Experience with RYANAIR'S LOWEST FARE GUARANTEE ?

Do you have already earned money with the RYANAIR'S LOWEST FARE GUARANTEE ?


http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/notices.php?notice=070508_EN_doubledifference



RYANAIR'S LOWEST FARE GUARANTEE - OR WE PAY YOU DOUBLE THE DIFFERENCE*
* TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1. This offer is valid only for all flight bookings made on www.ryanair.com between Wednesday 26th March 2008 and Saturday 24th October 2009 inclusive.
   
2. Should a passenger find a cheaper fare on a qualifying route with another airline than the quoted Ryanair fare for that itinerary, then Ryanair will pay "double the difference*" between the air fare paid to Ryanair and the lower fare quoted on another carrier.
   
3. The fare quoted will include all mandatory taxes, fees and charges, but will exclude credit/debit card fees, baggage fees, web check-in/priority boarding fees or any other optional fees.
   
4. In order to qualify for the "double the difference*" guarantee, a passenger must book a flight on www.ryanair.com and then submit the claim using the attached form (English only) to priceguarantee@ryanair.com within 1 hour of making the booking.
   
5. Should a claimant for any reason fail to submit the claim form within 1 hour of making the booking on www.ryanair.com, then that claim will be deemed as late and will be disregarded for the purposes of this promotion.
   
6. Claims will only be accepted where both the departure times of the competitor airline flights are within 2 hours of the original booked Ryanair flight departure times.
   
7. A screen print of the competitor's offered fare (including all mandatory taxes, fees and charges) must be emailed with the claim form. Ryanair will then verify the "competitor fare" within 1 hour of receipt (only during office hours: 9am-5pm Monday to Friday). If the 'competitor fare' cannot be verified on the internet then the claim will be invalid.
   
8. Claims can only be made for flights where there this is a direct city pair comparison. This includes only airports that have the same city designation as defined by IATA (International Air Transport Association). For example, claims will be accepted from competitor flights operating to/from the five IATA designated London Airports (Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and City) and the designated airports in Glasgow which are Glasgow International and Glasgow Prestwick. Claims will not be accepted where flights are departing to/from city airports that are not IATA designated e.g. Girona and Barcelona's El Prat Airport.
   
9. Where Ryanair have more than two flights between a city pair (e.g. Dublin to London Stansted; Dublin to London Gatwick) and price guarantee claim will need to be made versus the cheapest available Ryanair fare on offer on the applicable routes.
   
10. Once the claim has been verified by Ryanair staff, the claimant will be notified by email within 24 hours (Monday to Friday) of the acceptance or rejection of their claim. In the case of successful claims, the relevant "double the difference*" sum will be processed within 5 working days to the credit/debit card account provided at the time of booking. Airline employees and their families are excluded from claiming under Ryanair's lowest fare guarantee.
    
11. Ryanair's decision in relation to all claims will be final.
    
12. Ryanair reserves the right to amend or discontinue this promotion at any time by giving 24 hour notice to that effect, at its sole discretion.
    

*In the case of successful claims, Ryanair will pay the passenger double the difference between any competitor's lower return fare and Ryanair's quoted fare for the same itinerary (see above). Each claim will be subject to a maximum cap of €/£200 or local currency equivalent per passenger journey. Therefore where the difference between Ryanair's fare and the cheaper competitor fare exceeds €/£100 or local currency equivalent, the maximum amount payable by Ryanair in such cases will be capped at €/£200 or local currency equivalent.

I have commented previously on this offer:

1. Should a claimant for any reason fail to submit the claim form within 1 hour of making the booking on www.ryanair.com, then that claim will be deemed as late and will be disregarded for the purposes of this promotion.
   
2. Claims will only be accepted where both the departure times of the competitor airline flights are within 1 hour of the original booked Ryanair flight departure times.
   
3. A screen print of the competitor's offered fare (including all mandatory taxes, fees and charges) must be emailed with the claim form. Ryanair will then verify the "competitor fare" within 1 hour of receipt (only during office hours: 9am-5pm Monday to Friday). If the 'competitor fare' cannot be verified on the internet then the claim will be invalid.
   

So one can only claim against a flight that departs within one hour of the Ryanair flight, from an IATA city designation, and is cheaper (excluding RA overheads of luggage and checkin booking charges), and submit the claim within one hour of making your RA booking .
Despite you submitting a screen print RA say they will verify on the internet so if the competitor price changes upwards when they decide to review you will lose out anyway; and there is nothing to prevent RA from simply saying sorry we didn't receive your email or couldn't view your attachment.

Note the reference to "lower return fare" in their terms so this offer does not appear to apply to one way flights!

I'd be interested to know how may claims have been made and how many successful in their application - something less than 1 I would think.

I'd be surprised if anyone has managed to make a successful claim under those terms. It*s just more free publicity that sounds good but is almost impossible to action. It reminds of those signs you'd see in shops that were meant to be funny, " credit will be given to over 80's if accompanied by both parents" !