A family in mourning criticized Ryanair for their perceived lack of compassion following the passing of their mother. The issue that particularly upset them was the requirement to pay a fee along with a “generic message.”
Sophie Taylor, a resident of Chudleigh, Devon, had purchased two tickets from Ryanair last October for a planned celebratory holiday in Lanzarote to mark her mother Sharon Watkin’s upcoming 60th birthday. Unfortunately, Sharon passed away in August, two months before the scheduled trip.
In a surprising move, Ryanair informed Sophie that she would need to pay €115 (£100) to transfer her mother’s ticket to her father’s name. Despite submitting a complaint along with the death certificate, Sophie received a response from the airline reiterating the need for payment to make the name change. Expressing her dismay, Sophie shared with the BBC that receiving such a message felt insensitive on top of the profound loss she was already experiencing.
Sophie had initially booked the holiday through Love Holidays, with plans to depart from Bristol on 2nd October with Jet2holidays and return with Ryanair a week later. In contrast to Ryanair’s stance, Love Holidays and Jet2holidays were understanding and waived the administrative fees for changing the ticket’s name.
Love Holidays stated that in cases of medical emergencies or bereavement, they typically waive their standard amendment fees. Jet2holidays has yet to provide a comment. Sophie’s father, Peter Watkins, mentioned that his late wife had battled neuroendocrine cancer for approximately 12 years before her passing in August.
Reflecting on their emotional journey, Peter shared that returning to Lanzarote, a place they had visited numerous times, invoked mixed feelings for him and Sophie. He opted not to cancel his wife’s return seat to prevent it from being resold and instead purchased a separate seat for himself for £52 on the same flight.
Ryanair defended their position by stating that the promotional fare was sold by Love Holidays and was non-refundable, suggesting that customers should consider travel insurance for such situations. They also mentioned that in the event of the original passenger’s death, the family could request a full refund. The Mirror has reached out to Ryanair for further comments.
In response, Ryanair explained that the fare was non-refundable and advised passengers to consider travel insurance in such scenarios. They specified that Sophie had the option to change the name on the ticket by paying a fee, but she chose to purchase a cheaper one-way fare instead. Given the circumstances of Ms. Watkins’s passing, Ms. Taylor could seek a refund for her mother’s ticket.