Widespread Ryanair cancellations from September 2017 until March 2018

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

Further developments, from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Ryanair pilots reject bonus to work through cancellation crisis

A group of Ryanair pilots has rejected a cash bonus to work extra days after the airline cancelled 2,100 flights because it "messed up" crew holidays.

In a letter seen by the BBC, pilot representatives from 17 of the company's 80 or so European bases have told bosses that most are not enthused. They want new contracts and better working conditions instead.

Ryanair had offered captains a one-off payment of £12,000 or 12,000 euros, and first officers £6,000 or 6,000 euros. But the letter said: "The pilot market is changing, and Ryanair will need to change the ways which the pilots and management work together to ensure a stable and common future for everyone".

New contracts, it says, "should help stop the large number of colleagues who are leaving for "greener pastures". It also asks to bring in professional negotiators to help broker a deal. They have given the airline until tomorrow to respond.

One pilot told me that this is their one chance to improve conditions at work. The letter comes from staff based all over Europe including Germany, Italy, Holland, Belgium and Sweden.

In recent days I've been contacted by almost 20 current and former Ryanair pilots telling me that the company is losing unhappy crews quicker than it can replace them. They all told me that a shortage of pilots is the key reason why so many flights have had to be cancelled in recent days.

But it is a claim strenuously denied by the airline's boss Michael O'Leary.

It seems that, for the first time, scattered Ryanair pilot reps are joining forces in some numbers - often making contact over social media - because they have spotted a chance to collectively bargain for new, improved contracts.

I asked Ryanair what they made of the counter-offer but they haven't got back to me yet.

The big question now is, if pilots decide to escalate things, say, a work to rule for example, will Ryanair be able to get through the next few weeks without having to cancel yet more flights? At the weekend Ryanair decided to cancel 40 to 50 flights every day for the next six weeks.

Ryanair said earlier that it had sent out emails to 315,000 affected customers on Monday, telling them about flight changes, alternative flights, and refunds. It said the fiasco was down to its own mistaken decision to force its pilots to take their remaining annual leave before the end of the year, rather than by the end of the financial year next March.

This means it does not have enough pilots to crew all its scheduled flights this month and next.

[Chris from Nailsea]

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

Ryanair plans to make pilots change holidays


Boss Michael O'Leary at the Ryanair shareholder meeting

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has said the firm is planning to make pilots delay a week's holiday as it wrestles with massive flight cancellations.

His comments came at the airline's annual general meeting, which is being held in Dublin.

Ryanair is cancelling 40-50 flights every day for the next six weeks, after it admitted it had "messed up" the planning of pilot holidays.

A group of Ryanair pilots has rejected a cash bonus to work extra days.

Ryanair had offered captains a one-off payment of £12,000 or 12,000 euros, and first officers £6,000 or 6,000 euros, but they said they wanted new contracts and better working conditions instead.

Mr O'Leary told the AGM^▸ (Annual General Meeting) that Ryanair was facing a "significant management failure". He said pilots who had a four-week block of holidays coming up in the next few months because of rota changes would be told to take three weeks instead and have the other week in January. He said the firm did not need pilots' agreement for the change.

Mr O'Leary said the cancellations had cost Ryanair about 25 million euros (£22m).

He accused unions of trying to give the company "a bloody nose" and said staff did not want union representation.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

400,000 more passengers to be hit by Ryanair cancellations

Ryanair will cancel another 18,000 flights between November and March, affecting the travel plans of another 400,000 passengers.

It will fly 25 fewer planes to cut the risk of further flight cancellations.

More than 30 routes will be suspended this winter, including Stansted to Edinburgh and Glasgow, Gatwick to Belfast and Newcastle to Faro.

Earlier this month the Irish airline cancelled up to 50 flights a day through to the end of October.

Those passengers affected by the move will be offered alternative flights or full refunds. They will also be offered vouchers of 40 euro (£35) one way or 80 euros return towards on alternative flights on top of any refund.

Ryanair said passengers affected by the cancellations up to the end of next month have been sent emails advising them of the flight changes.

The airline has blamed the summer cancellations on "messing up" pilot holiday rosters and again denied it had a pilot shortage. "In the current year less than 100 of over 2,000 captains left Ryanair (mainly retirements or to long haul airlines) and less than 160 F.O's [first officers] who have mainly left to join longhaul airlines," it said.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary said: "From today, there will be no more rostering-related flight cancellations this winter or in summer 2018. Slower growth this winter will create lots of spare aircraft and crews, which will allow us to manage the exceptional volumes of annual leave we committed to delivering in the nine months to December 2017."

The airline also said the total cost of the flight cancellations to date would be less 25m euros (£22m) and expected the cost of the free flight vouchers would be less than £22m.

[ChrisB]

Those passengers affected by the move will be offered alternative flights or full refunds. They will also be offered vouchers of 40 euro (£35) one way or 80 euros return towards on alternative flights on top of any refund.

Don't think the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) have that quite right. I'm one of these additionals, with a flight to Dublin in late January. Canx flight, but nothing by way of compensation as they say "its more than 28 days notice".

[Chris from Nailsea]

Inaccuracy at the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page)?  Whatever next?? 

There is a considerable amount of detail in the Ryanair press release, for those who are affected / interested.

[ChrisB]

I have now received the mentioned Eur40 credit note, but not usable until October 1 - and of course, pax want to secure an alternative ASAP, so I've already booked an alternative.

I'm sure Ryanair have worked this out, so it's purely a marketing scam, to make you book again with them at a later date, rather than compensation usable against any alternative. Still leaves a nasty taste....

[Chris from Nailsea]

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

Ryanair law breach leaves UK^▸ (United Kingdom) regulator CAA^» (Civil Aviation Authority - about) 'furious'

Ryanair has been threatened with legal action for "persistently misleading" passengers about their rights following thousands of flight cancellations.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)'s chief executive Andrew Haines said he was "furious" that the airline was not complying with the law.

The authority has launched "enforcement action" against Ryanair for wrongly claiming it did not have to re-route passengers on rival airlines.

Ryanair now says it will co-operate. In a brief statement, the airline said: "We already comply fully with all EU261 legislation, are meeting with the CAA and will comply fully with whatever requirements they ask us to."

The CAA's Mr Haines told the BBC that he very much doubted the dispute would get as far as the courts, but added it was "unacceptable" that Ryanair was disregarding the law and customers' rights. "These are simple things to fix and they're choosing not to fix them," he said. "People shouldn't have to choose between low fares and legal rights."

Mr Haines singled out Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary for particular criticism, telling Radio 5live: "Michael himself said he wasn't going to pay for passengers to fly on other airlines. That's against the law. My concern with Ryanair, and the reason we are speaking so openly, is they say one thing and yet they don't follow it through."

The fresh round of flight cancellations will be between November and March and affect the travel plans of a further 400,000 customers.

A total of 34 routes will be suspended this winter, including Stansted to Edinburgh and Glasgow, Gatwick to Belfast and Newcastle to Faro.

Earlier this month, the airline cancelled up to 50 flights a day through to the end of October, also affecting 400,000 passengers.

The regulator said that on both occasions Ryanair had failed to provide customers with "necessary and accurate" information about their rights.

Your rights explained
- Ryanair has about 24 hours after telling affected passengers of a cancellation to book them on an alternative Ryanair flight
- If the alternative Ryanair flight is not soon enough, or at a time that does not work for you, then you can tell Ryanair to book you on the most appropriate flight on an alternative airline at no extra cost to you
- Consumer group Which? says that it is best to make Ryanair do the legwork - rather than take a refund from the Ryanair flight, rebook yourself on another airline, and try to reclaim any extra cost from Ryanair if the new flight is more expensive. By doing so, you will probably only get a refund for the cancelled Ryanair flight, but not the difference for the more expensive alternative flight
- As more than two weeks' notice has been given for the new wave of flights cancellations, affected passengers will not be entitled to the extra compensation that is paid under EU^» (European Union - about) rules for last-minute cancellations

Full refunds

The CAA said information provided on Ryanair's website failed to make it clear that the airline was obliged to refund all expenses incurred as a result of the flight cancellation.

Those expenses included meals, hotels, as well as transfer costs to re-route passengers on other airlines when there was no suitable alternative, the CAA said.

The airline has said that passengers affected by the move will be offered alternative flights or full refunds and had been emailed about advising them of flight changes occurring until the end of October.

They will also be offered vouchers of 40 euros (£35) one way, or 80 euros return, towards alternative flights on top of any refund.

Ryanair has blamed the series of flight cancellations on "messing up" pilot holiday rosters.

[IndustryInsider]

For those of you that are new to the FGW^▸ (First Great Western)/GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) scene, the CAA^» (Civil Aviation Authority - about)'s Mr Haines used to be MD of First Great Western before Mark Hopwood took over.

Sounds pretty seedy behaviour from Ryanair, but that doesn't matter of course as the boss held his hands up, accepted the blame and said sorry at the time. 

[JayMac]

For those of you that are new to the FGW^▸ (First Great Western)/GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) scene, the CAA^» (Civil Aviation Authority - about)'s Mr Haines used to be MD of First Great Western before Mark Hopwood took over.

A regulator with teeth. Something the Rail industry desperately needs.

At FGW, Andrew Haines (a very competent MD) was preceded by the dire Alison Forster. Bad, good, bad for the last three MDs. If the cycle continues the next one should be an improvement over the current incumbant. 

[John R]

This now looks as though it is going to cost Ryanair a fortune, as they appear to have an obligation to rebook flights cancelled over two weeks in advance rather than refunding and leaving passengers in the lurch. Good!

And I suspect other European regulators will be taking note too, bearing in mind that many of the routes curtailed don't involve UK^▸ (United Kingdom) or Irish destinations.

[TonyK]

So ChrisB and others are entitled to be carried by other airlines at Ryanair's expense! That could be the gamechanger, especially as Mr O'Leary (net worth c. £700 million) said that Ryanair couldn't afford to pay the fares charged by its competitors.

The latest spate of cancellations would tend to suggest that his recent recruitment drive has not borne fruit. In a world where there is a shortage of pilots, that is unsurprising. Not many pilots would turn down a job with another airline to do multi-sector days for someone who has said they have the "easiest job in the world", or who has suggested flying "DOO^▸ (Driver-Only Operation (that is, trains which operate without carrying a guard))", with no co-pilot, but with a steward(ess) trained to land in emergencies.

For the record, I have flown with Ryanair twice (return - four flights in all) this year. I have no complaints - friendly, competent cabin staff, fairly new Boeing 737-800s in good order and clean, flown by very good pilots, and just the lack of a lasagne when I fancied one to grumble about. I flew to Béziers in France and Castellón in Spain, and had a wonderful time. In both cases, the airports were perfectly adequate (Béziers a provincial airport with ambitions, Castellón a vanity project desperate for customers), and close to very nice places. The fares were hardly more than the cost of the bus to Bristol airport. The problem seems to be institutional, and I don't blame any pilot for walking away for a better offer.

[grahame]

Ironically, when Irish Ferries let me down this week with cancelling the 14:30 and offering me the 08:05 or the 20:55 yesterday, I ... got a seat on Ryan Air.  Refund from Irish ferries;  flight cost about the same as my SailRail though I had extra costs from airport home.  Funny world, isn't it?

[Chris from Nailsea]

More details, from the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Ryanair given deadline to obey compensation rules

Ryanair has been told to correct its compensation policy for hundreds of thousands of passengers whose flights have been cancelled, by 5pm on Friday.

The UK^▸ (United Kingdom)'s Civil Aviation Authority says the airline must stop misleading passengers about the option to be re-routed with another airline.

The regulator has ordered the budget airline to say publicly how it will re-route passengers who require it.

Ryanair must also say how it will reimburse their out-of-pocket expenses.

In addition, the beleaguered airline must promise to help any of the passengers whose flights have been cancelled in the past two weeks, but who may have chosen an unsuitable option as a result of being misled by Ryanair, the regulator said.

The demands cover passengers who were due to fly to and from the UK.

The airline recently cancelled flights affecting more than 700,000 passengers, from now until next March, in two separate tranches, because it had bungled the reorganisation of its pilots' leave arrangements.

On Wednesday the CAA^» (Civil Aviation Authority - about) said that if the airline did not fully comply with European Union (EU^» (European Union - about)) rules on providing compensation then it would take the airline to court, with the possibility of an unlimited fine.

Now the CAA has set deadlines for Ryanair's compliance and once again taken the airline to task for its failings.

Referring to the Ryanair website, which must also be changed by Friday's deadline, the CAA says: "There is still no information here about how expenses will be treated where passengers are re-routed to and/or from other airports or where they otherwise incur additional out-of-pocket expenses as a result of the cancellations."

"Further changes are therefore required to make it clear that any such expenses will be reimbursed by Ryanair".

Demanding an end to Ryanair's "ongoing infringements" of the EU rules, the CAA said Ryanair had still failed to supply information requested a week ago on its refund and rerouting policy.

The regulator said it was "especially interested" in how the airline's call centre staff had been dealing with passengers.

Evidence seen by the BBC suggests that some travellers have been denied their rights. For instance, in a web chat with Ryanair on Thursday, a passenger called Matthew Rice said: "You are obligated to re-route me as advised in the CAA's open letter to you and Ryanair's policy on the cancellations as provided to you." The Ryanair call centre employee replied: "No I am not. Is there anything else I can help you with today?"

The airline said it had reminded its call centre staff on Wednesday about its formal policy, which states that passengers can be re-booked on another airline so long as the cost is not more than three times that of the original Ryanair fare.

Additional deadlines

The regulator has also imposed a further deadline on the airline to rectify the misleading information given to passengers during the past two weeks.

New emails must be sent to them giving "accurate and comprehensive information on their rights and options".

Ryanair must offer them again the option of a refund or re-routing, including one with another airline, and tell them how to make a claim for expenses.

Travellers who have accepted a refund must be offered a reimbursement of the difference with any higher fare.

And those who have been misled into accepting an unsatisfactory re-routing must be offered the option of changing it.

Passengers in the second group of cancellations, covering November to March, must have the option of being re-routed with another airline highlighted as an alternative Ryanair flight may not be available.

All the new emails must be sent out by 5pm on 4 October, after first being checked and approved by the CAA.

[Timmer]

At FGW^▸ (First Great Western), Andrew Haines (a very competent MD) was preceded by the dire Alison Forster. Bad, good, bad for the last three MDs. If the cycle continues the next one should be an improvement over the current incumbant. 

Oh how we cheered when Andrew Haines took over from Alison Forster who quickly sorted things out following the total balls up after the merging of the three rail companies into one. Shame his tenure as MD was but a short one.

If I remember rightly at the time, didn't Alison Forster let it be known she wasn't keen on taking over the local West services from Wessex Trains? It was the crazy decision to reduce the fleet size as recommended by a consultancy firm that was to be her downfall with the way it was all handled.

Anyway to get back on topic somewhat, it was good to see Andrew Haines on TV this morning even if it was in a capacity of making it be known how furious the CAA^» (Civil Aviation Authority - about) were with Ryanair.

[IndustryInsider]

If I remember rightly at the time, didn't Alison Forster let it be known she wasn't keen on taking over the local West services from Wessex Trains? It was the crazy decision to reduce the fleet size as recommended by a consultancy firm that was to be her downfall with the way it was all handled.

Hmmm, wasn't that consultancy firm in effect the DfT who specified and awarded a franchise based on service reductions, particularly on the branches and rural routes?  Andrew Haines did a good job in his short tenure in repairing some of that damage (Forster was pretty inexperienced and useless to be honest, and was shunted off to a much lower profile job at First Group!), but I would have been interested to see how he would have handled GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway)'s recent problems had he stayed on for a decent period.  Some might say that's a true test of a manager - it certainly is in football, just ask Ranieri!