Ryanair ordered to pay Dutch pilots up to €480,000 Business

DutchNews, April 23, 2019

Photo: Depositphotos.com

Budget airline Ryanair has been ordered to pay eight Dutch pilots between €380,000 and €480,000 by a court in the Netherlands, as a bitter dispute over contracts ends. 

The court also agreed to dissolve the eight pilot’s contracts from May 1, arguing that there is no likelihood of a ‘purposeful continuation’ and that Ryanair is to blame for the current situation. 

The dispute dates back to last year following Ryanair’s decision to close its base at Eindhoven airport where pilots had twice gone on strike in protest at changes to their pensions and other benefits. 

The district court in Den Bosch then ruled there was no business case to shut the base and said the decision had ‘all the appearance of a sanction following the earlier strikes.’ 

DutchNews.nl has asked Ryanair to comment on the court ruling.

Ryanair boss writes angry letter to Dutch MPs about hearing invite

DutchNews, November 21, 2018

Photo: Ryanair.com 

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has written to Dutch MPs, accusing them of wanting to pillory the airline at a public hearing on airline working conditions next week, the AD said on Wednesday. 

The parliamentary infrastructure committee is holding the hearing next week and Ryanair is one of the organisations which has been invited to attend. 

The invitation, the AD states, says that some airlines are looking to limit wage costs and pilots and cabin crew are often having to deal with non-Dutch labour law, short breaks and, when they protest, are threatened with being shut down. 

Ryanair closed its Eindhoven base at the beginning of this month, and a court which looked at the case said that it appeared as if the closure was a punishment for strikes earlier this year. 

The AD says that Ryanair has replied to the invitation in an angry letter signed by O’Leary and which says the hearing is an ‘inappropriate forum’. 

The invitation is ‘full of accusations which are wrong’, such as the claims about pay and about rest periods, the AD quotes the letter as saying.

O’Leary also says the Eindhoven base was closed because of rising fuel costs and the threat of a 45% increase in airport fees. In addition, he criticises the presence of Ghent university professor Yves Jorens, whom he describes as ‘dubious’. 

DutchNews.nl has not seen the letter and has been unable to verify the contents or the actual English text.

France grounds Ryanair plane to force subsidy repayment

Yahoo – AFP, November 9, 2018

The French authorities stopped a Ryanair plane from taking off to put pressure
on the airline (AFP Photo/PAU BARRENA)

Paris (AFP) - The French civil aviation authority said Friday it had seized a Ryanair plane to get the Irish low-cost airline to repay illegal public aid, the latest in a string of troubles for the carrier.

The EU Commission in 2014 ruled that subsidies Ryanair received from a regional authority had to be repaid, but the airline had not complied despite repeated warnings.

The plane, a Boeing 737, was seized on Thursday at Bordeaux airport in southwestern France.

"This measure was taken as a last resort by the French authorities after several reminders and attempts to recuperate the money failed," the DGAC civil aviation body said.

"By this action, the government reaffirms its intention to guarantee the conditions of fair competition between airlines and between airports," it said.

The plane "will remain immobilised until the sum is paid".

It was "regrettable" that the 149 passengers on board the plane had to wait five hours before being able to take off from the Bordeaux-Merignac airport in another Ryanair aircraft, the civil aviation body added.

The French authorities stopped a Ryanair plane from taking off to put pressure on
the airline (AFP Photo/PAU BARRENA)

Regional newspaper Charente Libre reported that the plane was close to take-off for London's Stansted airport when a bailiff, accompanied by police, declared it seized on the tarmac and sealed the aircraft.

The airline owes the regional authority 525,000 euros ($595,000), regional officials said.

The president of the regional airport authority, Didier Vallat, told AFP he expected the money to be disbursed Friday or Saturday.

"Ryanair practically promised that they will pay us today," he said.

Ryanair's fleet is made up mostly of Boeing 737-800 aircraft, which have a list price of around $98 million each.

In October, EU anti-trust authorities opened an investigation into whether Ryanair benefited from measures at a German airport that give the Irish low-cost carrier an unfair leg-up over competitors.

And last week ministers from five European governments warned Ryanair that it could face legal trouble if it ignores national labour laws after a series of strikes across the continent.

The pan-European stoppages prompted the airline to cut its profit forecast, but it still expects to make profits after tax of 1.10-1.20 billion euros in its current financial year.

Ryanair is also fighting an order by Italian regulators to suspend a charge for carry-on bags.

Ryanair warns Dutch passengers to claim compensation directly

DutchNews, July 24, 2018

Photo: Ryanair.com

Budget airline Ryanair has written to a Dutch organisation which helps passengers claim compensation for delays saying it is disturbing ‘the good relationship with passengers,’ according to broadcaster NOS. 

The letter calls on EUclaim to stop putting in claims on behalf of passengers who face delays or whose flights have been cancelled. Some 700 Dutch nationals submitted claims via the bureau last week after their flights were cancelled or delayed following strikes by Ryanair staff, NOS said. 

In the letter, Ryanair asks the organisation to advise passengers to get in touch with the airline directly. If it does not, the airline says it will ‘take all necessary measures’ to protect the contractual relationship with its passengers. 

Ryanair has a claim formula on its website and states that all claims will be dealt with within 10 days. 

However, EUclaim, which charges 29% of any payout plus a 26 admin fee per person, says passengers tend to turn to it for help after being turned down by Ryanair. 

A spokesman for the Dutch consumers organisation Consumentenbond, which according to NOS works together with EUclaim, says the Ryanair letter is ‘shocking’. ‘We know that it is often very difficult for consumers to get justice,’ a spokesman told the broadcaster. 

Under EU law, airline passengers are entitled to compensation if their flight has been delayed for more than three hours, ‘if the airline cannot prove that the delay was caused by extraordinary circumstances which could not have been avoided by reasonable measures.’