There will always be people who forget it. Ryanair flights get bundled for package tours, there will always be first-time fliers, peope who leave the print-out at home by mistake, who will be travelling abroad for more than 15 days and have no access to a computer/printer, loose their print-out etc.
Indeed. I recently went on a trip with three RyanAir flights. Printed off the first two boarding passes before I left. The third was beyond the 15 day limit, and I spent a silly amount of time finding an Internet cafe that I could print off boarding pass at. That was just another "cost" that RyanAir's policies impose on me, both in terms of my time and what the Internet cafe charged me for access and printing.
I've flown RyanAir several times in the past and had no issues with them. Although I will probably fly them again, this trip will make me much more selective about when I will use them, and make me pay much closer attention as to the likely true cost of RyanAir's policies. Other costs that I hadn't bargained for:
- out of the three flights, departure times of two were changes subsequent to my booking of them. My Beauvais departure was brought forward 5 hours to 9:20am, causing me to have to take a not exactly cheap taxi across Paris to get the Beauvais bus.
- Bag was (just) under the weight limit on first flight. Removed several relatively heavy items for second/third flights to be on the safe side, but bag weighed in 2.1kg and 2.5kg heavier. Weighed bag when I got home and it's under the 15kg limit. Hmm...
And it's not just a monetary issue. It's things like the fact that I couldn't pay their excess bag charge at the checkin desk but had to join another - looong - line to pay. Post 9/11 travelling has become stressful enough without RyanAir's policies and (lack of) service adding to it.