Easy/Ryanair attitude when ALL pax arrive late

[WHBM]

We have all learned that the low costs never give refunds, and it is down to you to check-in for your flight on time.

This morning the M11 motorway at Stansted was closed off because of an accident, and hundreds of pax must have arrived late for check-in, unable to get to the airport with cars and coaches all caught in the queue which apparently stretched back to the M25. So how did Easyjet and Ryanair handle it? Were they telling hundreds of their customers that a replacement ticket for the next flight out was £100 (their typical "instant purchase" fare) instead of £1? Or is there one official line and a more pragmatic approach in practice?

[nibor]

It may be a little harsh at times, as in this case, but people are slowly getting the message. It is up to the passengers to present themselves at check in early enough to be checked in before the desk closes and there are no exceptions.
Lets face it low cost airlines are no frills and a refund would be a frill.
You pay your money and take a chance. If you plan to be at the airport before the desks open then the odds are in your favour.

[Globaliser]

The line that FR and U2 could justifiably take is that this is precisely what travel insurance is for.

But on my one and only LCC trip so far, which was on Go, the pax next to me had been booked to fly the previous evening. The trains had broken down and she had missed the flight. Go reaccommodated her on the first flight the next morning without extra charge. That was a cheering thing to hear, but I don't have any confidence that either U2 or FR (especially) would follow that line.

[refjohn]

happened to me back in March with Ryanair- headed for Stansted - trains broke down - finally got a taxi and by my watch arrived at checkin in to Derry less than a minute late. Closed - supervisor was there and told a group of about 6 of us that they would rebook us for £10, rather than having to buy a new ticket. That wasn;t practical as it meant a night on the floor int he airport so in the end gave Easyjet £85 for their last flight to Belfast. Annoyed me at the time but as they say what you pay is what you get and I always new that I was going to be tight for the flight (had been on training course).

J.

[flyerboy]

I think you'll find U2's policy is slighty better than most anticipate when it comes to late pax it works as follows:

If you arr. between -40 and STD they will transfer your missed flt to the next available FOC.

If you arr. up to 2hrs after STD then they will change it £25 per person.

[eng123]

As nibor said,you pays yer money you takes yer choice.

I am continually amazed when I see posts on here complaining about the so called lack of customer service...I was late,nasty old RYR would not give me another flight etc etc....

My response to you all is 'Why did you book Ryanair in the first place?'

You can't have it both ways.If you want all the protection that a full fare airline offers, then pay for it!

Ryanairs punctuality record speaks for itself.If you turn up on time then you will get to your destination as promised,more often than not on time and more often than not in a brand new aircraft.[maintained by the best engineers in the world,even if I say so myself:ok: ]

[Deeko01]

Oh well must defend Ryanair here, l was 7 minutes late for check in at Stansted for a flight to Prestwick and obviously they had shut the gate but after my colleague speaking nicely to the check in girl, she booked us on the next Prestwick flight free of charge!

[controller friendly]

I'm constantly being accused of favourism to Easy but here we go again;)

I turned up for a flight 19 hours late(thanx to going tech in Lanzarote with Monarch!) and Easy got us on the last flight free of charge....brill...!

But unfortunately last week I could not make an already expensive flight with bmi(£250),best choice was to reschedule my flights....cost £25 each leg....! Rip off....:(