What really happened when we missed a Ryanair flight - they were quite reasonable

[WHBM]

There's much fear that if you miss your Ryanair flight check-in cutoff by one minute they will say "tough". But we found out yesterday morning that it's all much more reasonable.

Got caught in the big traffic holdup at the bottom of the M11 going to Stansted, lost about 1.5 hours, arrived there after the flight had closed. But the ticket desk rebooked us onto the next flight without a problem for a standard fee of £40. As this sort of thing happens to most of us no more than 1% of the time, it's a reasonable price to pay. And it was convenient to be going to Dublin with a frequent service.

Apparently there is a further cutoff at 3 hours, after which you need to buy a new ticket.

[TotalBeginner]

Yes,

I believe Easyjet have something similar. As far as I know it is not an advertised policy, i.e. you won't find it in the terms and conditions, but it's something that the airport sales agents are told to offer, provided you arrive within a given time period.

Just out of interest, were you given a confirmed seat, or was it on standby?

[WHBM]

Just out of interest, were you given a confirmed seat, or was it on standby?
Confirmed. Second flight was not full anyway. "Standby" on Ryanair is another non-advertised thing they do, but I once went to buy an on-the-spot one way from Bristol to Dublin (£150 one way for a 40 min FR flight :) ) and was told it was fully booked BUT I could have a standby at this price, even before check-in closed. "There are always a few people who don't turn up". And at the gate this was true, there had been a couple of no-shows. It was not an overbooking as I was on a standby basis. I don't know how I would have got a refund if they all turned up.

[PAXboy]

I had a similar re-book with a small fee on EZY a couple of years ago. I was late for reasons I cannot recall and on was on the next to EDI without any hassles. As always, speak quietly and clearly and listen to what the agent says, before attempting to discuss it!

[*Zwitter*]

I've use them loads and the one time I had a cencellation (due to the French ATC's annual walkout) Ryanair got me on another flight next day for no extra charge.

I've had nothing but good results from them

...but that never makes the news!

[grimmrad]

So out of curiosity - what happens if you miss a full price flight, lets say an intercontintal from BOS to FRA on LH or JFK to LHR on BA? Tough luck, buddy - but you can fly for another 500 - 1200 bucks later today/tomorrow? Or is there some better policy (for the passenger, that is)?
What about domestic flights?

Thx & Best

[Globaliser]

So out of curiosity - what happens if you miss a full price flight, lets say an intercontintal from BOS to FRA on LH or JFK to LHR on BA? Tough luck, buddy - but you can fly for another 500 - 1200 bucks later today/tomorrow? Or is there some better policy (for the passenger, that is)?
What about domestic flights?What do you mean by "full price"?

If you're talking about full fare, fully flexible, tickets then you can basically get onto any other flight that you want, subject to space - and if it's an endorsable ticket (the most expensive kind) that could include some other airline's flight. This even applies after you've checked-in for the flight; you can be offloaded and go at some other time, or even get a refund.

If you're on any other sort of ticket, then the strict position will depend on the fare rules. Many of the cheaper tickets are theoretically unusable if you miss your booked flight. But my experience with BA, on the couple of occasions that I've missed flights, is that they've just rebooked me onto the next flight without further charge (once LHR-HKG, once LHR-AMS), even though on both occasions I was holding absolute rock-bottom bargain basement sale fare tickets.

It's good to hear that FR have a reasonable policy for people who miss flights, although I can also understand why they wouldn't want to publicise it.

[Desert Diner]

Considering that Ryanair doesn't really sell a R/T ticket but two one way tickets, the £40 you paid was probably more then what at least 50% of the other passenger paid on the flight.

[Globaliser]

Considering that Ryanair doesn't really sell a R/T ticket but two one way tickets, the £40 you paid was probably more then what at least 50% of the other passenger paid on the flight.Although it's almost certainly a good deal cheaper than what it would cost to buy a new one-way ticket on the next flight.

[WHBM]

Considering that Ryanair doesn't really sell a R/T ticket but two one way tickets, the £40 you paid was probably more then what at least 50% of the other passenger paid on the flight.
Well we had paid £25 (£2 "fare" plus all the extras). But those fares are not available on the day. Yes, it was another £40 for the Michael O'Leary benefit fund.

[OpsSix]

Apparently there is a further cutoff at 3 hours, after which you need to buy a new ticket.

The rule when I worked for FR at STN was that the passenger paid the £40 missed departure fee as long as the next flight to the same destination hadn't departed. If it had already departed then you had to buy a new ticket.

[419]

It's probably like all the bolshy pax you see on programmes such as "Airport"
Arguing with the check in staff, shouting, swearing etc, so of course the staff don't make that extra effort to help.

What you don't see are the 99% of late passengers, who apologise, and ask nicely, and then either get on their flight, or get transferred to the next one.

But then again, that wouldn't make good viewing!

[Desert Diner]

As long as all the modalities are in place eh?

[BOFH]

As long as all the modalities are in place eh?
Paging Mrs Miriam Abacha, the diplomate is here with your consignment.
Back on topic, it sounds pretty darn reasonable - you were able to carry over the taxes and other charges - yes? - and there's always a risk of delay when going to a remote airport.
Let's face it - it is in the interests of the airlines - and therefore their customers who want inexpensive flights - to enforce punctuality. If my local council ran things, they'd treat latecomers as victims and bump them to F while everyone else who turned up hours in advance seethed. (I am in no way crticising you, WHBM - I mean the passengers who are held up at the bar prior to embarkation [0]).
By the tone of your post, you sound like someone who was already mentally tearing his tickets up and was delighted to still have the opportunity to go. You are evidently in need of entitlement classes. :eek:
BOFH
[0] or in my case, held up by the bar :)

[Paracab]

The only flight I ever missed was when I was travelling STN-DUB with Ryanair back in 2000. It was absolutely my fault and when I went to desk I was moved to the very next flight, all for a charge of £25.

I was very impressed and somewhat relieved. :)

[slim_slag]

That's actually better than Southwest, for many the gold standard. If you miss your flight on Southwest all your money gets credited to your account, but you pay the going rate for the next flight, which if you are on the cheap deal is a lot more than £25. Although having said that, I've had that waived when connecting incoming international flights were late. (Not saying Ryanair are better than Southwest in general, they still have some way to go there)