Ryanair 737-800 impounded at Bordeaux-Mérignac airport

[FougaMagister]

Ouch!






A Ryanair 737-800 was seized (impounded) yesterday at Bordeaux-Mérignac airport at the request of the DGAC. The French CAA took this action as a last resort to recover subsidies the airline received to operate to Angoulême airport, and which the European Commission ruled illegal back in 2014.The wheels of justice turn slowly... One wonders what will be Ryanair's next move: bite the bulet and eventually refund the local authorities, or ignore the request yet again and leave their aircraft to rot there...

Cheers

[DaveReidUK]

The bailiffs are reportedly looking for just over €0.5 million from Ryanair.

France sends in bailiffs to seize Ryanair plane on tarmac at Bordeaux airport (photo is not the seized aircraft)

[Aso]

There is also a rumor that the Dutch authorities are planning something similar as Ryanair has disregarded the judgement of the court regarding the Eindhoven crew by firing the staff or still forcing them to accept another base. Let's bring the popcorn out.

[Ancient-Mariner]

I wonder what the position is regarding Compensation from Ryanair to passengers delayed due the seizure?

[Jet Jockey A4]

Originally Posted by Ancient-Mariner

I wonder what the position is regarding Compensation from Ryanair to passengers delayed due the seizure?

None of course because they will be calling it "An act of God". LOL

[SMT Member]

Originally Posted by Ancient-Mariner

I wonder what the position is regarding Compensation from Ryanair to passengers delayed due the seizure?

Since its a situation Ryanair could have prevented by paying what they own, passengers delayed by the consequences of not paying are certainly eligible for EU261 compensation. That's 149 x 400EUR for this flight alone, plus any other flights which may have been delayed as a consequence of the aircraft being unable to service the schedule.

[fox niner]

This Ryanair scrutiny thing is really gaining momentum. Expecting more of this shortly. Popcorn, anyone?

[DirtyProp]

Originally Posted by DaveReidUK

The bailiffs are reportedly looking for just over €0.5 million from Ryanair.

France sends in bailiffs to seize Ryanair plane on tarmac at Bordeaux airport (photo is not the seized aircraft)

What if several other airports "served" by Ryr start acting the same? This might set a precedent.

[DaveReidUK]

Originally Posted by DirtyProp

What if several other airports "served" by Ryr start acting the same? This might set a precedent.

It wasn't a dispute between the airport and Ryanair. The bailiffs were acting on behalf of the regional government.

Ryanair has now apparently agreed to pay up.

[wiggy]

Yes...it was the Department of the Charente that finally lost patience with FR... the impounding of the aircraft was then approved by the DGAC.

https://www.sudouest.fr/2018/11/09/l...551551-813.php

[romiglups]

French news channels now tell that Ryanair paid the fine in less than 24 hours and that the plane has been released.

[His dudeness]

Originally Posted by romiglups

French news channels now tell that Ryanair paid the fine in less than 24 hours and that the plane has been released.

Lets hope with a hefty interest and fees on top... if a company does not pay its dues, does not follow the ruling of a court, isn´t it then not un-trustable ? Shouldn´t the authorities pull the AOC until there is proof that their apparent disregard for the law and justice in these cases is not a mirror of what they do in their operation ? As a pilot in Germany one can loose its "ZÜP" when convicted of certain things and the suitability of ones character for the job is in question when you don´t follow the law and regs...

[KelvinD]

It seems the aircraft may have been EI-EBG which arrived shortly before 16:30 GMT as FR1782 but appears not to have left again on the scheduled return flight and in fact may still be on the ground at Bordeaux.

[DaveReidUK]

Originally Posted by KelvinD

It seems the aircraft may have been EI-EBG which arrived shortly before 16:30 GMT as FR1782 but appears not to have left again on the scheduled return flight and in fact may still be on the ground at Bordeaux.

It was indeed.

Ryanair positioned another B738 to Bordeaux, using their trademark unlucky RYR13 flight ID, to operate the delayed FR1783 back to Stansted, finally arriving about four and a half hours late.

[Blind Squirrel]

The directors of Ryanair are often prone to speak and act as though the laws of the land do not apply to them. That is, I believe, a mistaken calculation on their part.

[jthjth]

Originally Posted by Blind Squirrel

The directors of Ryanair are often prone to speak and act as though the laws of the land do not apply to them. That is, I believe, a mistaken calculation on their part.

Exactly. As a humble passenger who has to travel to various obscure places in Europe for work I’ve had to recently make the case for flying a two leg flight with a major carrier instead of a direct flight with Ryanair at a quarter of the price. My project manager agreed on the basis of “it’s Ryanair and I suppose you do want to know you are going to get home.” This takes it a stage further. It’s one thing treating the staff and passengers with contempt, but when the same extends to the statutory authorities, you start to wonder what else they are not doing that they should be. What other regulations do they think do not apply to them? They are firmly on my no fly list now, and this extends to a lot of work colleagues.

[BigFrank]

A veritable bag of vers

Originally Posted by Blind Squirrel

The directors of Ryanair are often prone to speak and act as though the laws of the land do not apply to them. That is, I believe, a mistaken calculation on their part.

Au contraire, mon petit chou.

The reason this is news (sic) and that a number of regular posters here are currently stuffing their mouths with popcorn is because your assertion is wholly incorrect; at least to date.

Any dispassionate observer cannot but come to the conclusion that the company in question, and the senior executives thereof, especially though not exclusively Ducksie his'self, have been able to judge to a fine t exactly what the (non) consequences would be of their cocking-a-snook at the authorities from Malin Head to Agia Napa. And if you don't agree with me, just tell me what 100,00€ invested in the company when it first went public would be worth now.

Has the EU28, soon to be EU27, ver finally turned, you ask.

Me, notwithstanding M Macron's sudden hard man act, I'm not holding my breath.

[Gertrude the Wombat]

Originally Posted by BigFrank

Any dispassionate observer cannot but come to the conclusion that the company in question, and the senior executives thereof, especially though not exclusively Ducksie his'self, have been able to judge to a fine t exactly what the (non) consequences would be of their cocking-a-snook at the authorities

To the ordinary punter, though, getting an aeroplane (full of ordinary punters) arrested because they haven't paid their bills looks like one (or perhaps more) of

1. monumental incompetence, which makes one question their competence to fly aeroplanes safely
2. they don't give a **** about their passengers
3. they're going down the tubes and couldn't scrape the cash together.

Now, they won't have lost my business as a result of this, as I'm one of those who prefers to walk to the destination rather than fly Ryanair, but surely not all of their ordinary punters enjoy being treated in this way?

[DaveReidUK]

Originally Posted by Gertrude the Wombat

To the ordinary punter, though, getting an aeroplane (full of ordinary punters) arrested because they haven't paid their bills looks like one (or perhaps more) of

1. monumental incompetence, which makes one question their competence to fly aeroplanes safely
2. they don't give a **** about their passengers
3. they're going down the tubes and couldn't scrape the cash together.

Now, they won't have lost my business as a result of this, as I'm one of those who prefers to walk to the destination rather than fly Ryanair, but surely not all of their ordinary punters enjoy being treated in this way?

Ryanair quite likely don't give a toss.

They have been hanging on to half a million Euros that wasn't theirs for the last 4 years.

The interest on that alone will more than make up for a bit of adverse publicity, a disrupted schedule and a few dozen p*ssed off passengers.

[ph-sbe]

Originally Posted by Aso

There is also a rumor that the Dutch authorities are planning something similar as Ryanair has disregarded the judgement of the court regarding the Eindhoven crew by firing the staff or still forcing them to accept another base. Let's bring the popcorn out.

Except that it doesn't really work like that in .nl.

First of all, nothing prevents Ryanair from closing the base. The court simply mandates that Ryanair continues to pay wages and ensures that the flight crew remain current.

Second, this is not a full judgment. This is merely a temporary judgment which can be easily appealed.

Third, even if Ryanair violates the terms of the judgement, the flight crew still needs to initiate enforcement action. This is not that simple.

Fourth, this judgement is very, very thin. All Ryanair needs to do is produce proper financial statements on appeal, which indicate that the base is not financially viable.

Fifth, every Dutchman will know the phrase: "don't bite the hand that feeds you". You strike, there are consequences.

That said: as far as I am concerned they all owe it to themselves. Everybody knows Ryanair is one of the most ****ty aviation employers in Europe, who treat their employees like trash. You accept employment there, you know that at some point, you'll be fscked as well.

Moral of the story: don't work for ****ty companies like this, and they'll go out of business soon.