My flight to Brussels CRL in January was just cancelled. The ONLY other flight to CRL by Ryanair on the same day arrives 9 hours later - costing us a full day of our holiday and other events that we have already bought tickets for and would miss.
As far as I’m legally aware, I’m entitled to be rerouted to arrive at a similar time as my original flight (“at the earliest opportunity”). There are other flights through Brussels Airlines to Brussels BRU that would get me to the destination at a similar time to my original flight.
I want to refund my cancelled flight ticket, book a new ticket through Brussels Airlines to Brussels BRU, then claim the costs of that ticket from Ryanair through EU261 expenses. Does this sound reasonable?
I have been talking to customer service all day and they’re telling me it is a risk and my expense claim can’t be guaranteed because they have alternative flights, but I think I’m being completely reasonable in my accommodation requests.
Will Ryanair try to reject my expenses claim on the grounds that it is a different airline / different airport? Will the fact that they have flights within 48 hours of the original booking (that I have deemed unsuitable) have any impact on my claim?
All help is appreciated, thanks