It is wonderful that there are choices and the cartels have been broken. Excellent. My point is that for a decade the LoCo's have been making handsome huge profits as they were. They are increasing those profits with their basic model. It does not seem necessary, other than greed, to add on yet another pay for item that IMHO should be a basic custom service. There is no cost to the provider for seating pax together on a single booking. It is not a cost saving measure only an attempt to generate even more profit. My only thought is it might be one add on too far. But I guess, as MOL has said many times, if the queue is still outside the door why change anything.
We shall agree to disagree.

"Huge" profits - I don't think so.... especially when you look at the scale of investment

MOL has always said his ultimate aim is to offer seats for free and make the profit on the extras

Travelled BRU-DUB and DUB-BRU this weekend and witnessed first hand the effects of deliberately separating passengers.

BRU-DUB

1. Boarding the back door of the aircraft, girl in front of me: "Oh I need to show my boarding pass again? My boyfriend has it, he's boarding the front" RESULT: Allowed board without a boarding pass
2. Lots of seat swapping
3. Stag party guy sitting next to me didn't buy a drink: no mates to drink with / no mates to encourage him
4. I did not purchase a drink, my travel partner was not there to share a drink
5. Some confusion of people needing money from a partner further back in the plane in order to buy something (how many just didn't bother?)
6. Guy behind me inappropriately chatting up a girl whose boyfriend was seated up front

DUB-BRU

1. Guy next to me asked me to help him with his case, he had injured his arm during the weekend, and his boyfriend was at the other end of the aircraft so not able to help directly
2. Lots of seat swapping
3. No-one in my row bought a drink
4. Disembarking at BRU people hesitating before getting into the bus, waiting for partners... and then needing to be ushered in (wasting time), so that the bus could go and come back
5. In the bus people blocking the door waiting to see their partner appear
6. Where the bus sets people off, people hanging around the entrance (partially blocking it) waiting for partners

In general, lots of small hindrances, as well as the big pissing people off by separating them to begin with.

So to March 17, Ryanair made a profit of 1,316m Euro. How much is enough, or is there never enough now with big companies? If this seating policy is a deliberate policy, what does it say about the ethics of Ryanair? Sadly, I am starting to think that too many large companies have lost sight of decency.

What is 1.316bn Euros as a percentage of capital employed? Or as a return on revenue? Just because it looks like a big number it's not necessarily excessive.
After all, to some of us that's almost a whole afternoon's pay....

In reply to Charlie Roy's post (3818)

Another hinderance that you did not mention, maybe because it's not a problem to you, is the 90 bag rule, unique to RA I believe.

On my last trip, while at the gate, I was told that I could not take my cabin bag on board. When I said it contained expensive camera equipment and would they guarantee it's security, a bit of an argument followed. Holding up the rest of the queue in the process.

In the end I had to remove all my camera equipment and sit with it all on my lap. Great, what a pain! and each item was quite heavy and solid so it would have been dangerous had we hit severe turbulence. You really don't want stuff like that flying around the cabin like cruise missiles.

When I book flights for myself and Mrs T-A-L I have both our boarding cards on the app on my phone, so if we have to board front and rear there is a problem, well kind of, they sometimes call each other to confirm or just allow her to board without a boarding card of her own. Is there supposed to be a procedure for this circumstance?

When you add all these inconveniences together RA seem very unfriendly, no matter what they say.

Oh, and of course RA are the only airline that I know who charge an EU261 levy on every passenger for every sector flown.

It is part of their Terms and Conditions that they can put your carry on in the hold, what's the problem? If you really needed it to be carried on board, buy priority, it's pretty clear.

FR have got this wrong big time in my opinion from customer service, PR and operational aspects. Undoes a lot of Kenny's AGB stuff in a stroke. I know fares cheap etc etc but so is Mc Donald's but I get to sit with people I am supposed to be sharing the experience with ! Wide bearth from FR for me again.......

Another hinderance that you did not mention, maybe because it's not a problem to you, is the 90 bag rule,

A few years ago RYR trumpeted its partnership with Samsonite who had produced a RYR size cabin bag. RYR have been pushing cabin bags only for years and this venture, they said, guaranteed you could take it in the cabin. It is smaller than the norm, of course. Then they discovered the lockers could not accommodate enough of their specially designed cabin bags and their guarantee dissolved. Now this max numbers rule. Luckily they have not introduced a RYR designed bag that can fit 'under the seat' for free and then charge for the larger size that requires the overhead lockers. Oh dear; have I given them ideas. Wiz Air are doing something like this, and are not the major share holders of RYR & WA the same?

Seat Allocation
 

It disgusts me to even post on the latest change in which Ryanair allocates its seats at check-in.

They'll argue the policy has not changed... which technically it hasn't but it's clear from their seat maps and the sudden emergence of people being allocated rows apart that some kind of system internally has changed the way in which seats are being allocated. Now all the middle seats are allocated first, rather than allocating from the center outwards. The result... families being split up unnecessarily unless they pay for seats!

With experience in ground operations I have never known even Ryanair to do anything so indecent and shambolic as this!

They have given no regard it would seem to the fact that...
- Passengers will just swap seats under their own account, causing chaos and unnecessary disruption during boarding
- Groups that will typically have a lead traveler maybe carrying the travel docs/boarding passes of all those in the group (meaning some pax may not have their boarding pass to hand when embarking the aircraft... possibly through the opposite door)
- The separation of passengers is likely going to attribute to a reduction of in-flight sales, where groups of friends or family sat together are more likely to make more substantial purchases (again only the "lead passenger" may possess any method of payment)
- Passengers will be clogging aircraft cabin aisles/airside ramp areas on arrival whilst waiting for their travel group

And a big pitfall also is that even if you were willing to pay to reserve seats after being separated at check-in, there's barely any adjacent seats left to choose as all the middle seats have been allocated!!

Never mind also if god forbid there were an emergency evacuation... 100+ passengers I'm sure trying to reunite with loved ones I imagine would work wonders for a max. evacuation time of 90 secs.

Would not be surprised if this becomes something that requires something like CAA intervention if nothing else. I think it should become a requirement for airlines to allocate groups together whenever possible, only separating in exceptional circumstances.

Regardless of their solid business strategy, financial performance, commendable improvements in recent years and as an airline I personally admire, they have made a big error or judgement and have gone way too far this time

I am totally and utterly disgusted by the whole thing... This will not last I guarantee, things will get too nasty I'm sure in one way or another for the airline to contend with!

Anyway, rant over! I'm sure I won't be the only one complaining though...

Put simply, I believe this will become a security and/or a safety issue. Hopefully it doesn't take the occurrence of a serious incident before this ridiculous policy is reversed.

If now policy is that you must buy a seat to sit together, it must be spelt out clearly at time of purchase. That means eg. 'If you do not select seats, your party will be separated at check in' not 'sit next to X from £2'.

It is not 'normal' practice to deliberately split bookings so how can Joe public be expected to know they will be split up if they aren't explictly told?

It is deliberate misinformation, it is disingenious and seems to signal a return to the 'old' Ryanair who didn't get a single penny of my money for almost 8 years. AGB must be out of favour with management, perhaps they are worried their treatment of passengers is becoming too humane.

I've discussed this topic with various friends from various countries. They are not users of RYR, but they considered it as purely a reflection on company attitude towards customer service. All were in total opposition; not for the cost but for the principle. There are basic boundaries of customer service and they all thought this crossed them.
And that is where I think we should be looking. This seems nothing more than a culture that spends a great deal of effort to design strategies that says "where can we squeeze the customers to generate more profit." This is the end of a very thin wedge. What next? The old joke about €1 for the toilet seems not so very far fetched anymore.
If I thought it might be fun, but too dangerous in giving them ideas, we could have a humorous discussion about what is left for RYR to charge their customers. I am nervous after Wizz-Air started charging for hand baggage.
I really don't give a fig about the lower total price; it is a matter of principle. It makes me feel I am being treated with contempt, and that's not acceptable.
There is a discussion about the new culture at BA. Profit is taking priority over customer service. We have been on a slippery slope for 17 years and look how far we have slid. There are certain routes where train, car ferry over night, or day, or just a couple of hours longer by car is so much more pleasurable than airlines now. OK, there are many short-haul routes where air travel is the only option, but it is no fun or relaxing anymore. It's too much like having an operation for haemorrhoids.
Good luck to you all, but there is an old expression that "I expect to be kissed before I'm screwed."

I presume that as soon as the seatbelt lights go off 30% of the aircraft will stand up and move around. How are they going to get through the plane to sell things? The only obvious way will be to use the seatbelt lights to trap people in their seats (and also stop them going to the toilet).

I can't wait to see how this turns out...

Personally, I think Ryanair have got this policy arse about face as...

I would actually be willing to pay for other people to entertain my children for the whole flight.

;)

Totally agree @ RAT 5. This is a matter of principle for me too.

A Ryanair passenger who was checked in but didn’t print his boarding pass was denied boarding at gate A32 at Brussels Airport and was forced to pay 50€ to Ryanair (via the Aviapartner gate agent). The passenger started ranting, shouting and … filming

Some new in flight entertainment :p

Couple romp on Manchester to Ibiza Ryanair flight | Daily Mail Online

How did this passenger make it airside without a boarding pass?

He says in the video he just came off a connecting flight, I wasn't aware Ryanair had connections at BRU, only at FCO. Still, you need a valid boarding pass to enter the airside departure lounge...

I saw this video. That young lady deserves a medal and promotion. She kept her cool in the most trying of circumstances, and never once gave him the verbal repartee he was so desperate to enter into. WELL DONE MADAME.

As for the 'passenger' ... I think this sort of individual would merit being on the 'no-fly' list on grounds of endangering the blood pressure of anyone he comes into contact with. Disgraceful behaviour (verbal and the act of filming) from that individual. He may be loquacious, but has not read and understood that he signed that he understood and would abide by the Ryanair T&C when buying his ticket ... that he would have to print out his boarding pass to allow him to board and use his paid-for ticket, and that if he did not and the boarding pass had to be printed out at the airport, it would cost him a certain disclosed sum of money.

Should have gone to his local branch of Specsavers ....

What an unpleasant individual and an embarrassment to all other 'passengers'.