Sometimes you can do the right thing, and still come out losing because of an airline’s “rules.” And sometimes another airline will step in and make it all right after all.
In early November, 61-year-old Stephen Crean was hailed as a hero when he confronted a dangerous attacker on a train in Cambridgeshire. At the time, Crean was heading home to London on November 1st when it turned out there was a knife-wielding attacker on his train. Most passengers fled past Crean, but instead of also running away, he confronted the attacker, who asked Crean if he wanted to die, before he began slashing at Crean. Crean stood his ground and the fight ended with him being stabbed in the hand, back, head and hip. Crean walked away and the attacker was arrested and charged with attempted murder.
Meanwhile, Crean had plane tickets to Austria to attend a Europa League match of his favorite football club, Nottingham Forest. However, the flight had been scheduled for November 2, the day after he had sustained his injuries. He hadn’t been cleared to fly, so he asked his carrier, Ryanair, for a refund.
Ryanair told him to pound sand.
Actually, they cited their general policy that flight tickets are non-refundable if the flight operates as planned.
Well yeah, but….knife attack? Injured hero?
Ryanair’s response? Too bad, so said. We have terms and conditions to uphold.
Lovely.
Crean’s response:
It’s not all about money. It’s got nothing to do with money. And they should know that – it could have been Ryanair staff in that buffet car. They should grow up a bit and do something. Just stop being petty about this, it’s childish. Maybe they must change, because people are going to think very low of them now.
And that’s the quote that was quickly heard all over England.
Another airline to the rescue!
But it turned out to be a happy ending for Crean.
The day after Ryanair flipped Crean the bird, British Airways (BA) offered Crean and a companion two airline tickets to the Nottingham Forest game in January. And not just any airline tickets, but Club Europe (BA’s version of business class) tickets for a flight to Portugal.
British Airways’ offer isn’t just business class tickets. Through its subsidiary, British Airways Holidays, they’re also giving Crean and his guest a two-day stay in a five-star hotel. Oh, AND they’ve partnered with Nottingham Forest for tickets to the Nottingham Forest vs. Sporting Braga match in Porto.
Crean was, of course, overwhelmed by the wave of support: “I am truly grateful to British Airways for making this possible.”
British Airways is typically not an airline one thinks of as being “customer-friendly.” Reality is that the airline is typically ranked among the worst for customer satisfaction. Their making this offer to Stephen Crean is being seen as a smart move in helping to change public perception of the airline. AND it makes Ryanair, one of its adversaries, look like crap.
So it’s a win-win for everyone. Except Ryanair.
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