Ryanair has responded after Scott McCormick, 33, and his girlfriend Helena Boshwick, 33, said they were ‘kicked off’ a flight to Majorca from Birmingham
A couple have been slapped with a £100 fine by Ryanair after the girlfriend refused to leave her boyfriend at the airport.
Scott McCormick and his partner Helena Boshwick, both 33, were set to jet off from Birmingham Airport on 1 May to Palma de Mallorca, Spain, for a week-long holiday. Scott explained they hadn’t forked out to reserve seats – which usually costs between £4.50 and £33 per seat – as it was only a brief two-hour flight and they weren’t bothered about sitting separately.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly, with the pair being first in line for boarding. However, a Ryanair staff member approached them and asked them to step aside while the rest of the passengers got on board. The couple were reportedly told by the staff member that the flight was full and there was only one seat left.
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The couple were then faced with a decision – either Helena went on the early flight by herself and left Scott to get a later flight, or she turned down her seat on the plane to join him. The loyal girlfriend decided to stick with her man. She soon found out that she’d have to fork out a big chunk of cash for doing so.
When the couple returned to the check-in desk, they were reportedly told they still had to pay for one of the tickets, while Scott insists he never received a refund.
The pair claimed they had to shell out an additional £100 for a new ticket and endured a four-hour wait for the following flight to Palma. The ‘angry’ traveller feels that they faced discrimination, believing they were singled out for being a young couple without children.
The Mirror contacted Ryanair, whose spokesperson explained: “This flight from Birmingham to Palma de Mallorca (1 May) was not ‘overbooked’ – it was scheduled to operate on a 737-8200 (197 seats) but for operational reasons had to be swapped to a 737-800 aircraft (189 seats). As a result, one passenger was unable to travel on this flight, and was reaccommodated onto the next available flight to Palma de Mallorca.”
“Mr. McCormick’s travel companion was not refused boarding but chose not to board and travel on this flight from Birmingham to Palma de Mallorca and was required to pay a Missed Departure fee (£100) to be booked onto the next available flight. Mr. McCormick was notified by email on the day of travel (1 May) that he was entitled to claim back reasonable receipted expenses, however Mr. McCormick has yet to submit any expense receipts to Ryanair.”
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After recounting his experience on social media, many suggested that Scott and Helena were targeted because they hadn’t reserved seats – implying that a common strategy used by many to keep fares low could end up costing more.
Scott, hailing from Birmingham, West Midlands, explained: “We checked in the night before and we didn’t reserve a seat but you normally just get a random one. Me and my partner thought it’s not that much of a problem if we’re not sitting together for a two-hour flight, we’re adults here.
“We arrived, everything proceeded as usual, went through security as normal, went to the gate after waiting a couple of hours and we were the first ones at the gate ready for boarding. The lady scanned our boarding passes and told us to step to the side for a second. That moment was a red flag, I thought, ‘there’s something happening here’.
“We stepped aside and watched all the people board the flight. I asked her to tell us what is going to happen and she said ‘no’. When everyone boarded, she said, ‘the plane is full, there’s only one seat remaining and we will have to reimburse you for the other seat or you’ll have to get on the next flight.'”.
“We were having a meltdown at this point. There was no compassion or care whatsoever. After going back and forth we said we’re not going to take separate flights and be in separate countries for hours. We said we wanted to get on the next flight together. They said ‘you can do that, we will fully reimburse both tickets and put you on the next flight for free’.”
A common practice among airlines is to overbook flights, understanding that not all passengers will show up. In situations of excessive overbooking, where passengers face boarding denial or are offloaded, the airline usually calls for volunteers.
However, if there are no takers, each airline follows its specific policy in deciding whom to deny boarding to. If you’re a solo traveller, don’t have bags, snagged the cheapest ticket or were last to check-in, your odds of being bumped up might rise. Airlines must cough up compensation if they boot you off an overbooked flight.
