not even the non-prebooked ones, like the extra train tickets!
So the summary is:
- Due to their delay, Ryanair ended cancelling the flight, making us waste a day at the airport and also 3 days of holidays, as they could not rebook us.
- Ryanair blames the weather to avoid paying the 1000€ EU261 compensation (4 passengers x 250€).
- Both my travel insurance and Ryanair refuse to pay the extra £300 spent in new train tickets and cancellations.
Is there anything else I could do? I'm using FlightRight and AviationADR so they try to claim these from Ryanair, but after Ryanair’s attitude I doubt they get anything. Any other suggestions please?
From now on, I’m not flying Ryanair again!
Flight: Stansted - Gdansk, Friday 27th July, 18:50
We arrived at the airport and the flight (originally scheduled for 18:50), was delayed to 19:15. When we arrived at the gate the aircraft was there, but Ryanair said there were "operational issues" so we had to wait until they got resolved. They asked us to sit and wait, which we did for hours. Finally we boarded around 22:00. At 22:19 (3h29min after the original scheduled time), the pilot told us the only available take-off slot they were given was 1:20 and were going to try to improve it. Some minutes later they said the flight had to be cancelled as they could not bring the slot forward, as the airport was busy due to the "weather" (I have a picture from the plane where you can see it wasn't even raining...).
I claimed EU261 compensation to Ryanair, and they rejected it saying it was due to "weather conditions" whilst the Ryanair staff at the airport made it very clear during over 3h that the delay was due to "operational reasons", and even their staff were encouraging us to apply for compensation when we boarded the aircraft late. The likely reason is that they did not get a slot because they airport was busy and they had delayed the flight by a few hours, and used an earlier drizzle that evening to blame the weather.
The earliest they could rebook us was Monday 30th to Warsaw (Gdansk was sold out), so this incurred in not only extra transport to come back to London, but cancellation costs to pre-booked transport and accommodation in Poland. I talked to my travel insurance company, and they said that, as Ryanair rerouted us (even if it was days later and to a different destination), it was considered a "delay" and they could not refund the cancellation costs. They said I should claim these to Ryanair.
With the EU261 rejection letter they offered to pay the expenses caused by the cancellation. I sent them a document with the extra expenses:
- The new train tickets to go back to London and to the airport on Monday.
- Cancellation cost of my hotel in Gdansk, taxi and train to Warsaw
However they replied and also refused to pay any expenses. Not even the non-prebooked ones, like the extra train tickets!
So the summary is:
- Due to their delay, Ryanair ended cancelling the flight, making us waste a day at the airport and also 3 days of holidays, as they could not rebook us.
- Ryanair blames the weather to avoid paying the 1000€ EU261 compensation (4 passengers x 250€).
- Both my travel insurance and Ryanair refuse to pay the extra £300 spent in new train tickets and cancellations.
Is there anything else I could do? I'm using FlightRight and AviationADR so they try to claim these from Ryanair, but after Ryanair’s attitude I doubt they get anything. Any other suggestions please?
From now on, I’m not flying Ryanair again!
#2
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: CPT,AMS
Posts: 4,409
Checking airhelp website for your flight says
If other agencies are happy to try and get the compensation for you, by all means it's worth a shot.
Irrespective of the reason for the delay, Ryanair still have duty of care, this should cover your r/t to London, presumably you went back home so no hotel/meals were involved?
Ryanair are not responsible for any cancellation fees you have incurred, this is entirely up to your travel insurance.
Unfortunately, this flight is not eligible for compensation.
According to our flight data, one or more airports associated with your claim were affected by extraordinary events that impacted air traffic at the time of your flight disruption, such as runway closures or security threats. Airlines are not required to pay compensation for disruptions caused by circumstances such as these that are beyond their control.Irrespective of the reason for the delay, Ryanair still have duty of care, this should cover your r/t to London, presumably you went back home so no hotel/meals were involved?
Ryanair are not responsible for any cancellation fees you have incurred, this is entirely up to your travel insurance.
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Jan 2018
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 40
Thanks for the reply! Unfortunately my travel insurance doesn't cover cancellation fees as they say the flight was "delayed" and not "cancelled"
Does anyone know any travel insurance that cover these? I might have to switch providers!
Does anyone know any travel insurance that cover these? I might have to switch providers!
#4
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Your flight apparently never operated or you could have flown to your original destination later. Since they rebooked you to a different destination that wasn't where you wanted to go, this is a cancellation and not a delay. Maybe someone saw that the flight was originally just delayed and stopped reading.
#5
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: CPT,AMS
Posts: 4,409
I would appeal on that, as it makes no sense whatsoever (though I suppose the policy will say it is), then again once you deduct the train tickets it might not be worth wasting too much time on it.
#6
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Location: London
Programs: Hilton, IHG - BA, GA, LH, QR, SV, TK
Posts: 16,966
If you refuse to fly on carriers who try to wriggle out of EC261 responsibilities, you'll have to resign yourself to surface transport
#7
Ambassador, British Airways; FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Leeds, UK
Programs: BA GGL/CCR, GfL, HH Diamond
Posts: 42,705
the pilot told us the only available take-off slot they were given was 1:20 and were going to try to improve it. Some minutes later they said the flight had to be cancelled as they could not bring the slot forward, as the airport was busy due to the "weather" (I have a picture from the plane where you can see it wasn't even raining...).
Whilst FR is not always a great airline, on this occasion the weather and ATC delays are not made up.