Ryanair slated on ITV

[Final 3 Greens]

Re: Ryanair slated on ITV

Hoping makes a good point.

The best way is to decide which airport is bet for you, then see who offers the best VFM to there.

I normally find that the majors win it when travelling on business, although I've just enjoyed a great holiday due to easyJet offering a good deal.

[hobie]

Re: Ryanair slated on ITV

And how much were the taxes and charges? Anyone remember when the ticket price WAS the taxes and charges?

..... a quick look at Ryanair's web site today indicates a maximum tax/fee/charges value of stg 15.10 max .... 12.50 minimum from UK points of departure ..... not sure about the Snn situation ...

[Lon More]

Re: Ryanair slated on ITV

They made the Belgian papers a couple of months ago when a return flight to Charleroi was canceled due "technical reason" No alternative was offered and the pax ended up hiring a bus to get them home. They had a great deal of trouble getting anything repaid by Ryanair.
WYSIWYG

[Avman]

Re: Ryanair slated on ITV

[HTML]Maybe another attempt to bash the LC's?[/HTML]

No, I don't think this is general LC bashing. What is being said is that in the case of some LCs you may not be saving as much as you may think. And even much less when things go t!ts up.

There are LCs out there that do provide a relatively good service (including seat selection), fly you to your real desired destination, and treat their clients with respect. I would certainly not consider Ryanair as one of them!

[cwatters]

Re: Ryanair slated on ITV

I was reading an old book recently that had extracts from the International passenger transport regulations of around 1935. In there is said that if a paper ticket isn't issued the airline isn't covered by the limitations and exceptions of the international regulations. I immediatly thought of todays ticketless airlines. I wonder if that particular clause still applies today?

PS I don't have access to the book right now (it's at home) otherwise I'd post the text word for word. The Title is something like "Encyclopedia of Avaition" and it was printed around 1935.

[alexss]

Re: Ryanair slated on ITV

Originally Posted by Nov71

The EU directive on passenger compensation would not apply in UK, except to suggest a benchmark level of compensation for pax.

Why wouldn't the EU directive apply? Under the directive all airlines - even Ryanair - are obliged to pay for accommodation, food etc until they can get the pax home, even if the delay isn't their fault (however there is only cash compensation if it is their fault). See: http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/...ctsheet_en.pdf

Has Ryanair found a loophole in this? Or are they just ignoring it?

BTW the EC is looking at the issue of substantial taxes, fees and charges being added to ticket prices - especially as these don't always have a direct link to the costs that the airline actually incurs.

[flaps to 60]

Re: Ryanair slated on ITV

I have got to that stage in my life that myself and the missus have a decent income and are starting to enjoy some of life's luxuries.

So with that in mind why the hell would we willingly subject ourselves to the bad service.....sorry! To say bad service would imply that there was some in the first place...of FR.

I have flown with them in the past and would now only use them as a last resort and while we have had some very low fares the whole experience was far less than satisfactory. While i dont expect to get a BJ walking onboard i do expect to get some of the things that are free like a smile or even a feigned interest in my lost luggage.

For me and one of the earlier posters when you add up all the costs in getting me from home to my destination LC's are either as expensive or regularly more.

I would rather pay a little more and as happened recently with BA know that my lost luggage will be delivered to my home address or that i will have some back up when things go for a burton.

A mate of mine worked for FR's customer service and in thier words not mine....when a compalint came in it was essentially binned!

The old adage you get what you pay for in life never rang so true.

Note EZY is way better than FR because they at least show some interest in customer service and do occasionally listen to you.

Note to MOL

Im sure you've heard "You can fool some of the people some of the time" etc etc etc

[Globaliser]

Re: Ryanair slated on ITV

Originally Posted by alexss

Why wouldn't the EU directive apply? Under the directive all airlines - even Ryanair - are obliged to pay for accommodation, food etc until they can get the pax home, even if the delay isn't their fault (however there is only cash compensation if it is their fault). See: http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/...ctsheet_en.pdf
Has Ryanair found a loophole in this? Or are they just ignoring it?

I think that Nov71 was talking about what would be the case if FR didn't charge £0.01 for their "free" flights.

Nevertheless, it seems that FR is ignoring the directive at the moment, but there is a court case going on that may resolve the question whether FR is bound by the EU Regulation (it was not a Directive) in the same way as all other airlines.

[Nov71]

Re: Ryanair slated on ITV

Alexss If the EU Regualation is all-embracing, why do airlines like RYR avoid paying by claiming 'extraordinary circumstances beyond their control'?
If the airline is subject to UK Law my suggestion was the pax may have alternative re-dress under UK Consumer legislation or Civil contract law, irrespective of the EU Regualation which only codifies levels of compensation within a time scale across the EU.
If you don't pay for your ticket (with 1p), only taxes, the pax has no re-dress under UK Consumer or Contract Law and the Carrier can evade the EU Regulation they are home free!
Cynically I thought all airlines tried to optimise load factors by cancellation and amalgamating flights until I read of that Xmas BA US-London flight with 2 pax The BA UK shuttles rarely had a standby a/c available as promised, the pax were just delayed to the next shuttle and the promise was quietly lost.

Perhaps the locos' have a point; the cash compensation for delays should be based on percentages of the ticket price not £/hr but the rest should remain
I routinely print my booking confirmation to avoid 'input' disputes at check-in

Any lawyers prepared to comment on the supposed 'extraordinary' loophole?

[cwatters]

Re: Ryanair slated on ITV

Flaps to 60: Actually it's the "wealthy retired" who should be in a position to benifit most from low cost fares. They have fewer time commitments and should be better placed to travel when the tickets are cheaper. Obviously as you get older the prospect of a night in an airport isn't so appealing though!

[Nov71]

Re: Ryanair slated on ITV

Ceefax/Teletext reports the EU Regulation & compensation scheme has been upheld in court - the airlines lost the case!

[slim_slag]

Re: Ryanair slated on ITV

Probably reasonable, now we should expect another surcharge on your total flight price ala wheelchair. I worked out on the back of the envelope how much this might be, I reckon for Ryanair it should be less than £1 a ticket, but then what do I know?

As an aside, BA today launched an 'innovative' new service which is a funny word for them to use as it seems they have copied what Ryanair do right down to charging for food on board. Well I guess it's not quite the same, as domestic fares will start at £25.

http://business.guardian.co.uk/story...=ticker-103704

[Nov71]

Re: Ryanair slated on ITV

Originally Posted by alexss

Why wouldn't the EU directive apply? Under the directive all airlines - even Ryanair - are obliged to pay for accommodation, food etc until they can get the pax home, even if the delay isn't their fault (however there is only cash compensation if it is their fault).Has Ryanair found a loophole in this? Or are they just ignoring it?

Despite the Court win, the loophole is still in the Regulations so I expect to hear a lot more 'extraordinary' excuses. Food, accommodation etc is required in the Regs if the delay is the carriers fault!

[Capvermell]

Re: Ryanair slated on ITV

Originally Posted by flaps to 60

Note EZY is way better than FR because they at least show some interest in customer service and do occasionally listen to you.

Im sure you've heard "You can fool some of the people some of the time" etc etc etc

In my humble experience the Easyjet method of dealing with customer compliants also involves binning/ignoring most of them and in most situations their fares are way higher than Ryanair's booking a similar time in advance on similar routes.

However I did manage to extract a full refund from Easyjet after being forced to travel back to Stansted (instead of Luton where I was supposed to go with Easyjet) on a more expensive standby flight with Airtours after Easyjet delayed their flight for 14 hours. However this was only because when I made it back to Luton by coach at 8am (I did not dare risk a £70 taxi fare) I camped in the reception of Easyland at Luton and refused to leave until someone in a management position saw me. Eventually they produced the manager of their telephone sales team who was a nice guy and honoured his word to make the full refund to my credit card.

In general where I have a choice I try to stay off Easyjet and Ryanir whenever possible.

[TotalBeginner]

Re: Ryanair slated on ITV

Also, I would be curious to know whether, if you do not in fact bother to claim a redfund, do they then still pass on the tax to the Govt. or, as I suspect, just keep the money. If so, then this must be fraudulent (theft of taxes?) and I'm surprised that the relevant authorities have not latched onto this.

Not sure about this in the case of a cancelled flight, but in the case of pax who are no-shows the tax is definately witheld. Ryanair operate a double check-in system. Manually with pen and paper at the check-in desk and then again on computer so that they know which taxes must be passed on from those who have travelled.

When I worked for FR we were told that under NO circimstances should we advertise the fact that govt tax is refundable, but if a passenger specifically asked we were to give them the "customer service" address.

[silverelise]

Re: Ryanair slated on ITV

Originally Posted by Dockjock

O'Leary quoted Dec.'05 Airliner World as saying low cost model will move towards free fares over the next 10 yrs, drawing revenue from buy on board, subsidy from other airport businesses, and gambling revenues. What kind of businessman develops a business around NOT charging people money for the service he provides...arrgh

Judging by my recent experience with RyanAir I'd say he's on to a winner. Travelling from Stansted to Grenoble last Saturday, two women sat behind me purchased a cup of tea, a sandwich and a bag of M+M's. They hardly got any change out of a tenner, exclaiming "bleedin ell that's more than me ticket cost".

It staggers me that the travelling public can't manage a 90 minute flight without having to eat or drink something, but all the time our brains regress into "uggh.....aeroplane journey.....must eat", or we cannot amuse ourselves on shorthaul without buying scratchcards, using the phone or gambling or whatever, we will be lining the pockets of Mr.RyanAir very handsomely.

[Globaliser]

Re: Ryanair slated on ITV

Originally Posted by silverelise

It staggers me that the travelling public can't manage a 90 minute flight without having to eat or drink something ...

Sometimes, it'll be the only food and drink we've had all day.

Although I agree that there are many infrequent flyers for whom the food and drink is displacement activity rather than satistfying a need.