Ryanair strike pushes fliers into pricey bookings

Bloomberg

Ryanair Holdings Plc’s worsening spat with pilots and cabin crew has created confusion among panicked customers as they race to salvage travel plans disrupted by strikes.
Travellers holding tickets from affected airports told of an online race to find alternative journeys with the Irish airline or switch to rival carriers, only to see prices spiralling higher as hundreds of others chased the same seats.
Some succeeded in securing new flights, only to be told by Ryanair that their original departures would still operate, leaving them with a hefty bill for a trip they’d never make.
And for others the walkouts have brought heartache as long-anticipated journeys are canceled and loved ones left disappointed.
“I’m skeptical towards Ryanair now,” said Copenhagen-based fashion student Fabienne Goetsch, who postponed a trip home to Dusseldorf, Germany, after finding alternative tickets were beyond her means. “I haven’t seen my family in months and it’s a special weekend because it’s my grandmother’s birthday.”
Ryanair cancelled more than 400 flights on August 10, disrupting the travel plans of at least 55,000 people as the labour dispute reached a new peak with walkouts by pilots in Germany, Ireland, Belgium, Sweden and the Netherlands. That exceeds the 300 scrapped on two days last month when cabin crew in Spain, Italy, Portugal and Belgium walked out.
The airline said the majority of affected passengers have been accommodated on its other flights and that all were informed as early as possible about the option, as well as the right to a refund or rerouting. More than 2,000 services or 85 percent of the schedule are operating as normal.
“We want to again apologise to customers affected by this unnecessary disruption and we ask the striking unions to continue negotiations instead of calling anymore unjustified strikes,” the airline said.
Among passengers who ended up buying seats they didn’t need was Pico Wilbrenninck, a real-estate agent in Rotterdam whose wife and children were due to fly back from Reus, Spain. Faced with cancellations and unable to find alternative seats with Ryanair he shelled out on tickets at IAG SA’s Vueling arm — only to hear that the originally service would operate after all.
“It’s completely unclear where I now go to get a refund,” Wilbrenninck told Bloomberg after spending $573 on the additional fares. “Who is responsible — the pilot union or Ryanair? Where do I report my claim?” Another traveller, bound for Dublin from Brussels, double booked after hearing news of the latest strike, before discovering that her initial flight was
going ahead and that there’d be no refund.
Arlette Moerman, a project manager in Rotterdam, was luckier after flights to Lisbon for her and five others seemed set to be scrapped. With Ryanair offering an alternative that truncated a two-week holiday by four days she conducted her own search and was poised to buy replacement tickets at another carrier when her inbox pinged with an email saying the original trip was back on. “I will only be confident when we are in the air and flying,” Moerman said, adding that she understands the reasons for the strikes.
Services to strike-hit airports with planes and staff originating elsewhere are also unaffected, adding to the bewilderment of passengers.