Ryanair-Questions, comments, bouquets & brickbats (Merged)

[M.Mouse]

I have just booked a ticket with Flybe. The headline price after a search on the internet was one figure then all the add ons started:

Select a seat - £7 or £15 for one with more leg room
Hold baggage - £7
Credit card fee - £3.50
Booking charge!!! - £2 (like theatre tickets you cannot avoid paying for the privilege of buying a ticket therefore it ought to be inclusive).

Eventually yet more legislation will be introduced to stop the circus. I do not argue that the fees aren't necessary to cover costs but it ought to be all inclusive.

[Sober Lark]

Ryanair seem to be in danger of only appealing to those travelling off peak, short duration and no bags. Surely they are taking a gamble in hoping they are not pricing others off travelling and slow growth. Much as I'm a supporter, we could be seeing the seeds being sown for a second place finisher here?

[captjns]

But hey... no fuel surcharge

[Dit]

One front, two back...

[Otterman]

The consumer has chosen, and made Ryanair as big as it has gotten. If Ryanair manages to unseat a legacy carrier on a route, the price will be at the same level or higher than they were when it was just the legacy carrier. It is capitalism in its purest form. All the low cost stuff is just “el toro pooh-pooh”. It is just the price of entry.

If you can’t be fair about the ticket price, we will just nickel and dime them to death.

[silverelise]

Booking charge!!! - £2 (like theatre tickets you cannot avoid paying for the privilege of buying a ticket therefore it ought to be inclusive).

With a theatre you at least have the opportunity to turn up in person at the box office and buy a ticket and avoid the booking charge.

[Mikehotel152]

Good business opportunity here - set up a stall near the Ryanair checkin with a computer, 3G modem for internet link and a printer and charge people €10 to print their boarding pass.

Although a tongue-in-cheek suggestion, sadly it won't work. As we discovered in December, you have to print off the boarding pass at the moment you make the booking. Unlike other airlines, you can't come back later, access your booking, and print off the boarding pass the night before you head off or at the airport.

Or so it was for us.

I had made the booking on a computer which wasn't linked to a printer. When I later wanted to print off the boarding pass I couldn't access the particular webpage containing the printable boarding pass. This meant that having access to a computer and printer didn't help and we were forced to pay for normal check-in despite having no bags! Perhaps things will change with the new system, but somehow I doubt it...

[prettygrumman]

The next scam might go something like this-upon boarding a ryr flight all the window blinds will be in the down position. Under the blind will be a coin operated slot machine, whereby the introduction of a £2 coin will allow you to open the said blind. I flew ryr once to Italy many years ago. The departure allowance was 20kgs for baggage, but whilst on holiday they reduced the allowance to 15kgs and I had to cough up approx £70. Fly with ryr? Never again

[Based]

Unlike other airlines, you can't come back later, access your booking, and print off the boarding pass the night before you head off or at the airport.

Of course you can and it's the way it's always been with their online check-in facility. User error to blame here I'm afraid.

[skyloone]

Reference the above and printing at time of booking... I know many who sit on the laptop in a coffee shop, office, airport etc... book, then print out later. If this were to be closed off as an option I'd agree a complete own goal... but the wording does say "re-print up to 40mins before departure".

“Ryanair’s web check-in service allows passenger to check-in from 15 days to 4 hours before, and print, or re-print, their boarding card up to 40 minutes prior to their scheduled departure time. Web check-in can be accessed via ryanair.com using booking confirmation numbers or flight details”.

[Whiskey Papa]

Sorry Mikehotel152; you're wrong, I do that all the time.

WP

[racedo]

Although a tongue-in-cheek suggestion, sadly it won't work. As we discovered in December, you have to print off the boarding pass at the moment you make the booking. Unlike other airlines, you can't come back later, access your booking, and print off the boarding pass the night before you head off or at the airport.

Or so it was for us.

Think it must have been as can only check in 15 days beforehand.

I had made the booking on a computer which wasn't linked to a printer. When I later wanted to print off the boarding pass I couldn't access the particular webpage containing the printable boarding pass. This meant that having access to a computer and printer didn't help and we were forced to pay for normal check-in despite having no bags! Perhaps things will change with the new system, but somehow I doubt it...

I'm figuring you went back to the original page and tried to load the page and print from there.
What you were able to do is go onto the Ryanair website and check in and print boarding pass from there.

[racedo]

Of course you can and it's the way it's always been with their online check-in facility. User error to blame here I'm afraid.

As an IT engineer claimed PICNIC was responsible for 80% of his call outs.....Problem In Chair Not In Computer.

[raffele]

I mentioned this in this forum: http://www.pprune.org/passengers-slf...ml#post4924005 yesterday after watching an article yesterday lunchtime on BBC Two's Working Lunch.

From Wednesday (20th May), all new bookings made will have to check in online. No alternative. And yes, I believe Ryanair are going to charge £5/€5 for the privilege of performing this non-optional task.

When the check in desks and kiosks get shut down, Ryanair is planning on using the self service kiosks to offer a reprint service - yes, at a cost of £40/€40 per boarding card

[World of Tweed]

Ladies and Geekymen,

Who is to blame for failures in this self-check-in system; whether its the user or the computer etc... its not really relevant is it?

The fact is that Ryanair is really taking the biscuit with these charges. Its 'fare' now only represents a small percentage of the monetary value that is exchanged in the process of flying on their(or the banks) aircraft. Much of the charges are unavoidable and personally where there is a choice and where the difference in fare is £30 - I'll NEVER chose Ryanair. Because in my experience that is pretty much what you end up having to add to your ticket anyway for bags, check-in and now online checkin.

Roll on the charging for the loo....

A slippery slope leads us to damnation..... with MOL collecting his five euro on the way down.

Where you have a viable choice - please exercise it.

[starling60]

Just a question

With the removal of check in desks, who /how will produce hold luggage tags?

[Mikehotel152]

Well, judging by the helpful comments in response to my post I can only hold up my hands and admit it must have been my fault.

I should add that I'm actually not daft and pretty good with computers, but I simply couldn't find a way of printing off my boarding pass. I've had no trouble with BA, whose system seems more straight forward.

[latetonite]

I still think a customer has the right to know how much he will be charged, in plain language, before he buys a ticket with any airline. Apparently everybody pays more at the end of the day for his trip, which I call a scam.

[Whiskey Papa]

Luggage Tags? Print them off yourself! Only £5.00 or two for £12.00!

[starling60]

WP

Very good one! Right up MOL street

Self printed paper tags........can you imagine the amount of lost-stranded luggage? T5 will have been a dream in comparison

Seriously, does anyone know how this will work?