Ryanair dumps Poole family on wrong holiday island (From Bournemouth Echo)
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Ryanair dumps Poole family on wrong holiday island
7:00am Friday 19th February 2010 in
Ryanair has been accused of “abandoning” a Poole family on the wrong Canary Island after thunderstorms forced their flight to be diverted.
Kay Wright, 40, and her children six-year-old Jack and five-year-old George, flew from Bournemouth airport on Wednesday afternoon along with Kay’s stepdaughter Tabatha, 23, and her three-year-old daughter Kacey.
Their Ryanair flight to Lanzarote left on time but, following two aborted landing attempts, was diverted to neighbouring Fuerteventura.
Kay’s boyfriend Tony Wainwright, 48, who had dropped his family off at Bournemouth airport on Wednesday, was shocked to hear how they had ended up on Fuerteventura.
The security consultant from Broadstone said: “I got a phone call at about 6pm to say they had landed but were on the wrong island.
“After disembarking they had gone into the terminal but there were no Ryanair representatives to tell them what to do next.
“It was left to me and a very helpful Spanish lady to sort out a taxi, arrange alternative accommodation for the night and book ferry crossings to Lanzarote in the morning.
“I don’t blame Ryanair for the bad weather but to abandon a family, on the wrong island, is unforgivable.
“It has cost us another £400.
“I know Ryanair is a budget airline but surely they have some duty of care to their passengers.”
The weary family finally arrived at Playa Blanca yesterday following a ferry trip in choppy seas to Lanzarote.
Tony said: “There has been no contact from Ryanair whatsoever.
“No information was posted on their website to say the flight had been diverted.
“When I rang I was told to write and I would receive a reply within 14 days.
“The flights were cheap, they cost about £250, but there’s no way we would use Ryanair again.”
A Ryanair spokeswoman said: “All passengers were accommodated under EU261 guidelines.”
David Skillicorn, managing director of Bournemouth-based tour operator Palmair, said: “There should be arrangements in place to cope with this situation.
“We would arrange for staff to go to Fuerteventura airport to give advice, arrange ferry crossings or sort out alternative accommodation.
“Planes break down and weather conditions change.
“When all travel arrangements have been made on a website it’s fine when it goes well but another story when things go wrong.”
Comments(29)
cantique
says...
9:02am Fri 19 Feb 10
mike the moustache
says...
9:52am Fri 19 Feb 10
rainbowkisses
says...
10:50am Fri 19 Feb 10
twynham
says...
11:07am Fri 19 Feb 10
Astraeus £900.
Thomson £1300.
And I have never been treated any worse by Ryanair, Europe’s favourite airline, than by Easy Jet, Flybe, Thomsons et al.
I don't consider £5 each way to Spain a con, you just need to know how to use their website.
Millions do.
Holes Bay Curve
says...
11:44am Fri 19 Feb 10
cantique wrote:Yes, from A to B at typically less than a half the cost of other airlines.
So it seems that if you buy a ticket from A to B, Ryanair can take you to C, and it is then your responsibility to get to B. No doubt you will soon have to pay an surcharge to actually land at the destination of your choice!
I assume that complaints about the poor weather have been made to the relevant tourist authority in Lanzarote.
gerbil112
says...
12:10pm Fri 19 Feb 10
Xchurch-man
says...
12:35pm Fri 19 Feb 10
Their bully-boy attitude toward both staff and customers is puerile and arrogant.
I would rather pay more to fly from another airport and know I have some level of customer service and contact inn case of a problem than use this lot from Bournemouth.
I suggest this lady contacts a company called EUclaim in Holland, they will take up a no fee's airline compensation claim in cases like this. The EU has just ruled that even Ryanair are not exempt from paying compensation in circumstances like this.
Tell her to give it a go.
golden mouldie
says...
1:27pm Fri 19 Feb 10
NatD
says...
1:40pm Fri 19 Feb 10
SonofKinson
says...
3:21pm Fri 19 Feb 10
.
http://www.thesupert
rip.com/index.php?op
tion=com_content&tas
k=view&id=164&Itemid
=32
.
Copy and paste into your browser
SonofKinson
says...
3:25pm Fri 19 Feb 10
.
http://www.ryanair.c
om/en/news/ryanair-c
onfident-of-defendin
g-passenger-compensa
tion-claim
mark0peters
says...
3:31pm Fri 19 Feb 10
The "duty of care" of the airline was to ensure they stayed alive!!
Ryan Air are brilliant & cheap and any other aircraft in a thunder storm might have to do the same thing as there may not be any alternative.
After a polite letter of complaint I got a £400 refund from Ryan air last year -(after a cancled flight) I thought there customer service was excelent at the end of the day.
Before the wingers complained about Ryan Air they were complaining about BA... moaners are never satisfied with anything and cannot truly enjoy life anywhere and with anyone.....
nobull
says...
4:24pm Fri 19 Feb 10
upontown
says...
4:32pm Fri 19 Feb 10
Invisible
says...
4:47pm Fri 19 Feb 10
Er, no actually. Customer Service is a totally alien concept to this cowboy outfit. Made the huge mistake of travelling with them to Dublin and back ten years ago - NEVER again!
ski
says...
5:07pm Fri 19 Feb 10
Xchurch-man
says...
5:08pm Fri 19 Feb 10
http://www.euclaim.c
o.uk/
Visit this site, they have taken airlines including Ryanair to the EU Court.
The EU court has ruled in favour of the passengers, and even Ryanair will have to pay up.
I suggest Kay takes a visit to the above Website, along with anyone else they have stitched up.
Xchurch-man
says...
5:13pm Fri 19 Feb 10
ski wrote:No.
You all seem to want to pay "Beer" prices then expect "Champagne" typical tight a***ses
The rules governing Ryanair are the same as those that BA and all the others have to comply with regarding compensation and what happens if flights are delayed or cancelled.
It's just that Ryanair and some other low costs feel they DONT have to comply and stick two fingers up at passengers when something goes wrong. The EU Court has ruled against them. Ryanair may well be paying out several years of back claims, so will many other airlines who flouted the rules.
McVICAR
says...
5:15pm Fri 19 Feb 10
Poole girl
says...
6:08pm Fri 19 Feb 10
twynham
says...
8:03pm Fri 19 Feb 10
Xchurch-man wrote:Oh! No they won't.
ski wrote:No.
You all seem to want to pay "Beer" prices then expect "Champagne" typical tight a***ses
The rules governing Ryanair are the same as those that BA and all the others have to comply with regarding compensation and what happens if flights are delayed or cancelled.
It's just that Ryanair and some other low costs feel they DONT have to comply and stick two fingers up at passengers when something goes wrong. The EU Court has ruled against them. Ryanair may well be paying out several years of back claims, so will many other airlines who flouted the rules.
nobull
says...
9:22pm Fri 19 Feb 10
twynham
says...
9:46pm Fri 19 Feb 10
Simple!
Slagging off Ryanair, Europe’s favourite airline gets people to read the story.
As we have all proved.
But, Ryanair have enabled myself and millions of others to travel at a seriously cheap price to enjoy other parts of Europe that, in the 70’s I had to sleep on the floor of Heathrow to get a bucket shop flight to Portugal because BA & Iberia had a monopoly.
If you don’t like the way they operate, don’t use them.
But, do you really think Hurn airport would have been developed to give us all in the area the opportunity to fly to 17 European destinations if it had been left up to Thomson or Palmair?
I think not!
Xchurch-man
says...
1:42am Sat 20 Feb 10
twynham wrote:Err I beg to differ.
Xchurch-man wrote:Oh! No they won't.ski wrote: You all seem to want to pay "Beer" prices then expect "Champagne" typical tight a***sesNo. The rules governing Ryanair are the same as those that BA and all the others have to comply with regarding compensation and what happens if flights are delayed or cancelled. It's just that Ryanair and some other low costs feel they DONT have to comply and stick two fingers up at passengers when something goes wrong. The EU Court has ruled against them. Ryanair may well be paying out several years of back claims, so will many other airlines who flouted the rules.
This would be the same EU Court that took on Microsoft and won.
Oh yes they will!
Peejay54
says...
10:49am Sat 20 Feb 10
lostinessex
says...
11:33am Sat 20 Feb 10
I have many times and though customer service is not high neither is the price.
In fact the last trip to the Med I took from Stansted was cheaper than hopping on a train from Waterloo to Bournemouth.
And quicker.
twynham
says...
9:04pm Sat 20 Feb 10
A more detailed version of the statement from Ryanair, Europe's favoutite airline.
Stephen McNamara, Ryanair head of communications, said: "Passengers were provided with EU261 (a European passenger rights regulation) information which outlines their entitlement to provide receipted hotel expenses to Ryanair, for refund.
"Ryanair arranged that the ferry company would carry affected Ryanair passengers to Lanzarote free of charge when ferries recommenced the following morning."
Ryanair could never put passenger convenience before safety, he added.
Can't ask for more than that!
siggyboy
says...
11:25pm Sun 21 Feb 10
Many people have been used to the cosseting of tour operators and that is fine...pay more for the extra security.
May not agree with all of O Learys marketing tactics but Ryanair have been good for Bournemouth. Just wish they would not change routes and times so frequently!
Some of the comments on here are almost libellous and certainly un though out and pathetic
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twynham says...
8:17am Fri 19 Feb 10
I love Ryanair dearly, I flew with them to Catalonia six times last year for fares ranging from £10 to 1p (including fees) but, and it nearly did happen once, if there is a problem with the flight, you’re on your own.
I generally travel on my own so if there is a problem I can easily get it sorted but I wouldn’t have wanted to have five kids with me on the wrong island.
I hope the weather improved and they all had a great time but if you pay £250 for five seats you are not going to get a Palmair service.