Claim against Ryanair for delay

dande67

Hi

I was on a ryanair flight that was delayed by 3 and 1/2 hours. I put a claim into Ryanair. Surprise surprise they rejected it saying it was caused by air traffic control.

Does anybody know what my options are apart from going to these claim sites

Anahita

I'd read this before you make up your mind not to bother seeking a refund/compensation/redress.

VG31

Mr.S wrote: »

The delay was outside of Ryanair's control in this case, so you aren't entitled to any claim.

It's easy for them to blame ATC; whether or not the delay was actually because of them is an entirely different matter however.

Under His Eye

Ryanair will routinely blame ATC and the weather for everything. It minimises claims.

Under His Eye

They are not the final arbiter though. A judge could have something else to say.

Under His Eye

Small claims. DIY for €25.

Masala

How do they prove it was ATC??? Sure they could throw out tgat excuse all the time ... and no one could prove the were waffling???

Under His Eye

You can say in your claim that they are waffling and they would have to offer proof otherwise.

Fr Tod Umptious

Under His Eye wrote: »

You can say in your claim that they are waffling and they would have to offer proof otherwise.

But they know far more about how the airline industry works and could produce a littany of data to show that ATC did such and such that resulted in a delay.

What could you produce to prove otherwise ?

CeilingFly

Under His Eye wrote: »

Ryanair will routinely blame ATC and the weather for everything. It minimises claims.

Atc is a precise system and everything is fully logged.

With so many issues in Europe, esp France on atc, such delays are commonplace and once the aircraft has to fly in that airspace, it gets delayed, either because it has to do a circuitous route to avoid that airspace or because it has to wait to use the "lane" that is open.

Also a delay of more than 3 hours but less than 4 would be 50% reduced aa per the compensation rules.

Under His Eye

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

But they know far more about how the airline industry works and could produce a littany of data to show that ATC did such and such that resulted in a delay.

What could you produce to prove otherwise ?

Are they going to waste €500+ defending a claim? It is easier for them to fold than produce sensitive flight info.

CeilingFly

Under His Eye wrote: »

Are they going to waste €500+ defending a claim? It is easier for them to fold than produce sensitive flight info.

Sensitive flight data?????

What's sensitive about giving details of ATC delay - afaik its published and forms part of usual statistics and accessible to those who want it. Usually these ambulance chasing claims firms have it too.

k123456

Maybe contact the commission for aviation ,

They might be able to throw some light on the delay, and they will be able to give you written proof of the delay times
and the small claims court is a good idea

Anahita

http://www.aviationreg.ie/news/statement-by-commission-for-aviation-regulation-on-ryanair-flight-cancellations.855.html

Under His Eye

About as much use as a chocolate tea pot. It dodges all the vital questions.

Anahita

Under His Eye wrote: »

About as much use as a chocolate tea pot. It dodges all the vital questions.

I beg to disagree.

Quote from site I linked:

If you choose to be re-routed as soon as possible, Ryanair must provide you with care and assistance while you wait for the alternative flight. Care and assistance means:

- meals and refreshments in reasonable relation to the waiting time
- hotel accommodation where an overnight stay becomes necessary
- transport between the airport and place of accommodation (hotel or other)
- two free telephone calls/access to email

Link to FB Group where at least 10 people a day are posting that Ryanair are rejecting their claim for above. The Aviation Regulator (and other agencies in other countries I presume) can and do have formalised forms to complete to hold Ryanair and other airlines to account for not adhering to the linked expectations for cancelled and certain delayed flights.

I don't think this is useless information when you have people opening threads asking 'What am I entitled to when my flight has been cancelled?'

killbillvol2

Anahita wrote: »

I beg to disagree.

Quote from site I linked:

If you choose to be re-routed as soon as possible, Ryanair must provide you with care and assistance while you wait for the alternative flight. Care and assistance means:

- meals and refreshments in reasonable relation to the waiting time
- hotel accommodation where an overnight stay becomes necessary
- transport between the airport and place of accommodation (hotel or other)
- two free telephone calls/access to email

Link to FB Group where at least 10 people a day are posting that Ryanair are rejecting their claim for above. The Aviation Regulator (and other agencies in other countries I presume) can and do have formalised forms to complete to hold Ryanair and other airlines to account for not adhering to the linked expectations for cancelled and certain delayed flights.

I don't think this is useless information when you have people opening threads asking 'What am I entitled to when my flight has been cancelled?'

That's all irrelevant as the flight wasn't cancelled, it was delayed. You can't choose to be re-routed if your flight is delayed!

Anahita

same link

Flight Delays

If your flight is delayed for more than 2 hours, Ryanair must provide you with care and assistance. If your flight is delayed by more than 5 hours, Ryanair must offer you the choice between continuing your journey and a refund of the cost of your ticket. Please note that it is not possible for passengers to travel and avail of the full refund.

killbillvol2

Anahita wrote: »

same link

Flight Delays

If your flight is delayed for more than 2 hours, Ryanair must provide you with care and assistance. If your flight is delayed by more than 5 hours, Ryanair must offer you the choice between continuing your journey and a refund of the cost of your ticket. Please note that it is not possible for passengers to travel and avail of the full refund.

Irrelevant again. The OP asked about compensation.

And please don't come back and try to get it right the third time - I'll save you the trouble. This part somewhat addresses the OP's issue (while passing the buck).

Compensation

Passengers are entitled to compensation where a flight is cancelled or delayed by more than 3 hours except where the cancellation or delay is due to extraordinary circumstances. Affected passengers are advised to contact Ryanair directly.

Claims

If you need to make a claim, contact Ryanair directly. If you do not agree with their decision, you can refer the matter to the Commission for Aviation Regulation and we will deal with it at no cost to yourself. Details of our complaint process can be found on www.flightrights.ie.


I'm inclined to agree with Under His Eye

Under His Eye wrote: »

About as much use as a chocolate tea pot. It dodges all the vital questions.

L1011

First major issue with that defence is that the delay has to be to your flight, not a knock on from earlier. Fairly easy to find out where there were ATC problems on a given day (Eurocontrol primarily)

Anahita

Fair enough, re: Delay vs. cancellations, however, there is the issue of what the interpretation of 'exceptional circumstances' are and it seems that this is something the Aviation Regulator may take more seriously into the future. Remains to be seen.

Are you saying there is no point in making a claim to Ryanair or to The Aviation Reg? Or both?

The UK CAA seem to be more inclined to hold airlines to account for a tighter definition of exceptional circumstances according to this Guardian article published on the 4th of August.

Under His Eye

The courts are a much better forum to claim in. Quicker than the Regulator.

killbillvol2

Anahita wrote: »

Fair enough, re: Delay vs. cancellations, however, there is the issue of what the interpretation of 'exceptional circumstances' are and it seems that this is something the Aviation Regulator may take more seriously into the future. Remains to be seen.

None of that was addressed in what you quoted.

Anahita wrote: »

Are you saying there is no point in making a claim to Ryanair or to The Aviation Reg? Or both?

I'm saying no such thing - you were clogging up the thread with irrelevant information.

I've successfully claimed from Ryanair and was paid pretty quickly as it was clearly their fault. The OP is asking about his delay, says Ryanair say it was ATC but he doesn't mention when it happened or what route. So nobody on this thread knows if they're fobbing him off or not. He'd certainly be wasting his time with any legal action if the flight was using French air space on a day that French ATC were on strike.

Under His Eye

Are the flight plans available from Euro Control?

Anahita

Ok. I'll be off so. Didn't realise it was unnecessary information. It was all new to me and as this is a travel forum and not Aviation forum, I thought it might be helpful. Clearly it's not. I'm off.

AndrewJRenko

Has anyone done any Ryanair claims for delay recently? A family member was delayed nearly four hours during the week. The Ryanair site seems to play down the possibility of getting anything, but the Flight Rights site seems to suggest €400 for delay of 3 hours for medium haul;

https://www.flightrights.ie/your-rights/passenger-rights/long-flight-delays/

Has anyone been through the process recently?

Nigel Fairservice

I had two Ryanair claims back to back recently both involving flights to two different UK cities. I made the first claim on May 25th and it was accepted by Ryanair on June 30th. The pilot mentioned technical issues when we boarded and this was the reason given by Ryanair as their basis for accepting the claim. I made the second claim on June 7th and it was accepted by Ryanair on June 11th. No reason was given as to why they accepted the claim but I have a feeling they gave our plane away to service another route. Anyway, I ended up with €500 between the 2 claims.

We also got a £3 voucher from Ryanair at both UK airports. It wasn't even enough to buy a coffee at either airport.

stargazer 68

The flight rights site says after 2 hours you must be provided with care and assistance but compensation is payable after 3 hours delay. Am I reading that correctly?

We were 2.5 hours delayed yesterday with no care and assistance offered to anyone, it was no issue to us but may have been to others.

dalyboy

I was delayed 14 hours on a flight from Spain a few months ago. Mechanical issue. I got my €400 delay compensation from them 2 months later (after the fact)