If you operate a long backroom schedule and roster it accordingly, you can see how many flights you can crew and avoid selling flights you can't. You can also see that 12 into 9 won't work before you start selling it. If you sell 6 months out but operate with a rolling 6 week roster, one day you will have to tell your boss that you 5 weeks out can't make the following week work since you don't have enough crew to cover the already sold flights. And at that stage it will be to late to recruit and train people to make up the shortfall.

I remember when the published roster was only 1 week out. This worked when they where a small airline and the following cancellations didn't affect hundreds of thousands of people that got huge press and gained political interest. You could disappoint only a small percentage of your total customers with a simple refund. They've just discovered that being the big-boy also have some disadvantages.

Problem is you are never going to roster far enough out using just more manpower. It will be a case of too many cooks and too litle oversight. And what about running scenarios. We are talking making up maybe 3 or more alternative full year rosters with different parameters. Luckily others have already had the problem, solved it, and FR just have to utilize more of the resulting tools with some adjustments/localization.

Is it the norm for airlines to expect their crews to take annual holidays in autumn or winter? Obviously a company would expect to have maximum crewing during the summer but do they have spare crews to take holidays when they want to?

Not in my experience, take 50% in the summer and 50% in the winter ... or thereabouts ... Else how the hell are we going to lay off our summer only contract crews whilst all these fruitcakes want to take their skiing holidays? :)

A grand total of 102 flights have been cancelled from/to Spain from this evening until Wednesday due to a French air traffic strike. I make no comment and leave you to make your own minds!

Wow that's some list of cancelled flights on their website

Other airlines do not appear to be cancelling. ATC strikes not covered by EU261so only refund or rebook

easyJet has a notice up on their latest-travel-information, but do not provide a list of flights, instead chosing to (partial quote) communicate only with affected customers via email and sms. Guess Ryanair is trying to avoid worrying those not affected, as per previous problem.

This is a tactic Ryanair have been using for at least two years. French ATC strikes are a godsend to them, as it allows them to cancel almost any flight that goes anywhere near France, and they have an 'external influence' to avoid compensation claims, whilst saving pilot hours to crew future flights.

What they don't tell you is that they don't train all crews to fly Oceanic routes, so whilst every other airline can fly around French airspace on the Tango routes, they can't. Why would they, it's more cost effective for them to cancel the flight than increase fuel burn and pilot time during times of strike.

All just my opinion, of course.

And the T9 corridor? Also going up the Belgian border ...

So who is running operations now, and have the power to make snap decisions about major multi-reroutes increasing costs but saving what is left of reputation.

When is Ryanair expected to receive their first 737 MAX 200?

22% pay rise for STN pilots if they continue to negotiate with ERC and accept by 20 October. Also includes more direct employment. MAD also made an offer.

Ryanair offers 22% pay rise to Stansted-based pilots

New routes for summer 2018
Athens - Billund
Athens - Gdansk
Athens - Karlsruhe
Athens - Lappeenranta
Athens - Lodz
Athens - Memmingen
Athens - Rzeszow
Athens - Vilnius
Ahtnes - Wroclaw

If you know there is going to be a 1 day disruption due to atc strikes, with spare aircrafts why not reschedule some of the flights you can't reroute, for the following day. You know there will be a lot of passengers you now have to feed and overnight. And if your loads are consistently around 90% you are not going to reaccommodate them all on other own flights in the near future. You could use the crew that would be at the end of the working part of their 5/4 rosters and move 1 of their working days 1 day out, plus some standbys. If slot restricted just move the times slightly.

Being in the eye of a better educated public, on the watchlist of regulators, and having to stick to the rules at times of cancellations means one have to think in new ways you before didn't want to. Sample, now need to have prearranged rates and agreeements with low price hotels and bus companies at least near your bases, so you can just call and block book at reduced rates. Plus the need for trained on-call extra ticketdesk staff and floorwalkers.

Also need new insights into how much a disruption really cost you since with a get your own food/transport/accommodation and claim back attitude, actual numbers will only be available months down the line and more difficult to pair to a specific event.

EU261 dioesn't apply to strikes.

I think that statement is open to interpretation.

EU261 monetary compensation don't but duty of care do. That interpretation is now done. So food, accommodation and rescheduling will be needed even though the set amount won't be due. Maybe even rescheduling with competitors or other modes of transport. If you are not prepared there will be uncontrollable amounts of claims later, after people have bought their own accommodation, local transport and flights at highly inflated prices.
The 5 quid vouchers FR is handing out is probably more than the army spends per soldier per day in food. And fold-out beds in emergency shelter are also accommodation, and much cheaper than a hotel the passenger finds themselves resulting in a bill in the post or via small-claims down the line. If its offered and they refuse it it becomes their problem.

Being the largest carrier is a different ballgame where everything you do affects many, plus gets massive press so is monitored by politicians and therefore regulators. One can't get away with as much. Other regulators than the UK's are preparing their cases so some preperatory action is needed. FR let the genie out of the box and it ain't going back in unless it becomes a UK no deal airline or IRL leaves the EU and it falls apart.

Can someone help me? I rebooked a Ryanair flight at a cost of £100 with Easyjet and then claimed EU261.

This morning, Ryanair contacted me to inform me that I would not be entitled to the EU261 and would not be getting my £100 back.

This £100, I need it back, it came out of my monthly allowance for university, I wouldn't have taken it out if I wasn't guaranteed to get this money back.

I am a British citizen and the CAA threatened Ryanair into giving this EU261 thing back.

Anyway, they've declined my money. I see no reason why they would do so, since a: not my fault, b: told that they have to give it back by the CAA, c: They don't offer another flight option from London back to Belfast, so they couldn't have rebooked my flight on their airline and so I had no choice but to rebook on Easyjet!

This is the piece on the BBC News website that spurred me to rebook, expecting money back:
You can apply for a refund. Even if it is only the outbound portion of the flight that is cancelled, you can still get a refund for the return leg, assuming you do not want to use it.
Or you can chose an alternative flight - perhaps on an earlier or later date. In most cases Ryanair will offer you another flight with them.
However, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) says that if Ryanair fails to offer a place on an alternative Ryanair flight within a reasonable timeframe then you have the right to be booked onto a different airline at no extra cost.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41305537

Surely, this applies to me, since Ryanair has cancelled both the Stansted Flight to Derry and the Gatwick flight to Belfast?

Our original notification sent in respect of this cancellation offered you the appropriate EU 261/2004 entitlements, which included either a refund or a free date change.

As you were notified of this cancellation 14 days (or more) in advance of the scheduled departure date of this disrupted flight, we regret to advise that you are not entitled to monetary compensation under Regulation EU 261/2004.

Then, they say this at the end though:Furthermore, please note that we are ready to reimburse your receipted expenses; therefore in order for us to complete the payment, we kindly request you to upload your bank details (as the bank details provided are incorrect) by using the below link:

Does this just infer the refund for the flight or the 100 pounds? I am confused?

Sorry to be pedantic, but it would be misleading to say that prior to a precedent setting court case which defines it precisely.

For instance, BA flights getting caught up in the French ATC strikes are probably EC's, as the cause of the strike is outside the control of BA.

BA flights getting caught up in a BA staff strike is within the control of BA, so not an EC.

What about a RA flight being cancelled due to French ATC strike but the flight does not fly into or even near French ATC controlled air space? It cannot be directly caused by the strike, so not an EC.

Just because strikes are quoted in the regs as a possible EC does not mean that all are. The devil is in the details and every case must be examined on it's merits, which is what the regs also say.