Ryanair and missed Ryanair connections
 

I try to avoid Ryanair, but still use them sometimes due to the airports they serve and price.

I have a flight coming up that involves a connection. FR to FR in Cologne with 2 hours connection time.

No issues there, but were the first FR flight delayed by enough time that I misse the second FR flight, would I still have to pay Ryanair to reschedule me?

I assume the answer is yes, but does anyone have any experience? Do they ever show "good will" in these circumstances? Naturally I know a hotel would be a step too far for this company.

Ryanair make very clear they are a point-to-point airline - it's Article 17 of their General terms & conditions of carriage:


Their FAQ answer on connecting flights reiterates this policy.

To be fair, this isn't a Ryanair-only oddity - most other LCCs operate the same point-to-point philosophy.

They'll treat you as if you had simply not turned up in time for the flight. Expect to have to buy a new ticket.

No, you don't :)
You have 2 single flights...

Semantics. 😊

I guess this is what insurance is for!

Connections possible
 

Ryanair this summer will experiment with through ticketing (connections) at BCN, DUB and STN. Presumably this comes with missed connections assistance of some kind.

Not really. You have 2 separate tickets (and contracts) with the airline vs. one. With the latter they guarantee transporting you A-C, not just A-B and B-c

Let's not argue about semantics, but "I have a flight coming up that involves a connection" (i.e. to another flight) could mean I have a through ticket or two seperate tickets. Obviously since FR are point-point I meant the latter. :)

obstinate, dogged, stubborn, pertinacious, mulish, obviously all of them mean the "same". While "a flight with a connection" may mean the "same" as "two flights on two separate tickets", the effects on someone's wallet may be very different, depending on a potential delay. In contrast, whether one called you "obstinate" or "mulish" would have no financial effects, although one would certainly cause you to get somewhat more angry... :p

It is not semantics in the least. A "connection" is a term of art. On a missed connection, the late delivering carrier is responsible for rerouting you. If it is a "community" (EU) carrier or the flight originated in the EU, that carrier may have duty of care and delay / cancellation compensation obligations all dependent on the arrival time at the final arrival time at the connection flight's destination.

If you take even a glance at FT, you will see thousands of threads from travelers who state that they were sold a single "itinerary" by a TA and that they missed their "connection" and were forced to buy a new ticket by the onward carrier. When asked, it turns out that the PNR contained two tickets, and that they were not connecting.

Thus the differentiation is very real and has very real consequences for many unsuspecting consumers.

Haha. OK ok, you are right. It is an important differentiation which could actually be very helpful for some people reading. Especially as Often1 points out in the case of OTAs who give single itineraries involving connections with point-to-point airlines (or multiple, non-affiliated, airlines) without making clear if you miss one flight you have issue.

Don't give in to geeks so easily! :D

You are making a connection, albeit on separate tickets. Passenger do this everyday, and not only on low-cost carriers.

Connection is not a reserved term: I'm not sure what other word your detractors would have you employ.

I have heard tales of FR being helpful about missed FR FR connection where the miss was acknowledged to be the fault of the airline (itself a rare event..).

But these stories are likely to be myths, one-off aberrations at best: certainly not behaviour you should count on.

The term that seems to be gaining acceptance for what the OP is doing is "self-connecting".

Dublin Airport: Self-connecting passengers are not permitted to use the Flight Connections facility

RoutesOnline: Dublin airport tops European league for self-connecting passengers

Channel News Asia: Changi Airport comes up tops in Asia for self-connected flights: report

CAPA: Redefining airport hubs: (Self)-connectivity: the next vital piece in the industry’s advancement

Some airports, including Gatwick and Milan-Malpensa, are introducing services where some self-connecting passengers can avail of protections that would otherwise not be available to them:

Gatwick unveils flight connection guarantee to eliminate financial risk of 'self-connecting'

Milan Malpensa also offers a similar "guarantee" service to self-connecting passengers, who book using their "Via Milano" service.

OP: Arguments about semantics are just background noise here; it you miss the second flight, you have no recourse to Ryanair (even if a delay which is fully their fault is the reason you miss your second Ryanair flight) and will likely have to pay a walk-up fare for whatever is the next flight to your destination or a workable alternative destination.

Ryanair have a great on time record so a chance of a two hour delay is slim

You are at the mercy of the agents at the ryanair desk regarding rerouting for free, be prepared to buy a new ticket

No chance of any hotel paid for if overnight stay is required

Travel insurance and EU261

The best insurance is to maximise the amount of time available to connect; travel to the connection point the day before if necessary.

Most travel insurance policies would likely not cover you if you are self-connecting.
EU261/2004 says nothing about the impact on a second ticket if a problem occurs with a first ticket - so while you may eventually be able to get some compensation and remedies based on delays to the first ticket [and you would probably have to fight this tooth and nail for months after the fact], you would still end up having to buy a new, second ticket on the day of travel, at your own expense, with no come-back as regards the second ticket. It is your responsibility to present yourself for each ticket in time for boarding. A delay on the first ticket may mean you eventually get EU261/2004 benefits for the first journey - but you have totally missed your second ticket and therefore lose all rights to that second ticket.

There is one online travel agency that I know of - kiwi.com, formerly Skypicker - that have a missed connections guarantee for self-connecting itineraries that they sell their customers - however, in case of any delay/cancellation, you must contact them as soon as possible, and follow all of their procedures to the letter of the law and they will rebook you to get you to your destination. You can read the relevant terms here. I have no direct experience of this agency, but I imagine that contacting them may be difficult and expensive if you are already midway through your journey, so how useful this guarantee turns out to be may not be as immediately good as it looks.