How to avoid Mr O'Leary's £320 sting for the privilege of checking in [Archive]

raffele

24th Mar 2009, 18:33

Despite the fact that Ryanair is doing away with check-in desks to save money, it has introduced a new 'web check-in fee' of £5 per person. At the moment, this is paid only by those with hold baggage.

So, you can't check in at the airport. You have to check in online. But wait! Thats an extra cost... I wonder if the usual card fees are included too..

When will it end? Not any time soon, guessing by this article I just found on the Ryanair website:

Ryanair - News : Passengers to Suggest Next Discretionary Charge (http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/news.php?yr=09&month=mar&story=pro-en-120309)

I wonder if there'll be hidden taxes and charges to pay on the prize money?

BaronChotzinoff

24th Mar 2009, 19:56

If, after October 1, you turn up at the airport without having checked in online, you also risk a sizeable charge - though an airline spokesman told me Ryanair will 'do its best to help those who have tried to print off their boarding cards but have had problems'.

Well they certainly haven't done up till now. I fly regularly EMA-SFX and while the Berlin staff will always print my boarding pass if I tell them the website wasn't working, the UK staff have "no option" but to charge you - first £8, then shortly afterwards, £10 - to do it. They just can't get round it, followed by something about "Servisair".

The second time was following a last minute flight change which left no time to get to a printer except through an internet cafe the morning of the flight. However despite what they claim the Print Boarding Pass option isn't available once the 4 hours deadline for amending flight details has passed. It very easily could be - only a matter of copying and pasting a link onto a web page - but they choose not to provide it and thus rake in ... er ... must be £12 by now? - every time someone needs to do this.

Capot

24th Mar 2009, 20:39

From the article in Halfpint's link....

So what can you do to avoid being hit by Ryanair's extra costs?

One of the best ways is to find another way of getting where you want to go, or changing where you want to go.

Ryanair's add-ons are now such that a Ryanair flight is very often a very expensive option.

Killed the Golden Goose, in so many ways, has Mr O'Leary.

Michael SWS

24th Mar 2009, 22:02

For the Ryanair junkie, who is prepared to fly to whichever destination is currently on special offer, midweek, and get an Electron card to reduce the booking fees, there are some very good deals to be had on Ryanair.

But for most passengers, who want to get to a specific place on a specific date and don't want to get another debit card for the purpose of booking the ticket, the legacy airlines often work out cheaper than Ryanair. And at least they try to give the impression that they are pleased to have you as a customer.

wiggy

25th Mar 2009, 08:27

"Ryanair junkie" ..love it :ok:, and oh so true.

MOL has been very clever, he started services on point to point routes that no operator had ever served before - often the UK to a farmers field in La France profonde ( well not quite but....). The local Chambers of Commerce would help out with the fees, and thousands of Brits clamoured to buy second homes in these areas, attracted by cheap property prices and the promise of virtually no cost flights. Now they are committed to their "dream", and his airline, like all others, is feeling the economic pinch, he's going to squeeze the "junkies" for every last eurocent. Indeed they may even end up paying the going rate.

As you say he provides an acceptable service if you don't care when you travel, only have handbaggage (less than 10kg), and are internet savvy. Otherwise if you insist/have to use Ryanair you're now going to pay....I really don't blame MOL for all this, I blame the junkies for not realising what a good deal they were on and not understanding that Ryanair is a business, not a charity.

nivsy

25th Mar 2009, 13:22

From memory (and at least recently) I was under the impression that persons who do not hold an EU country passport CANNOT check in on line with Ryanair and infact need to go to a check-in desk and probably get charged currently for that "service". Is that still the case?

Nivsy

PAXboy

25th Mar 2009, 14:20

Last August, I travelled with a friend who has a non-EU passport on FR. You check in so that they can check the validity of VISAs - then get a refund of the check-in fee at the ticket desk.

As to this latest, my admiration for FR continues unabated. For those that are irritated/angry/w'atevvu:rolleyes: just hold the thought that there is no such thing as a free flight.

Seat62K

25th Mar 2009, 19:02

Wiggy,
I think you'll find that Ryanair inherited many/most of its French routes when it took over buzz.

Nivsy,
Non-EU/EEA passengers can now check in online.

P.S. Ryanair has redesigned the Web check-in boarding pass. The cabin baggage allowance is much more prominently printed as is Priority/Non-Priority.

TightSlot

25th Mar 2009, 20:22

ow to avoid Mr O'Leary's £320 sting for the privilege of checking in

Not flying with the airline involved is an effective method of avoiding the costs.

Sorry, but it felt like it needed to be said...

:)

raffele

25th Mar 2009, 21:39

And very well said indeed TightSlot!

jamier

25th Mar 2009, 21:49

i avoid flying ryanair as i can normally get flights with mainline airlines for less after you add up all the extra fees that ryanair charge!

Flying_Frisbee

26th Mar 2009, 07:29

Yesterday 22:49
jamier i avoid flying ryanair as i can normally get flights with mainline airlines for less after you add up all the extra fees that ryanair charge!

LAst time I flew back to the UK, I compared Ryanair, BA and KLM. Similar routes in terms of travel to the airports at both ends. FR was direct, the other 2 were via LGW.
The prices were just under 300, 750 and 1100 euros respectively.
If O'Leary just advertised the full cost up front, he's probably still be cheapest, but without pissing so many people off by making them feel they're getting ripped off.
Anything goes wrong though, and I know who I'd rather be with. Having said that, I've flown with FR many times and never, touch wood, had a problem yet. Still hate doing it, which says a lot about how they do business.

strake

26th Mar 2009, 07:43

I was quite pleased with Ryanair when I used them the first few times but having been stung (perfectly legally of course - if you care read the terms & conditions ad nauseaum) last time, I have booked us to Alicante with BA from Gatwick in mid-April. At least now I don't have to worry that we will be charged extra for wearing the wrong colour clothes or whatever Ryanair's "Excess du Jour" happens to be on that day. Peace of mind and a reasonably civilised experience for just £43 more.

raffele

26th Mar 2009, 10:19

strake - you should enter ryanair's competition to win €1000 for the "next discretionary charge"! Specific charges for wearing different colour or style of clothes... :D

Capot

26th Mar 2009, 10:43

How to avoid Mr O'Leary's £320 sting for the privilege of checking in

Not flying with the airline involved is an effective method of avoiding the costs.

Sorry, but it felt like it needed to be said...And indeed it was.....

One of the best ways is to find another way of getting where you want to go, or changing where you want to go.But I'll forgive you.......

Sober Lark

26th Mar 2009, 11:30

DUB-LGW I paid a total of €100 (£93.36) for 5 (yes five) persons return over the May bank holiday weekend.

Tightslot and Jamier, getting a deal like that would make one feel rather smug wouldn't it? I'm sure FR carry millions and millions of smug passengers.

Skipness One Echo

26th Mar 2009, 13:14

DUB-LGW I paid a total of €100 (£93.36) for 5 (yes five) persons return over the May bank holiday weekend.

Does that include taxes and airport / government charges, all online check in and no hold bags? If it does, it's an excellent fare and opens up two scenarios.
1) Ryanair HAVE to charge a Hell of a lot more to everyone else to use the same flight hence the extortionate new charges etc Yield management is having an off day?
3) The flight is empty and there are *WAY* too many seats on the market.

It's a bank holiday FFS. It's a time to MAKE money as people want to travel. Seems odd IMHO.

Sober Lark

26th Mar 2009, 13:28

Yes, that all I paid. No baggage (10kg each x 5 gives us 50kg), no insurance (I have an annual policy), No priority boarding (never a problem if you're not late at the gate), no credit card charge, inc all tax etc. €100 is the total (I stress total) I paid for 5 of us return.

Bet the aircraft isn't half empty when we fly.

Skipness One Echo

26th Mar 2009, 14:11

I agree, that's pretty much my method too. What was the fare / tax breakdown though? MOL is always moaning about high taxes so I guess you're on a 1p fare and just paying the taxes?
A true bargain but an unlikely one given the timing.

I don't see how you got 5 people on two flights = 10 legs for that price though as I would have thought the taxes were way more. I have paid that amount of tax / airport charge on TWO legs on Ryanair before. I am genuinely confused.

davidjohnson6

26th Mar 2009, 14:24

Skipness - spend enough time searching through fares on enough dates, and every now and again you'll find a fare marked as 'NO TAXES'. Rather than being 1p + tax, it'll have a fare of £5 or £10 with no additional tax.

Rare as hen's teeth around bank holiday weekends, but if someone in yield management made a screw-up, nothing to stop SoberLark taking MOL up on his offer !

Sober Lark

26th Mar 2009, 14:25

Pricing DUB to LGW EUR75.00. LGW to DUB EUR25.00. Passenger details 5 passengers. Payment details EUR75 total fare. EUR50.00 taxes, fees & charges. Total paid EUR100.00.

Over Patrick's weekend we all flew to Birmingham for an all in EUR100. Sat beside an individual who paid EUR230 for his single ticket so we had a laugh when I thanked him for subsidising our fare.

Encourgage people to fly during a recession by reducing fares making it even cheaper to go away than to stay at home. Brilliant!

racedo

26th Mar 2009, 14:46

Looked at May Bank holiday LGW - Dub and less than 120 for 5.

Skyscanner.net I always use first but FR site a bit more user friendly if you tick the"My dates are flexible" box.

Skipness One Echo

26th Mar 2009, 14:58

That's good to know. I fly STN-PIK a lot but mainly weekends so I have never seen the no taxes box. Seems like suicide to pay someones taxes to fill a seat when you can just up the yield beng a high demand bank hol!

Mind you a lot of the people who were running the operation in Dublin have left recently so I hope they read pprune!

Michael SWS

26th Mar 2009, 20:23

Tightslot and Jamier, getting a deal like that would make one feel rather smug wouldn't it? I'm sure FR carry millions and millions of smug passengers.But it's also quite a nice feeling - though perhaps I wouldn't use the word "smug" - to know you can afford not to have to fly with Ryanair...

Seat62K

26th Mar 2009, 20:53

I can afford not to fly Ryanair but why should I? For example, take flying to Madrid: Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and even London City are nothing like as accessible to me as Stansted and since flying Ryanair has cost me as little as £10 return on this route I'd be daft to fly easyJet, BA, Iberia or Air Comet.

The only thing which makes me feel somewhat easy is that there is a cost to flying Ryanair, and this cost is paid by its employees and agents' staff.

Sober Lark

26th Mar 2009, 21:06

Michael SWS, the cynic knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.

Michael SWS

26th Mar 2009, 21:48

Michael SWS, the cynic knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.True, but I don't really understand the relevance of your comment.

You are the one who quotes the price of everything, whereas I appreciate the value of a less stressful, more civilised journey.

Sober Lark

26th Mar 2009, 22:47

As neither of us has any knowledge of the other there is little point in argument. I'm a frequent long haul flier and have had my fill of paying for civilised travel only to have it eroded by poor service levels and uncivilised travel behavior from rude fellow passengers. My expectations are high but when one only pays a €100 for five persons by Ryanair from DUB to LGW then I'm an adaptable chap and my expectations can be easily adjusted.

extralegroom

27th Mar 2009, 19:38

Well, if you're used to "uncivilised travel behaviour" then you'll be well-prepared for the scrum which is boarding a Ryanair aircraft!

Don't get me wrong, Ryanair do what they say on the tin. They get you from A to B cheaply. Not with much comfort or style mind you, but more often than not on-time. At best, travelling with Ryanair is bearable, but could never be described as pleasant. The cattle-herding at boarding, the abrupt (often incomprehensible) crew, the garish aircraft interior, the mess you invariably find since they don't have time to clean the plane on turnarounds, the ridiculous music they play, the cheap plastic seats, the constant sell sell sell with loud announcements, the self-congratulatory fanfare if the aircraft lands on-time (or even 15 minutes late because apparently that's defined as on-time?!) ... and that's if it all goes to plan. Woe betide anything should go wrong, because if it does, you're left up the creek without the proverbial paddle. And that ranges from someone's cabin bag being too big/heavy (when you're stung for a wad of cash), to your flight being delayed or cancelled. And I guarantee you that the day something happens to you or yours on an FR booking, your opinion of Ryanair will change.

Coquelet

27th Mar 2009, 19:55

And I guarantee you that the day something happens to you or yours on an FR booking, your opinion of Ryanair will change.

Not at all.
It's part of the deal, and I know it when I book.
I had two flights cancelled this winter (it was my first such experience with RYR) : one because of fog at Charleroi (it was before their cat III) and one at Dublin airport blocked by 3 cm of snow.
I had to find and pay a hotel room - total 180 euros, which, on my 230 other incident-free Ryanair flights, averages less than 1 euro per flight.

Seat62K

27th Mar 2009, 21:12

I think my opinion would change if something significant were to go wrong and I was left to fend for myself in an unfamiliar place.

Around one hundred sectors so far and it hasn't happened yet. However, whenever possible I do avoid travelling unless it's absolutely necessary if the weather is forecast to be bad (such a snow or severe cross winds), if industrial action is planned etc., simply in order to protect myself from such an eventuality.

BaronChotzinoff

24th Apr 2009, 22:41

I wrote:

Well they certainly haven't done up till now. I fly regularly EMA-SFX and while the Berlin staff will always print my boarding pass if I tell them the website wasn't working, the UK staff have "no option" but to charge you - first £8, then shortly afterwards, £10 - to do it. They just can't get round it, followed by something about "Servisair".

The second time was following a last minute flight change which left no time to get to a printer except through an internet cafe the morning of the flight. However despite what they claim the Print Boarding Pass option isn't available once the 4 hours deadline for amending flight details has passed. It very easily could be - only a matter of copying and pasting a link onto a web page - but they choose not to provide it and thus rake in ... er ... must be £12 by now? - every time someone needs to do this.

I'm afraid I've done Mr O'Leary a big disservice here by positing that the next logical future charge for non-printing of boarding pass following online check-in would be £12. Tonight I received this automated email in advance of my next flight to see my daughter:

Ryanair’s online check-in service is available from 15 days up to 4 hours prior to your scheduled flight departure time(s). If both your outbound and return flights are within the 15 day period, at the time you check-in online then both boarding passes can be printed simultaneously. If you do not check-in online you will be required to pay the relevant fee to re-issue your boarding card at the airport.(Euro 40/ GBP 40)

So not £12, but £40. I'm sorry, Mr O'Leary. What a slur to your business acument to think that you would adhere simply to a random rip-off progression when you could simply plump for what you gauged the market would bear. Yes, of course - who would rebook a complete flight for the sake of £40?

Of course, the fact that most decent people would label you a sneaky thieving crook is neither here nor there ... in your culture, this don't cut no odds.

Avman

25th Apr 2009, 07:24

:):ok: "Ryanair junkie" and "Excess du jour". Brilliant!!

Michael SWS

25th Apr 2009, 14:56

The only way you can now avoid paying Ryanair for the "privilege" of checking in is to carry hand luggage only. All passengers who have hold luggage must pay a check-in fee, which is additional to the fee for the bag(s), ranging from £5 to an astonishing £40 per person each way - presumably at the whim of the teenage Ryanair representative at the departure airport. Expect to see a number of stories in this summer's tabloids where a family of four that are unfamiliar with Ryanair's ever-changing regulations are stung for £320 check-in charges.

For those internet-savvy lo-co junkies (a dwindling number) who live near Stansted, are prepared to fly wherever Ryanair wishes to take them, on the days that Ryanair stipulates, with no luggage and no expectations, the airline continues to offer some exceptional deals. Anyone else who chooses Ryanair over legacy carriers these days probably needs his head examined.

Capot

26th Apr 2009, 06:39

230 other incident-free Ryanair flights

Around one hundred sectors so far and it hasn't happened yet

Notice a pattern? Extralegroom sums up the FR passenger experience extremely well; it's dreadful, but you know what you are in for when you book.

But, I happen to know, their maintenance is as good and well-organised as the best you will find in the world; in short they do not hesitate to spend good money on ensuring that there are no maintenance delays, diversions, disruptions of any sort. They understand better than any airline I have ever known that spending 10K Euros to avoid disruption costing £500K Euros is a good idea.

That's not to say that they will alllow a cent to be wasted, of course!

Seat62K

26th Apr 2009, 11:28

"Dreadful passenger experience"? Perhaps I've simply been lucky, but my experience as a passenger on Ryanair has not been anything like this. If it was I'd have stopped travelling with them by now.

Sober Lark

2nd Jun 2009, 22:07

I can confirm we travelled return DUB-LGW for all 5 of us for a total of €100 and not a cent extra.

Flight out was on time. We did notice one of the cabin crew was not in position for the safety demonstration but joined later about a quarter way into the speel.

Flight back was an hour late but it happened again. We were in row 23 and the belt and life jacket was lying on the floor in front of us. The safety demo began and again no sign of the crew member until she arrived to take up position at the part where they demonstrate how to open the buckle.

My flight was a bargain, I got it for next to nothing but all this rush, rush, rush detracts from it and the safety demo bugs me. Couldn't they have waited until all crew members were in position before they started the demo? Then again I suppose few passengers seem to listen anyway.

My impression. I'll fly again if there is no other choice and next time I'll pay for priority boarding.

Dit

3rd Jun 2009, 06:46

That will have been because the crew member nearest the rear has to operate the emergency lighting switches at the start of the demo. Though if you can think of a way of getting that crew member in two places at once feel free to say...

Avman

3rd Jun 2009, 07:58

Though if you can think of a way of getting that crew member in two places at once feel free to say...

Rather a stupid and unprofessional comment to make Dit. Whatever the reason, not being at your station for part of the safety demo is a straight forward no-no. Other airlines seem to manage perfectly well. I´d say that if this is a regular occurence then RYR need to review and revise their safety briefing procedure.