Ryanair to Stop Flying to Valencia
From where I'm standing, this looks like Ryanair saying "If you don't play our way, we won't play with you at all" and is a warning to other airports around Europe who disagree with Ryanair's vision. The question is, who needs who the most - Ryanair or the airports?
It is difficult to see how Ryanair's latest move will benefit passengers. Valencia is one of Spain's most popular destinations in Spain - the Irish airline flew there from ten cities around Europe.
All Ryanair flights to Valencia will be canceled as of November 4. Passengers will get their money back. It is worth noting that I have received a number of emails and comments on my blog about difficulties in receiving refunds from Ryanair. Always check your junk mail as Ryanair emails often end up there - try to create a filter that ensures all @ryanair.com emails get delivered to your inbox.
If you had planned on flying with Ryanair to Valencia and now need to make other arrangements, you can find out which airlines fly to the city by doing a search here: Compare Prices on Flights to Spain.
In other airline news, budget carriers have been accused of 'unfair' baggage charges, with Ryanair labeled as the worst offender.
Suggested Reading: Cheap Flights to Spain
Update
I have set up a new page for users to share their experiences of Ryanair with other readers. Rather than leaving a comment at the bottom of this blog, why not Share Your Ryanair Experience and let others know about what happened to you?
Just a quickie Damian. The Ryanair website states that a limited service to London Stansted will continue to fly to and from Valencia. All other flights will go.
On a wider point, I am probably in a minority of one in being a defender of Ryanair. They may indeed pull out of my local airport, Granada, one day. Despite this i think that when you take into account how many flights they have in the air, and then study the facts regarding the accuracy of their arrival and departure times, the record of Ryanair is an impressive one. Especially when compared to their rivals. Sadly it has become fashionable to moan about Ryanair. The complaints usually hail from whinging ex pat Brits who have exported their world dominance when it comes to moaning. They overlook how cheap and easy Ryanair have made it for them to visit the UK, and for their loved ones to come and see them in Spain. Ryanair and their chief executive, Michael OŽLeary, are not in the business for fun. Sure they have begun to charge for everything bar the oxygen masks, but without them millions of people who live or work elsewhere in Europe would be at a loss. As will those ex pats in Valencia who must now once again suffer the hell of Alicante airport. My message to those who wish Ryanair ill is a simple one. Be carfeul what you wish for.
As the previous correspondent commented, Ryanair are downgrading their operation there rather than suspending all their flights. They published figures of 850 job losses there but I for one donŽt think Ryanair employ one quarter of that number of people in all their non-Irish bases combined
I am sure that the comment about this being a warning to others is valid, just as I am sure that if Ryanair were making significant money (or indeed any money at all) from the closed lines they would not be taking this step.
Ryanair is a business, and one which sails extremely close to the wind. OŽLeary spelled it out years ago that he is not interested in preserving the English in the Dordogne, or now obviously in la Comunitat Autonoma de Valencia, in “the style to which they have become accustomed”.
Personally, I am waiting for the day when the EU make these leprechauns stick to the rules, over flight cancellations without compensation, for example.
Sorry, but I disagree with Vernon. While Ryanair have made travel cheap for ‘retired’ ex-pats, they put on flights when it suits them (high season), then they stop. They advertise routes, then don’t start flights for months. In the meantime, other airlines pull out. Ryanair is now the ONLY operator who flies daily to LONDON from Sevilla, and this flight arrives just as the last train is leaving. Eight years ago, there were 2 ‘proper’ flights a day, not that much dearer, and no hassle with luggage weights, credit card fees, etc. As someone working in Spain, I find Ryanair virtually unusable. They do not publish actual timetables, you have to keep entering dates until you find by trial and error which days and times they fly (e.g new flight, Sevilla-Bristol). This may serve those that can travel at Ryanair’s convenience, and on one route, but not those that need a service – not a Ryanair word! Incidentally, they (and other cheap airlines) have been been threatened again recently by the EC to get their act in order about advertised prices, or here will be EU legislation. Let’s see.