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Author Topic: Widespread Ryanair cancellations from September 2017 until March 2018  (Read 28848 times)
IndustryInsider
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« on: September 16, 2017, 12:51:25 »

No doubt feeling sorry for GWR (Great Western Railway)'s high current cancellation rate, Ryanair have announced up to 50 flights a day for the next six weeks due to management failure regarding annual leave allocations.  That equates to roughly 2% of all flights they operate, and they hope to increase punctuality from below 80% to a more normal 90%.  Those figures sound familiar!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41291483

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ChrisB
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« Reply #1 on: September 16, 2017, 13:34:28 »

They changed the annual leave year from April to calendar year, so everyone is trying to take their full leave before Xmas too
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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #2 on: September 16, 2017, 17:59:03 »

No doubt feeling sorry for GWR (Great Western Railway)'s high current cancellation rate, Ryanair have announced up to 50 flights a day for the next six weeks due to management failure regarding annual leave allocations.  That equates to roughly 2% of all flights they operate, and they hope to increase punctuality from below 80% to a more normal 90%.  Those figures sound familiar!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41291483



Ryanair & GWR in a race to the bottom?
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IndustryInsider
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« Reply #3 on: September 16, 2017, 23:50:24 »

I think Southern has nosedived too far for even Ryanair to plummet to.
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« Reply #4 on: September 17, 2017, 07:03:40 »

A planned 2% reduction of services through the autumn is a more pragmatic way to re-plan than 2% (or even 1.5%) of services being lost on at 12 hours notice or less.    Passengers can know what will run and re-work things in good time rather than being messed around at the last minute. More time can be taken in ensuring that the new service schedule considers the best passenger alternatives, rather than being a cut having to be whatever's operationally easy to cull on the day.

I larfs when I sees 2% and sees it called "WhydeSpread". Troy 19 outa 119 scheduled over the larzt 7 daze 'ere abouts. 15.9% cancellations.
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ChrisB
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« Reply #5 on: September 17, 2017, 09:18:04 »

Except Ruanair haven't cancelled flights for tge whole six weeks, just tge next four days....and are still cancelling just with 24hrs notice. Many reporting their next flight is several days later! Yes, they have to pay hotel & subsistance, but pax may need to be home! At least the next train to Melsksgam isn't this Thursday!
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TaplowGreen
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« Reply #6 on: September 17, 2017, 09:27:29 »

Except Ruanair haven't cancelled flights for tge whole six weeks, just tge next four days....and are still cancelling just with 24hrs notice. Many reporting their next flight is several days later! Yes, they have to pay hotel & subsistance, but pax may need to be home! At least the next train to Melsksgam isn't this Thursday!

Melsksgam? Is that one of Ryanair's Eastern European hubs?
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ChrisB
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« Reply #7 on: September 17, 2017, 10:11:24 »

Hmmm....to early for typing on an iphone! Apologies
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Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #8 on: September 17, 2017, 22:00:36 »

An update, from the BBC» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

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Ryanair cancels flights after 'messing up' pilot holidays

Ryanair cancelled 82 flights on Sunday after admitting it had "messed up" the planning of its pilots' holidays.

The budget airline said on Saturday that it would cancel 40-50 flights every day for the next six weeks.

Marketing officer Kenny Jacobs said affected customers with bookings up to 20 September had been informed. "We have messed up in the planning of pilot holidays and we're working hard to fix that," he said.

Most of the cancellations are due to a backlog of staff leave which has seen large numbers of the airline's staff book holidays towards the end of the year.

The airline is changing its holiday year, which currently runs from April to March, to run from January to December instead.

Rynanair said the shift meant it had to allocate annual leave to pilots in September and October.

The cancellations could affect up to 285,000 passengers, who will be offered alternative flights or refunds.

Mr Jacobs said affected customers would have been sent an email. "We advise customers to check the email address used to make their booking," he added.

A page on the Ryanair website details flights cancelled up until 20 September. It says 56 flights are cancelled on Monday, 55 on Tuesday, and 53 on Wednesday.

Ryanair has said that less than 2% of its flights would be cancelled and the move would help it hit its annual punctuality target of 90%.

But passengers have complained about the resulting uncertainty.


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William Huskisson MP (Member of Parliament) was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830.  Many more have died in the same way since then.  Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner."  Discuss.
Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #9 on: September 18, 2017, 17:18:26 »

A further update, from the BBC» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

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Ryanair faces 20m euro compensation bill over cancellations

Ryanair could face up to 20m euros (£18m) in compensation claims after cancelling thousands of flights due to a shortage of pilots, it has warned.

The budget airline plans to cancel 40-50 flights every day for the next six weeks, after it admitted it had "messed up" the planning of pilot holidays.

An internal memo seen by the BBC suggests the pilot shortage could continue until the end of the year. There is no suggestion this means the disruption will extend beyond October.

In a letter to pilots, chief operations officer Michael Hickey said the firm's crewing forecast to the end of December was "for tighter pilot numbers". The letter shows Ryanair pilots were only informed on 13 September of the staff shortage facing the company yet Mr Hickey outlined that it knew last year they may face a leave backlog.

Pilots have been asked to work during their booked holiday to cover the gaps and their rota pattern is also likely to be disrupted. In the letter, Mr Hickey said these pilots would be "helping protect the integrity of the operation during the remainder of the flight year".

Ryanair also faces pressure to publish a full list of the flights it plans to cancel every day amid growing anger among customers. So far it has only published a list of affected flights up until Wednesday.

Consumer rights group Which? said: "It's essential that Ryanair release a full list of flights that will be affected so that passengers have as much time as possible to make alternate arrangements."

The airline has blamed a backlog of staff leave for the disruption, which could affect up to 400,000 passengers.

Ryanair is changing its holiday year, which currently runs from April to March, to run from January to December instead. This has led to large numbers of its staff taking holidays in September and October.

Reports on Monday also suggested recruitment problems were affecting the airline and that it had lost pilots to rival Norwegian Air.

A Norwegian spokesperson said: "We can confirm that 140 pilots have joined us from Ryanair this year. Pilot recruitment is also underway for more pilots for our new Dublin base opening later this year."

The airline has promised affected customers alternative flights or refunds. However, many have reacted angrily to the cancellations on social media and called for a full list of affected flights to be released.

Shares in Ryanair were down 2% on Monday afternoon.


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William Huskisson MP (Member of Parliament) was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830.  Many more have died in the same way since then.  Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner."  Discuss.
Chris from Nailsea
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« Reply #10 on: September 18, 2017, 19:02:33 »

A further development, reported by the BBC» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

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Ryanair to publish full list of cancellations



Ryanair customers whose flights are being cancelled, will receive an email by this evening informing them, chief executive Michael O'Leary has said.

The budget airline plans to cancel 40-50 flights every day for the next six weeks, after it admitted it had "messed up" the planning of pilot holidays.

The details of all the cancelled flights will be on the Ryanair website over the next 24 hours, the firm said.

Mr O'Leary said most people would still be able to fly on the same day. If not, they would be moved to flights the day before or the day after and the airline would meet its obligations over compensation.

The airline said it was cancelling flights at airports where it runs the busiest schedules, so it would be easier to accommodate passengers on alternative flights.

That will include flights operating out of the following airports: Barcelona, Brussels, Dublin, Lisbon, London Stansted, Madrid, Milan Bergamo, Porto and Rome Fiumi.

Mr O'Leary said around 400,000 passengers would be directly affected, but he said a decision had been made to disrupt the plans of 2% of travellers in order to offer a better service to the remaining customers.

Changes to the way the airline organises its holiday year have left Ryanair with a backlog of staff leave, meaning there is a shortage of pilots on standby over the next six weeks.

That meant any minor disruptions to flights were causing knock-on delays, because the airline did not have the flexibility it needed from back-up crews, said Mr O'Leary.

After 1 November, when the lighter winter schedule begins, there will not be any need for cancellations, he said.

He said they were also asking to buy back leave from pilots and alter the holiday schedule.

Mr O'Leary said Ryanair would honour all of its obligations to compensate passengers under EU» (European Union - about) regulations but would not book passengers onto flights with rival carriers.
"We will not pay for flights on other airlines, no. It is not part of the EU261 entitlement," he said, referring to European passenger rights legislation.

He said the airline did not have an overall shortage of pilots, but said they had "messed up" the rosters for September and October. "This is our mess-up. When we make a mess in Ryanair we come out with our hands up," he said. "We try to explain why we've made the mess and we will pay compensation to those passengers who are entitled to compensation, which will be those flights that are cancelled over the next two weeks."

If passengers are given more than 14 days notice of a cancellation, they are not entitled to compensation.


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William Huskisson MP (Member of Parliament) was the first person to be killed by a train while crossing the tracks, in 1830.  Many more have died in the same way since then.  Don't take a chance: stop, look, listen.

"Level crossings are safe, unless they are used in an unsafe manner."  Discuss.
JayMac
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« Reply #11 on: September 18, 2017, 19:25:18 »

That's how the head of a business should respond to customers when they mess up.

Take note Mark Hopwood.

And to those saying "Network Rail blah blah blah... DfT» (Department for Transport - about) blah blah blah..." the put upon travellers in the west are customers of GWR (Great Western Railway). The buck stops with Mr Hopwood. 
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SandTEngineer
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« Reply #12 on: September 18, 2017, 19:27:59 »

Hang on a minute BNM.  Its taken them 2 days to get to this point and I much suspect intense press publicity and a falling share price might have something to do with it, rather than concerns for passengers.....
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Timmer
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« Reply #13 on: September 18, 2017, 19:37:08 »

Will all be forgotten about in a few weeks time. The lure of cheap flights will continue to be the draw to flying Ryanair no matter how c**p they are in some people's eyes. Money talks.
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JayMac
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« Reply #14 on: September 18, 2017, 21:32:18 »

Hang on a minute BNM.  Its taken them 2 days to get to this point and I much suspect intense press publicity and a falling share price might have something to do with it, rather than concerns for passengers.....

2 days to get their house in order? Remarkably quick response.

Meanwhile at GWR (Great Western Railway) towers...



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