Should I insist on a refund or take Ryanair's offer to move travel date free of charge? [closed]
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I bought a Ryanair return ticket from Zadar (Croatia) to Wroclaw (Poland) in February 2020, and my flight was scheduled for the middle of May. On March 21 I received an official mail that I was able to cancel my reservation and claim a full refund of the unused flight(s), and I did that. In the same mail they wrote: Refunds will be processed within 7 working days back to the form of payment used for the original booking. That period already passed, but on March 28 I received a second mail, and this is in short the body of the message:
Due to the high volume of flight cancellations due to COVID 19, we are experiencing an unprecedented high volume of requests. We are currently working through the backlog and ask that you please bear with us... Please do not resubmit your request.
All this time I am very patient, but today I got a third mail from Ryanair:
Dear Customer, The spread of the Covid-19 Virus and associated Government travel restrictions, continues to have a negative impact on the schedules of all Ryanair Group Airlines. As a result of this we want to offer our customers as much flexibility as possible in relation to their scheduled travel plans. We are now offering you the following options in relation to your booked flight.
You can change your flight to any date in the next 3 months, up to Aug 31 2020.
The flight change fee will be waived in full.
You will only have to pay the difference in fare.
This flight date change will only apply to the route you have already booked.
- Please do not try to change to another date in May.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused by this unprecedented crisis. The safety and well-being of our people and customers is our main priority, and we are working closely with the state authorities and we will follow any travel restrictions that are imposed and will continue to comply with all WHO and EASA guidelines to combat the Covid-19 virus. To change your travel date, click on My Bookings below.
What should I do? I was travelling to Wroclaw for Erasmus+ staff week, which is postponed.
EDIT:
Few moments ago I received another official mail, it is very logical, and I will keep with patience...
Dear Customer,
I refer to our recent correspondence regarding your refund request on booking XYZZYX
As previously advised, our Customer Services Team are experiencing an unprecedented high volume of requests due to the COVID-19 crisis and we are prioritising our most vulnerable customers. This has been compounded by government public health restrictions on non-essential work travel which means we have less staff available to us during this busy time. Please rest assured your refund request is currently in the queue and will be processed. If you have selected new travel dates and would prefer to move your booking, please contact us
We appreciate your patience at this time.
Yours sincerely, Ryanair Customer Services
Best Answer
With RyanAir, I would continue to insist on the refund. If it was done on a Visa debit or credit card, I’d ask the bank to reverse it. I suspect that will be faster than waiting for RyanAir. But give the bank the evidence that you’re supposed to get a refund. Otherwise, they’ll say it was a legitimate charge.
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Can I change my Ryanair flight dates free of charge?
Don't worry, customers who have booked their flight directly on the Ryanair.com website have a 24 hour grace period from the time of original booking, to correct any minor errors (dates/times) free of charge. We also allow you to reverse the routing if you've booked your flights incorrectly.What is Ryanair Free Move option?
We sent you an email inviting you to move your cancelled flight for free or apply for a refund. Moving your flight is very easy, there are no change fees, you don't have to pay the fare difference and you can travel to any destination on our network.Can I change my Ryanair flight and get a refund?
Once a Ryanair flight is operational, and does not have a delay exceeding 5 hours, then it is not possible to get a refund. All Ryanair flights are changeable but they cannot be cancelled.Can I get a refund if I have Covid Ryanair?
Covid-19 travel vouchers For customers disrupted due to Covid-19, Ryanair has accommodated customers with free moves, flight vouchers and cash refunds. For more information on Covid-19 related disruptions, click below.How To Ask Ryanair For a Refund
More answers regarding should I insist on a refund or take Ryanair's offer to move travel date free of charge? [closed]
Answer 2
Refund.
Ryanair are artificially inflating the price of tickets for people who are currently rebooking, as opposed to just buying a brand new ticket.
Answer 3
The airlines are desperately trying to shift liability from now (refund you) to the future (carry you on a flight some time after this crisis is over).
I wouldn't fall for it, noone knows how long this crisis will last or whether the airlines that are around today will still be around when it is over.
Answer 4
Your question, I assume, is: should you accept their offer for a
- free change of flight within the next 3 months or insist on a refund?
We cannot answer this for you.
Your question (that you must ask yourself) is:
- is this offer useful for me then: yes
- if not useful (no planed travel in the next 3 months) then: no
All airlines are having a great deal of problems at the moment and one major one is financial liquidity.
So on the one side it is understandable that they need cash to remain solvent. Thus the offer.
On the otherhand, this airline has not confirmed that if you don't accept their offer that they will nevertheless refund what they owe you (as confirmed in the previous emails).
Answer 5
My principle is to always get a refund. Money in your pocket is money in your pocket.
If you accept a voucher, you must check its terms and conditions very, very carefully. Unlike a refund, it can have an expiration date (and do you know, for certain, how long the crisis will last?), it can have restrictions, such as not being illegable for certain flights, or paid tickets taking precedent and all other kinds of shenanigans.
This is the main reason I always get a refund. Exception: If I already plan a trip that I can use the voucher for, it is cheaper for me to change it this way (cheaper than refunding and booking new) and there is very low probability my plans will change (or something else interfere). And even in that case I won't accept a voucher, only an immediate rebooking.
A voucher is always to the advantage of the airline, not you. When a company freely offers you something, it is almost always their advantage they have in mind.
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