Ryanair offers pilots bonuses in bid to avoid more cancellations

Judith Bessette

Setembro 21, 2017

Ação

The idea is that the pilots who give up their holidays would manage to bridge the gap in the schedule debacle which has seen some 50 flights a day being cancelled over the next 6 weeks.

O'Leary meanwhile told a Dublin press conference that the company expected to forego up to five million euros in lost profit over the next six weeks.

Ryanair says the cancellations are necessary in order for the airline to reach its target of 90 percent punctuality.

We have approached Ryanair for comment - after boss Michael O'Leary yesterday admitted the flight cancellation fiasco could cost the airline €25million.

Under EU law, passengers given less than 14 days notice of a flight cancellation are entitled to claim compensation worth up to £221 depending o timing of alternative flights and if the issue was not beyond the responsibility of the airline, such as extreme weather.

A number of Dublin routes including Paris, Milan and London Stansted on certain dates have been cancelled.

"To avoid further cancellations, we are requesting between 1 and 2 blocks of 5 days from every pilot who has already been assigned their Monday off", Chief Operations Officer Michael Hickey said in the letter.

However, only those whose flights have been confirmed as cancelled have these options. For example, if the travel insurance policy shows £500 cover for missed departure, they believe that regardless of the circumstances, they will be able to claim up to the £500 limit.

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Ryanair says that in most cases it will offer you an alternative flight.

"I received a text message from Ryanair on Friday 15 September about Monday's flight", she said.

"We did not focus on the concern we were causing to the 18 million passengers flying with us over the next six weeks", he said.

If less than 14 days notice is given for a cancellation, airline travellers can claim up to 250 euros (£221) under European Union regulation 261, depending on the timing of the alternative flight. The airline is only obliged to re-book you at "the earliest opportunity".

We squeezed gratefully onto their planes, shrugged our shoulders at the surly service and learnt to refuse yet another cash-cow lottery card.

But what more can we expect from an airline that has relentlessly and recklessly expanded, ruthlessly cutting costs to offer flights at ludicrously low prices?

In addition, it must provide reasonable meals and refreshments while you wait for re-routed flights, as well as hotel accommodation if you are delayed by one night or more, as well as transport between the airport and hotel.