strichener

Ryanair take it to mean the carriers of their choice going by their latest announcement. CAA will hopefully clarify that they expect it to be any relevant carrier and not just those named by FR.

shorthauldad

Which other airlines allow pax to pick the carrier they want for a cancellation >14d out?

strichener

Who mentioned >14d out, the CAA have told FR to inform their pax that they are entitled to be booked onto a rival carrier. FR have published a list of LCCs that they are happy for other people to book onto. Any carrier not on this list is subject to a review on a case by case basis. Appears to me to be contrary to the CAA instructions to FR and I see no justification for FR determining which carriers are suitable alternatives.

simpletastes

https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/f...ts+Sept+29.pdf

I don't think Ryanair's sequence of rerouting options fulfills the regulatory requirements, and I'm surprised the Civil Aviation Authority seems satisfied with the above. Doesn't Ryanair have to put the passenger on a flight closest to the date/time of the cancelled flight, even if it on a rival non low cost carrier?

Ditto

The regulation, as quoted above is vague about how PAX should be rerouted, so unless someone wants to take FR to court, I don't quite see what choice they have.
I think in general during IRROPS, and with legacy carriers who will put you on any other carrier, arriving at your destination same or next day is considered within reason, even if it doesn't mean you are put on the first flight out...

shorthauldad

FR's latest round of cancellations all relates to flights weeks to months out, right? Yet the CAA is hyperventilating .. ?

Also: "entitled" is a big word in there. Where does the regulation actaully say that?

>14d out and it starts to look like a schedule change, not an IRROP.

Anyone know of an airline that automatically allows an "any carrier" reroute for a schedule change weeks or months out?

Ditto

Fully agree on that one, I was just giving an example that even in case of IRROPS, and even in case of "reputable" legacy airlines, rerouting will not always be on the next flight out.

strichener

The CAA as the enforcement body have stated this to Ryanair. See

https://www.caa.co.uk/uploadedFiles/...-%20280917.pdf

Paragraph 19 which clearly states that the passenger has a right to be rerouted on another airline. In this case right and entitlement are clearly synonymous.

Ditto

I suppose you mean paragraph 20, but even that one specifies "other airlines", nowhere does it say any other airline, nor does it say a passenger can choose this other airline, so by offering reroute on some other LCCs, Ryanair seems to be compliant with the CAA requirements...

Also, since you mention the CAA to be the enforcement body, what is it they can do to Ryanair if they don't comply?

strichener

No, I stated paragraph 19 as this is the one where the CAA states;

"Their right to be re-routed on other airlines."

Note that this would be different from Ryanair dictating the airline.

However we are straying from the original point which was that Ryanair specifying which airlines a passenger has a right to be re-routed on is, in my opinion, not the intention of the CAA intervention. I believe that there will be discussions on this tomorrow so we will see what can happen.

As to the CAA options, they have only one if an airline refuses to comply - going to court. The maximum penalty is an unlimited fine.

Ditto

So who, then, dictates the airline to be rerouted on?
Do you suggest the CAA meant to say that a passenger can be requested to be booked on any flight on any carrier of their choice?

I sincerely hope it does come to that, so that we at least get some opinion from some court as to what are the actual requirements in EC261 when it comes to re-routing.

irishguy28

Every airline has a similar sequence.

It's just that the others don't publish it.

Scrooge McDuck

Not necessarily, as this depends on the available options. If any other airline - i.e. any non-low cost, is the only vaiable option, then this is the one to be taken.

There is very clear legal intention on it. As an airline think twice before you cancel flights. This can end up very costly for you. Escpecially Ryanair had quite a track record for cancelling flights for commercial reasons as the flight was not full enough to make money. With this regulation, the economic impact is more costly. Don't forget, it was - among others - Ryanair's way of treating passengers that influenced this EU regulation.

Ditto

But what is the definition of "a viable option" ?

strichener

(b) re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at the earliest opportunity; or

(c) re-routing, under comparable transport conditions, to their final destination at a later date at the passenger's convenience, subject to availability of seats.

the "under comparable transport conditions" makes no mention of cost and only the transport conditions should be a factor. It therefore makes sense that any scheduled economy flight would be comparable transport.

The second paragraph also allows the passenger to decide at which point they wish to be re-routed, not the airline.

If the CAA did prosecute Ryanair and was successful then other airlines would, I believe, change their re-booking policies.