Ryanair to refund passengers after public mishaps
Ryanair has announced it will start refunding customers of cancelled flights within five working days.
Part of a company campaign to improve its image, the measure was set after the Dublin-based carrier held its first customer panel meeting in September, when customers all over Europe met with senior management to provide recommendations on customer service.
“We are pleased to launch these innovative customer improvements which will enhance the travel experience of our guests,” said Ryanair’s marketing director Dara Brady.
“Driven by customer panel input, these improvements allow our guests to self-serve online when changing flight dates or passengers’ names, updating contact info or adding bags/seats. For customers who need extra assistance they can now track their interactions with Ryanair across calls/email/chat/social and receive live status updates online.”
When the Covid-19 pandemic struck Europe and air travel was effectively banned, Ryanair was one of a few airlines who decided not to refund passengers that could not travel because of Covid-19 restrictions.
The move attracted a lot of criticism and caused the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to open an investigation into the company’s practices in June 2021, CityAM reported.
Coming to the conclusion that the law doesn’t provide sufficiently clear right to refund, the competition watchdog closed the investigation on 7 October 2021.
Three weeks after the inquiry’s end, Ryanair found itself found itself again in hot water when online travel agency On the Beach decided to take it to the High Court, the BBC reported.
On the Beach has alleged Ryanair tried to prevent the travel agent from booking seats on behalf of customers, not accepting reservations made through the company’s credit card .