The benefits of booking with a Travel Management Company have again been highlighted, after another airline left thousands of passengers in a pickle this month.
We reported last week that Ryanair will be cancelling up to fifty flights a day, over a two month period. The cancellations are caused by recruitment issues within the company, which has led to a shortage of pilots. In order for pilots to take their allocated holiday leave, the airline must cancel thousands of flights.
It is estimated that around 400,000 passengers have been affected by the disruption, something which Chief Executive Michael O’Leary apologised for in a recent press conference.
Apologies don’t go far enough though for many people. While all affected passengers have been offered the ability to change their flights, often none are available with the same airline. Refund and booking with another carrier is sometimes the only option, however this is time intensive and Ryanair will not pay out for connecting flights with other airlines, associated travel costs such as train tickets or the cost of missing events, conferences etc because of the disruption.
Those who have booked their travel through an agency are in a much better position. Beyond Business Travel in the UK are working with their clients to minimise negative effects.
Managing Director of Beyond, Edel Doherty said:
“We have checked all client itineraries and identified everyone affected by the Ryanair cancellations.”
“Our team are keeping abreast of the situation and are contacting all customers whose bookings change. We are also assisting those who did not book through us and helping them with rebooking and amending plans.”
“We are offering full refunds to clients whose flights have been cancelled, if suitable replacement flights cannot be found, the cost of which is often borne by us and not the airline.”
“Once again, this latest debacle highlights the benefit of booking through a TMC and not managing your own corporate travel plans.”
if you have been affected by the Ryanair crisis and need help or advice, please get in touch.