Ryanair changed my flight times and they don't suit me

Dr Strangelove said:
You didn’t say whether it was via:
1) app
2) airline website
3) airport website
4) webscraper (sky scanner, Google flights, etc

It’s not clear either whether the booking has changed in the app either.

This is relevant because of course:
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How is that relevant?
The email should be sent if the flight changes, if it changes again it gets sent again.

I'm deducing that it's on the ryanair booking page because OP mentions checking the prices of various flights on the same day and where else would they get that information?
 
Guys

Can you not have a discussion of this factual issue without shouting at each other?

The OP has a practical question.

He should be given practical answers and suggestions.

I think that this is one for Conor Pope in the Irish Times who covers a lot of travel stories.

I assume that airlines are allowed to change the flight times within reason. After all they can be up to 3(?) hours late without compensation.

It seems odd that they have changed the flight times, even if provisionally, and have not notified people.

A few hours later wouldn't be a problem for most people. A few hours earlier could well be a problem if they have to travel to the airport.

Brendan
 
Here are some answers

Ryanair changed my flight times and they don't suit me

You didn’t say whether it was via: 1) app 2) airline website 3) airport website 4) webscraper (sky scanner, Google flights, etc It’s not clear either whether the booking has changed in the app either. This is relevant because of course: How is that relevant? The email should be sent if the...
www.askaboutmoney.com

How much can an airline change your flight?​

There is no specific limit to how much the airline can change your flight time. However, all airlines define the limits of what they consider to be a "minor schedule change".
Here are a few examples:
  • American Airlines: 1 hour
  • British Airways: 2 hours
  • EasyJet: 5 hours
  • Ryanair: 3 hours
  • United Airlines: 30 minutes
As a rule of thumb, if your delay at arrival or departure exceeds this amount of time, the flight schedule change is regarded as "significant" and the airline will offer a rerouting or a refund.

Why do airlines have schedule changes?​

Airlines make tickets available for purchase about 12 months prior to the flight, but the airports can confirm the time slots only about 3 months prior to the flight, which can result in schedule modifications.
Airlines themselves can change their schedule, especially when the aircraft that will be used changes.

How will I be warned about a schedule change?​

Whether it's a last-minute change or a next-day departure shift, airlines will notify you. This usually comes in the form of emails, phone calls, or even travel vouchers as a goodwill gesture.
Airlines should tell passengers at least 14 days in advance when they change their flight time. The airline usually contacts you via email to tell you about the schedule change.
You may also log into your account or call the airline directly to inquire about schedule changes.
For last-minute schedule changes, you can use an online flight tracker.
However, we found that some passengers are never notified about the adjustment of scheduled departure time until the last-minute, when they reach the airport. If you haven’t been notified about the change of schedule of the original flight, you’re entitled to flight compensation.
 

And it's odds-on that the flight times will change again between now and May because Ryanair probably won't finalise their Spring-Summer Schedules schedules until early in the new year!

That's the way that it happens every year and that's the lottery you enter when booking early; sometimes the new times are better, sometimes they're worse. (And don't get me started on the increasingly regular French Air Traffic Controllers' strikes !)
 
Marsupial said:
That's the way that it happens every year and that's the lottery you enter when booking early; sometimes the new times are better, sometimes they're worse.
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Buying an airline ticket isn't the same as buying a lottery ticket. If they have several flights to a destination on the same date that they sell in advance why is there differential pricing on the different time slots if the times are not to be counted on?

You posted their own conditions earlier, they are supposed to notify of flight changes and if it's more than 3 hours offer a refund.

If it is a long time in advance they have plenty of time to re-sell those seats.
 
Kimmagegirl said:
So, Ryanair are selling "ghost flights"? How can they get away with this?

You are baited to buy then when you have bought they switch.
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You buy - as always - subject to the terms and conditions of sale.

And if you're too lazy or can't be bothered to read them, then don't blame the vendor for your error.
 
Marsupial said:
And if you're too lazy or can't be bothered to read them, then don't blame the vendor for your error.
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But you are the person that quoted the following from their Terms and Conditions. The OP never received any email from Ryanair about the changes to his flight times. Ryanair are the ones not following their own terms and conditions.

Marsupial said:

9.1.2 If we change flight timings or numbers before scheduled departure, we will notify you about these changes by e-mail​

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RonnieShinbal88 said:
If they have several flights to a destination on the same date that they sell in advance why is there differential pricing on the different time slots if the times are not to be counted on?
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This is a very important point.

You can be baited by price or by flight time. .

They get lots of people buying on either of the above.

They even have a current add campaign on their website called "Dreaming of Summer". Early bird getaways.

The OP said "I paid extra to fly on a mid morning flight."

So they get you to buy one of their ghost flights, then change the flight times and it appears they can call it a minor change and get away with it.
 
Bronco Lane said:
I contacted customer service today by phone and was told that as I had not received any official email about these changes then I can do nothing, as the flight times might change again!
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Despite Ryanair saying that you will be contacted by email to tell you that they have changed your flight times, they have not done this. They have broken their own Terms and Conditions.

The customer service rep in Ryanair then tells the OP that he can do nothing because they might change again.

So you are kept hanging in there until Ryanair finally decides it's schedule.

If the OP's flight times have changed then he should receive an email, each and every time there is a change to his booking.
 
OP, I am not sure if this has been asked or said already, but have you checked your spam folder? It has happened to me before.
 
This is a regular Ryanair tactic, and has happened to me. You notice that the time of your flight has changed whilst checking something about it by running a dummy booking. I called them once and they told me that the time change was only provisional, so I hadn’t been notified. The change did become permanent and I got an email some time later.
 
Gordon Gekko said:
I called them once and they told me that the time change was only provisional, so I hadn’t been notified. The change did become permanent
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That seems to be their policy, but if it was only provisional why would they sell tickets at the new time?

It's good to make people aware of this. I'd be a lot less likely to book a random short weekend away with Ryanair flights in advance now that I know I'm entering a 'lottery' on departure time, that the flight could be delayed on the way out and earlier on the way back, especially if you have to organise the transfers etc. It isn't worth the potential hassle.
 
What should Ryanair do?

Just start selling tickets a week or so before the flights?

Schedules change. Airports change the numbers of flights allowed.

It is important to realise that if you book a long time in advance, the time is only provisional. It does not become confirmed until closer to the actual departure time.

And even if the departure time does not change, flights are often delayed.

Brendan
 
That's all true Brendan, but why do they have differential pricing on the flights that they sell in advance then?
Less appealing time slots are cheaper, more appealing ones are more expensive.

If they just advertised the flight as 'leaving on the day in advance' and said the flight will be between 5AM and 10 PM, then the customer understands the lottery aspect, but would people actually buy those tickets?

In OP's case there are cheaper flights on the day they are leaving but they can't swap to those even though their flight time has changed because they are stating the changes are provisional. But they are selling tickets for their flight at the new time, so that's hardly a provisional change.

That's a switcheroo from the customer perspective, buy one time slot at a premium, get switched to a cheaper one but don't get refunded.

Edit: a simple answer to what they can do is allow refunds if there is a 3 hour change to their own planned schedule as soon as they themselves make that change and advertise the flight at the new time.
 
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IsleOfMan said:
If the OP's flight times have changed then he should receive an email, each and every time there is a change to his booking.
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this has the potential to cause even more confusion with customers, not less.

I say this as someone who once missed one of these change-of-time emails and spent five hours hanging around an airport with a toddler.
 
Dr Strangelove said:
this has the potential to cause even more confusion with customers, not less.
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That's a very patronising attitude to customers. I don't see how not receiving an email you missed anyway would have helped in your example.

OP is not posting about being confused, they are posting about being denied a refund so they could switch to cheaper flights.
Customers might also want to book with another airline that has the original time slot before prices go up nearer the flight.
 
When I booked my flights last August direct with Ryanair for next April I chose a flight leaving for Palma at 11.40 a.m. and arriving at 15.25p.m.

I chose this time because I was travelling to a coastal location on Majorca and needed time to get from the airport to Palma bus station, wait for a bus to the town of Soller.

I have taken 8 flights already this year with Ryanair. Every single one of those flights has been delayed by up to one hour. Both the outward and return portions of the flights.

I took this in to consideration when booking the 11.40 a.m. morning flight. I paid €79 for this flight excluding all the "extras". Other flights on the day were cheaper because they were earlier or later.

Yesterday, I decided to have a look at the flights I had booked last August to see if there had been any noticeable change in the prices.

The flights that I had booked had disappeared off the system and my outward flight from Dublin had changed to 15.45 p.m. A change of 4 hours and 5 minutes. The price had dropped from €79 to €60. My return flights from Palma to Dublin had been changed by one hour 35 minutes. Price similar. However my return flight was now changed to mid morning. This meant I would have had to leave my location in Soller early in the morning to get back to Palma airport in time to catch my flight.

I received no email about these changes. When I logged in to "My Bookings", my flight details had been automatically changed to the new flight times.

When I rang customer services I did not get any help. The word "tentative" was used throughout my conversation with the Ryanair customer rep. My original flights were tentative. The new flight times were tentative. I was told that I could do nothing until I got the official email notification because they might change again.

I have booked my hotel (thankfully with being able to cancel). It is a small hotel with a few rooms and I have chosen a specific room. The reception area is not manned all the time. I have to check-in between certain hours.

I cannot afford to have Ryanair tell me that the flights that I have booked have been changed and might change again. So I have requested a refund of my monies and I will start the process again closer to the departure date. However, because I have received no official email that my flight times have been changed (even though they are selling flights for the new times and they have changed my booked flights on My Bookings) I cannot do anything. I cannot get a refund.

They say in their Terms and Conditions that they will send an email to confirm changes. When though? We have heard from other posters that the email can be sent whenever Ryanair chose to send it.

Not good enough.





I
 
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