class="alignright size-full wp-image-29205" title="Ryanair customers face up-hill battle for compensation" src="http://news.cheapflights.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/ryanair-compensation.jpg" alt="Ryanair customers face up-hill battle for compensation" width="286" height="194" /> href="http://www.cheapflights.co.uk/airlines/Ryanair/">Ryanair has warned passengers that it will not entertain “back of an envelope” claims over volcanic ash disruption, The Irish Independent reports.

In an email send to customers affected by the six-day closure of European airspace in April, Ryanair issued stringent guidelines on how to make a claim.

Compensation will only be provided if “all the original VAT-registered receipts” are included with the online expenses claim form, the airline told passengers.

“On receipt of the required documentation, we will work with our insurance assessment team to process valid reasonable claims,” Ryanair explained.

Passengers filing for compensation were initially told to fill out an online href="http://www.ryanair.com/doc/faqs/CLAIM%20APPLICATION%20FORM.pdf" target="_blank">expenses claim form in which they sign a declaration that all expenses “can be verified” by VAT-registered receipts. At that stage customers were explicitly asked not to provide supporting documentation.

But in a move that many will see as stonewalling, the low-cost carrier now insists that all original VAT receipts must be provided before compensation will be issued.

The policy will leave many customers unable to place legitimate claims, particularly if they resorted to staying in cheaper privately rented apartments rather than hotels.

Spokesman Stephen McNamara defended the stance, telling The Irish Independent it is “the only way of insuring legitimate claims”. He added that claims for meals will require similar documentation, rather than “the back of an envelope saying two meals, no alcohol: €250.”

In April, Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary provoked an intense backlash when he suggested that the airline would refuse to pay out compensation under EU regulation 261. He href="http://news.cheapflights.co.uk/2010/04/ryanair-backs-down-over-airline-compensation/">eventually relented following pressure from the government and the Civil Aviation Authority.

© Cheapflights Ltd (Picture credit: href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fcerdans/3232582782/" target="_blank">nafra cendrers)

class="alignright size-full wp-image-29078" title="Ryanair increase bag fees for the summer" src="http://news.cheapflights.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/ryanair-tailfin.jpg" alt="Ryanair increase bag fees for the summer" width="234" height="168" />

href="http://www.cheapflights.co.uk/airlines/Ryanair/">Ryanair passengers will from today face higher charges when checking in their baggage as the airline’s new peak-season surcharges come into force.

For the months of July and August customers who check in one item of luggage weighing 15kg or under must pay £20, which is a 33 per cent rise on the standard charge.

The fee increases to £40 if paid for at the airport rather than online, while a higher first-bag allowance of 20kg is also available for £30 online or £50 at the airport.

Travellers wishing to check in a second bag will also now be hit by a higher peak summer charge, paying £40 online or £80 at the airport for a 15kg allowance. The low-cost carrier does not offer its customers the option of a higher 20kg allowance on their second checked bag.

Anyone who exceeds the weight allowance must pay a £20-per-kilo excess baggage fee, meaning that some unprepared travellers could fork out up to £250 for a 30kg bag.

The introduction of the new peak-season fees comes at Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary renews his pledge to charge passengers £1 for using on-board toilets. He has also green-lighted safety tests for ‘vertical seats’, which would effectively allow the airline to sell standing tickets.

Spokesman Stephen McNamara said he was “very confident” the seats would pass safety tests, though the Civil Aviation Authority has already indicated they would be illegal.

© Cheapflights Ltd (Picture credit: href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/roblisameehan/3071951258/" target="_blank">roblisameehan)

class="alignright size-full wp-image-29047" title="Spirit airlines pulls oil spill controversy ad" src="http://news.cheapflights.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Spirit-airlines-pulls-oil-spill-controversy-ad.jpg" alt="Spirit airlines pulls oil spill controversy ad" width="270" height="183" />Spirit Airlines has pulled its controversial advertisement poking fun at the Gulf Coast oil spill after just one day.

The web ad featured a bronzed and bikini-clad woman with the tagline “Check Out the Oil on Our Beaches,” as well as bottles of sun-tan lotion labelled “Best Protection” – a reference to BP, the company linked to the spill.

Spirit Airlines responded to criticism by claiming it had been misunderstood. It issued a statement saying: “We are merely addressing the false perception that we have oil on our beaches, and we are encouraging customers to support Florida and our other beach destinations by continuing to travel to these vacation hot spots.

“We are excited to continue offering customers huge savings with specials like today’s offer promoting travel to our many beach destinations. The only oil you’ll find when traveling to our beaches is sun tan oil.”

Spirit Airlines has twice before courted controversy with its adverts, first by using the acronym MILF – a slang term for attractive older women popularised in the American Pie movies – and then in 2009 by claiming: “We’re no Virgin. We’ve been cheap and easy for years.”

© Cheapflights Ltd (Picture credit: title="http://www.flickr.com/photos/flissphil/3047079075/" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/flissphil/3047079075/" target="_blank">PhillipC)

class="alignright size-full wp-image-28738" title="Govt considering overhaul of passenger rights" src="http://news.cheapflights.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/plane-landing.jpg" alt="Govt considering overhaul of passenger rights" width="350" height="248" />Air passengers will be entitled to less compensation for delayed flights if they travel with a low-cost carrier, under new plans being considered by the Transport Secretary.

Philip Hammond told The Financial Times that EU laws obliging airlines to pay out up to €600 compensation for a three-hour delay are “disproportionate” if the fares cost just €60.

His proposal is being seen as an olive branch to the airline industry, which reacted with fury to air passenger rights legislation enacted in the wake of the volcanic ash cloud crisis.

Under EU regulation 261, airlines were obliged to cover all expenses incurred by passengers who were left stranded by the six-day closure of European airspace in April.

Ryanair led the charge in opposing the policy, with chief executive Michael O’Leary insisting that it was “ludicrous” for his airline to pay out €3,000 compensation to passengers who paid just €30 for their ticket. Other carriers agreed that the law was being misappropriated.

Echoing that stance, the Transport Secretary told The Financial Times: “It’s right that airlines have to compensate passengers if they have dumped them or denied them boarding, but a three-hour delay on a low-cost flight cannot fairly give rise to €600 compensation.”

However, while Mr Hammond is reviewing the rules surrounding short delays for passengers, he appears to have rejected calls for a bank-style bail-out of airlines over volcanic ash.

“The consensus among the larger countries is that while there is a degree of sympathy for the airlines, fiscal conditions just do not favour [a bail-out],” he said. “I know … they’re asking for cash compensation, but at least that [passenger rights review] will provide some relief for them.”

The government’s stance will be welcomed by some low-cost carriers, but it is likely to incense consumer rights groups who have long called for greater protection of passengers.

© Cheapflights Ltd (Picture credit: href="http://www.jdavis.info" target="_blank">Joshua Davis)

class="alignright size-large wp-image-28473" title="Low-cost flights to to Bordeaux" src="http://news.cheapflights.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/france-bordeaux-vineyard-610x450.jpg" alt="Low-cost flights to to Bordeaux" width="258" height="189" />A terminal dedicated exclusively to low-cost carriers has opened in the south-western French city of href="http://www.cheapflights.co.uk/flight-guide-to-Bordeaux/">Bordeaux.

Billi terminal, short for for Bordeaux Illico, will attempt to capitalise on the boom in no-frills href="http://www.cheapflights.co.uk/flights/Bordeaux/">flights to Bordeaux from UK airports – currently operated by Ryanair and easyJet.

The terminal will also offer href="http://www.cheapflights.co.uk/Ireland/">flights to Ireland with Aer Lingus, as well as services to Denmark, Portugal, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Morocco.

Airport developers built the terminal specifically with low-cost travellers in mind, aiming to turn around flights in 25 minutes by speeding up boarding queues and bag collection.

Low-cost air traffic to Bordeaux has been growing by an average of 20 to 30 per cent every year, prompting local authorities to prioritise the development of the Billi terminal. Nearly half a million no-frills travellers took a flight to Bordeaux last year, compared with just 120,000 in 2003.

It is estimated that 665,000 people will travel through the airport with a low-cost carrier this year – equivalent to about one fifth of the passengers visiting the region.

© Cheapflights Ltd

class="size-full wp-image-19751 alignright" title="Air Berlin" src="http://news.cheapflights.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/air-berlin.jpg" alt="" width="315" height="198" />Air Berlin has been hailed as the best low-cost carrier in Europe at the 11th annual World Airline Awards, which were held in Hamburg yesterday.

The no-frills carrier won first prize in the coveted category, followed closely by British airline easyJet in second place and Norwegian Air in third.

Air Berlin was also ranked the overall second-best low-cost carrier in the world, trumping Australia’s Virgin Blue but trailing first-place AirAsia.

The awards were based on Skytrax’s World Airline Survey, which canvassed customer satisfaction across 35 criteria between July 2009 and April 2010.

Skytrax chairman Edward Plaisted praised the scope of the findings, calling them a “truly global study” that offers the most comprehensive and objective analysis of passenger experiences available.

“The geographic spread of survey interviews is supported by the fact that over 100 different nationalities of airline passengers participated,” he said. “And more than 200 airlines are included in the final results.”

The World Airline Awards also recognised global carriers that offer the best quality service in Economy Class, crediting Malaysia Airlines, href="http://www.cheapflights.co.uk/airlines/Qatar-Airways/">Qatar Airways and href="http://www.cheapflights.co.uk/airlines/Singapore-Airlines/">Singapore Airlines.

© Cheapflights Ltd (Photo credit: href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/eisenbahner/4304082894/" target="_blank">eisenbahner)