Ryanair hikes check-in fees!

Travelling with a wheelchair bound wife forces you to check in at the airport, so with Ryanair you have a gun held to your head and cannot choose to check in online, miffed.

Well, I agree with Ren here.
I flew FR a few times and I really dislike their way of doing business.
We were bounced once at Dublin because we were 2 minutes late at check-in and we had to spend the night at the hotel and buy new tickets.
I know you’re gonna say “be on time” that’s true. But when I discovered that the plane was 30mn LATE it pissed me of big time.

Their fare are cheap (often) , the cheapest (sometimes) but I hate to have to watch my back , fearing what they are going to do to steal money from me due to some obscur company policy.

I don’t like FR.

Oh come on! If I can check in online and print my boarding pass for a LAN flight in a remote Amazonian frontier town in Peru, then I think someone on holiday in Southern Spain can find an internet cafe to do the same! Its 2008 not 1998. :rolleyes:

As for checking in bags or not I don’t see how the purposes of a trip for the vast majority of people that fly Ryanair will change at the last minute to dictate whether they do or do not need to check a bag. I certainly know whenever I book my ticket whether I’m going to or not.

I agree with Dan entirely. Its not like this is being done stealthily or anything. The information is there extremely clearly when you book.

You either book a flight with Ryanair and accept their deal or you don’t. Simple as that.

I think the main concern here is where this is all going to end up ? Personally I find it an extremely misleading way of doing business and something that is bound to catch the less eagle eyed passenger out.

Like Skymonster, I don’t use Ryanair I’ve only ever used them once to get a last trip on a classic 737. The one or two times I’ve attempted to deal with their customer service have left a bad taste in my mouth, and having had the misfortune of meeting M’OL once on a job, I felt he was an arrogant, contemptible so and so !

Well in here, only in regional ones which don´t have the date printed on them and are “open”. But long distance with reservation you lose the money.

If you change anything or cancel it, you have a 10% penalty.

Do you get your money back if you miss a train?

:confused:

In France you just ca take the next train with your ticket.

Do you get your money back if you miss a train?

:confused:

Not in Spain 🙂

There´s one thing which upsets me more about airlines. In fact luggage is a minor problem when fare is good.

Credit cards charges. It´s supposed be rising more a more, we visit their websites. Well, it´s normal a charge is applied since VISA, MASTERCARD or whatever charges them for using it. I wonder why it varies according to different airlines in the same route.

My querry is: are we paying hidden costs dressed up as taxes and different fees? I think it´s a good thing to debate as well. The system is funny. If you book a ticket you are charged 8 euros for using a card, but if you are booking two tickets, but the transaction is the same instead of paying 8 we pay 16. Does it make sense?.

There´s a question of not being able to escape from this fee. If you go to the airport to pay cash the same ticket costs 35% more. Of course as long as the fare is good, consumers keep on reserving, but should all costs be more clearly clarified?.

If anyone is sat there thinking I’ve had an epiphany and suddenly become a Ryanair apologist you’d be very much mistaken.

I’m attempting to book a trip to Budapest at the moment. However for “Security Reasons” Ryanair don’t offer online checkin from Budapest. So instead of getting a £17 return there is no other option but to pay £12 each on top of that for a service that I don’t want. Ringing the “call centre” to clarify the policy just results in a dropped line every time menu option 1 is selected.

I think I might just take AndrewM’s advice and stick with BA First Class at this rate…

Oh yes, obviously. Of course, and finaly after ballancing the whole thing, I pay for the baggage tax, because as you well pointed it´s worthy.

What I wanted to say, is that sometimes airlines simply say that they have to charge you for the baggage because the more pounds a plane carries, the more parafin it consumes. This is what´s applied when you have an extra pound of weight and varies to the route and lenght of the flight. Some make a flat baggage excess rate, some calculate it more throughfully.

If this were the case, I would understand the baggage charge since, I am making the plane to consume more (I would have to ask to be weighted myselft). But this is not the case. The charge is almost flat and doesn´t depend on the lenght of the flight. It´s simply because they want to reduce the handlers costs. And this understandable.

But I see the rise as a deterrent, and not something which costs more or less to Ryanair. I wonder if they will able to cut corners in the handlers. And being a deterrent, I am trying to tell, that althought at the end I pay for it, because the fare might remain the same, sometimes we are forced to.

And what I also pointed, is that there are different niches, and markets in which the passengers could travel with luggage and other which we can´t. I pay for the luggage, I won´t complain but I find it unfair, since it´s not my option leaving the suitcase at home. Of course, it won´t make go to other airline, since the travelling costs are higher.

I have never understood the obession of airlines for fitting a lot of trolleys into the rack. No enough space is 180 passenger take one at the same time, and as airline experts say, 180 passengers trying to leave the plane with their trolleys usually slows evacuation. And we tend to get the bellongings when something wrong happens.

I think that in the case of a sudden turbulence or CAT, I don´t like the idea of flying trolleys over my head. And we don´t count the amount of time missed because the passengers are not able to accomodate themselves and their trolleys as quickly as checking baggage.

Crew gets upset, doors close more late, and slots are missed.

No I can´t, Mark. If ones lives in the airport where Ryanair is the single operator in international routes, you can´t choose. 🙂 Being only operator, means that low fares are not that low, or it´s hard to get a good one.

In a competitive market one always has a choice. If your local airport only has LowCost direct international flights then you have two choices. Travel to a less convenient airport with a more appropriate flying schedule for your requirements. Or choose to connect through an intermediate airport.

Both of those options add inconvenience and in the latter case probably have an overall increased cost. So you have to balance what you want and what you can economically justify.

Do you succumb to the Ryanair way of life, pay for extras and pay a high cost for convenient direct flights from your local airport. Or do you pay a likely even higher price, connect through MAD on IB and suffer the inconveniences of a connection, but get your luggage carried for free?

Most people (you included from the sound of things) will take the best overall deal which is the Ryanair offer.

You have a choice because you live in a competitive market. The optimum choice is not as fantastic as you would ideally desire, but there are worse options.

I still don’t understand your points on baggage either. Just because a route has more or less people likely to carry baggage doesn’t make any difference to my previous points.

. You just don’t want to because you can get a cheaper fare on Ryanair.

I travel on short trips with no hold luggage. Why should I subsidise your requirement to check a 23g suitcase into the hold? If you need to take a suitcase then you pay extra for it. If you don’t, then you don’t.

If you think that there is some overriding principle that means you are inherently entitled to take a free suitcase with you, then pay more and fly an airline that lets you do that.

No I can´t, Mark. If ones lives in the airport where Ryanair is the single operator in international routes, you can´t choose. 🙂 Being only operator, means that low fares are not that low, or it´s hard to get a good one.

Others which don´t have direct connections like Vueling or Clickair, charges you for the suitcase as well. I understand the principle, and understand that if I want extra I have to pay. But it´s the amount what upsets me. Fourteen euros, in many routes is a bit too high when I don´t find cheap options in many segments.

I feel that Ryanair, which I enjoy to fly and like as airline, tries in a way to “criminalize” passengers, thinking that it´s a question of option. If you bring the suitcase you are naughty. The problem is not the amount of fuel consumption, but paying luggage handlers, and think salaries and costs are not the same in all airport, since the amount varies. If they have different charges, why don´t they annalise which airports are business ones, and which are vacacional?. It´s obvious that in a London-Turin, most of passengers are businessmen and can´t just dont bring suitcases. But others like London-Venice (which is used by tourists and cruisers) leaving the suitcase behind is more difficult. And even in most flights to the Spanish coasts.

SCQ is also vacacional, but with a huge porcentage of local people living in Europe, which usally travel with luggage. So all the routes are not the same for the kind of passengers, and costs of handling. But, I don´t mind paying if the fare is low.

They already do. It’s called a no refunds policy!

Do you get your money back if you miss a train?

:confused:

The problem is when you can´t choose other airline, and you have travel with a suitcase. So not many options then. It sounds to me like a punnishment.

Its a competitive market. Of course you can choose another airline. You just don’t want to because you can get a cheaper fare on Ryanair.

The varies being higher or lower in the different airports of the network. Working for the cruising industry and having to cruise a lot, it means a relatively high amount of cothing which can´t be fitted into the racks.

I travel on short trips with no hold luggage. Why should I subsidise your requirement to check a 23g suitcase into the hold? If you need to take a suitcase then you pay extra for it. If you don’t, then you don’t.

If you think that there is some overriding principle that means you are inherently entitled to take a free suitcase with you, then pay more and fly an airline that lets you do that.

I was just thinking about this, and I find some people’s angry responses quite amusing..

Let’s say you’re searching for a flight, and you decide to check Ryanair. You find the flights, you then decide whether to check-in a bag or not, you then accept or decline the insurance, and then you get to the final price. Now if you don’t like the price, surely you can just close the webpage and try another airline?! People make it sound like once you’ve gone through the first stage of the booking process, you are then forced to pay the extra fee’s as if there’s no turning back.

And another point…think realisitcally about how much baggage you actually need, and whether you can avoid all the fee’s just by taking cabin baggage. In December I flew to Lanzarote on TCX, and I know they have a very tight hold baggae limit of 15kg. Seeing as I was going for 10 days, I really had to think about what to pack. Upon check-in, it turns out my case was actually 14kg! Surely that then means that a 10kg cabin bag should be sufficient for 5-7 days away?

The problem is when you can´t choose other airline, and you have travel with a suitcase. So not many options then. It sounds to me like a punnishment.

The varies being higher or lower in the different airports of the network. Working for the cruising industry and having to cruise a lot, it means a relatively high amount of cothing which can´t be fitted into the racks.

why should i pay for a little 19 year old little girl to check me in for my flight.

That is exactly what KLM is doing now.
I flew to LAX on KLM on last week and they are charging 50€ more per leg if you want an emergency exit ( more legroom they say).

Pathetic

So if you are not handicapped and have two legs, that costs 100 euro?:confused: 😀

Cloud 9

Then how about a surcharge to sit by an emergency exit.

That is exactly what KLM is doing now.
I flew to LAX on KLM on last week and they are charging 50€ more per leg if you want an emergency exit ( more legroom they say).

Pathetic

Perfectly legitimate thing for Ryanair to do.

Why should I pay for your checked luggage? if I travel without….

No reason at all. But let’s stop doing this half-cocked. Charge per kg, passenger & baggage inclusive. I’m sick of subsidising fat peoples travel!

Cloud 9
There is no end to extra charges, e.g. ‘Sir/Madam, would you like to reserve your life jacket now for only xxx, or take a chance in the unlikely event of a ditching leasing one for zzz.
Then how about a surcharge to sit by an emergency exit.
Or reserve your place in a liferaft.
Imagination is a wonderful thing.

On a serious note – How many passengers, even on full fare carriers, take note of the weight limitation of the overhead bins. I hate to think of the damage to humans in event of an accident when these grossly overloaded lockers break open and the contents land on the pax. I have seen the results following a crash, many more would probably got out had they not been injured, knocked unconcious or killed by falling luggage. If you calculate one bin per six pax, then if memory serves correctly, you may place about 5 kilos each to remain within the safe limits. I have often seen reasonably fit looking people struggling to get a bag above their heads to get it in. The flight attendants ignore sizes and weights as they don’t want negative comments to the company or more likely personal abuse. The ‘pay for checked baggage’ will encourage overloading of these bins, as some correspondents have stated they have carried up to 15 kilos on board. I like to think they would place said bag under the seat, but I guarantee it went into the overhead, if they were in time to get space.

Oh come on! If I can check in online and print my boarding pass for a LAN flight in a remote Amazonian frontier town in Peru, then I think someone on holiday in Southern Spain can find an internet cafe to do the same! Its 2008 not 1998. :rolleyes:

As for checking in bags or not I don’t see how the purposes of a trip for the vast majority of people that fly Ryanair will change at the last minute to dictate whether they do or do not need to check a bag. I certainly know whenever I book my ticket whether I’m going to or not.

I agree with Dan entirely. Its not like this is being done stealthily or anything. The information is there extremely clearly when you book.

You either book a flight with Ryanair and accept their deal or you don’t. Simple as that.